Excellence in Communications - Payers/Policy Makers

Summary of work

Despite the fact that the number of people with diabetes - and the associated cost of treating the complications of their condition - continues to increase, diabetes policy has, to date, been disproportionately focused on preventative measures. Reticence at senior levels of NHS England to engage on the management of diabetes meant that millions of people living with the condition were left without specific policy targets for improving their care.

Sanofi’s carefully targeted programme successfully built a solid consensus among the diabetes community - which was then able to make clear, focused calls for actions the Government should take to improve the management of diabetes. Effective engagement with parliamentarians, senior officials and national policymakers equipped them with the evidence they needed to argue for and deliver policy change. The result was a renewed policy focus at the national level on the management of diabetes, with a specific target included in the Mandate, and the implementation of accountability measures at the local level to help ensure improvements in care and outcomes were made.

Judges' comments

In a policy space so complicated as diabetes management, where so much is already written, this project convinced the Department of Health, through quality of evidence and data gathered, to help them translate policy into action. It’s rare to see a policy submission so well executed.