Department of Health Policy Research Units

On Tuesday 31 January, PRUComm Director Stephen Peckham and Deputy Director Kath Checkland attended a meeting for all the heads of the new Department of Health Policy Research Units. PRUComm is one of 11 such units, funded until December 2015. This was an opportunity for the researchers involved to get together to discuss their experiences over the first year of the programme, hosted by the Department of Health. The meeting was well attended, and there were useful presentations from senior policy staff from the Department of Health, as well as an introduction from the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davis. In the afternoon, representatives from some of the units provided some insights based upon some of their experiences so far. Overall this was an invaluable opportunity to share notes with other researchers and to make more informal contacts with our Department of Health ‘customers’.