2 November 2023
To mark the NIHR’s 2023 NHS 75: Shape the Future campaign, we’ve collated the latest NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (NIHR ARCs) opportunities aimed at healthcare professionals in the NHS.
The autumn phase of the Shape the Future campaign, running from 6-30 November 2023, celebrates how researchers shape and innovate healthcare and aims to encourage healthcare professionals in the NHS to pursue a career in research, highlighting development and support opportunities.
Listed below are details of current local ARC opportunities available per regional ARC (where available) this November. There will be further opportunities arising from the 15 ARCs across the country throughout the year. To find your local ARC, please see the NIHR ARCs national page.
To receive the latest news and opportunities from the 15 ARCs across the country, follow @NIHRARCs on X and subscribe to the monthly national NIHR ARCs newsletter.
ARC East of England is currently recruiting for their fellowship programme aimed at clinicians, health and social care practitioners, voluntary sector staff, and NHS managers across the East of England. Throughout the programme, fellows build the necessary knowledge and skills to undertake an applied research or implementation project related to their role that will benefit both their organisation and patients.
This fellowship was established in 2010. Since then, 128 ARC EoE Fellowships have been awarded. The programme has supported a number of health and care professionals in their careers, whether that be exploring the research field further or giving them the confidence within their own roles to support evidence-informed practice.
There are two fellowship programmes: research fellowship and implementation fellowship. The research fellowship is a 12-month programme that aims to develop an understanding of the research environment. The implementation fellowship is a 12-month tailored programme that emphasises the importance of relationships between people and organisations when embedding research.
No previous research experience is necessary to apply for the fellowship programmes, but a commitment to applying research and the best evidence to improve health and social care services is essential. The deadline for applications is Thursday 30 November.
A number of relevant videos about the programme can be found in this news article.
ARC Northwest London offers several relevant opportunities.
ARC NWL’s national Population Health Fellowship for NHS healthcare staff in England aims to develop and grow a workforce of professionals who will incorporate population health into their everyday jobs. The learning programme element of the fellowship, delivered by the School of Public Health in Yorkshire and Humber, has been accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). The application process for cohort 4 is now closed. The timeline for future cohorts is currently under review and details of any upcoming cohorts will be added to the webpage. Check the Health Education England website for future opportunities.
ARC NWL’s Evaluation Learning Network is an inaugural workshop series spread across the calendar year. The Innovation & Evaluation Theme’s extensive experience in capacity building across the sector and suggestions about needs and aspirations of potential participants have shaped the content and format of the Evaluation Learning Network. The Evaluation Learning Network is intended to be a platform where participants can improve their evaluation expertise and receive support with their current evaluation projects. Book your place on a workshop.
ARC NWL’s Child Population Health theme offers support to various medical student placements, paediatrics and GP ACFs, and ordinary F1 and 2s, as they have done over the years, both those on formal schemes and informal arrangements for clinicians looking to get some research experience. If you are a GP or Paediatric Academic Clinical Fellow and would like to access the ARC NWL’s Integrated Academic Training, contact the Imperial College London Clinical Academic Training Office at cato@imperial.ac.uk. They are always open to host trainees seeking projects and placements. They also host trainees, in-practice fellows (this is for qualified GPs), predoctoral fellows (open to any NHS/non-clinical discipline) and any NIHR Academy prospective transdisciplinary fellowship applicant. View the allocated ARC NWL 2024 NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowships in Medicine.
ARC North Thames is offering training relevant for nurses, allied health or social care professionals, public health or local government members of staff interested in improving their current practice/setting.
Evidence in Practice: An Introductory Course is a new short course on evidence: how and why we use research evidence, and how to implement it into practice and plans for change.
The course runs from 9 January – 8 March 2024 and is hybrid, with self-paced and in-person elements. Applications close on 26 November 2023.
ARC South West Peninsula has a wide range of training, development and capacity-building opportunities for health and social care professionals across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset (and beyond).
