Research working parties

Member-led research working parties are volunteer-led working groups that conduct research on timely topics of wide interest to the practice area and the profession.

The Health and Care Research Sub-committee has oversight of all the working parties listed below and encourages them to undertake research that can be shared with Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) members via sessional papers, articles in The Actuary or the British Actuarial Journal (BAJ), and presentations at conferences or workshops.

There are currently six active Health and Care research working parties:

• Climate Change: Practical Guide - to Develop and maintain a Climate Change Practical Guide for H&C actuaries and identify and monitor climate change issues of relevance to H&C actuaries
• Data Availability in Health and Care - the aim of this working party is to identify datasets from across the globe that may be of value to actuaries working in health and care
• Diabetes - This working party will research the risk factors, incidence, and mortality of diabetes along with future plausible trend scenarios which are of relevance to working actuaries.  Given the high prevalence of this disease and implications on NHS budgets and mortality/morbidity implications, we view this as a key public interest issue that will also have consequences for the insurance industry. 
• Population Health Management - to promote the development of population health management within the actuarial profession and the health sector
• Social Care - to contribute to the public debate around adult social care to help turn the Government's first step into a long-term sustainable solution to the funding of adult care.
• The Role of the Actuary in Health and Care - to describe the main areas in which IFoA member actuaries currently work in the health and care sector in the UK and abroad, and identify and assess potential new areas of opportunity.
• Techniques in Data Science in Health and Care - to create a framework to assist Health and Care Actuaries in determining what techniques are appropriate for their project and provide specific examples of different tasks a Health and Care Actuary may encounter along with the pros and cons of the different approaches for each of these specific cases, with guidance for when it’s appropriate to use them

Cross-practice working parties include:

• Mental health (cross-practice with Life)
• Climate change (cross-practice with Sustainability)
• Artificial intelligence and Automation (cross-practice with Life)

ICAT workstreams overseen by the Health and Care Board

• Health and Care ICAT workstreams

If you have your own ideas for member-led research you would like to pursue, please refer to our Guidance for Research Working Parties or contact the Communities team.

All members are encouraged to volunteer for a research working party

Members interested in volunteering for a research working party should check Volunteer vacancies for current and new working parties.

The IFoA is also actively involved in commissioning strategic and external research relating to Health and Care

Information on research undertaken by universities and other external agencies which receive funding and/or support from the IFoA, as well as the IFoA’s strategy for involvement, the process for calls for research, current research initiatives and funding, can be found in Research and Knowledge.