SIPHER: A Systems Science Legacy for Healthy Public Policy
Published: 30 June 2025
Commentary
Professor Petra Meier shares insights from over five years at the helm of the System Science in Public Health and Economic Research (SIPHER) Consortium — a groundbreaking systems science initiative that reshaped how we understand the complex, real-world interplay of diverse public policies that affect household income and housing, and their profound impact on our health and wellbeing.
The initial spark of an idea for SIPHER came during a casual conversation I had with the dad of one of my son’s friends in a playground. As a head of policy and strategy at our local council he was concerned about local economic growth and the negative impacts of rising health inequalities. He described how difficult he found it to makeacademic evidence work for him, pointing to the gap between typical single-policy focused evaluations and his need to anticipate the full range of intended andunintended effects from multi-pronged strategies. What evolved - with funding and support from the UK Prevention Research Partnership (UKPRP) – was a five-yearnational, multi-sector consortium focused on tackling health inequalities through systems science.
From the outset, SIPHER recognised that to make real progress on health inequalities, we needed to look beyond the health sector. The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age—shaped by policies around education, employment, housing, planning, welfare, and many other areas—are powerful drivers of health outcomes, and these conditions are unequally distributed in society. This suggests a Health in All Policies approach, but in my experience, getting public health concerns considered in these areas is not always easy given siloed policy teams, budget flows and evidence that does not speak directly to decision-maker needs. Our challenge was clear: how do we embed health equity considerations into broader policy decisions, in a way that creates meaningful buy-in?
Our answer was to develop a methods framework for providing evidence thatsupports a whole-systems approach to public health policymaking— integrating data science, computational modelling, qualitative research, and systems thinking. SIPHER brought together a unique collaboration of seven leading universities, four policy partners representing local, regional, and national governments, and a wide range of practice partners. Together, we developed a collaborative approach that connects in-depth system understanding with methods innovation, evidence synthesis, and the real-world policy priorities of our stakeholders.
Throughout this journey, we tackled urgent, complex challenges—how to move to a wellbeing economy and tackle child poverty, poor housing, and declining mental wellbeing—generating new, much-needed evidence on their interlinked and long-term effects on the health of the population. Through novel computational models,participatory research, and rigorous evaluation, we provided policymakers with toolsthat help explore systemic solutions, including the SIPHER Synthetic Population, our microsimulation (MINOS) and macrosimulation frameworks for policy modelling, Evidence & Gap Maps, Inclusive Economy Datasets and our Decision Support Tool.
Our final event – the SIPHER Showcase held in Manchester in March 2025 - was a lovely celebration of our interdisciplinary work. Seeing policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders engage so enthusiastically with our tools, discuss their application, and share their experiences, confirmed the value and potential of our work. It was also a chance to celebrate our collective achievements—especially those of our researchers, embedded policy analysts and PhD students.
SIPHER was from the start committed to being a learning consortium, continuously evaluating our own ways of working. This enabled us to adapt and improve over time—becoming more co-productive with policy, managing the challenges of interdisciplinarity, and developing strategies for impact. Our SIPHER Learning and Evaluation 2019–2025 report, and our interactive Insight Modules, capture these lessons, offering a blueprint for how to do public policy systems science in practice.
Looking ahead, I believe SIPHER has laid strong foundations for system change. We have built not only skills, capacity and tools for applied systems science but also lasting partnerships with a shared understanding and language between researchers and policymakers. I am looking forward to seeing SIPHER’s legacy unfold and thank everyone who has supported us throughout this journey.
I’m also excited to carry this momentum forward by leading the Policy Modelling for Health project, supported by UKRI as part of Public Health Improvement UK—a national network dedicated to finding innovative and inclusive ways to improve the health of people, places, and communities. Our focus is to use our expertise in complex systems modelling to help shape and support high-impact population policies that address the root economic causes of poor health and health inequalities.
Read more about the Consortium on the System Science in Public Health and Economic Research website.
First published: 30 June 2025