Our plans for 2026 - 2031
About the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria and information about our plans for 2026 – 2031
We are a research partnership that brings together the North East and North Cumbria’s six universities, health and social care providers, voluntary and community organisations, patients, and members of the public.
We are hosted by the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust.
We are funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and are part of a network of Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) across England.
The ARCs work together to support the transformation aims set out in the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England, by developing research evidence and driving forward innovations to address some of the UK’s most pressing health and social care challenges.
We were initially funded between November 2019 and March 2026. We are now starting a new phase of funded work, from April 2026 until March 2031.
Our vision is to deliver ‘better, fairer health and care at all ages and in all places’, and our next phase of work is organised around five, refreshed research themes.
They are:
- Prevention including multiple long-term conditions
Co-leads: Professor Amy O’Donnell (Newcastle University) and Dr Floor Christie-de Jong (University of Sunderland)
Focus areas include supporting patients living with multiple long-term conditions and complex needs, promoting healthier working lives, improving care for older adults, and supporting the use of evidence‑based prevention approaches, in practice.
- Addressing inequity in health and care systems
Co-leads: Professor Clare Bambra and Dr Steph Scott (Newcastle University)
Work will explore ways to reduce health inequity, strengthen links between health, care and justice services, examine the impacts of factors such as employment and housing on health, and examine the links between poor health and work.
- Supporting children, women and family health
Co-leads: Professor Judith Rankin and Dr Ryc Aquino (Newcastle University)
Work will focus on ensuring a healthy start for children, especially those born into poverty, supporting women’s health, taking family‑centred approaches to care, and tackling inequalities affecting children, women and families.
- Workforce inclusion and innovation for impact
Co-leads: Professor Emily Oliver (Newcastle University) and Dr Simon Hackett (CNTW NHS Foundation Trust)
Work will look at the interconnected challenges of how we create more inclusive health and social care workforces and workplaces, diversify where and how care is delivered, and enable workforce transformation and system change, by sharing knowledge.
- Care improvement and safety
Co-leads: Professor Tracy Finch, Dr Michael Sykes, Dr Sebastian Potthoff (Northumbria University)
Work will include designing and testing improved care models that support the shift from hospital to home, research to improve safety, quality and patient outcomes in the health and care system, and developing practical tools that can be shared and used for system-wide improvement.