NHS Research and Development North West

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Welcome to NHS R&D North West

Our Purpose

We support the capability and capacity of the NHS health and social care research workforce. We provide the training, mentoring, and coaching to create a workforce passionate about research and its impact on patient care.

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Our Values

To collectively optimise R&D in terms of personnel and processes, we uphold our values through our approach.

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Our Team

We are a core team of 5, working with an extensive faculty of associates to deliver our programmes of work. We believe that by bringing the right people together, we can build on one another’s passion for research to positively impact the NHS and its patients.

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News and Updates

A Poem from the Heart: Alexandra Woods Shares Her NIHR HCP Internship Journey

Proud to share this beautiful reflection from Alexandra Woods, Paediatric IV Specialist Nurse at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. Alex chose to summarise her internship experience through a creative poem called “Lines of Discovery”, paired with a slideshow of images capturing her research journey. It’s a powerful blend of clinical passion and research growth! Lines of Discovery At Royal Manchester…

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New Post-Doctoral Community of Practice

NHS R&D North West is looking to create a Post Doctoral Community of Practice to support post-doctoral researchers in the North of England Region. This Community of Practice will provide dedicated support and resources tailored to the needs of the community around topics such as; career planning/development, joint appointments, host organisation commitment, grant writing support,…

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NIHR Short Survey: Help Shape the Future of Research Careers in Climate, Health & Sustainability

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has launched a short survey to better understand the current career development landscape for researchers working in climate, health and sustainability. In 2024 NIHR made a set of public commitments setting out our ambitions in climate, health and sustainability; including a key focus on research capacity development. We…

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Impact and Evaluation Report: Social Care Practitioner Researcher Development Pilot Programme

We have now completed a multi stakeholder impact and evaluation assessment of the recently delivered NHS R&D North West pilot social care internship programme, undertaken by registered health and social care professionals working in local authority settings in the northwest of England. A detailed description of the programme, its aims, objectives and content are available…

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Celebrating the InRes Pilot Programme

The InRes Pilot Programme has just wrapped up, marking a significant milestone for our first cohort of aspiring health and care researchers. Over several months, participants immersed themselves in a carefully crafted series of workshops designed to build research skills, foster community, and ignite curiosity. Here’s a look back at what made this journey special—and…

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Welcoming Our New NHSE NIHR Internship Programme Cohort!

Today marks the first day of the NHSE NIHR Internship Programme 2025, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome our new cohort of interns! A heartfelt thank you to each of you for your enthusiasm, commitment, and curiosity as you progress your journey into clinical academic research. Your experience and fresh perspectives will help…

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Impact and Evaluation of the NHS R&D North West Social Care Practitioner Researcher Development Pilot Programme

Socialcare-Evaluation-Final-3925

We have now completed a multi stakeholder impact and evaluation assessment of the recently delivered NHS R&D North West pilot social care internship programme, undertaken by professionally registered health and social care professionals working in local authority settings in the northwest of England. A detailed description of the programme, its aims, objectives and content are available here.

In brief, the Social Care Practitioner Researcher Development Pilot Programme provided a sustained opportunity for registered health and social care professionals in the northwest of England to begin to explore the opportunities that are available to help them to become actively engaged in practice-based research. The impact and evaluation study has shown that participants developed not simply their research skills and knowledge of practice-based research during the internship but have taken their learning back to their employing organisations and in a range of ways, have already begun to ‘make a difference’.

Please read the report here. You’ll see that its findings and recommendations are enlightening and in many ways,  provide us with a very useful signpost as to how together, we can build this much needed community of practice-based researchers working in local authorities and beyond.  We’d be delighted to discuss with you any aspect of the report or social care practitioner research more generally. Don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Explore academic career paths for healthcare professionals in the North West and advance your research journey with NHS R&D NW

The study supports the development of healthcare professionals through various research initiatives and academic partnerships, helping you to advance your career and contribute to impactful healthcare research.

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We are always looking to make new connections and discuss how we may support you!

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Delve into our extensive archive to discover our publications and past work programmes.

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