£30m charitable investment in creating new world-leading research institute Applications to host institute now open

The Health Foundation, an independent charity, is today beginning its search for a leading UK university to establish and run a new institute for developing and applying research to improve health services.

Funding in the region of £30 million, over a period of 10 years, will be provided by the Health Foundation to set up and develop the institute – the first of its kind. The institute will be expected to raise its own funds and become self-sustaining over this time.

The Health Foundation is making this significant investment as it believes improvement research has huge potential to shed light on how sustainable and replicable improvements to the quality of patient care can be made in the NHS more quickly.

Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, says:

“Faster learning and discovery is vital to achieving higher quality health care for patients at sustainable cost. That is why the Health Foundation is making its biggest single investment to date to build the field of improvement research.

“We are looking for a leading UK university with a reputation for first class research that will work hand in glove with the NHS and patients to make demonstrable improvements to health services.  

“By creating a world-leading institute we want to boost the concept and field of improvement research, to demonstrate what it can add to the challenges health services everywhere are facing.”

The Health Foundation has a strong history of investment in improvement research. The new institute will build on these foundations with the aim of creating a thriving academic centre which, with partners, will not only develop new knowledge about how to improve care but put this knowledge into practice in the NHS.