The biggest drivers of health are shaped far beyond hospitals or waiting rooms. Housing, income, education, community and opportunity all play a defining role. Creating change across these spaces can be complex, political and often slow. Real progress comes when leaders come together, step forward and choose to act. Are you ready to step forward and lead change?

The Leadership for Population Health programme is for leaders working across health, care, local government and communities who want to do more than manage the system. You want to change it.

Across six months, you’ll be immersed in four in-person modules. Each module will give you the space to explore what it really means to lead for population health: recognising opportunities to make a difference, learning how to bring others with you and building on your own strengths and experience.

You’ll learn from expert facilitators, share experiences with peers and build connections that continue well beyond the programme. By the end, you’ll leave with a deeper understanding of population health and fresh ideas to put into practice.

What makes Leadership for Population Health different?

Unlike other programmes that focus solely on the techniques of population health management, Leadership for Population Health goes further. It recognises that to drive real systemic change towards prevention and greater health equality, you need to be a brilliant change leader not solely a population health expert.

So, while we will talk data analysis, models and practical interventions, you’ll also find yourself exploring personal resilience, persuasion techniques, and how to bring people together around a shared goal. And none of this is theoretical. You’ll be encouraged to identify a leadership challenge early on – it could be a personal change in leadership style, an organisational or systemic shift you want to lead, or an initiative you want to get off the ground.

But whatever it is, you’ll have the space and time to really think through that challenge while discussing and developing it in conversation with leading experts in population health and leadership, and with the support and challenge of the other participants on the programme.

What will I learn?

Key learning outcomes from the programme include understanding:

population health management: using data and population health frameworks to guide decision-making
frontline innovations: examples of population health in action, the principles behind them, and the qualities of the leaders who make them happen
health equality and prevention: why better prevention and fairer health outcomes are central to improving population health
collaboration across sectors: how public, voluntary, private and community organisations can work together to improve population health
new ways of leading: why tackling population health challenges requires leadership beyond conventional management
empowering leadership: approaches and models focused on empowerment, mobilisation and partnership building
adaptive persuasion: techniques for influencing and motivating others effectively
resilience: developing personal and organisational resilience to meet complex challenges
initiative lifecycle: how to launch, evaluate and sustain population health initiatives.

Programme structure

Leadership for Population Health is applying for CPD accreditation.

It takes place monthly over four two-day, in-person modules. Each module combines expert presentations, panel discussions, Q&A sessions, networking opportunities, self-reflection, support and challenge in small groups, and whole-group deliberation, as well as presentations by those participants who wish to discuss their challenge with other participants in a more formal fashion.

The broad outline of each module is as follows.

A detailed overview of the frameworks and techniques of population health management and an introduction to some game-changing population health ideas happening on the frontline of public services.
Topics covered include:
- the mainstream (and not so mainstream) models and frameworks for practising population health
- what national and local data can tell us about population health and inequalities, and how data can be used for change
- innovative population health approaches on the front line and their impact
- identifying and developing your population challenge.
This module will explore in detail how addressing health inequality and giving voice to ignored communities are central to impactful population health, and more importantly, understanding what that means for how we design, deliver and lead public services.
Topics covered include:
- what health inequality looks like at national and local level and how we can address it
- how to give voice to the voiceless and let communities lead the population health change
- what being an enabling, empowering leader means in practice
- sharing progress on your challenge, addressing obstacles and seizing opportunities for further progress.
This will draw together the themes from the previous modules to explore in depth what it takes to be a change leader seeking to shift your organisations and systems towards prevention, health equality and population health.
Topics covered include:
- how to be an ‘adaptive persuader’ who can tailor your vision to different audiences
- how to build the personal and organisational resilience to keep going in the face of resistance and challenges
- how to identify and mobilise your allies across the system
- formal presentation of participants’ challenges and their progress, for those who want it.
A practical exploration of how to put all the learning from the programme into action and how to take your challenges forward with an eye on serious impact.
Topics covered include:
- how to launch and maintain a major population health initiative
- how to make sure you’re going in the right direction and making a genuine impact, using evaluation and engagement
- how to build sustainability into your initiative to make sure it has a long-term future.
You will also hear from former participants in the programme and how they applied their learning, and for those who would like it, there will be a formal presentation of participants’ challenges and their progress.