Health Services Modelling Associates (HSMA) Programme
Learn how to use data modelling to tackle an issue in your organisation through our national, free, accredited, flexible, online programme. Registration for 2024 opens on 13 December 2023 and is coupled with an online open day on the same day, which you can dip into to meet our tutors and hear how previous associates have positively impacted health services.
Making Sense of Evidence Workshops
PenARC’s team of academics and local GPs run peer-to-peer Making Sense of Evidence workshops throughout the year designed specifically with health and social care professionals in mind. Making effective, caring decisions with patients relies on an understanding of how and when to use research evidence. PenARC’s MSE programme helps participants to develop this understanding and to learn which research questions will be most applicable, to patients and health professionals. It facilitates a positive exchange in which practitioners can apply research to their practice and researchers can learn from practitioners.
PenARC also intends to run further research internships for health and care professionals in the future. Follow PenARC on social media for the latest news on these opportunities: X: @Peninsula_ARC, LinkedIn: PenARC.
Already involved in research or have ideas and would like support?
Patient & Public Involvement & Engagement Advice Clinics
Whatever your query, from finding out more about Patient and Public Involvement to creating a PPI strategy for a research bid, you can speak to one of PenARC’s researchers for advice.
Virtual Ideas Cafes with PenPEG
These 30 minute slots have been organised for you to give a 5 minute pitch about your research idea followed by an informal chat with members of the Peninsula Public Engagement Group (PenPEG). Members are keen to be more involved in early research development, so don’t worry if your idea is only half-formed.
These clinics have been set up to help the PenARC Evidence Synthesis Team manage and respond to systematic review-related queries from within the South West region. Whether you are an academic or a health/social care professional who needs to know where to start on the systematic review process or how to go about designing a search strategy, you can book an appointment with one of our reviewers or information specialists.
The ARC West training programme includes several short courses in research skills, including designing questionnaires, basic statistics and health economics.
These courses offer an accessible starting point for those new to research. View their upcoming training and capacity-building offerings.
ARC Yorkshire and Humber‘s Lunch and Learn online seminar series offers two opportunities to attend a webinar hosted by Prof Anne-Maree Keenan, Associate Dean at the NIHR Academy and the ACORN (Addressing Capacity in Organisations to do Research) Group. ACORN is part of ARC Yorkshire and Humber and is a group of 12 NHS organisations and one Local Authority that meets every four months as a community of practice to develop research capacity in NHS and care provider organisations. The webinar will showcase the expanding funding and training offers available for Health and Care Professionals in Yorkshire and Humber through the NIHR Academy, and opportunities for clinical staff to get involved in research.
The webinar will be held twice, at different times to enable all to attend. There is no need to register and the dates are 8 November at 6-7pm and 6 December at 2-3pm. For more information on the webinars, please contact YHARC@bthft.nhs.uk.
ARC YH’s Improvement Science theme design and deliver a series of Improvement Science Snapshots. These are short videos to introduce practitioners, researchers and anyone else with an interest in improvement science to key methods and approaches in a brief and accessible way. The snapshots are a free resource. Topics to date include: ‘How to identify barriers to improving clinical practice’, ‘Behaviour-change techniques: what are they and how do I use them?’ and ‘Co-designing quality improvement interventions to optimise impact’. See all the Improvement Science Snapshot videos.
The Research and Innovation Academy at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust (LTHT) has a variety of learning bursts available for people new to research, wanting to start a career in research or experienced researchers. There is currently a memorandum of understanding in place between LTHT and NIHR which allows any member of staff in Yorkshire and Humber working or supporting NIHR studies to access the core learning burst courses. Take a look at the prospectus.
The ActEarly Methods Club is a platform to share knowledge and support skill development in evaluation methods through monthly topical webinars. You can listen to previous ActEarly Methods Club presentations, or sign up for the next webinar.