The Institute of Community and Public Health participated as facilitators in the protocol development workshop (IRP) as part of the iPIER project (Improving Programme Implementation through Embedded Research). This project was initiated by the WHO in coordination with the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR) to support the development of and demand for research that is problem-focused and action–oriented. The Institute of Community and Public Health at Birzeit University is acting as a WHO coordinating center for iPIER in the EMRO region. The workshop was facilitated by experts from the WHO-EMRO, the Alliance and ICPH researchers. 13 different teams from 8 different EMRO countries had participated in workshop.