Launch of AHP Research Champion Scheme - a joint collaboration between the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) and the Council for Allied Health Professions Research (CAHPR)

Are you passionate about AHPs being research-active and having an impact on patient care?  Do you have ideas about how we engage and support AHPs to be research-active in NHS and social care settings?

We want to add to our community of role models and research activists to champion the work of AHPs and to get more AHPs to be aware of and involved in health and social care research for the benefit of patients.

For more information, please visit https://sites.google.com/nihr.ac.uk/nihrahpsinresearch/ahp-research-champions   

Further info

Information about the scheme is included here and the role profile can be accessed here. Applications for these roles open this week and close 13 September 2018  

By way of background this scheme has been developed in the context of :

· knowing that AHPs make a massive contribution to high quality patient care driving the research and evaluation work that helps to develop the the evidence base for practice

• developing a culture of innovation and service improvement which is essential to  high quality and sustainable care. This includes research and evaluation. These elements are enshrined in the spirit of AHPs into action helping AHPs to evidence the impact of their contribution
• a growing body of evidence about the association between improved outcomes for patients and organisations that that are research active 
• the knowledge that engaging with research helps organisations to develop meaningful roles and leaders, and this in turn assists organisations to recruit and retain the best workforce 
• feedback that championing research locally helps organisations to be more research active which in turn brings additional income   

Any support colleagues can provide to share this opportunity with your teams and networks would be very much appreciated. Please do not hesitate to contact Anthea Mould, anthea.mould@nihr.ac.uk, or Anne Moore, a.p.moore@brighton.ac.uk if you have any questions or would like further information about the scheme. Questions from prospective applicants are best directed to ahps@nihr.ac.uk