The 1979 report of a working group of the World Health Organization (WHO) in cooperation with the West German government, on the design of training in health planning and management in the European region is presented. The working group consisted of 15 temporary advisers from 11 countries, in addition to WHO staff and a consultant. The group was asked to: review experiences gained in a number of European training programs in health planning and management; determine training objectives for specific target groups; discuss training methods and curriculum development as related to each specific objective; and formulate recommendations for action at national and international levels. European countries in general are faced with the problem of how to make the best use of limited resources for their health services. The problems of developing health planning and management in two European countries, the United Kingdom and Romania, were reviewed, along with WHO activities at the global level and in the European Region. Attention was directed to identifying qualities of health managers who administered services as well as those of policy-makers and higher-level administrators, and the needs of the primary care general practitioner and the nurse at the first level of nursing management. Teacher training was considered in light of national program development and a national commitment to health management training, and a strategy that could be applied nationally and internationally was developed. Four working papers that served as background to the working group's discussions are appended. (SW)