Annotation. Health Systems Research (HSR) has proven to be a useful tool for health decision makers at all levels over the past 20 years, providing them with the necessary data for informed decision making. "Designing and Conducting Health System Research Projects" for health practitioners, presents a course outline, in modular format, that deals step-by-step with the development of an HSR proposal and field testing (Part I) and with data analysis and report writing (Part II). The unanticipated application of the modules in academic as well as health management circles led to rapid exhaustion of the 1991 edition and the several subsequent reprints. The different groups of users also made many useful suggestions for change, which needed elaborating. The HSR Unit in AFRO, with agreement from IDRC therefore decided to organise a revision of the HSR modules. An interdisciplinary group of Southern African researchers carried out the revisions in two workshops in 1998 and 1999, and two of the three original editors finalised the present version. IDRC kept the end responsibility for the publication, which was financed by AFRO and IDRC and published by KIT.