Is the programme right for me?

The Leadership for Population Health programme is designed for senior leaders working in health and care with responsibility for leading teams, organisations, partnerships, organisational and system-wide initiatives. Whether you’re an individual leader looking to develop your understanding and impact around population health or an organisation seeking to invest in your leaders, our programme offers a proven, in-depth development experience that builds population health expertise and leadership capability simultaneously.

Typical participants include:

chief executives, directors and senior leaders in health and social care, including the third sector and local government
aspiring leaders preparing for director-level roles
clinical leaders interested in taking a more population health approach
individuals in system leadership roles representing their organisations or leading cross-system programmes
senior professionals from health charities and the private sector working towards population health objectives.

Previous participants have come from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and further afield.

We actively encourage applications from a diverse range of leaders, with particular emphasis on increasing participation from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds and others underrepresented in system leadership.

No matter what your background, specialism or seniority, you will find yourself learning in a highly supportive environment where everyone is treated as having a unique insight of equal worth.

What’s required to join the programme?

Complete an application form, in which you will be asked to reflect on your reasons for wanting to join the programme and what you hope to get out of it.
Following submission of your application, applicants may be asked to have a brief, informal conversation with our Programme Director, Adam Lent.
A clear commitment to personal and system-wide leadership development.
A commitment to attend all four modules in person at The King’s Fund’s offices in central London.

Want to find out more?

If you’re still making up your mind about whether to join the programme, here are three steps you can take:

To stay informed about programme updates, get in touch with our Enrolment Officer Heather Cowan-Harvey. She'll keep you up to date with plans and let you know when we're nearing our 30 participant limit, so you won't miss your chance to join. You can also read our programme FAQs.
Explore some of the resources we use on the programme and see if they spark your interest.
Wondering whether the programme is the right fit for your goals? Book a time for an informal chat with Adam Lent, Director of the Leadership for Population Health programme.

Programme team

Adam Lent
Senior Consultant
Dr Dominique Allwood
Associate Consultant
Aisha Paracha
Programme Co-ordinator

Testimonials

Since its launch in 2019, this programme has helped 179 health and care leaders enhance their knowledge, skills, and approach to improving population health. With a rating of 4.86 out of 5, participants have found it highly valuable and would strongly recommend it to colleagues.

'I gained so much from attending the Leadership for Population Health course at The King's Fund – knowledge of the topic, building networks outside of my existing public health ones and increased confidence as an ambassador and leader for population health. All this was achieved via a blend of face to face and virtual modules every two months, and by having facilitated ALS discussions and all this while most of us were undergoing organisational changes!

For me, I particularly benefited from being part of a mixed cohort so attending with delegates who are working nationally, regionally and at place level, we were all treated as leaders and equals.

We heard from a range of excellent guest speakers during our module with time to network and ask questions. I left feeling empowered and ready to continue the hard work.'

Public Health professional, Civil Servant

'I now am far more comfortable ‘leading chaos’ and managing the personalised care work with multiple stakeholders. I also have more energy around health inequalities which has resulted in the clinical commissioning group agreeing to fund diabetes care in GP surgeries based on need not population numbers.'

GP, CCG governing body

'It helped me take on a leadership role and work with a wide range of partners and the local community to develop a population approach to fuel poverty. I was able to build connections across communities, statutory organisations and government departments and take our approach to a more strategic level, influencing government strategy.'

National Commissioning Lead, Northern Ireland

Pricing and dates

Dates:

Module one: 20-21 October 2026
Module two: 2-3 December 2026
Module three: 19-20 January 2027
Module four: 23-24 February 2027

Price: £3995 (+VAT). Enrolment price includes a 12-month membership to ShiftWorks.

Leadership for Population Health is applying for CPD accreditation.

Get in touch with Heather Cowan-Harvey, Enrolment Officer for any further information or questions, she’ll be happy to help.