CEHI collaborates closely with Chinese partner institutions through the Forum on Health, Environment and Development (FORHEAD). The Forum was founded to provide a China-based platform for building capacity and generating and sharing knowledge among researchers, policymakers, NGOs, and other stakeholders working in the field of environment, health, and development. The Forum holds an annual conference featuring new research, policy, and NGO initiatives in the field. In order to strengthen capacity to work on these issues, the Forum organizes summer institutes that provide intensive training for early career researchers and NGO staffers. Interdisciplinary working groups on particular topics synthesize current knowledge and develop cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional projects that can advance knowledge and provide the basis for informed policy. Outreach takes place through the FORHEAD website, formal and informal communication with policymakers, and publications.
The Forum is led by a consortium of institutions that bring different disciplinary and professional expertise. The current steering committee includes the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Institute of Geography and Natural Resources China), the China Agricultural University (College of Humanities and Development), Peking University (Institute of Environmental Economics), the Kunming Medical School, and the Social Science Research Council (China Environment and Health Initiative). Jennifer Holdaway of the SSRC and Professor Wang Wuyi of IGSNRR are the codirectors of FORHEAD.