A major regional health research partnership, the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South West (ARC South West), will bring together researchers, health and care organisations, and communities across the South West of England to improve health services and outcomes.
The collaboration builds on the work of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula (PenARC), expanding the existing partnership and bringing new partners, including the University of Bristol, into the collaboration.
From April 2026, ARC South West will bring together researchers, healthcare professionals, local authorities, charities, patients and communities through a regional partnership including the Universities of Exeter, Plymouth and Bristol, alongside NHS and social care organisations across the South West. Professors Stuart Logan and Vashti Berry will be Co-Directors of PenARC.
Professor Logan, Professor of Paediatric Epidemiology at the University of Exeter, said: "The establishment of ARC South West marks an exciting new phase for applied health research in our region. Extending our partnership across multiple sites and institutions in the region will open new opportunities for collaboration and ensure research evidence translates into real improvements in care for patients and communities."
The expansion comes as the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration West (ARC West) reaches the end of its current funding period on 31st March 2026.
Two of ARC West's established research themes – Healthier Childhoods and Mental Health – will continue their work within ARC South West, alongside a number of experienced staff and partners.
This transition will help ensure that valuable expertise, partnerships and research momentum developed through ARC West continue to benefit communities across the South West. ARC West has delivered a wide range of impactful research, working with more than 40 partners across the region on over 200 projects addressing key health and care challenges. Its work has included nationally recognised programmes such as PReCePT, which helps prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies and has protected more than 22,000 infants across the UK.
Professor Sabi Redwood, Director of NIHR ARC West and Deputy Director of NIHR ARC South West, said: "I'm incredibly proud of everything ARC West has achieved with partners across the region over the past 12 years. Together we've delivered research that has made a real difference locally and nationally, from programmes like PReCePT to our work with diverse communities across Bristol and beyond. I'm pleased that important areas of our work, including the Healthier Childhoods and Mental Health themes, will continue within ARC South West, helping to ensure the partnerships and momentum developed through ARC West carry forward to benefit communities across the wider South West."
The NIHR Applied Research Collaborations play a vital role in supporting the health and care system to address real-world challenges by generating and applying research that improves services and outcomes.
ARC South West will continue to focus on areas where the region has strong expertise, including mental health, dementia and neurodegeneration, children's health, prevention and healthy ageing, alongside the use of advanced research methods such as data science and artificial intelligence.
A defining feature of the collaboration will remain the close involvement of patients and the public, ensuring that research priorities reflect the needs of communities and that findings are translated into practice.
Professor Richard Byng, Deputy Director of PenARC and Professor of Primary Care Research at the University of Plymouth, said: "ARC South West builds on the strong collaborative research approach we've developed over many years across the South West. By working with partners across universities, health services and communities, we can continue to co-produce evidence that addresses real-world challenges and drives improvements in health and care."
