The University of Manchester is to receive a significant share of an NIHR award of over £100 million for 20 new Policy Research Units (PRUs) across England, to tackle important long-standing and emerging health and social care issues.
The three units which involve the University of Manchester and funded to the tune of around £5 million each, will tackle Health and Care Systems and Commissioning, Healthy Ageing and Child and Families.
One of them led by The University Manchester, the University of Kent and The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, will allow researchers to continue their research exploring the impact of national policy on the health and care system in England.
The Policy Research Unit in Health and Care Systems and Commissioning (known as PRUComm) was first established in 2010, and has pioneered research exploring every important policy initiative affecting the health and care system, from the impact of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to the progress being made by new Integrated Care Systems on tackling Health Inequalities.
Led by the University of Manchester’s Professor Kath Checkland and Professor Matt Sutton, the Unit will work closely with policy makers to identify the most pressing policy questions facing the NHS and design research projects and programmes to inform ongoing policy.
Professor Checkland said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to continue our world-leading programme of research. The new Unit will build upon and develop the work done by PRUComm since 2010, and we will continue to work closely with policy makers to understand the issues they face.
“The new award provides us with the opportunity to bring in new collaborators and further develop our capacity to respond quickly to important policy questions, and we look forward to working closely with colleagues in other Policy Research Units to ensure that the Department of Health and Social Care and their Arm’s Length Bodies have the best available evidence to support their work.”
The Older People and Frailty Policy Research Unit has successfully been re-awarded funding from NIHR for a further five years. Renamed as the Healthy Ageing Policy Research Unit, but continuing its collaborative partnership that includes The University of Manchester, Newcastle University and the London School of Economics, the unit will work to answer questions for policy makers to inform evidence based policy making. The funding will ensure the unit is able to deliver sustained and long-term benefits to the health and wellbeing of people across throughout mid to later life.
Professor Chris Todd said “We are delighted to have been funded again to continue our collaboration with colleagues at Newcastle and LSE, I look forward to working in partnership with policy teams to ensure together we improve the lives of those living in our communities.”
The Children and Families Policy Research Unit (CPRU) was awarded funding to continue its operations for the next 5 years, starting from January 2024. The announcement builds on the work done by CPRU over a decade, and further strengthens its commitment to support evidence based policy-making at a local and national level.
