Abstract
BackgroundBiomedical Research Centres (BRCs) are partnerships between healthcare organisations and universities in England. Their mission is to generate novel treatments, technologies, diagnostics and other interventions that increase the country’s international competitiveness, to rapidly translate these innovations into benefits for patients, and to improve efficiency and reduce waste in healthcare. As NIHR Oxford BRC (Oxford BRC) enters its third 5-year funding period, we seek to (1) apply the evidence base on how best to support the various partnerships in this large, multi-stakeholder research system and (2) research how these partnerships play out in a new, ambitious programme of translational research.MethodsOrganisational case study, informed by the principles of action research. A cross-cutting theme, ‘Partnerships for Health, Wealth and Innovation’ has been established with multiple sub-themes (drug development, device development, business support and commercialisation, research methodology and statistics, health economics, bioethics, patient and public involvement and engagement, knowledge translation, and education and training) to support individual BRC research themes and generate cross-theme learning.The ‘Partnerships’ theme will support the BRC’s goals by facilitating six types of partnership (with patients and citizens, clinical services, industry, across the NIHR infrastructure, across academic disciplines, and with policymakers and payers) through a range of engagement platforms and activities. We will develop a longitudinal progress narrative centred around exemplar case studies, and apply theoretical models from innovation studies (Triple Helix), sociology of science (Mode 2 knowledge production) and business studies (Value Co-creation). Data sources will be the empirical research studies within individual BRC research themes (who will apply separately for NHS ethics approval), plus documentary analysis and interviews and ethnography with research stakeholders. This study has received ethics clearance through the University of Oxford Central University Research Ethics Committee.DiscussionWe anticipate that this work will add significant value to Oxford BRC. We predict accelerated knowledge translation; closer alignment of the innovation process with patient priorities and the principles of responsible, ethical research; reduction in research waste; new knowledge about the governance and activities of multi-stakeholder research partnerships and the contexts in which they operate; and capacity-building that reflects the future needs of a rapidly-evolving health research system.
Highlights
Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) are partnerships between healthcare organisations and universities in England
The goal of National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BRCs is to accelerate both ‘T1’ translational research and ‘T2’ translational research [2, 9]
Our goal is to develop a set of infrastructural capabilities to support more effective partnership dynamics; faster ‘T1’ translation of discovery science into clinical trials and observational studies; larger and more strategic collaborations with industry, the National Health Service (NHS) and patients/citizens; research studies that meet the highest standards for methodology and value-for-money; ethical research that is valued by users; high levels of engagement with and from citizens, the local health economy, payers and national policymakers; faster ‘T2’ translation of research findings into clinical practice; research on research that feeds back into formative learning across the NIHR Oxford BRC and the wider NIHR infrastructure; and comprehensive and flexible training and career development for early-career researchers
Summary
Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) are partnerships between healthcare organisations and universities in England. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), for example, invests over £1 billion per year supporting partnerships between National Health Service (NHS) organisations and universities in England Most notably, these include NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) and NIHR Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRCs) [1,2,3,4]. The United Kingdom Department of Health invests efforts and resources in wider multi-stakeholder partnerships, including Academic Health Science Centres (AHSCs) and Academic Health Science Networks [5,6,7], described as the NHS’s “gateway to the life sciences industry” [8] All these structures encourage strong links with industry and high levels of patient and public involvement and engagement. As stated by the NIHR, their aims are to [4] drive innovation in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of ill-health, translate advances in biomedical research into benefits for patients, and help the NHS contribute to the nation’s international competitiveness
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