Assessing the impact of NHS England’s abolition and Integrated Care Board funding cuts on research and evaluation  

This new report was written by Sharon Brennan, National Voices’ Director of Policy and External Affairs, in partnership with Dr Manbinder Sidhu, Associate Professor at the Health Services Management Centre (HSMC), University of Birmingham. Among other interests, Dr Sidhu works in areas such as evaluating primary care policy and the development of new models of integrated care in the UK.

Currently Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are charged with promoting and facilitating research within their systems as well as using research evidence when it makes commissioning decisions, with additional expectations placed on the ICBs by NHS England.

The new restructure may significantly affect these duties given the current funding reductions facing Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) alongside the abolishment of NHS England. We know from NHS England’s ICB blueprint paper that “research development and innovation [will] transfer [from ICBs] to regions over time” but we don’t yet know when and what this will look like.

Yet, we do know that the future success of NHS research will depend on how well local voices are heard, how equitably innovation is spread, and how robustly the sector can champion research as both an economic driver and a fundamental lever for health equity. 

This paper therefore lays out:

• The current research landscape and expectations on ICBs
• What is at risk during the restructure
• Key influencing opportunities
• Practical recommendations to ensure research and evaluation opportunities and practice flourishes in the new NHS structure

Given we expect to hear further transition plan announcements, this paper is a reflection of National Voices and member concerns at the time of writing. We will continue to advocate for our members and their concerns, whether within changes in the research space or other restructure concerns.