Funds To Boost UK Methods Research

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 21 Nov 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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A new programme to strengthen the UK's position as a leader in the methods that underpin health research has been announced by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research.

The Methodology Research Programme (MRP) will strengthen the national platform in methodology research across the UK. It will support the development of new and improved systems and theories for health research. The new programme will oversee a significantly expanded budget of over £60m.

This initiative forms a key part of the developing MRC-NIHR joint strategy for publicly-funded health research. The programme will be managed by the MRC as the lead organisation, on behalf of the MRC-NIHR partnership.

Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, MRC Chief Executive, said:

"The Methodology Research Programme will encourage new approaches to medical research that can be used all over the world. The MRC's new funding for methodology in addition to our current and on-going commitment, will allow the MRC and NIHR to turn discoveries even more quickly into benefits for patients. The results should help decision-makers as they devise healthcare policy. It will also raise the international profile of UK led work on scientific methods to ensure that health research and policy is built on the best possible evidence. "The MRC has a strong track record in methodological research stretching back 60 years when our scientists designed randomised controlled trials. It is about creating the 'recipes for research' that have applications not just in developing new treatments, but in areas such as measuring the success of surgery and assessing the performance of hospitals." Professor Sally Davies, Director General of Research and Development at the Department of Health, said:

"This builds on the NIHR Methodology Programme which has been of great importance to researchers, the NHS and other key bodies including NICE. I am delighted with the additional funding and added focus on such an important area that this programme brings." The scope of the programme is broad, covering the remits of the MRC and the NIHR. It includes the tools, theories and disciplines that underpin the design, analysis and evaluation of health sciences research studies. The Methodology Research Programme will be the primary mechanism by which the MRC and the NIHR fund methods development research in the future and will incorporate activities previously covered by the MRC Research Boards and the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Methodology Panel run by the NIHR.

The work of the new programme will be overseen by a panel chaired by Professor Tim Peters, University of Bristol. Professor Peters said "I am delighted to be invited to chair the Methodology Research Programme Panel. This is an exciting opportunity to strengthen the UK research base and enable the development of new and cutting edge methodologies."

Once established the programme's funding strategy will be extended beyond academic research and address the methodological research needs of public sector regulatory and advisory health bodies and industry R&D.

Andrew Witty, Chief Executive Designate of GlaxoSmithKline said: "We welcome the new programme and look forward to working with the MRC and NIHR on the initiative. There is an enormous appetite from industry for a cutting edge methodological innovation platform in the UK."

The new programme will work in commissioned and investigator-led modes. The first deadline for research proposals will be 8 February 2008.

In addition to the Methodology Research Programme, MRC will be announcing another initiative to strengthen the UK methodology platform soon. This initiative will invite applications for the creation of regional hubs in clinical trials methodology research.

The MRC and NIHR joint arrangements have been developed with the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research

Notes:

1. The Cooksey Review of health research funding, published in December 2006, set out recommendations to ensure that publicly funded health research is carried out in the most effective way. A key recommendation was the establishment of an Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR) to help coordinate the efforts of both the National Institute for Health Research and the Medical Research Council. This includes a greater emphasis on translating research into patient benefit whilst maintaining a healthy science base.

2. OSCHR has now been established as a Government office jointly by the Department of Heath (DH) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). OSCHR is headed by a non-executive Chair who is appointed by, and reports to, the Secretaries of State for Health and for Innovation, Universities and Skills. Professor John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University and President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, has been appointed as the first Chair of OSCHR.

3. OSCHR's mission is to facilitate more efficient translation of health research into health and economic benefits in the UK through better coordination of health research and more coherent funding arrangements to support translation. The key functions of OSCHR are to:

- work with officials from DH, DIUS and the Devolved Administrations to set the Government's health research strategy, taking into account the advice, priorities and needs set out by NIHR and its equivalents in the Devolved Countries, MRC and the NHS;

- Set the budget required to deliver this strategy and submit a single Spending Review bid to the Treasury;

- Communicate the UK's health priorities to the pharmaceutical and bioscience sectors, including designating public and private sector projects addressing hitherto unmet health needs as 'UK Priority Projects';

- Monitor delivery of the strategy against objectives and report to Parliament on progress; and

- Encourage a stronger partnership between Government, health industries and charities. The OSCHR Board is currently focusing on three main areas of activity - translational medicine, public health and e-health. More details on joint strategy development activities under the aegis of OSCHR can be found on the MRC and NIHR websites.

4. The Medical Research Council funds excellent science with the aim of improving human health. Its work ranges from science at the molecular level to public health research carried out in universities, hospitals and a network of units and institutes. The MRC works closely with the Health Departments, the National Health Service and industry to take account of the public's needs. The results have led to some of the most significant discoveries in medical science and benefited millions of people in the UK and around the world.

5. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients.

http://www.nihr.ac.uk

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