Instructions

You are working for a thinktank specialising in strengthening health systems. You have been asked to write a 2500 word policy report to address a policy problem in any ONE of the subject areas below.

•    Health financing

•    Primary healthcare

•    The role of the market / private sector in healthcare provision

•    Access to medicines / local production of medicines

•    Dealing with health workforce challenges

•    Public-private partnerships in health systems transformation and public health

Guidance

Your report should:

•    Start by defining the policy problem you have been asked to address in one of the above

subject areas; justify why this is an important policy issue to address. You may decide to focus on one country, or a group of countries defined by geography or other characteristic (e.g. countries in Latin America or high-income countries etc.). You may also decide to focus on a particular disease/condition (e.g. diabetes etc.), or a particular intervention (e.g. anti-retroviral therapy etc.).

•    Consider the policy options that might exist to address your policy problem and decide on the best policy solution – this should be based on consideration of different points of view and evidence of what has worked previously. You should discuss any limitations to your evidence- base.

•    Identify potential barriers to implementation of the policy solution you have decided on, and what measures maybe taken to deal with these barriers, as well as whom you would need to engage to do so (your stakeholders). The stakeholder priority matrix (outlined below) will need to be briefly explained in the text at this point.

•    In terms of who you need to engage, you should also include a diagram which should categorise the level of interest and influence that each of the stakeholders in relation to the particular policy solution you have proposed (apriority matrix). Anexample of a priority matrix and more explanation is available at this link.

Remember your policymakers are likely to know less about the subject than you, so you need to clearly convince them of the evidence and reasons for the policy solution you have decided on. You should make acompelling, evidence-based, argument for change.

Further guidance

There is no single ‘ideal’ structure for a policy report but inline with the guidance above you may choose to follow the following outline structure:

•    Introduction

•    Description of policy problem

•    Policy option(s) (though these can be integrated with the section on identification of problem if you need to), and the policy solution you have ultimately chosen

•    Potential barrier(s) (though these can be integrated with identification of policy option(s) and do not need to be in a separate section).

•    Conclusion (which can include your key policy recommendations)

•    The stakeholder priority matrix can be placed where you think appropriate, but will likely come towards the barriers/conclusion sections of the report

There are no suggested word number guidelines for the rest of the other sections. However, it would be sensible for you to spend most of the report on the problems, options and barriers. The stakeholder priority matrix is NOT included in the word count.

Please remember you have reading lists in each of these areas available at yourreading list for this module. All lecture slides also contain many references that you will find useful.

Style of writing for a policy report

In terms of style, you are addressing a generalist policy maker not an academic expert, but nevertheless your essay should show all of the attributes needed by an academic essay, as expressed in the marking criteria (available in a separate file).

Penalties

Please remember there are UCL regulationsgoverning essays that are submitted late. Over-length assignments are also penalised (see below for the Faculty policy).

For other regulations,refer to the UCL and Faculty handbook.

Faculty of Population Health Sciences over-length penalty policy

Please note that the following policy applies to modules taught by institutes and schools within UCL’s Faculty of Population Health Sciences. If you are taking modules within other UCL departments/faculties, it is your responsibility to check the over-length penalties and rules on word counts with the teaching department(s).

Over-length penalties

Work that exceeds a specified maximum length by less than 10%: deduction of 5 marks. The penalised mark will not be reduced below the passmark: marks already at or below the passmark will not be reduced.

Work that exceeds a specified maximum length by 10% or more: deduction of 10 marks. The penalised mark will not be reduced below the passmark: marks already at or below the passmark will not be reduced.

In the case of assessments which have significantly exceeded the specified maximum length, markers are not required to read beyond 10% in excess of the stated word count.

Work that is both submitted late and over the specified maximum length: the greater of the two penalties will be applied.

Minimum length

Please note there is no automatic penalty for under-length coursework, providing there is sufficient suitable content.

What is included in a standard word count

What is included in the word count will differ slightly between different types of written assessments, for example between a dissertation which has an abstract, and a standard essay which does not. You will be given specific instructions for your assessments about the word limit and what  is included in the word count, but these are the basic rules:

Everything from the first word of the executive summary/ abstract/ introduction to the conclusion is included in a standard word count. This includes text in boxes and references within the text (e.g.

(Smith 1999)).

The following are not included in a standard word count:

•     The title page and any abbreviations list

•     The final list of references

•     Captions on figures, tables etc.

•     Text in tables

•     Appendices. However, appendices should not contain essential information or be used to hide extra words.

We do not encourage the use of footnotes or endnotes – if something is so important to the argument, it should be in the main text. Footnotes are sometimes used as a substitute for editing when sharp editing of the body text often makes arguments much better.

Use of AI

Can I use generative-AI to help produce my essay?