How can the analysis of power and process in policy-making improve health outcomes? Moving the agenda forward

Kent Buse (ODI) and Clare Dickinson (HLSP Institute), October 2007.
A joint ODI and HLSP Institute Briefing Paper

The processes of health policy change needed to achieve the health MDGs are complex and often poorly understood. The analysis of how and why national health policies achieve less than expected, perform differently from expected, or even fail has not received much attention so far. Existing literature tends to be analytically weak, and to describe “what” has happened in a particular setting rather than explaining “why”. This briefing paper makes the case for advancing the health policy research agenda.

This paper is the outcome of a workshop organised by the HLSP Institute, the Overseas Development Institute, Centre for Research in Equitable Health Systems and Kings College London in May 2007. The workshop brought together leading international health policy analysts to share their knowledge and experiences of different methodologies, research strategies and perspectives on the investigation of the political dynamics of policy making.