National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network
National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network
Who is the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network?
The NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care to enable the health and care system to attract, optimise and deliver research across England. The RDN consists of 12 Regional Research Delivery Networks (RRDNs) and a Coordinating Centre working together as one.
We do this as part of the NIHR’s overall mission to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.
The RDN has two primary purposes:
- To support the successful delivery of high quality research. This means that we look for ways that we can work with different organisations so that together, we can make things work better.
- We are building a stronger, flexible research network so high-quality research can happen anywhere, not just in traditional settings.
As a result, research can reach more people, address changing population needs, support the health and care system and the economy, and become a routine part of care. Research helps improve care, treatments, and outcomes for people.
We want to make sure that everyone knows about, and has access to health and care research studies that could benefit their health and wellbeing, and that of those around them. Inclusion in research will ensure that the research we deliver works for the communities that it is designed to help.
Better serving people in rural communities
People living in rural communities are often 'under-served' by research, as they can be by other societal benefits. The NIHR is striving to change this, by delivering research in new spaces, working in partnership with people and organisations who can connect us to people living in rural areas, and through our digital services.
Through Be Part of Research, people can register their interest in taking part in health and care research. They will then be matched with studies they may be interested in.
A similar service, Join Dementia Research, connects people with dementia-related studies. When registering, please select “Other Charity” when asked how you heard about Join Dementia Research, then enter RSN1 in the free-text box.
This can help people living in rural areas to take part in any health and care research. This is because they can often participate from their home and are not reliant on accessing health and care services in their community in order to find out about research.
An example of our work to better serve rural communities across Kent
East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is bringing research directly to people in their own communities. Through its funding programmes, the RDN has supported the Trust to commission and run a mobile research facility called ‘Research-2-You’. This allows patients to take part in research in familiar local places such as health centres, care homes, community hubs, places of worship and where appropriate, their own homes.
The RDN in the South East has played a key role by facilitating connections with partners such as Kent ACRE (Action for Communities in Rural England) and the RDN Agile Research Delivery Team (who help teams to deliver health and care studies), helping the Trust to build relationships that will support community engagement and research delivery beyond traditional NHS settings.
Kerry Outlaw, Interim Chief Executive Officer at Kent ACRE offers her perspective on the collaboration:
“The Research Bus directly tackles these barriers by bringing research opportunities into rural communities rather than expecting people to travel to them. By working collaboratively with Kent ACRE and local partners, the bus can reach villages, hamlets, and isolated populations that traditional research models miss. It creates a trusted, accessible, face‑to‑face route into research participation, builds awareness, and ensures rural voices are represented in future health and care decisions. This partnership strengthens inclusion, improves data quality, and supports fairer outcomes for rural Kent.”
Our hopes with the Rural Services Network
We hope that by joining the RSN, we can raise awareness of ways for communities to participate in health and care research. We hope to explore new partnerships with RSN member organisations across England, towards better serving rural communities.
If you would like to find out more, please contact the Research Engagement & Inclusion team at the South East Regional Research Delivery Network via se.rrdn@nihr.ac.uk