Brand on the run

zoom

Harvard University's decision to axe its international consultancy arm has created a flurry of uncertainty among its clients - which include Dubai Healthcare City.

MT investigates whether DHCC has been caught in the middle of a messy divorce, or if the project has finally found itself the ideal Partners.

In one sense, there are few processes as superficial as a re-branding. But Harvard Medical International's (HMI) reincarnation as Partners Harvard Medical International (PHMI) has bypassed the paintwork and gone right to the core of Dubai Healthcare City's newly-laid foundations.

As announced earlier this year, HMI will now cease to be owned or operated by Harvard and will belong entirely to US-based Partners HealthCare System. By the end of 2012, it is expected to have dropped Harvard from its name entirely.

From a practical point of view, the shift could result in very little disruption for DHCC and its inhabitants. All current HMI obligations are set to be honoured by PHMI and over 60 staff-members are expected to join the migration.

In fact, with its greater experience in managing clinical facilities, Partners' involvement should lead to some positive improvements on the ground.

But what is more interesting for Dubai's flagship healthcare facility is how Harvard University arrived at this decision and the deeper implications this has for DHCC and its standing in a global market.

It is one thing for a fledgling facility to bear the Harvard stamp of approval; it is another thing altogether to get halfway through construction and have to order a change of stationery.

Getting the right balance

The decision to spin off HMI centres on a perceived deviation from the organisation's initial purpose, according to Dr Andrew Jeon, now PHMI's acting president and CEO.

"As we evolved here at HMI, more and more of our work and its interpretation by the University's leadership was less aligned to their core issues of education and research," he says. "They felt that we were doing more and more strategic consulting - things that belonged in a private sector initiative."

Yet the accusation seems slightly disingenuous, given that HMI was founded in 1994 as a means of raising funds for the main medical school. By capitalising on Harvard's international prowess in healthcare, the reasoning went, a global organisation could repatriate funds to Harvard.

Dr Daniel C. Tosteson, who was dean of the medical school when HMI was created, is quoted in The Harvard Crimson, Harvard University's daily student newspaper, as saying that HMI was designed with a mandate "to find pockets around the world...[that had the] capacity to pay" for advice in medical education.

The key tension for HMI, it seems, has been between the desire to raise funds and the struggle to keep its focus on education, rather than the delivery of healthcare systems.

Harvard University is America's first and oldest educational institution, but it is also America's first and oldest corporation. Whether or not it is for profit, it still needs to balance its books - and if any institution wants to grow it needs excess funds to invest.

In this case, it appears that HMI may have become a victim of its own success.

Now a profitable US$21-million-a-year organisation, HMI is active in approximately 30 countries. Its primary role may have shifted towards consultancy, but that hasn't happened overnight - in fact it has been the significant driver in HMI's growth for a number of years.

Harvard University might be justified in seeing a drift from HMI's original remit - but why now? And why was it allowed to happen in the first place?

Changing of the guard

The contradictory nature of HMI's development appears to echo an internal divide at Harvard over the organisation.

In a recent two-part series, The Harvard Crimson documented how an internal power struggle took place following the departure of controversial University president Lawrence H. Sumners in February 2006.

Sumners had granted the organisation implicit support throughout his tenure, but when he was ushered out of office following controversial remarks regarding women in science, HMI was suddenly vulnerable.

"After Dr Larry Sumners resigned the presidency of Harvard University a former president took over as interim, a gentleman by the name of Derek Bok," states Jeon.

"He was a rather strong advocate of the separation between university and corporate entities - which is a very controversial topic right now in the United States."

By the time Sumner's successor had been appointed, claims Jeon, the decision to spin off HMI was presented as a fait accompli. It is no surprise that a university such as Harvard retains the right to shifts in strategy - but nevertheless the decision came as a shock to HMI associates around the world.

"There is no question that our partners were concerned," admits Jeon. "Some had name associations and had made huge investments because of their belief in the long term commitment of HMI and its staff.

Print | Email | Discuss this article |

USER COMMENTS (0 COMMENTS)

POST A COMMENT

CLICK HERE TO POST A COMMENT

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.