Keele experts are part of a new collaboration between the NHS, social care and academic institutions across the West Midlands, which will inspire registered healthcare, social work and public health workers to consider a range of research careers. 

The National Institute of Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) has pledged £34.9m to encourage the regulated healthcare and social work professions into research roles as part of the new INSIGHT: Inspiring Students into Research scheme. This strategic move will accelerate the numbers of nurses, midwives, pharmacists, social workers and allied health professionals ultimately leading and delivering research, and generating evidence to underpin best available care.  

The West Midlands NIHR INSIGHT Consortium, led by the University of Birmingham, has been awarded £2.5m to provide fully funded research Master's courses to early career healthcare professionals and social workers. The programme will target those professions that don’t have much exposure to research during their professional training. 

Working with local NHS Trusts, the students will be able to take the courses full or part time so they can continue their careers providing care across the West Midlands, in the hope of providing the right start for the future research workforce and retain talent in the region.  

Keele is one of the seven university partners involved in the project, with the university’s Impact Accelerator Unit (IAU), leading the Engagement Programme within the West Midlands by organising a series of webinars over three years to inspire students into research careers. 

IAU colleagues will also be developing an ongoing community space for peer support, with students able to apply for stipends to enrol on a new MRes course being launched at Keele in Healthcare Science. 

Professor Krysia Dziedzic, Director of Keele’s Impact Accelerator Unit, said: “This is an exciting initiative for budding researchers early in their health and care careers. The strengths of this NIHR funded INSIGHT scheme include a dynamic collaboration of Higher Education institutions and Health and Care organisations across the West Midlands; strong public partnerships; and co-production with students to foster the development of student networks at a regional level.  

“To have developed a bespoke health and care MRes at Keele in addition to the one in Bioengineering is a fantastic bonus. A key component is the Keele-led Innovative Engagement Programme hosted by the Impact Accelerator Unit, with activities delivered across the region.” 

Ruth Lambley-Burke, Director of Research and Innovation at Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are proud to work with Keele in developing joint health and care research posts, as well as developing routes by which anyone can start out on their research journey. Through the Trust's STARS (Supporting the Advancement of Research) programme we offer an introduction to research through training and seminars. What the new MRes at Keele offers is a route by which practitioners can gain formal accreditation in research, but critically this route means they can align their research qualification to areas of interest linked to their health and care roles.” 

According to the NIHR, the most recent headcount from 2017 showed that less than 0.1% of the nursing, midwifery and allied health professional workforce were involved with research. However, it is well documented that research led by nurses, midwives, AHPs and other healthcare and social work professionals, and the contributions they can make as members of multidisciplinary research teams, can drive change to policy and patient care. Research is integral to high quality evidence-based care and has also been shown to increase job satisfaction for staff and improve retention, when conducted alongside delivering care. 

The consortium brings together seven Universities and eight NHS Trusts to accelerate the development and growth of our future health and social work researchers. Suitable candidates will be allocated to higher education institutions and programmes according to discipline, personal and professional needs, and student choice. The first cohort of places start from September 2024. 

Dr Nikolaos Efstathiou, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Birmingham said: “We seek to provide a sustainable regional pipeline via which those motivated next generation researchers can acquire the skills and capabilities so they can have fulfilling careers delivering and leading research. With our many NHS, social care and research infrastructure partners we are fully committed to creating a positive place-based research and innovation environment for our talented graduates who aspire to be future clinical academics and research leaders.” 

*For any enquiries about the INSIGHT programme, please contact Laura Campbell, Engagement Lead for the Impact Accelerator Unit, l.campbell@keele.ac.uk*