Career

2003 – 2007     Academic Adviser NHS Confederation (Wales)

2007-                Special Adviser to the First Minister (Social Policy)

2005-                Professor of Policy Analysis, Swansea University

1999-2005       Professor of Social Policy, Swansea University

1999-2006       Director, National Centre for Public Policy, Swansea University

1996-1999       Reader in Social Policy

1993-1996       Senior Lecturer in Social Policy

1991-1993       Lecturer in Social Policy

1982-1991       Lecturer in Applied Social Science

Professor Sullivan has worked as a social policy specialist for the last 25 years. He is an acknowledged international authority on the politics of social policy and is the author of six books and over eighty articles and chapters. He was commissioned to help develop and to co-author Improving Health in Wales: a plan for the NHS with its partners (the Welsh NHS Plan), worked on the Welsh Assembly Government’s primary care strategy and has been an adviser to the Minister for Health and Social Services. He was commissioned by the Welsh NHS Confederation to co-lead its policy development project on changing health services in Wales. He has published work on devolution and policy differentiation, particularly in relation to health policy and especially, though not exclusively, in relation to Wales. Since 2007, he has been seconded part-time to the First Minister’s Office of the Welsh Assembly Government to act as a Special Adviser to the First Minister.

Recent publications

Sullivan, M. (2002), ‘Health policy, differentiation and devolution, in John Adams and Peter Robinson (eds), Devolution in Practice: public policy differences within the UK 7pp, London, ESRC/IPPR

Sullivan, M. (2003), ‘The Social Democratic Perspective’, in Alcock, Erskine and May, Social Policy, pp. 83-92, Oxford, Blackwell Publishing

Sullivan, M. and Drakeford M (2004), ‘Devolution, divergence and social policy’, Wales Journal of Law and Policy, vol.3, Issue 1, pp. 7-17

Sullivan, M. (2004) ‘Wales, devolution and health policy: policy experimentation and differentiation to improve health’, Contemporary Wales vol . 17, pp. 44-66

Sullivan, M. and Clutton, S. (2005) ‘The state of the nation or Welsh devolution comes of age: a reflective commentary on four devolution essays’. Wales Journal of Law and Policy vol. 4, Issue 1, pp. 54-65

Sullivan, M. (2006), ‘Devolution, differentiation and social policy in the UK’ in T. Fitzpatrick et. al. (eds), International Encyclopaedia of Social Policy, New York, Routledge.

Current projects

Professor Sullivan has recently held and ESRC research grant of £252k (along with Professor N. Charles and Professor C. C. Harris) on social formation, family change and kin relationships and, over the last three years has been the principal investigator and grant-holder in relation to research on devolution and health policy (Welsh Assembly Government), devolution and the equality agenda (Welsh Local Government Association) and Wales, equality, gender and race (EOC)

Professor Sullivan’s research and policy development strengths are in the following areas: values and policy, policy development and policy evaluation, particularly in relation to health policy; post-devolution policy differentiation; evaluative studies of policy implementation; cross-cutting issues and devolved policy making, community development initiatives. He was co-author of Improving Health in Wales: a plan for the NHS and its partners (the NHS Plan for Wales). He advises Ministers in the Welsh Assembly Government.