July 4, 2018
£65 million new NIHR investment in research to inform government decision-making
The National Institute for Health Research has this week launched a new set of 13 NIHR Policy Research Units to undertake research to inform decision-making by government and arms-length bodies.
The £65 million investment over five years will ensure that the government and arms-length bodies have the best possible information and evidence available when making policy decisions about health and social care.
The 13 new NIHR units will provide both a long-term resource for policy research and a rapid-response service to provide evidence for emerging policy needs. The units, which are considered to be an exemplar of good practice in government1, will also offer advice to policy makers and analysts on the evidence base and options for policy development.
The NIHR Policy Research Unit in Quality Safety and Outcomes of Health and Social Care (QSO) will bring together a multidisciplinary team of leading researchers from the University of Kent, University of Oxford, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Picker Institute Europe and Hull York Medical School. The team also includes two representatives with expertise around involving patients and the public in research.
The units will work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care to determine priorities and provide evidence directly to the Secretary of State for Health, government departments and arms-length bodies, such as NHS England and Public Health England.
Professor Julien Forder, the new Unit Director, said:
“We are greatly looking forward to undertaking research on quality and outcomes as part of the NIHR Policy Research Units programme. It is essential that our NHS and social care systems are safe, effective and provide the best experience for those people that use them. Our research will help inform policies to promote high-quality health and social care.”
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Health and Social Care, said:
“Patients and the public deserve a healthcare system that is informed by the latest research and evidence. The NIHR Policy Research Units will make sure that Government decisions affecting our health and care are robust and evidence based.”
These new units, which will begin work in January 2019, join two existing units in mental health and obesity.
The 15 NIHR Policy Research Units will comprise:
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Adult Social Care
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Behavioural Science
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Cancer Awareness, Screening and Early Diagnosis
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Children and Families
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Economic Methods of Evaluation in Health and Social Care Interventions
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Economics of Health Systems and Interface with Social Care
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Systems and Commissioning
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Maternal and Neonatal Health and Care
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Mental Health
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Obesity
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Older People and Frailty
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Policy Innovation and Evaluation
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Public Health
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Quality Safety and Outcomes of Health and Social Care
For more information see: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/how-we-are-managed/our-structure/research/policy-research-units.htm
1Institute for Government. How government can work with academia. 05 June 2018