The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has announced a £157 million investment over the next five years to support 10 NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) across England, including the NIHR ARC East Midlands.
The NIHR ARC East Midlands will receive new funding to continue its vital work driving research that directly benefits communities across the region.
The announcement also confirmed that University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust will become the new host organisation for the NIHR ARC East Midlands when the new funding period begins.
From April 2026, the new 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 ARCs are collaborative partnerships between universities, NHS trusts, local authorities, Health Innovation Networks, Integrated Care Boards and the voluntary sector.
Through these partnerships, the ARCs will:
- 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 greater 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.
- Collaborate with commercial companies to evaluate and implement new NHS treatments and technologies, fostering UK economic growth.
- Speed up the implementation of research findings through the use of knowledge mobilisation.
- Address health inequalities by embedding inclusive approaches across all projects.
This investment underscores the NIHR’s commitment to deliver impactful, patient-centred research. ARCs will deliver research which is applicable and scalable across the health and social care sectors across England.
The 10 new ARCs will be hosted by:
- Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
- Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.
- Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
- Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.
- Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.
Health Innovation Minister, Zubir Ahmed, said: “This funding will accelerate the breakthroughs that will underpin the success of our NHS 10 Year Health Plan, ensuring research is going from laboratory to living room and supporting the shift from patient to prevention“As we work towards our mission of building an NHS fit for the future, this investment will drive the innovations that matter most to people’s daily lives.
“Every pound invested in this research is an investment in hope – hope for faster diagnoses, more effective treatments, and a health system that truly works for everyone, no matter where they live or what their background.”
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 ARCs 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.”
Professor Kamlesh Khunti, Co-Director of the NIHR ARC East Midlands, said: “We are delighted that NIHR ARC East Midlands will continue to play a vital role in driving research that directly improves people’s lives.
“This new investment will enable us to build on our strong track record of tackling health inequalities, supporting healthy ageing and delivering research that has real impact for our communities.
“Through our close partnerships with the NHS, local authorities and the voluntary sector, we will continue to translate high-quality evidence into practice, ensuring that patients and the public across the East Midlands, and beyond, benefit from the innovations we develop.”
Professor Nigel Brunskill, Professor of Renal Medicine at the University of Leicester and an Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: “We’re proud that the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has been selected to host one of the ten new NIHR ARCs.
“This investment recognises the strength of our academic and NHS partnerships across the region and our commitment to delivering translational research into practice that truly makes a difference to people’s lives.”
He added: “Through the ARC, we will continue to develop and deliver impactful research that improves health outcomes, tackles inequalities and supports the rapid transformation of care both locally and nationally.”
In addition, up to £75 million will also be available to NIHR ARCs for research to support the Department of Health and Social Care’s research priorities.
This funding will galvanise rapid, responsive collaboration across the ARCs and other NIHR infrastructure to address emerging health and social care issues over the next five years and increase the speed at which research findings are implemented.
The NIHR is also investing £5 million to establish an ARC Network, which will provide national strategic and operational coordination for the designated ARCs. The ARC Network will also act as a focal point for collaboration between the ARCs and facilitate links with national partners.
In addition to the 10 new confirmed ARCs, the NIHR is also making up to £22 million available for a new pan-London ARC.
Professor Marian Knight, Scientific Director for NIHR Infrastructure, said: “The NIHR is committed to providing the funding needed, at all stages of the research journey, to ensure that the best treatments and care get to the patients who need them, as efficiently and effectively as possible.
“The ARCs play a vital role in this process, generating evidence around new technologies and treatments, as well as innovative ways of delivering care – all of which seek to boost the public’s health and wellbeing, and increase NHS productivity.”
Since their formation in 2019, the ARCs have been instrumental in delivering applied health, public health and social care research that improves outcomes for patients.
Examples include:
- Supporting the fight against COVID-19 through more than 400 research projects, on topics including predicting hospital bed occupancy, patient data sharing, point-of-care testing in care homes and the impact of the pandemic on GP consultations.
- Research support which contributed to the introduction of Bradford’s Clean Air Zone. One year following its launch, GPs were seeing around 700 fewer patients for breathing problems each month, easing pressure on waiting times.
- Research which led to a new tool that enables GPs to intervene early to manage older people’s risk of frailty. This is now being used in 60 per cent of GP practices across England, helping doctors prevent falls, reduce medications and limit hospital visits.
- Collaboration across the ARCs to support the implementation of supervised toothbrushing for young children to protect them from painful tooth decay, which disrupts education and family life. This led to the roll-out of a significant new public health initiative.
- Co-developing the Deep End North East North Cumbria GP Network, which involves 52 GP practices based in very socioeconomically deprived areas and improves access to mental health support, managing cardiovascular disease risk, and reducing reliance on strong pain medication.
NIHR ARC East Midlands funds vital work to tackle the region’s health and care priorities by speeding up the adoption of research onto the frontline of health and social care with the aim of reducing inequalities.
The organisation puts in place evidence-based innovations which seek to drive up standards of care and save time and money.
