Table 3.

Challenges and perceived enabling factors as reported by the four medical education departments in this study

Challenges	Enabling factors
Establishing and maintaining the legitimacy of the department within faculty and university leadership	Ensure academic status for the department
	Align with the school and institutional strategic foci
	Seek legitimacy for the department – acknowledged stature among faculty and within the school
Securing and retaining appropriate staff	Secure active and sustained support at senior level
	Hire staff who have expertise or qualifications in HPE
	Employ a qualified leader as champion
Sustaining the department in terms of funding	Build on the current regional call for medical education innovation
	Obtain funding from the institution and external grants
	Develop internal income-generating activities (e.g., postgraduate HPE programs which charge tuition)