IHME’s overarching objective has been to create the most complete and up-to-date roadmap to help policymakers and donors determine how best to help people live longer, healthier lives. The announcement of the 10-year, $279-million investment in IHME by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation this year provides a moment in time to reflect and to look ahead. The Institute has grown from a core of three initial members in 2007 to a staff of more than 300; developed a powerful and constantly innovating research infrastructure; built a global network exceeding 2,000 collaborators; and perhaps most importantly, strengthened the field of health metrics science.

Here are a few things we hope to achieve over the next decade:
Expand the Global Burden of Disease enterprise through greater and more precise estimates of diseases, injuries, and risk factors at the national and, where possible, local levels.

• Further refine our efforts to track all spending related to health – both in the US and around the world – as the costs of treating and preventing diseases and injuries continue to frame policy debates.
• Provide the world alternative health scenarios 25 years or more into the future to provide critical information for planning and priority setting.
• Scale up our geospatial analyses toward our aspiration of mapping all diseases, risks, and covariates at 5 km by 5 km resolution or better.
• Continue to play an integral role in University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce’s vision for population health, by innovating in research, diversifying fellowship and degree programs, and providing in-person and online trainings.
• Increase the ease of access to the wealth of information cataloged in the Global Health Data Exchange and encourage researchers and policymakers to use these data in key decision-making.