Good Practices in Mental Health (GPMH) is a national charity set up to disseminate information about local mental health services which are found to work well. Its general aim is to promote and assist the development of good mental health services. By providing an exchange of information about effective services in both hospitals and the community, GPMH encourages others to build on what is already proving successful. GPMH developed from a survey of mental health in big cities carried out by the International Hospital Federation (IHF) and was set up in 1977 with the support of the IHF, MIND and the King's Fund. It has the backing of all the major professional organisations concerned with mental health in the United Kingdom, the World Health Organization and the World Federation for Mental Health internationally. It is now funded mainly by the DHSS; some funding comes from the London Boroughs Grants Committee and charitable sources. There are three units within the organisation: information, development and evaluation.