The European Health Policy Group (EHPG) is an informal, collegial and multidisciplinary network aiming to stimulate international collaboration and learning in the field of health policy. Founded in 2001 by Prof Gwyn Bevan and Dr Adam Oliver at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the EHPG runs two annual meetings that focus on comparative analysis of changes to European health care systems. The objectives of the EHPG meetings are to learn about the experiences of different countries and from perspectives of other disciplines, and to foster cross-country and cross-discipline opportunities for collaboration between authors. The annual Spring meeting normally takes place in a different country each year, with institutions in the respective country in charge of the event. These meetings provide the opportunity to learn about the health care system and policies of the hosting country. The annual Autumn meeting is hosted by the LSE’s Department of Health Policy. If you would like to become a member of the EHPG and receive information about our meetings and activities, please contact us.
The EHPG Steering Committee is comprised of seven members, holding positions at academic institutions across Europe, with a recognized record in the field of health policy. Include members’ names under photos
EHPG meetings provide a forum for presenting and discussing scientific research papers in development. Papers can cover the broad spectrum of European health policy, health system governance and health services and management research. It is expected that all participants have read the papers and contribute to the discussion.
Discussants have a vital role at EHPG meetings. Their primary task is to introduce the paper and summarise its main findings. They can then comment on the strength and weaknesses of the paper and suggest ways to strengthen the argument or analysis. They also often add their own perspective on the topic informed by their discipline or country background. The aim of the discussion is to help authors improve the final version of the paper, through friendly and constructive criticism.
Each session begins by the Chair introducing the author(s), discussant(s) and the title of the paper(s) to be presented and discussed. We look to Chairs to structure the discussion in such a way that we can learn about other countries and other disciplines. Thus, Chairs aim to generate general discussions between participants and try to avoid a session becoming simply a series questions to authors.
A fee is charged for participating in meetings to cover the costs of the organisation. We aim to keep the costs of meetings as low as we can. A dinner will be organised on the evening of the first day of the meeting, typically in a local restaurant. Participants have to arrange for their own travel costs and accommodation.
Papers should be about 5000 words in length, although shorter and longer papers can also be submitted.
Authors need to send their draft papers about two weeks before the meeting to give discussants and participants an opportunity to prepare.