Much of my research has been commissioned by, or carried into decisions of, national government and NHS bodies.
Public health resource allocation
With colleagues at Manchester, I co-developed the evidence-based resource allocation formula for the public health grant to English local authorities (Department of Health Policy Research Programme), and led the development of the population health component, covering 46% of the budget. Following public consultation, the formulae were adopted by the Department of Health and the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation as the basis for target allocations from 2016.
Payment by results in substance misuse treatment
I worked on the Department of Health-commissioned evaluation of the Payment by Results for Drugs Recovery pilot, and led subsequent analyses of the scheme's wider effects on hospital admissions. This work was published in Addiction (2015, 2018, 2021) and reported directly to the Department of Health; the 2015 paper was shortlisted for the EMCDDA Scientific Committee award.
Service evaluation informing commissioning
My evaluation of a hospital-based independent domestic violence advisor service informed the service's permanent commissioning, and contributed to the national business case considered by NHS England.
Advisory roles and audiences
- Member, NIHR Public Health Research Programme Funding Committee (2025-present).
- Methods expert (health economics and statistics), NIHR Research Support Service.
- Steering committee member on two NIHR-funded clinical trials; co-convenor of the NIHR School for Public Health Research Network for Health Economics.
- Expert peer reviewer for the Home Office (The Social and Economic Costs of Crime) and the Oak Foundation.
- Research presented to NHS England, the Department of Health, the Home Office, the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, and the Technical Advisory Group on Resource Allocation.