The HPL index presents the most influential political policymakers in health at both European and national levels. To build it, RPP’s health policy experts employed the Delphi method to identify policymakers who have had the most significant impact on health policies in the last 5 years. This structured communication technique uses a panel of experts from RPP Group and is widely recognised for its reliability in forecasting.
The research process was conducted in three steps.
- The first step was to identify the most influential political policymakers in health according to RPP’s policy experts. To do this, we conducted a survey in which respondents were asked to indicate the most influential MEPs in health by Member State according to their experience and expertise, as well as the main policymakers at the national level.
- From the results of this survey, RPP constructed a ranking of MEPs based on the number of mentions. This ranking underwent further refinement and consolidation through interviews and documentary research using the Policy-Insider.AI to ensure accuracy and precision, addressing any potential discrepancies, such as over- or under-assessment of an MEP’s engagement
- For national policymakers, RPP integrated the survey findings with interviews and documentary research using the Policy-Insider.AI* to provide insights for national policymakers. In regions lacking qualitative data, our focus shifted towards assessing the impact of MPs within their institutional frameworks to identify key influencers. Notably, the ranking for each country encompasses health ministers and health attachés, reflecting their pivotal role in bridging European and national interests.
For each Member State, RPP presents both the main MEPs and the main national policymakers. The number of people shown depends on the size of the country:
Size of country | European level | National level** |
Large | 5 names | 5 names + Health minister + Health Attaché |
Intermediate | 3 names | 3 names + Health minister + Health Attaché |
Small | 1 name | 1 name + Health minister + Health Attaché |
* Policy-Insider.AI is an artificial intelligence-based monitoring tool developed by RPP members and AI IT experts to capture and analyse public policy documents from key institutions both in Member states and at the European level.
** For some countries additional policymakers have been nominated in light of their achievements