The NIHR's commissioned research programmes offer a focused source of funding for researchers within the health system in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also participate in some of these programmes. The programmes give researchers from England, who work in all areas of healthcare, access to funding to undertake clinical and applied health and social care research which is focused on priority areas and topics. NIHR have an Open Access policy and were one of the original funders of Europe PubMed Central. The NIHR programmes are:
The NIHR has established three national research schools: the School for Primary Care Research, the School for Social Care Research, and the School for Public Health Research. Each national school is a research collaboration between academic centres in England. The three schools aim to:
Increase and develop the evidence base for practice in the primary care, adult social care, and public health sectors.
Contribute to ongoing efforts to build research capacity in their respective sectors.
Improve research awareness in their respective sectors.
Create a ‘critical mass’ of research expertise and funding through coordinated and collaborative working across the country.
Infrastructure
The NIHR provides support and facilities to the NHS for delivery of research, by funding a range of infrastructure, including:
Clinical Research Network : supports patients, the public and health and care organisations to participate in high-quality research. The CRN comprises 15 Local Clinical Research Networks across England.
Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure: established and manages the Translational Research Collaborations, and provides access to the clinical research infrastructure throughout England.
Biomedical Research Centres: conducts and supports translational research to transform scientific breakthroughs into life-saving treatments for patients.
Patient Safety Translational Research Centres: conducts and supports research to investigate ways to improve the safety, quality and effectiveness of the services that the NHS provides to its patients.
The Applied Research Collaborations: the 15 ARCs in England undertake research on a number of areas of need highlighted by the NIHR Futures of Health report, including: the challenges of an ageing society; multimorbidity; and the increasing demands placed on our health and care system.
Career development and support
The NIHR Academy was launched in October 2018 to 'future-proof the UK research workforce'. Its launch was an output and recommendation of the strategic review of training which looked at the future training and support needs of researchers. A wide range of NIHR training and career development awards are provided, from pre-doctoral level to research professorships. These are available to people from a variety of professional backgrounds. The awards are grouped into the following areas:
NIHR Fellowship Programme
NIHR Research Professorship
HEE-NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic Programme
Integrated Academic Training
NIHR Infrastructure and NIHR Schools
The current Dean for the NIHR Academy is Professor Dave Jones OBE.
Global health research
The NIHR funds research mainly in the United Kingdom. In 2016, and in line with the UK Government's aid strategy of diffusing development assistance spending across government departments, the Department of Health and Social Care was allocated money for global health research for the direct benefit of patients and the public in low- and middle-income countries. Using the research funding management experience of the NIHR, the Department was to support global health research units and groups comprising universities and research institutions from across the UK, working with LMIC research partners.
Achievements
In 2016, NIHR commissioned RAND Europe and the Policy Institute at King's College London to collate and synthesise 100 examples of positive change arising from NIHR's support of health and care research in its first 10 years.
Structure
Delivery of NIHR responsibilities is mainly managed by a number of Coordinating Centres contracted to the Department of Health and Social Care:
The NIHR Academy in Leeds supports NIHR objectives by providing career development and support opportunities for researchers.
Central Commissioning Facility and NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre support NIHR objectives to commission, fund and disseminate research to improve patient care.
Clinical Research Network Coordinating Centre has offices in Leeds, London, Liverpool, Newcastle and Preston and support NIHR objectives to provide efficient and effective support for the initiation and delivery of funded research in the NHS. The CRNCC oversees the Local Clinical Research Networks who support clinical research infrastructure throughout England, which is working towards increased access for patients to new and better treatments in the NHS and social care.
INVOLVE is a national advisory group that supports greater public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research.
The NIHR Dissemination Centre supports NIHR objectives for dissemination of high quality evidence.
Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure in London supports NIHR objectives to help potential partners, including industry and charities, to navigate the NIHR's centres, facilities and expertise to work in collaboration. Established and manages the Translational Research Collaborations.
History
The NIHR was created in April 2006 under the government’s health research strategy, Best Research for Best Health, with the slogan "improving the health and wealth of the nation through research". This strategy outlined the direction that NHS research and development should take in order "to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research". At its core were five strategic goals through which it would transform the research landscape:
Establish the NHS as an internationally recognised centre of research excellence
Attract, develop and retain the best research professionals to conduct people-based research
Commission research focused on improving health and social care
Manage our knowledge resources
Act as sound custodians of public money for public good.
