The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the nation's largest funder of health and care research and provides the people, facilities and technology that enables research to thrive.
NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) support applied health and care research that responds to, and meets, the needs of local populations and local health and care systems.
The NIHR ARC Kent, Surrey and Sussex is one of 15 ARCs across England, part of a £135 million investment by the NIHR to improve the health and care of patients and the public.
About ARCs
Each NIHR ARC is made up of local providers of NHS services, local providers of care services, NHS commissioners, local authorities, universities, private companies and charities. These collaborations work together to conduct high quality, generalisable, applied health and care research that addresses the specific health or care issues in their region.
NIHR ARCs also act to close the second translational gap and increase the rate at which research findings are implemented into practice.
The 15 ARCs work collaboratively to address national research priorities, with individual ARCs providing national leadership in their areas of expertise.
The NIHR ARC KSS is funded by an NIHR grant to develop an infrastructure around our eight research themes. Many NHS Trusts, health and social care providers, third sector organisations, emergency services, higher education institutes and charities have also committed to co-funding the ARC KSS to support applied health and social care research and/or implementation within the communities that they serve.
In addition, the ARCs work collaboratively to address national research priorities, with individual ARCs providing national leadership in their areas of expertise. ARC KSS is the national lead for social care. This means that we are committed to delivering national impact in social care through strategic direction, driving collaborative work across NIHR ARCs in England and maximising efficiency and impact for the benefit of patients and the public, health and care services and broader economic gain.
About the NIHR
NIHR's mission is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. The NIHR was established in 2006 and is primarily funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.
Working in partnership with the NHS, universities, local government, other research funders, patients and the public, the NIHR delivers and enables world-class research that transforms people’s lives, promotes economic growth and advances science.
