The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has announced a £157 million investment over five years for 10 NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs). NIHR ARC East of England, hosted by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), has been awarded £15.3 million to advance high-quality applied research.
We are pleased to share that ARC East of England has secured funding from the NIHR to develop impactful, scalable research that tackles some of the UK’s most pressing health and social care challenges.
This £15.3 million investment builds on the initial £9 million awarded in 2019, which enabled us to generate around £62 million in additional research funding and deliver more than 260 research projects between 2019 and 2025.
Beginning in April 2026, ARC East of England will be one of ten regional ARCs across England selected to continue delivering responsive and inclusive research. Our work will focus on addressing health and care inequalities, improving outcomes for communities, patients, and the public, and accelerating the implementation of effective interventions and care models into practice.
“I am delighted we can announce the next five-year funding commitment from NIHR for ARC East of England. We have a committed team who have developed partnerships reaching across the breadth of organisations that are integral to delivering services and interventions that benefit people in this region.
Professor Wendy Wills, Director of NIHR ARC East of England
“This £15.3 million funding commitment means we can continue to work with patients, service users, universities, companies and partner organisations to not only deliver high-quality research and training in this area but also to work in collaboration so that excellent evidence of ‘what works’ spreads to other areas of the country.”
Professor Wendy Wills, Director of NIHR ARC East of England
Led by Professor Wendy Wills (University of Hertfordshire) and co-led by Professor Stephen Morris (University of Cambridge), ARC East of England is a collaboration between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) and the Universities of Cambridge, East Anglia, Essex, Hertfordshire, and Anglia Ruskin University. Our network also includes Health Innovation East, NHS Trusts, Integrated Care Systems (ICS), Local Authorities, patient-led organisations, charities, communities, and industry partners across the region.
These partnerships have been integral to our mission of delivering research that responds to the needs of health and care systems and the communities we serve. The renewed funding will also enable us to continue our successful research capacity development programme, embed inclusive research practices across all our studies and apply implementation science to ensure research findings are effectively translated into health and care practice.
“This landmark investment from the NIHR is a powerful endorsement of the role applied research plays in transforming health and care. At CPFT, we are proud to host one of the ten new ARCs and to contribute to a national effort that will accelerate innovation, tackle inequalities, and bring evidence-based improvements directly into practice.
Steve Grange, Chief Executive Officer of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Steve Grange continues, “The collaborative nature of the ARCs - spanning NHS trusts, universities, local authorities, and the voluntary sector, ensures that the research we deliver is not only rigorous but also rooted in the realities of frontline care. We look forward to working with our partners to drive meaningful change for patients and communities across the country.”
This investment will support our continued contribution to the transformation set out in the NHS 10-Year Plan, the Life Sciences Sector Plan, and the Government’s Health and Growth Missions.
“This new funding shows the NIHR’s ongoing commitment to developing and delivering high-quality health and care research across the country. The investment will enable the Applied Research Collaborations to continue to bring new treatments and technologies to patients and the public, supporting the aims of the Government's 10 Year Health Plan to champion innovation and power transformation.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care and CEO of the NIHR
As we look ahead to the next five-year funding period, we have refreshed our priorities and objectives to ensure we remain responsive to both current and emerging health and care challenges. The new ARC will begin in April 2026 and will end in March 2031.
Full details of the next ARC will be shared in due course.