
“Champion, challenge, collaborate.”
Being commissioned by the Mayor of London to produce independent reviews of proposals for major service change, affecting Londoners, perfectly aligns with our commitment to help the health and care system make better decisions and ultimately achieve benefits for population health and wellbeing.

‘To risk stratify or not risk stratify, that is the question’ (At least, it should be)
Risk stratification tools are ubiquitous in healthcare. The concept is simple and seductive.

Contracting for health outcomes: from concept through theory to implementation
In this new report, jointly authored with colleagues from the University of York and The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, we set out in detail how an outcomes-based contract for elective knee replacements might be constructed, and the potential implications for commissioners, providers, and policy-makers.

Leadership training and support for organisational development: an offer from the Strategy Unit
The Strategy Unit has long been known for the quality of its analytical work, and the clear, critical thi

Exploring the Edge of Tomorrow, Today
Exploring the critical building blocks for a resilient social care system in 2035 with the West Midlands Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (WM-ADASS).

Evaluating and embedding social values in procurement at East London NHS Foundation Trust
This report presents emerging findings from the early development stages of a social value approach to procurement by East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT). These findings provide insights for other organisations beginning to explore how to use procurement to contribute to improving health and reducing health inequalities.

Advancing the analytical capability of the NHS and its ICS partners
The Strategy Unit were asked by the Strategy and Development Team in the Directorate of the Chief Data and Analytics Officer, NHSE/I, to make recommendations for advancing analytical capability across the health and care workforce.

Decisions to admit patients are not solely determined by clinical risk
Whether or not to admit a patient is one of the most routine yet important decisions a doctor in an Emergency Department

Strategy Unit analysis published showing changes in use of emergency departments under lockdown
We know that patterns of access to healthcare have changed during the pandemic.

Evaluating Artificial Intelligence: a significant new win
The Strategy Unit, the Health Economics Unit and Leicester Clinical Trials Unit have been announced as evaluation partners to support success in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Health and Care Awards.
COVID-19: breaking the cycle of deprivation and ill health
Promoting whole-system action on the wider determinants of healthy life expectancy in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic

Socio-economic and environmental impact of Herefordshire and Worcestershire STP
Anchor institutions are large, typically non-profit, public sector organisations whose long-term sustaina

Bringing NHS analytics into the 21st Century
A marriage usually needs (at least): a matchmaker, two entities, a (little) money, a proposal and a home.
Outcomes based commissioning: A framework for local decision making
This local decision-making framework aims to empower systems as they look to design new contracting approaches aimed at improving outcomes.
Opening the ‘black box’ of scenario planning through realist synthesis
Scenario planning is recognised as an effective aid to strategic planning in complex, uncertain conditions. It is an approach that the Strategy Unit is increasingly building into its work with health and care systems and third sector organisations.
Lessons, Evaluation and Learning from the Dudley MCP
Learning from Dudley MCP

The Strategy Unit have been awarded funding from the Health Foundation to continue promoting the use of R in the NHS via the NHS-R Community
The value of R and its use within the NHS

Clinical Workforce Scenarios for the Black Country
The future is highly uncertain.

Population Health Management Analyst Development Programme: An overview
The Population Health Management (PHM) Analyst Development Programme will introduce analysts from the Midlands CCGs, NHS Trusts, CSUs, Local Author

Have cuts to public spending on social care for older people led to more emergency hospital admissions?
Cuts to council social care budgets are often cited as a cause of pressure on NHS urgent and emergency care services. Much of the evidence supporting this link, however, is anecdotal. We set out to try and quantify the effect of cuts to social care on older people’s use of emergency healthcare services, and our research has just been published in BMJ Open.