The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has launched a new £45 million funding drive aimed at tackling some of the UK’s biggest health and care challenges and speeding up the adoption of promising innovations.

 

The first round of Strategic Infrastructure Partnerships (SIPs) will bring together researchers, NHS organisations, industry, local government, charities and other partners to tackle problems that cannot be solved by a single organisation or discipline.

 

Up to £45 million is available in the first funding round, with individual partnerships able to apply for up to £15 million. Successful projects are expected to run for between three and five years.

 

The funding will focus on two priority areas:

 

Technologies that enable people to live well and independently at home.

 

Reducing demand across urgent, emergency and primary care services.

 

The programme is designed to support the ambitions of the 10-Year Health Plan for England, including the shift away from hospital-based care towards more community-based models of treatment and support.

 

The NIHR said the partnerships will generate evidence, support implementation, remove barriers to adoption and help promising innovations reach patients and communities faster.

 

Minister for Health Innovation, James Frith, said: "We cannot solve the biggest challenges facing our health and care system through any one organisation working alone. We will always be stronger when we bring together the expertise, ideas and experience that exist across our NHS, the research community, industry and local communities.

 

“These new Strategic Infrastructure Partnerships will help us do exactly that – tackling challenges both locally and at a national scale, and turning the very best research and innovation projects into practical improvements for patients and communities across the country.

 

“This is the 10-Year Health Plan in action: harnessing innovation and technology to help reduce pressure on urgent, emergency and primary care, while ensuring that the health service is always there for everyone when they need it, and where they need it.”

 

Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care and CEO of the NIHR, said: "As the NIHR celebrates 20 years, it is looking for bold ideas and ambitious teams to lead these new, transformational partnerships. Our research infrastructure is full of passionate experts, with boundless experience. We want them to unite, combining their strengths with industry, local government, charities and many other partners, to accelerate exciting innovations and research to deliver real, lasting impact for patients across the country, and to drive economic growth.”

 

The NIHR said the SIP model is intended to create a more connected research ecosystem, linking expertise across the path from research and development through to implementation and adoption.

 

Rather than funding research in isolation, the partnerships will focus on turning evidence and innovation into practical changes across the health and care system.