NIHR Applied Research Collaboration West

The National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West) works with partner organisations, including the NHS, local authorities and universities, to conduct applied health research and implement research evidence, to improve health and healthcare across the West.

It conducts applied health research, supports the translation of research evidence into practice, and provides training to increase access to equitable, appropriate, and sustainable health and care. It focuses on research projects that improve the management of chronic health conditions and interventions to improve public population health.

What is NIHR ARC West?

NIHR ARC West undertakes applied health research projects, in collaboration with partners across the region and nationally. The research it does must have a real world application and fall into one of its broad thematic areas of ‘improving the management of chronic health conditions’ and ‘public health interventions and population health’.

Its ethos is to focus on research and implementation that is:

• equitable and fair
• appropriate: providing optimum advice or care, at the right time and place for prevention or care
• sustainable: taking account of resource-use and future continuation

ARC West brings together universities, local authorities, NHS hospital trusts, clinical commissioning groups, patients and members of the public, and third sector organisations to focus on research to improve health and healthcare for local people. It works with Bristol Health Partner Health Integration Teams on many projects.

What is an ARC?

NIHR Applied Research Collaborations bring together a collaboration of the local providers of NHS services and NHS commissioners, universities, patients and members of the public, the local academic health science network and other relevant local organisations.

ARCs conduct applied health research across the NHS, and translate research findings into improved outcomes for patients. Their geography maps to the regions covered by academic health science networks (AHSNs). The 15 NIHR ARCs in England primarily focus on research targeted at chronic disease and public health interventions.

The aims of the NIHR ARCs are to:

• Develop and conduct applied health research relevant across the NHS, and to translate research findings into improved outcomes for patients
• Create a distributed model for the conduct and application of applied health research that links those who conduct applied health research with all those who use it in practice across the health community
• Create and embed approaches to research and its dissemination that are specifically designed to take account of the way that health care is delivered across the local AHSN
• Increase the country’s capacity to conduct high quality applied health research focused on the needs of patients, and particularly research targeted at chronic disease and public health interventions
• Improve patient outcomes locally and across the wider NHS
• Contribute to the country’s growth by working with the life sciences industry.

What geographical area does ARC West cover?

ARC West serves the West region, including:

• Bath and North East Somerset
• Bristol
• Gloucestershire
• North Somerset
• South Gloucestershire
• Swindon
• Wiltshire

Who’s involved?

ARC West is hosted by University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, and the partnership includes local providers of NHS services and NHS commissioners, universities, local authorities and third sector and patient / user organisations, and the West of England Academic Health Science Network (WEAHSN). Find out more about its partners, which include Bristol Health Partners.