What we do

We are an independent health think tank. We aim to help achieve a high-quality health and social care system that improves the health and care of people in the UK by providing evidence-based research and policy analysis and informing and generating debate.  

We set out to do this by: 

• improving the evidence base that leads to better care by undertaking rigorous applied research and policy analysis; 
• using our independence to provide expert commentary, analysis and scrutiny of policy and practice; and 
• bringing together policy-makers, practitioners and others to develop solutions to the challenges facing the health and social care system. 

We are a not-for-profit organisation and not associated with any other organisations bearing the 'Nuffield' name. Find out more here.

In everything we do we seek to be grounded in the practical implications of policy-making, working closely with NHS staff and policy-makers to identify solutions to real problems that affect how health and care services are delivered and the outcomes they achieve. Above all, we aim to be a trusted and respected voice at a time of unprecedented challenge to the NHS and social care system.

Our values

In everything we do we strive to be:

• independent and free from vested interests
• rigorous, robust and evidence-based in the work we undertake
• relevant, supportive but also challenging when we need to be
• open and engaging with all those we come into contact with
• an organisation that makes a difference to the quality of policy-making and practice in the UK.

The work we do

Health and care services and public services in the UK are under enormous pressures, from changes within health care; local and global shortages of workforce and other external factors such as public sector austerity, and the uncertainty caused by the UK’s exit from the European Union. In addition, the type of work we do is challenged by increasing scepticism and a reaction against facts, evidence and research. 

In this context, the Nuffield Trust has a tremendous opportunity. Standing independent both of the NHS and of politics, funded largely by its own endowment, and small enough to respond quickly to the volatile political and policy environment, we can produce incisive commentary and research with three main aims: 

• To influence policy and practice through generating and synthesising information on health and social care to facilitate both better policy and better practice. 
• To challenge and support those involved in planning and delivering healthcare to think more creatively and innovatively about how to adapt and redesign services to meet changing patient needs; 
• To provide information on the evidence, statistics, facts and research which politicians and policymakers use in their interventions in the health and care system in the UK. 

We seek to be respected and highly-regarded by our main audiences; to remain separate from but expert in the NHS and social care; and above all to use our independence, highly skilled staff and unique position to be a force for good in improving the health and social care of the UK population.