From October, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service North East will become the NIHR Research Design Service North East and North Cumbria (RDS NENC) extending support to health researchers across the region.
Led by Professor Helen Hancock, and funded by the NIHR, the RDS NENC is one of 10 regional RDSs across England who support researchers to develop and design high quality research proposals for submission to NIHR funding programmes and other national open peer reviewed funding competitions for health and social care research.
Nationally, more than £50m has been awarded to the NIHR Research Design Service, which will allow RDS advisers in regional centres across England to continue offering free and confidential advice, drawing on a unique breadth of experience and a proven track record in improving funding applications.
The RDS NENC is a partnership between Newcastle, Northumbria, Teesside, Durham and Cumbria Universities, South Tees Hospitals and Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trusts, Newcastle City Council, the CRN and key National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Infrastructure across the region and nationally.
Professor John Dixon, Associate Dean (Research and Innovation) in the School of Health and Social Care said 'I am very pleased that Teesside University is part of the new Research Design Service for the North East and North Cumbria. This will help us to collaborate further with our partners and grow health research in the region.'
This work supports the University's Grand Challenge Research Theme of Health and Wellbeing which is part of a wider aim to address some of the global challenges of our time through focus on externally facing research which makes a real, practical difference to the lives of people, along with the success of businesses and economies.