About the NIHR
The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. NIHR funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people’s health and wellbeing, and promotes economic growth.
The NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. The NIHR works in partnership with the NHS, universities, local government, other research funders, patients and the public.
About NIHR Health Tech Research Centres (NIHR HRCs)
NIHR HRCs are centres of excellence located in leading NHS organisations across England. They accelerate the development of healthcare technologies to improve the effectiveness and quality of health and care services. They do this by helping medical device, digital technology and diagnostic companies (collectively known as HealthTech) to develop, evaluate and validate new innovative health technologies to address pressing healthcare challenges. This includes help to generate evidence to demonstrate financial value (health economics) or improve operational efficiency in the NHS (real-world evidence generation).
HRC support for the life sciences industry
There are 14 HRCs, each with a distinct therapeutic focus, to bring together the life sciences industry, patients, carers, the NHS, researchers, commissioners and investors.
How do we fit into the NIHR infrastructure on the South West Peninsula?
The NIHR invests significantly in people, centres of excellence, collaborations, services and facilities to support health and care research in England. Collectively these form the NIHR infrastructure. This infrastructure funding creates an environment where early-phase, clinical and applied research can thrive and facilitates the translation of discoveries into improved treatments and services for the benefit of patients and the NHS.
We work across the NIHR infrastructure on the South West Peninsula:
NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
NIHR Exeter BRC is hosted by the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (Royal Devon) in partnership with the University of Exeter and in collaboration with other NHS organisations, public and patients. Their partnership brings together world-class medical research leaders from across the region, including clinical and laboratory scientists, doctors, nurses, and data experts. Their technical knowledge is partnered with expertise from patients, carers, and families to identify and drive forward important new research. The BRC’s research specialism is ‘translational medicine’, meaning they make scientific discoveries that have the potential to make a real difference to patients, ensuring that they find their way, or translate, to the patient bedside or clinic.
Exeter Clinical Research Facility (CRF)
The NIHR Exeter CRF is based at the Research Innovation Learning & Development (RILD) Building at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and is a partnership between the Royal Devon and the University of Exeter.
Focusing on supporting and conducting clinical research studies, the Centre has bespoke wards and consulting rooms, sample-handling laboratories and specialist equipment for investigating exercise, physiology and metabolism. Research-dedicated nurses, scientists,doctors and support staff carry out clinical studies with the aim of improving patient care by increasing understanding of the causes, and improving diagnosis and treatment of disease. Involving patients and the public is key to the Centre’s outstanding research.
Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula (PenARC)
The NIHR ARC South West Peninsula (also known as PenARC) is one of 15 ARCs across England. PenARC is a partnership of local providers of NHS services, local providers of care services, NHS commissioners, local authorities, the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth and charities across Somerset, Devon and Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly). NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) support applied health and care research that responds to, and meets, the needs of local populations and local health and care systems.
NIHR South West Peninsula Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN)
The South West Peninsula RRDN gives researchers and delivery teams the practical support they need in our region so that more research takes place and more people can take part. One of 12 Regional Research Delivery Networks (RRDNs) and a Coordinating Centre (RDNCC), the South West Peninsula RRDN supports the delivery of research in the NHS and across a range of other health and social care settings.
Other parts of the local NIHR we work with are:
NIHR Policy Research Unit in Dementia and Neurodegeneration (DenPRU)
We also work closely with:
Health Innovation SouthWest
Health Innovation South West is one of 15 NHS England Health Innovation Networks. Health Innovation South West helps transform the way our health and care systems in the South West identify, adopt and spread innovation to transform lives, improve population health, and drive economic growth. Together with local and national partners they are increasing the impact of research and innovation across the peninsula.
