Health Services & Delivery Research (HS&DR) Programme

1. Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre Health Services & Delivery Research (HS&DR)Programme Kevin Campbell Senior Programme Manager, HS&DR ProgrammeRDS West Midlands9th October 2013

2. Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies (NETS) programmes Systematic Review Established: 2012(previously known as Reviews Infrastructure) NETSCC: Established: 2008 Health Services and Delivery Research Established: January 2012 Public Health Research Established: 2008 HS&DR SR HTA PHR Health Technology Assessment Established: 1993 Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Funded by the MRC and NIHR, managed by NIHR Established: 2008 EME

3. HS&DR Programme Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre • Established and launched in Jan 2012 • Merger of the Health Services Research (HSR) and Service Delivery and Organisation (SDO) Programmes • The combined portfolio contains over 300 studies, of which around one hundred are live.

4. Purpose and Remit Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre • The HS&DR programme funds research to produce rigorous and relevant evidence on the quality, accessibility and organisation of health services, including evaluations of how the NHS might improve delivery of services. • The audience for this research is the public, service users, clinicians and managers.

5. Principles Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre The programme will support: • A range of types of research including evidence synthesis and primary research and is keen to support a variety of ambitious evaluative research to improve health services, on topics of national importance. • There is no cap on the cost of projects • Pilot and feasibility studies considered • Evidence synthesis and empirical studies considered • Projects which look at the relevant areas of social care as well as health will be considered

6. Workstreams Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre The HS&DR programme has two workstreams: • The commissioned workstream issues calls on specific topics that have been identified as high priority for the NHS and important to NHS managers and decision makers (including an annual HS&DR stakeholder exercise) • The researcher-led workstream accepts applications from researchers on any question or topic that is within the overall programme remit

7. Funding cycle Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre

8. Application assessment process Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre • Outline proposals: • Remit and competitiveness check (pre-panel) • Panel assessment primarily for need and importance to the NHS • Shortlist/Reject/Resubmit • Full proposals: • External review • Board assessment primarily for scientific quality, value for money • Fund/Fund With Changes/Reject/Resubmit

9. Selection criteriaImportance of the Research Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre • Adherence to the advertised commissioning brief or call specification • Health need • Expressed need • Sustained interest • Capacity to generate new knowledge • Actionable findings and prospects for change

10. Selection criteriaResearch Quality Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre • Scientific quality • Links with knowledge users and where appropriate, integration of knowledge users in the knowledge production process • Service user involvement • Make up of team and project management • Value for money

11. Five top tips for applicants Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre • Relevance to wider service Think about ways to increase the generaliseability of findings in the study design. • Describe clearly the problem, intervention (if part of an evaluation), modelling technique and why selected. • Get the right people on board – consider range of qual/quant research skills and managerial/NHS expertise. • Focus on actionable findings for the service and plan the dissemination early, considering range of outputs. • Read it through! Make the application a compelling case for funding, clearly written and with no typos.

12. Recent research calls in priority areas Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre • Evaluating new models of care for people with long-term conditions • Interventions to improve support workforce for older people • New research on community hospitals • Organising care for frail elderly in hospitals • Knowledge/innovation transfer • Avoidable mortality in hospitals • The organisation and delivery of 24/7 healthcare • Dignity and compassion • Psychiatric liaison services • Alternatives to face to face contact

13. Examples of Funded studies Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre Does pay for performance work? Professor Ruth McDonald (University of Nottingham) 60 months, from March 2009 (£749,867) This ambitious five year study evaluates the impact of incentives for teams in particular clinical pathways (such as pneumonia and heart failure) across all 24 acute trusts in one region. How can we manage pain better for inpatients with dementia? Professor Dawn Dowding (University of Leeds) 36 months from October 2012 (£878,539). This ambitious mixed-methods study aims to identify current practice in managing pain for these patients and to develop and test a new tool which can be used on the wards.

14. Examples of Funded studies Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre Is it safer to have your baby in consultant-led units, midwifery-led units or at home? Professor Peter Brocklehurst (UCL Institute for Womens Health) 58 months, from September 2006 (£733,202) This ambitious Birthplace programme of activity centred on a large cohort study of more than 60,000 low-risk births in England. This was designed to answer important questions about the comparative safety and quality of different planned places of birth - from obstetric unit to midwifery units (freestanding and alongside) to home births. Do virtual teams reduce emergency admissions? Dr Geraint Lewis (Nuffield Trust) 20 months, from May 2010 (£318,053). This study considers the costs and impact of virtual wards – identifying patients at high risk of emergency admission and providing support with multidisciplinary teams (including community matrons, general practitioners, pharmacists and social workers).

15. Further information: Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre HS&DR funding enquiries: hsdrinfo@soton.ac.uk HS&DR website: www.netscc.ac.uk/hsdr/