Integrated Care System partners top research funding leaderboard
The Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire area is riding high in a key national research funding league table.
Research Capability Funding is awarded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to research active NHS organisations. Funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, National Institute for Health and Care Research is the UK Government’s research arm.
More than £5 million in Research Capability Funding has been awarded across the BNSSG area in the 2026/27 funding allocation. This is more than 10% of the total Research Capability Funding awards in England.
By supporting NHS organisations to sustain and grow their research capacity and capability, Research Capability Funding is a key indicator of success in securing National Institute for Health and Care Research funding. Around 250 NHS organisations are awarded Research Capability Funding each year.
How it breaks down
When North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) 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 Research Capability Funding funding allocation. This is nearly twice as much as any other NHS trust.
Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) comes second, securing more than £2m of Research Capability Funding funding in 2026/27. This sustains its position as the best performing ICB nationally for the third year running.
Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust is also one of the highest performing mental health trusts with £138,000.
Professor Tim Whittlestone, Bristol NHS Foundation Trust’s Chief Medical and Innovation Officer, said:
“This performance is an early indicator of the combined power of Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and our partners in the area. Bringing together the strengths of both trusts alongside our partners 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 Research Capability Funding makes a difference
Research Capability Funding funds NHS organisations to support their research teams, acting as a seed corn fund. This includes helping researchers to start their career path, backfilling clinical academics and supporting studies to access specialist input.
Research Capability Funding enables staff outside traditional research professions to be funded. Half of Southmead Hospital’s 2025/26 awards went to non-medic health professionals such as nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and pharmacists.
Over the last 5 years, for every £1 of Research Capability Funding, Southmead has received £35 in National Institute for Health and Care Research grant funding.
At UHBW, Research Capability Funding has similarly allowed a range of staff to prepare grants. A small Research Capability Funding grant helped develop a chief nurse’s idea into a project that went on to be awarded £1.18 million by National Institute for Health and Care Research. The project evaluated the nursing associate role in adult secondary care in England.
At Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Research Capability Funding 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, Research Capability Funding from Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire 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.
Examples of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire research projects which have been funded by National Institute for Health and Care Research can be found in the Research Portfolio on the Healthier Together website.