Collaborating in applied health research

About Applied Research Collaborations

NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) support applied health and care research that responds to, and meets, the needs of local populations and local health and care systems.  

Announced in July 2019, the ARCs aim to: 

• improve outcomes for patients and the public
• improve the quality, delivery and efficiency of health and care services
• increase the sustainability of the health and care system both locally and nationally

These 15 local partnerships between NHS providers, universities, charities, local authorities, Health Innovation Networks and other organisations undertake implementation research to increase the rate at which research findings are implemented into practice.

The ARCs undertake research on a number of areas of need highlighted by the NIHR Futures of Health report, including: 

• the challenges of an ageing society
• multimorbidity
• the increasing demands placed on our health and care system

The £135 million funding also aims to deliver national-level impact through significant collaboration between the ARCs, with individual ARCs providing national leadership within their fields of expertise. The 5 year investment has been extended by 18 months until 31 March 2026.

The 15 ARCs 

• NIHR ARC East of England
• NIHR ARC East Midlands
• NIHR ARC Greater Manchester
• NIHR ARC Kent, Surrey and Sussex
• NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria
• NIHR ARC North Thames
• NIHR ARC Northwest London
• NIHR ARC North West Coast
• NIHR ARC Oxford and Thames Valley
• NIHR ARC South London
• NIHR ARC South West Peninsula
• NIHR ARC Wessex
• NIHR ARC West
• NIHR ARC West Midlands
• NIHR ARC Yorkshire and Humber

National leadership areas

Each NIHR ARC undertakes research on a range of themes. The ARCs also work together on a number of national leadership areas. Research projects and collaborations between the ARCs drive progress in applied health research and implementation science in areas of national priority.

National priority areas

The NIHR ARCs national priority areas are 7 areas of applied health and care research that benefit from £13.125 million NIHR funding over 3 years to deliver ‘real world’ impact.

They are:

• Adult social care and social work
• Healthy ageing, including dementia and frailty
• Child health and maternity
• Health and care inequalities
• Mental health, including children and young people’s mental health
• Multiple long term conditions
• Prevention, including behavioural risk factors

Working together, the NIHR ARCs will look to develop evidence to inform decision-making, enable effective implementation and change practice in these areas. The programme brings together the 15 regional ARCs from across England to work with partners, patients and the public to deliver collective projects that investigate and tackle these most pressing health and care problems.

ARC projects

Annual national NIHR ARCs #ARCseminar series

The NIHR ARCs launched their first national webinar series (#ARCseminar) in 2023, looking at mental health in the context of some of the most topical themes of our times. Three webinars ran in May, June and July 2023 and brought together researchers from different ARCs. The webinar series was very well-received and 600 live attendances were recorded overall.

The second, 2024 #ARCseminar series, centred on health inequalities. Speakers from across the ARCs explored how health inequity cuts across life stages and places. Three webinars ran in May, June and September 2024 and attracted record audience numbers. Across the three live events, we recorded over 1,200 attendances.

You can read summaries and watch recordings of the events here:

• 2023 #ARCseminar series on mental health
• 2024 #ARCseminar series on health inequalities

Follow NIHR ARCs on Eventbrite to be the first to hear about the 2025 series.