NIHR

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the United Kingdom’s national funding and research organization for health and care. It operates as a non-departmental public body supported by the Department of Health and Social Care and is the largest funder of health and care research in the UK. Established in 2006 to create a more integrated system for health research, NIHR aims to accelerate the translation of discoveries into practical benefits for patients and the public.

NIHR funds a broad portfolio of research programs and infrastructure. Its funding streams include the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme, the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme, the Public Health Research (PHR) Programme, the Health Services and Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme, the Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme, and the Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme. In addition to project funding, NIHR supports research training and development through the NIHR Academy, which aims to cultivate researchers at all career stages and to promote patient and public involvement in research.

A key feature of NIHR is its investment in research infrastructure. This includes Biomedical Research Centres and Units that connect universities with NHS hospitals, and the Clinical Research Network, which helps recruit patients into studies across the NHS. Through these components, NIHR seeks to integrate research with healthcare delivery, improve patient outcomes, and generate evidence to inform policy and practice.

Governance and scope: NIHR is funded by the government and operates in partnership with NHS organizations, universities, and research institutions throughout England. It emphasizes scientific quality and patient and public involvement, and its work spans the lifecycle of health and care research, from basic science to applied studies and implementation.