The North West region faces some of the starkest health inequalities from across the country, with average life expectancy varying across areas by up to 12 years. Factoring in healthy life expectancy can widen this gap by up to 27 years.

The Applied Research Collaboration North West Coast (ARC NWC) consists of health and social care providers, NHS commissioners, local authorities, universities, public advisers, the Innovation Agency (Academic Health Science Network), working together to learn more about these health inequalities, and overcome the barriers around translating these discoveries in health research into practice which improves lives.

The collaboration features research themes reflecting local needs. These are: ‘Person-Centred Complex Care’, ‘Improving Population Health’, ‘Equitable Place-based Health and Care’ and ‘Health and Care across the Life-course’.

ARC NWC’s cross-cutting themes will provide expertise and guidance to support research theme activity, namely: ‘Care and Health Informatics’, ‘Methodological Innovation Development Adaptation and Support’ and all of this work is underpinned by ‘IMPlementation and Capacity building Team (IMPaCT).”

ARC NWC’s aims are:

– Engage and involve organisations which have a role in, or connection to, health and care service delivery, across social, primary, secondary care, public health and third sectors.

– Embed public involvement and health inequalities in all our work, from idea generation to implementing findings.

– Further develop partners’ and local communities’ research and implementation capacities and skills.

– Develop a portfolio of high-quality applied research which responds to health inequalities.

– Support and evaluate implementation of research findings that address health priorities, to increase the sustainability and resilience of health and social care systems, locally and nationally.

– Shorten delays between research needs being identified, studied, and findings implemented.

– Ensure broader economic gains through increased research investment regionally.

– Collaborate with other ARCs and NIHR infrastructure to address national priorities.