STAPM Platform

Technical Infrastructure for the Sheffield Tobacco and Alcohol Policy Modelling

The Engine of Evidence-Based Policy

Public health policy simulation for national governments and research consortia.

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Modelling for Policy Appraisal and Evaluation

Based within the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG), the STAPM Platform provides the technical infrastructure used to model public health interventions.

We translate academic research and national health data into robust simulations. This allows decision-makers to estimate the long-term impact of tobacco and alcohol policies on health outcomes, healthcare costs, and health inequalities. Our work has evolved from a single alcohol model into a modular software platform designed to meet the specific needs of the UK’s leading health institutions.

Strategic Partnerships

The STAPM platform is developed and applied within major UK research initiatives to ensure our modelling stays at the cutting edge of population health:

NIHR Addictions Policy Research Unit

As a core partner of the NIHR Addictions PRU, we evaluate national addiction policies and their long-term health outcomes for the Department of Health and Social Care.

Local Health and Global Profits (PHI-UK)

Within this consortium, we model how the commercial determinants of health—such as pricing and availability—impact local and national population trends.

Commissioned Policy Evidence

We work directly with government bodies to provide jurisdiction-specific simulation evidence. Our platform architecture allows us to assemble bespoke models for:

  • Welsh & Scottish Governments: Appraising the impact of Alcohol Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) renewals and price adjustments.
  • Public Health Scotland & Public Health Wales: Evaluating the spatial-temporal impact of tobacco and alcohol policies.
  • NHS England: Modelling the impact of tobacco and alcohol dependence treatment services on long-term health system resource requirements.

Our Technical Approach

We use a suite of interconnected R packages and data-linking tools. This “platform” approach allows us to reuse core logic across different policy questions while maintaining the flexibility to innovate for specific project requirements. Explore the Ecosystem →

We are systematically transitioning the STAPM framework to an open-source model. Hosting our code on GitHub allows for international peer-scrutiny and ensures our methodology is transparent to the public and the scientific community.

The STAPM platform is entirely independent of the tobacco and alcohol industries. Our research is conducted without industry funding, influence, or conflict of interest.