Partners come together to strengthen health and care research in the East Midlands

The event looked at how applied research can support better, more inclusive health and care across the region. Attendees heard about current research,explored the challenges facing the East Midlands, and had the chance to network and generate ideas for future studies. The day took place at Voluntary Action Leicestershire on Wednesday 14 October.

What partners told us

In roundtable discussions led by Professor Liz Orton, Professor of Public Health at the University of Nottingham and Theme Lead for Building Resilience in Later Life, partners discussed the benefits of working together and how to make it happen.

Partners said collaboration could:

• Break down silos and avoid duplication, making better use of shared expertise and resources
• Increase impact and value for money, as research is more likely to be used when it is relevant to local needs
• Improve population health and reduce health inequalities, drawing on the expertise of the Ethnicity and Health Inequalities theme

To build on this, they suggested:

• Agreeing shared priorities across health, social care and public health
• Having dedicated people to bring partners together, with a clear point of contact
• Reducing bureaucracy, for example through pre-emptive agreements that let partners move quickly when needed

Professor Nil Sanganee, Chief Medical Officer for the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board, said: “Applied research is most useful to the NHS when it is shaped by the challenges we face every day. 

“Events like this give commissioners, providers and communities the chance to tell researchers what matters most, so that the evidence produced makes a real difference to services and to people’s health across the East Midlands.”

National and regional context

Ana Gomes, Research Policy Senior Manager at the Department of Health and Social Care, joined online to open the day with a national view on shaping the future of health and care research.

Matt Fagg, Director of Prevention and Long-Term Conditions at NHS England, set out the NHS’s priorities, including a shift towards prevention and earlier intervention, with neighbourhood health and primary care at the centre.

A panel chaired by Professor Marion Walker, Director of Partner Relations, looked at the East Midlands picture. A common theme was the strong alignment between ARC East Midlands priorities and those of its partners, and the opportunity this creates to work together.

Engagement and inclusion

Dr Riya Patel, Co-Theme Lead for Ethnicity and Health Inequalities, and Christine Smith, Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Lead, shared how ARC East Midlands is embedding research inclusion and public involvement across its work. 

Using the Co-Trust programme as an example, Riya showed how transparency, accountability, respect and partnership were built into the research from the outset.

Community perspectives shaped both the research and the resulting toolkit, including the recognition that responsibility for change sits with researchers and the wider research system, not with communities. This shifted the question from “How do we include communities in our research?” to “What do we, as researchers, need to change about how we do research?”

Jenny Hand, Chairperson of Reaching People, said: “Communities bring so much to research, from lived experience to knowing what works locally. It was encouraging to see partners from across the region learning together and sharing ideas about how research can make a difference to the lives of people who need it most."

Our research themes

ARC East Midlands focuses on five research themes:

• Building Resilience in Later Life
• Data4Health
• Ethnicity and Health Inequalities
• Multiple Long-Term Conditions 
• Translation and Implementation Research

Professor Kamlesh Khunti and Professor Sam Seidu, Co-Directors of the NIHR ARC East Midlands, said: “Our theme work programmes have been developed with input from partners, including patients and the public. This event was a valuable forum for networking and generating ideas for future studies."

Download the presentation slides from the day.

ARC East Midlands is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and began a new five-year term in April 2026. It is hosted by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, in partnership with the University of Leicester and the University of Nottingham. 

Find out more about the programme: 

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For more information, email arc-em@leicester.ac.uk.