About us and our objectives

The Social and Administrative Pharmacy Section (SAPS) brings together FIP members from diverse practice settings and backgrounds. Our members work in a number of roles, including  government departments of health, pharmaceutical companies, professional societies, chain pharmacies, wholesalers or with private healthcare providers such as health maintenance organisations. Others work as researchers in social pharmacy, academic administrators or consultants in various fields of health care. 

Our uniting interest is the organisation of pharmacy practice and the provision of evidence for decision-making in all areas related to pharmacy policy and advocacy.

BREAKING NEWS

SAPS is delighted to launch the inaugural SAPS Congress Attendance Grant.

This is an opportunity for SAPS members, particularly Early Career Pharmacists and those from low- and middle-income countries to be supported to attend the FIP World Congress.

This year we are pleased to offer the opportunity to receive this grant to SAPS members to aid attendance at the FIP World Congress in Montreal, Canada to be held 30 August to 2 September 2026.

More information can be found in the application form.

Applications MUST be submitted by 23:59 CET 31st March 2026

Other member opportunities

SAPS has opened the call for the 7th SAPS Research Award

The FIP SAPS Research Award was established in 2020 to help encourage research into areas of interest for SAPS.

Projects should be relevant to SAPS or to FIP more broadly.
The uniting interest for SAPS is the organisation of pharmacy practice and the provision of evidence for decision-making in all areas related to pharmacy policy and advocacy.

SAPS offers a €1,500 annual award to cover costs for the selected project.
More information can be found in the application form.

Applications for the Research award close 23:59 CET 1 May 2026

Section information

SAPS has a very broad remit. We accommodate those FIP members who are working outside “traditional” practice areas. We have members who are working in areas focused on driving and progressing the professional forward. We have members who are:

• Advocating for the progression of the profession, and the individual pharmacist role within the profession, as opposed to a specific sector.
• We are a place where those working outside the traditional roles of pharmacy may find a home- members from other sections, working in those traditional settings, but those working in the organisational aspect of those settings.
• We are pharmacists, scientists and researchers who are looking to improve the nature in how we can connect the pharmacist role to the improved patient outcome more effectively.

Collectively, SAPS members have special interest and expertise in the following areas:

• Qualitative and quantitative health services research
• Outcomes research – including economic, clinical and humanistic outcomes
• Instrument development and testing
• PROMS, PREMS and patient satisfaction
• Pharmacoeconomics – health economics
• Pharmacoepidemiology - epidemiology
• Quality improvement in health care
• Health and pharmaceutical policy development and investigations
• Research administration and clinical governance 
• Professional society management
• Professional standards and guidelines
• Evidence-based practice
• Health planning and promotion
• Regulatory affairs
• Workforce Mapping
• Health Technology Assessment
• Medicines procurement and pricing
• Regulatory affairs
• Emerging roles in pharmacy practice – General practice, embedded on-site, aged and transitions of care pharmacists

SAPS members come from science, practice and research areas. Our Section members are constantly researching, developing new practice areas and working to evolve the pharmacy profession.

We welcome all pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists to join with us and join our network within the larger FIP family.

Statutes and Structure
The current statutes of the Social and Administrative Pharmacy Section were adopted by the Bureau on 22 April 2020.

The aim of the Section is to promote the goals of FIP by providing a forum for information, exchange of experiences and professional development for persons engaged in social and administrative pharmacy.

Our Executive Committee currently consists of:

The current statutes of the Social and Administrative Pharmacy Section were adopted by the Bureau on 22 April 2020.

The SAPS annual report is available here.

Member Engagement

SAPS holds its annual Business Meeting virtually, usually 2-3 weeks prior to congress.

This allows for all SAPS members to participate, regardless of their ability to attend the annual congress. This also allows for all members to participate, and to run for ExCo positions, where previously this was restricted to members who were in attendance at the in-person business meeting at congresses.

We encourage all our members to engage and make contact with the ExCo, contribute their thoughts, newsletter articles, and participate in all the member benefits we offer.

SAPS publishes our section newsletter four times a year to keep members informed about SAPS activities between congresses. Contributions are always welcome from members.

SAPS also sends shorter information mail outs, on topics or activities of interest to members.
If you wish to participate in any of the above activities, or you have a suggestion for further activities or member benefits SAPS could offer- saps@fip.org is our email, and we would love to hear from you.

FIP Social and Administrative Pharmacy Section (SAPS) Research Award 

Past Research Award winners

2020- Caterina Bernardo - “Exploring medication adherence in breast cancer patients shifted from IV to oral forms according to the ABC taxonomy”

2021- Certina Ho – “A Quality Improvement Community of Practice for Pharmacy Professionals”

2021- Nebojša Pavlović – “Overcoming barriers to the involvement of community pharmacists in smoking cessation programs in Serbia: time for action”

2022- Sylvester Adeyemi – “Community Pharmacist-Administered COVID-19 Vaccinations in Abuja, Nigeria: A Patient Survey on Satisfaction and Motivation to Get Vaccinated”

2023- Kaitlyn Watson – "An international portrait of pharmacists’ professional role identities: A Q-Methodology innovative study (The FIPP-Q Study)"

2024- Anu Bompelli – “Investigating Postpartum Depression in First-time Mothers: Racial and Geographical Disparities, Social Determinants, and Healthcare Utilization Patterns in the United States”

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