New London-wide partnership awarded £22m to deliver health and social care transformation through research

London’s health and care community has joined together in a new partnership, underpinned by a significant investment in the city’s research infrastructure.

The NIHR London Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) brings together NHS trusts, universities, and other expertise from across the capital to tackle some of the UK’s most pressing health and social care research priorities.

ARC London will provide high-quality health and social care research and support the translation of evidence into practice, playing a critical role in making sure research delivers real-world improvements in health and care for patients, communities and the public. This partnership is backed by £22 million of government funding and will be hosted by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

The ARC leadership team are based at University College London, King’s College London and Imperial College London, with partners spanning 20 organisations.

The new ARC London is part of a collaborative network of 11 ARCs spread across the country. The ARCs work together to share expertise and learning to support research and implementation at scale.

ARC London will focus on four research themes:

• Neighbourhood health and social care: supporting independent living, reducing emergency hospital visits, and better helping people with multiple health and care needs throughout their lives
• Prevention and early intervention in people with major conditions, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic disease and mental ill health
• Productivity and economic growth, to support the highest quality health and care services at an affordable cost
• Data sciences for healthcare, to help understand people’s health and care needs earlier to prevent illness and improve care

These themes will generate research that answers the biggest challenges in the health and social care sectors, supporting the government’s ambitions for the transformation of NHS, public health and social care services.

ARC London will respond to the issues that matter most to people living with the greatest burden of disease in London and beyond. It will help to address health inequalities by embedding inclusive approaches across all projects and programmes to ensure that findings can be used more widely and are relevant for a broad and diverse population, and any resulting intervention can be successfully delivered to the people who need it most.

ARC London will also partner with other NIHR ARCs, NIHR infrastructure across London and partners in the life sciences sector, creating collaborations to support innovative new medicines, technology and models of care into practice sooner.

Professor Laura Shallcross from University College London is Director of ARC London and said: “By partnering with patients, communities and people working across the health, public health and social care systems, the London ARC has a major opportunity to address some of the most important health challenges that are facing society.  We are excited about what we might be able to achieve together and want Londoners and health and care practitioners to work with us to shape the ARC and its priorities.”

Ingrid Wolfe, professor of paediatrics and child population health at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College London and Co-Director of ARC London, said: “We have a golden opportunity to deliver research that will genuinely improve outcomes for our patients and the public. We’re incredibly proud to host the new London ARC at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and I’m excited to start working with so many talented partners.”

Dr Ana Luisa Neves, Deputy Director of ARC London and Associate Professor in Digital Health at Imperial College London, said: “Our priorities and themes are focused on translating research and evidence into practical solutions that support healthier communities, a more sustainable health and care system, and strengthen our capacity as a system to harness innovation and respond to future needs. We have a unique opportunity to connect research, innovation and expertise across the capital and turn evidence into solutions that can make a real difference to people’s lives."

The funding for ARC London is part of NIHR’s £170 million investment to support 11 ARCs over five years.

Professor Marian Knight, Scientific Director for NIHR Infrastructure, said: "This new London ARC will play a vital role in turning research into real-world improvements in health and care, generating evidence across the capital that benefits communities nationwide. By bringing together partners from every corner of London, we have a unique opportunity to collaborate, innovate, drive economic growth, and deliver meaningful impact for patients.”