School for Public Health Research
The School for Public Health Research was launched in April 2012 and aims to undertake research into public health with an emphasis on what works practically, can be applied across the country and better meets the needs of policy makers, practitioners and the public. Read the DH press release.
The White Paper, ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England’, was clear that public health evaluation and research will be critical in enabling future challenges to be met and opportunities realised.
In line with Government priorities, the School will enable the public health system to develop into the future by:
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narrowing the gap between the users and suppliers of research
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increasing the evidence base for effective public health practice
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undertaking applied translational research
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considering local public health needs and evaluating innovative local practices with potential for wider population benefit.
School for Public Health Research membership
The School is a partnership between the following leading academic centres in applied public health research in England:
- The University of Sheffield
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University College London
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The University of Bristol
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The University of Cambridge
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The LiLaC collaboration between the University of Liverpool and the University of Lancaster
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Fuse, The Centre for Translational Research in Public Health: a collaboration between Newcastle, Durham, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside universities
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The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry
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The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The lead for each of these teams will form the new School Executive, and Professor Jon Nicholl, from the University of Sheffield, is the inaugural Director of the School.
Funding
The NIHR will provide total funding of £20m over a five-year period with up to £450,000 being awarded to each member of the School per annum.
Competition
Members of the School took part in an open competition for academic institutions in 2011. An Independent Selection Panel reviewed full applications with a proven track record in applied research and evaluative practice in public health. The selection criteria assessed by an independent panel was based on quality of research outputs, critical mass of expertise and relevance of current work.
NIHR School for Public Health Research