Frequently Asked Questions

For any other questions, contact CIRCA
                                                      13-17 Sturton Street, Cambridge, CB1 2SN, UK
                                                      Telephone: +44 1223 564334 Fax: +44 1223 354643
                                                      pip@peopleinpower.com

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Email pip@peopleinpower.com and we will send you a reminder.

I've clicked on "browse" - why can't I see any data?

You need to choose a country from the drop-down box.

When I search/browse on the health contacts, nothing happens...

If you are on the search page but the health contacts data set is greyed out, that means your subscription does not include access to the health contacts data set. To widen your subscription contact us on +44 1223 564334 or email pip@peopleinpower.com.

If you are in the browse area, you will get the message: Your subscription does not allow access to this data. Please email pip@peopleinpower.com or call +44 1223 564334 if you are interested in upgrading.

When I search/browse on the government personnel, nothing happens...

If you are on the search page but the government data set is greyed out, that means your subscription does not include access to the health contacts data set. To widen your subscription contact us on +44 1223 564334 or email pip@peopleinpower.com.

If you are in the browse area you will get the message: Your subscription does not allow access to this data. Please email pip@peopleinpower.com or call +44 1223 564334 if you are interested in upgrading.

        eg What is the address of the ministry of foreign affairs in Poland?
        eg What is the website address for the AIDS Foundation of South Africa?

To find a particular organization select BROWSE and in the drop-down box select the name of the country. For a government department, click on the MINISTRIES tab and look down the list until you find the one that you are interested in. To find its contact details and which ministers are associated with it, click on the ministry's name. For a health-related organization, click on the HEALTH CONTACTS tab, click on the organization type (or expand all), and look down the list until you find the one that you are interested in. To find its contact details and the key people who work for it, click on the organization's name.

Alternatively you can use SEARCH. Select the data set that you want to search, the country you are interested in, and in the drop-down box for "organization type" select the type of organization. If you can't find it listed then type it in the box to the right. Then click SEARCH and the organization will appear in the results below.

        eg Who is the finance minister of Bhutan?
        eg Who is the UNAIDS country director for Malawi?

To find the name of a particular person select BROWSE and in the drop-down box select the name of the country. For a government role, click on the GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL tab and look down the list until you find the post that you are interested in. For a health-related role, click on the HEALTH CONTACTS tab, choose the type of organization (or expand all), and then click on the organization to see the key people who work for it.

Alternatively you can use SEARCH. Choose which dataset you want to search, select the country you are interested in, and in the drop-down box for "area of responsibility" select the person's job. If you can't find it listed then type it in the box to the right. Then click SEARCH and the person will appear in the results below.

        eg I want to write to the US president.

Click on the NAME to see contact details for all the organizations that are associated with them.

Also for certain members of government you can click on PROFILE to get brief biographical information. If you are interested in longer profiles, contact biographies@peopleinpower.com

Use SEARCH and choose the health contacts data set. In the drop-down list under "area of responsibility" select "Chief Executives/Directors/Secretary-Generals". Leave the "Name of country" set to "[All countries] or select...". Click search and you will get a list of all the heads of organizations.

Alternatively you can use SEARCH and type "chief executive" into the box on the right hand side beside "area of responsibility". This will give you all people whose job title contains the words "chief executive".

Use SEARCH and choose the data set you want to search. In the drop-down list under "organization type" select "Ministries of Health". Leave the "Name of country" set to "[All countries] or select...". Click search and you will get a list of all ministries of health.

Alternatively you can use SEARCH and type "ministry of health" into the box on the right under "area of responsibility". This will give you all organizations whose name contains the exact words "ministry of health".

If you get an organization repeated, this is because it has more than one person associated with it. So you get one result for each person. Similarly, if you get a person repeated it is because that person is associated with more than one organization and you are getting one result for each organization.

        eg I'm searching for ministers of investment...

When using the search, if you don't want to select any of the options from the drop-down list, then you can type in the box alongside.

If you are interested, say, in "foreign affairs" results then you should select that category from the drop-down list. Then your search results will include all results relevant to foreign affairs - including the Secretary of State in the USA - even though the words "foreign affairs" are not actually included in the result.

If, on the other hand, you specifically want ministers of oil and do not want to include ministers of gas then you should type "oil" in the other box to get the best results.

Searching in "Area of responsibility" looks at the jobs held by people, whereas searching in "organization type" looks at details for the physical buildings. So if you are looking for types of minister search in "area of responsibility", and if you are looking for lists of ministries, then search in "organization type ".

For instance if you want a list of all health ministers and their details, regardless of whether they actually work at a ministry of health, then search in "area of responsibility". Whereas if you want all health ministries and people attached to them, whether or not they are actually a minister of health, then search in "organization type".

And if you specifically want health ministers at health ministries, then select "ministers of health" AND "ministries of health".

If you click on one of the organizations in your results you will be taken directly to its expanded entry in the browse section of the relevant country, showing the contact details and all people associated with it.

Similarly, if you click on one of the people in your results you will be taken directly to their entry in the browse section for the relevant country.

You can export your search results if you have a Premium Subscription.

If you try to export results but get a Download Restricted text file, your subscription is Browse-only, not Premium. To upgrade your subscription contact us on +44 1223 564334 or email pip@peopleinpower.com.

Make sure you click "search" before you click "export", or you will not get the desired data in the exported file.

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If you are searching for a name, then try alternative spellings, or just typing in part of the name to find any matches for that.

Make sure the form is reset before starting to enter your search criteria. To do this click the "Clear" button.

If you were searching in "area of responsibility" then try searching in "organization type " instead - or as well.

How do I find information on a country?

        eg When was the current constitution of Angola adopted?
        eg When were the most recent elections in Zimbabwe?
        eg I want to know about the parliament of New Zealand

To find information on a particular country select BROWSE and in the drop-down box select the name of the country. The POLITICAL STRUCTURE tab displays basic information about the country - and you can click on a heading to find out more about that topic or EXPAND ALL to see it all.

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(f) means that person is female.

Other abbreviations in brackets indicate membership of political parties. These abbreviations are explained in the political makeup section on the POLITICAL STRUCTURE tab for that country.

Letters after a person's name that are not in brackets indicate titles or educational attainment.

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The blue part of the name is their personal name and surname. The black parts indicate how to address them formally.

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This means they are new to the post. PIP is updated continually, and stars will mean that the appointment has occurred within a recent period of time of at most two months. The date of the beginning of the period covered by the stars is in the top righthand corner of the screen. If for example the date is 7 August 2010, this means that all people marked with a * are new to the post since 7 August 2010.

Facts at your Fingertips

People in Power contains:

Country-by-country information

Government structure

All current ministers

Key health contacts

International health organizations

In-country representatives

HIV/AIDS NGOs and networks

UK/US diplomatic contacts

Profiles of leading figures

Postal addresses

Telephone/fax numbers

Emails and websites