Imperial College pioneers a new approach to professionalising policy making

The Institute of Global Health Innovation marked the start of a new Masters programme to professionalise the civil service with an event at the Institute for Government last week.

Imperial College’s Centre for Health Policy, which is part of the Institute of Global Health Innovation, has partnered with the Department of Health to provide a two-year part-time Masters course in Health Policy for 20 civil servants of a range of grades.

At the event Lord Ara Darzi, the Institute’s chairman and former health Minister, spoke about the importance of providing specialist skills and knowledge to policy makers who are responsible for the quality of healthcare for the country.  Una O’Brien, the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health, explained that new approaches to policy making were paramount in creating solutions to the huge health pressures of the 21^st century, and the rigorous selection process demonstrated value for money in the current financial climate.  

The discussion chaired by Lord Andrew Adonis, former Director at the Institute for Government, explored the opportunities and challenges in creating the course, and whether it could serve as a model for training policy professionals in other departments.

Lord Darzi said:

“Reflecting on my experience as a Minister and a doctor, I felt it was odd that health policy affecting 50 million patients could be developed by civil servants with no specific qualifications. The Master’s in Health Policy from Imperial College will allow the participants to refine and develop their policy making skills while also providing a rich learning environment. We are fortunate enough to have teachers who have real policy experience, such as former Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson, who is leading the module on Health and Society. And the dissertation component of the course will allow students to align their chosen topic with their day job both minimising additional work and providing their employer with a rigorous academic piece of work that might otherwise have cost thousands of pounds in consultancy fees.”

The course will be evaluated by the Institute for Government over the next two years, with a final report once the first cohort of students has graduated in 2013.

Read more about the Health Policy course.