The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced in May that it will open a new, single centre to develop and enhance the ways that patients, carers, and the public can partner with the NIHR to advance research. The new centre will integrate this with work to enable health and care professionals, researchers, policy makers and the public make better use of the broad range of research evidence that the NIHR generates.

Establishment of the new centre, which will open in April 2020, is now underway.

Dr Louise Wood, Director of Science, Research and Evidence at DHSC, said:

“We believe this is an innovative step forward which will keep NIHR at the forefront of national and international efforts to put the needs of patients and the public first in health, social care and public health research. We are excited about the opportunity to unify this with our research dissemination activities, getting research evidence into the hands of front line health and care staff, commissioners, policy makers, patients and the public.

“Our commitment to public involvement is unwavering, and we are proud of our track record thus far. The new centre will be expected to embrace INVOLVE’s values and principles and will work to deliver the recommendations in Going the Extra Mile, including embedding the UK Standards for Public Involvement across our infrastructure and funding programmes.

“Our public contributors continue to challenge us to improve what we do. The new centre will put us in a better position to build new partnerships and to work differently, including using co-production and co-design.”

Discussions are in progress with the current providers to ensure continuity. The work of INVOLVE and the NIHR Dissemination Centre will continue unchanged through to March 2020.

Dr David King, Director of the NIHR Central Commissioning Facility and LGC’s Grant Management Group, said:

“As the incoming provider for the new centre, we are working together with the NIHR INVOLVE and Dissemination Centre teams to plan and oversee the transition process.

“Our first priority has been to make sure that current staff are supported through transition. Now that this process has begun, I am pleased to say we are in a position to engage with and involve all partners interested in the development of the new centre, with a view to getting everything ready for its launch in April 2020.”

Further information is available on the NIHR website.