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New funding for research to improve health and care in our region and beyond

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has announced a £157 million investment over five years in 10 NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs).

Partners from the North East and North Cumbria have been successful in securing £15.3 million of this funding for an Applied Research Collaboration in our region, which will be hosted by the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust. Funding will begin from April 2026.

The 10 ARCs will support the transformation set out in the NHS 10 Year Plan, the Life Sciences Sector Plan and the Government’s Health and Growth Missions by tackling some of the UK’s most pressing health and social care challenges through high-quality applied research. They will also drive effective interventions and models of care into practice at pace.

The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration hosted by CNTW NHS Foundation Trust is a partnership that includes six universities (Cumbria, Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland, and Teesside), the Integrated Care Board (ICB) North East and North Cumbria (NENC), health and care providers, Health Innovation Network (HIN) North East and North Cumbria, and voluntary sector organisations.

The funding will enable regional partners to build on work already delivered by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria, since 2019. This will include working regionally and nationally to scale-up successful work from our region and other regions to maximise impact and address health and social care priorities.

The Collaboration will be directed by Professor Eileen Kaner (Professor of Public Health and Primary Care Research) and Professor Ruth McGovern (Professor of Public Health and Social Care) from Newcastle University. Its Leadership Team includes colleagues from all six regional universities.

The Collaboration will support a network of funded researchers, students and practitioners who will work closely with health and care providers, patients and members of the public to develop and deliver research which addresses some of our most pressing health and social care issues.

Work will include research around:

• Preventing ill-health, including multiple long-term conditions
• Addressing inequity in health and care services
• Supporting children, women’s health, and family health
• Improving care services so they are safe, effective and efficient
• Supporting people with long-term conditions into work and supporting people to remain well in work.

There will also be a focus on driving forward the use of research evidence to promote health and improve care.

James Duncan, Chief Executive of CNTW NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’re proud to be hosting the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration for our region. This investment reflects the strength of our partnerships and our shared commitment to improving health and care through research that makes a real difference.

“By working together across sectors, and with the people and communities we serve, we can turn evidence into action, tackle inequalities, and shape services that are compassionate, effective and fit for the future.”

Professor Eileen Kaner said: “Applied research attempts to find practical solutions to current problems. Health and care organisations across our country face many challenges including increased pressures on services. We know that research can improve health, and that services involved in research often achieve better outcomes for patients and communities.

“Through this Applied Research Collaboration, we will work together to generate and use research evidence to promote good health, prevent illness and support the health and care system to offer patients the best possible care.

“We have already achieved a great deal in our region through funding awarded across 2019-2026, and we look forward to building on this work as we move forward. This new funding will allow us to work nationally to share and scale-up successful work from our region and beyond, to maximise impact and address health and social care priorities.”

The national package of funding will enable ARCs to:

• Identify, develop and deliver high-quality research on applied health, public health and social care that tackles the UK’s healthcare challenges, particularly in under-represented areas.
• Provide resource and expertise to support implementation of effective interventions and models of care into practice across the country, working closely with system partners.
• Provide enhanced health economic expertise to ensure the economic impact of evidence is better understood to support decisions on efficiency and growth.
• Speed up the implementation of research findings into use, to improve health and care delivery.
• Address health inequalities.

Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care and CEO of the NIHR, said:

“This new funding shows the NIHR’s ongoing commitment to developing and delivering high-quality health and care research across the country. The investment will enable the Applied Research Collaborations to continue to bring new treatments and technologies to patients and the public, supporting the aims of the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan to champion innovation and power transformation.”

Read more on the NIHR website