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Rachael Smithson photo

Rachael Smithson

Former Head of Research

Rachael left the Fund in April 2018. 

Rachael began work at The King's Fund in 2007, first as a senior research fellow and then as head of research. Her areas of interest include system reform and models of governance and accountability in UK health care, including work on regulation, integrated care and contracting.

Rachael was a 2011–12 UK Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice at the School of Public Health, University of California – examining collaborative governance, shared risk and accountability through accountable care organisations. Previously, she was a lecturer in public sector management at the University of London, and before moving to the United Kingdom, she worked in the Department of Health in Melbourne, Australia. Rachael holds a PhD in organisational behaviour from Imperial College, London.