Our strategy
Our strategy is a compass for navigating a global landscape that is evolving faster than plans can be redrawn. Guided by our purpose and values, it keeps us focused on three enduring priorities for improving health and social care – funding, quality and workforce – while staying adaptable and innovative in how we respond, always rooted in evidence and independence.
Our organisational strategy sets out how we will navigate the rapidly changing world of health and social care over the coming years, and how we will remain true to our vision: a country where everyone can live healthy, fulfilling lives, supported by equitable, high-quality health and care services.
Organisations have historically relied on fixed, detailed strategies, designed for stable policy environments. But today the landscape is shifting faster than plans can be redrawn. Technology, global crises, climate change, regime change and social change rewrite the rules in real time.
We think of our new strategy as a compass, guided by our values – bold, rigorous and responsive, inclusive, curious and kind – and our purpose: to provide evidence that makes health and social care better. These keep us orientated even when the terrain is unfamiliar, guiding us in how we think, how we make decisions, and why we act.
The strategy also recognises that the health and care system is influenced by countless forces, often beyond prediction. What we need is a shared understanding of our ‘why’ and ‘how’.
This points us towards three enduring priorities across both health and social care:
- Funding: helping policy-makers understand how resources are used and how financial decisions shape care.
- Quality: tracking and evaluating the care people receive and identifying how it can be improved.
- Workforce: analysing the health and care workforce, its pressures, and its future needs.
These priorities remain at the heart of our work, but we approach them with adaptability. This means being willing to pivot, experiment, and explore new approaches – from harnessing the potential of AI to developing new and innovative research methods – while always staying rooted in evidence and our commitment to independence.
We don’t have all the answers. But we do have a clear sense of direction and commitment to our three key aims: influencing policy and practice; producing rigorous research and statistics; and fostering collaboration and innovation to redesign health and care services for the future.