"REFINEMENT will conduct the first ever comparative and comprehensive overview of links between the financing of mental health care in Europe and the outcomes of mental health services. Mental health is a key priority area for Europe, as evidenced by the publication by the European Commission in June 2008 of its European Pact on Mental Health and Wellbeing. Conducted across nine European Countries (Italy, Austria, UK, Spain, Finland, Norway, France, Estonia and Romania) it will bring together an experienced team of health economists, mental health service researchers, public health specialists and cover, in term of funding models and interfaces with social care services, a representative range of health care systems across Europe.Four core scientific objectives of REFINEMENT will help us attain our overarching goal of determining how variations in the structure and characteristics of mental health financing systems in nine European states: (1) impact on quality of care; (2) impact on the appropriateness of pathways through the services system; (3) help identify best practice and effective innovations and components of the financing system; and (4) allow us to draw conclusions and present recommendations on how best to structure funding systems in different country contexts. The first objective is to map and describe characteristics (including incentives) of financing systems for mental health care. In objective 2 using detailed descriptions of nine mental health systems, we wish to describe the outcomes of mental health services, including quality of care and met/unmet needs. Objective 3 will describe typical pathways through the health and social care system by people with mental health needs. Finally objective 4 is to build a series of health care financing models conducive to the promotion of high quality mental health care associated with better outcomes, drawing on data obtained as part of the three previous objectives."