NIHR Pan-London Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs)

Funding to enable NHS organisations or providers of NHS services in London, and nearby regions working together as Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) to undertake high-quality applied health, public health and social care research with a focus on generalisable learning at a regional and national level.

Established in 2006 and primarily funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds health and care research in the UK.

The NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) funding scheme is for infrastructure in applied health and care to designate and fund NIHR ARCs in England. 

The NIHR Pan-London ARCs is expected to undertake high-quality applied health, public health and social care research with a focus on generalisable and applicable learning at a regional and national level. Working closely with stakeholders including the Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), the Health Innovation Networks (HINs) and other NIHR infrastructure, the ARCs will also support knowledge mobilisation and implementation of research-based evidence to ensure effective interventions and models of care can be scaled nationally, thereby maximising the impact of research.

The NIHR ARC scheme will provide designation and funding to:

• Create an environment to develop and conduct high quality, generalisable applied health, public health and social care research that responds to and meets the priority research needs of the health and care system and the population.
• Use knowledge mobilisation approaches to support an increase in the rate at which research findings are implemented into practice at scale to deliver improvements in health and social care services and the delivery and efficiency of health and care, and increase sustainability of the health and care system both nationally and regionally.
• Address health inequalities by embedding inclusive approaches across all projects and programmes to ensure that research is relevant to the end-user, results are generalisable to a broad and diverse population, and any resulting intervention can be successfully delivered to the people who need it most.
• Increase the country’s capacity and capability, including in under-represented specialties and professions, to conduct and translate high quality applied health, public health and social care research, including further development of robust real-world methodology and evidence generation.
• Collaborate to respond to national health and care challenges, including emerging needs, and support effective interventions and models of care into practice, responding to DHSC and NHS England priorities.
• Contribute to broader economic gain, including through collaborations with life sciences and other commercial companies, focussing on meeting the needs of the population and the health and social care system, and ensuring a population that is as healthy as possible and able to contribute to workforce productivity. 

The Pan-London ARC is expected to address the needs of the health and social care system by scaling and spreading research that responds to Integrated Care Systems (ICS), focusing on areas with high disease burden and engaging under-served communities. It will also contribute to NIHR’s Public Partnerships commitments.

Research outcomes should improve patient and public health, enhance service efficiency and safety, and support workforce sustainability. ARCs will work across sectors to build capacity for translating research into practice, requiring strong partnerships with NIHR infrastructure, Health Innovation Networks (HINs), ICSs, local authorities, VCSE organisations, and care providers.

The Pan-London ARC will focus on developing research capacity and academic careers, expanding efforts in knowledge mobilisation and implementation research. It will collaborate with practitioners across various care settings and maintain strong relationships with regional and national stakeholders, including life sciences and relevant industries.

A core principle is embedding health equity through inclusive research to ensure relevance and applicability across diverse populations. ARCs must remain responsive to emerging national priorities, leveraging local and NIHR-funded data infrastructure when appropriate.

Effective leadership and partnership working are essential, with clearly defined roles and funding structures to support delivery across the region.

Key features of the Pan-London ARC must be:

• Inclusion in research.
• Patient and public involvement, engagement and participation.
• Knowledge mobilisation and implementation.
• Research capacity development.

NIHR ARCs are expected to adapt and respond to broad research needs as well as emerging national and regional needs through a programme of work with a maximum number of seven themes (excluding core) with a minimum of three which address areas the following Priority Areas set out in the government’s NHS 10 Year Plan:

• Hospital to Community.
• Analogue to Digital.
• Sickness to Prevention.
• Tackling Inequality.
• Improving Access and Waiting Times.
• Major conditions.
• Productivity and Growth.
• Social Care.