Professor Stephen Peckham

About

I have a number of leadership roles within the University and also with NIHR. I currently lead the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Kent Surrey and Sussex supporting the development of applied health and care research across the southeast. Since 2010 I have been Director of the Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Systems and Commissioning (PRUComm).

I am also working with Professor Michelle Garrett as Co-Director of the University’s new Institute of Health Social Care and Wellbeing.

I joined CHSS as Director in 2012, a joint appointment as Director of the Centre for Health Services Studies at the University of Kent and as Professor of Health Policy in the Department of Health Services Research and Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I am Director of the NIHR Policy Research Unit in the Health and Social Care System and Commissioning (PRUComm) – a joint research unit based at LSHTM, the University of Manchester and CHSS undertaking research to support policy development. I am also Director of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Kent Surrey and Sussex a research collaboration between universities, the NHS, local authorities and third sector organisations to improve applied health and social care research in the South East.

I am currently a member of the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee Independent Expert Panel

Before joining CHSS I was Reader in Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and was involved in the management of the NHS Research and Development Service Delivery and Organisation research programme, the precursor of the NIHR Health Services and Delivery programme. Previously I have worked at Oxford Brookes University, the University of the west of England and the University of Southampton. I have a background working in local government and the voluntary sector.

Education
BSc (Hons) first class Public and Social Administration 1985 University of Southampton.
MA 9Econ) Public Administration and Policy 1988 University of Manchester.

Currently Researching

I am an experienced qualitative researcher and policy analyst with over 30 years of academic experience. My current research focuses mainly on my role within the Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Systems and Commissioning leading research on unmet dental care needs, local Authority engagement with ICSs and supporting the Unit’s wider research portfolio in conjunction with colleagues at LSHTM, where I retain a part-time role as professor of health policy, and the University of Manchester.

As part of CHSS’s partnership with Cancer Research UK I have been examining changes to specialised commissioning introduced in the Health and Care Act 2022 and am also part of a team led by LSHTM undertaking a wider evaluation of the Health and Care Act 2022 reforms. I have also been working with colleagues in Brazil, Canada and the UK on exploring links between health systems and policy capacity with a current special edition of Policy and Society (https://academic.oup.com/policyandsociety/issue/42/1) and a proposed special edition of Policy and Politics.

Research interests

Policy analysis
delivery and organisation of health and care services,
primary care services,
public health policy and practice.

Teaching

I contribute to the MSc in Health Management and the MA Global Health Policy

Supervision

PhD: Daniel Huggins: An exploration of NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning Clinical Reference Groups

Professional

Member of the Social Policy Association
Honorary Member of the Faculty of Public Health