Our region tops national research funding leaderboard

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) is riding high in a key national research funding league table.

Research Capability Funding (RCF) is awarded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to research active NHS organisations. Around 250 NHS organisations are awarded RCF each year.

Across our partner organisations in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, more than £5 million in RCF has been awarded in the 2026/27 funding allocation. This is more than 10% of the total RCF awards in England.

By supporting NHS organisations to sustain and grow their research capacity and capability, RCF is a key indicator of success in securing NIHR funding.

How it breaks down

When our partners North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust merge on 1 July to form Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, the new organisation will lead the RCF league table. The Bristol NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded almost £3m in the 2026/27 RCF funding allocation. This is nearly twice as much as any other NHS trust.

In a coup for the region, our partner Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB) comes second. Securing more than £2m of RCF funding in 2026/27, it sustains its position as the best performing ICB nationally for the third year running.

Our partner Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP) is also one of the highest performing mental health trusts with £138,000.

Professor Tim Whittlestone, Bristol NHS Group Chief Medical and Innovation Officer and Bristol Health Partners Chair, said:

“This performance is an early indicator of the combined power of Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. Bringing together the strengths of both organisations creates a research environment with genuine scale, depth and ambition.

“To secure the highest level of Research Capability Funding in the country reflects the outstanding work of our researchers and partners, and it positions Bristol as a leading centre for innovation. Most importantly, this investment will enable us to further expand high-quality research that improves care and outcomes for the patients and communities we serve.”

Paul Roy, Associate Director of Research at the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB, said:

“I am incredibly proud of our area, and this league table shows how much commitment we have to health and care research.

“Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the ICB sitting at the top of the league table in the country proves our effective collaboration as an Integrated Care System to produce high quality research and adopt the evidence into everyday practice. We hope to continue our successful trajectory in funding more research in the future with the support of the National Institute for Health and Care Research funding.”

How RCF makes a difference

RCF funds NHS organisations to support their research teams, acting as a kind of seed corn fund. This includes helping researchers to start their career path, backfilling clinical academics and supporting studies to access specialist input.

RCF supports hundreds of research projects across our region, which aim to address inequalities and answers questions that matter to healthcare services and to the communities they serve.. Here are some examples:

• At Southmead Hospital, RCF has enabled staff outside traditional research professions to be funded. Half of Southmead Hospital’s 2025/26 awards were to non-medic health professionals such as nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and pharmacists.
• At UHBW, RCF has similarly allowed a range of staff to prepare grants. A small RCF grant helped develop a chief nurse’s idea into project that went on to be awarded £1.18 million by NIHR. The project was to evaluate the nursing associate role in adult secondary care in England.
• At AWP, RCF has been allocated to develop a walking group intervention that could help treat people’s symptoms of psychosis. This project is linked to Bristol Health Partners’ Psychosis Health Integration Team (HIT).
• In Weston-super-Mare and surrounding areas, RCF from BNSSG ICB’s allocation is enabling research into more effective ways to support people living with pain. This project is based in Bristol Health Partners’ Chronic Pain HIT.