The National Institute for Health Research
	Professor Dame Sally C Davies, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific adviser, Department of Health

The mission of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is to maintain a health research system in which the NHS supports outstanding individuals, working in world class facilities, conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients and the public.

The NIHR is is a large, multi-faceted and nationally distributed organisation, funded through the Department of Health to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. Professor Dame Sally Davies, as the head of DH R&D, is responsible for NIHR.

An Advisory Board provides strategic advice on the direction, implementation and management of the NIHR.

Since its establishment in April 2006, the NIHR has worked with key partners involved in the different elements of NHS research to transform research in the NHS. It has increased the volume of applied health research for the benefit of patients and the public, driven faster translation of basic science discoveries into tangible benefits for patients and the economy and developed and supported the people who conduct and contribute to applied health research.

The Institute manages its activities through four main work strands:

• NIHR Faculty: supporting the individuals carrying out and participating in research
• NIHR Research: commissioning and funding research
• NIHR Infrastructure: providing the facilities for a thriving research environment
• NIHR Systems: creating unified, streamlined and simple systems for managing research and its outputs. 

The NIHR has continued to make excellent progress. The NIHR briefing documents set out the aims and the measures the NIHR has put in place to achieve its vision to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.