ARC West to end after 31 March 2026 with research themes moving to the new ARC South West

The Applied Research Collaboration West (ARC West) will be closing on 31 March 2026 when our funding ends. From 1 April, two of our research themes, Healthier Childhoods and Mental Health, will move into the newly formed ARC South West.

ARC South West expands the existing ARC South West Peninsula (PenARC) partnership, bringing together the Universities of Exeter, Plymouth and Bristol and health and social care organisations in the South West of England. They will work alongside the public and communities who use health and social care services.

Looking back over the last six years of ARC West funding, we have much to be proud of. Our achievements include:

• More than 200 research projects with 42 partners
• 280 events with over 5,000 attendances, including training courses and public involvement events
• Nearly £157 million leveraged in other research funding, far exceeding the original investment from NIHR of £9 million
• More than a quarter of a million visitors to our website in the last year alone
• The most followed ARC on social media

This builds on the success of our former incarnation as CLAHRC West, which started in 2014.

Professor Sabi Redwood, Director of NIHR ARC West, said:

“I’m so proud of the fantastic work that we’ve done with our partners over the last 12 years, and everything we’ve achieved together.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has worked with us on such important research, from identifying and enabling projects, to the business of the research itself, to getting our findings out there into policy and practice.

“We’ve made a real difference in our region and further afield. A particular highlight for me is the PReCePT programme, which we helped to roll out nationally to prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies. Latest figures show it’s protected more than 22,000 babies.

“Our work with different communities, including the Bristol Somali community, asylum seekers, street sex workers, Bristolians of African and Caribbean heritage, people who inject drugs and many, many more groups, has also been a high point.”

If you want to stay in touch with future work, sign up for PenARC’s newsletter.

Professor Stuart Logan, Director of PenARC and 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.”