Our vision, aims and objectives

Our goal is to ensure that today’s research makes a difference to tomorrow’s care.

Health and Care Research Wales’ mission is to promote, support and provide collective oversight of health and social care research in Wales to ensure it is of the highest international scientific quality, is relevant to the needs and challenges of health and social care in Wales, and makes a difference to policy and practice in ways that improve the lives of patients, people and communities in Wales.

Involving patients, service users, carers and the public is key to our work in order to ensure the research we support is relevant and effectively delivered.

In April 2023, we launched an ambitious and wide-reaching three-year plan, Research matters: our plan for improving health and care research in Wales 2022 - 2025, The plan will be delivered in collaboration with partners including R&D leaders in health boards and the wider NHS, social care, higher education institutions, industry and funders.

We seek to achieve our goal through partnership and four main aims:

Setting the agenda for health and social care research

We work with all stakeholders including patients, service users and the public to set the agenda for health and social care research and development in Wales, promoting research as a driver of innovation and improvement in health and social care.

Funding and organising research

We coordinate and liaise with research funding agencies in Wales and at a UK level to plan and fund health and social care research. We aim to make the most efficient use of resources and to maximise Welsh engagement in UK and international research funding. We run our own funding schemes, and engage in cross-funder and partnership schemes with others.

Securing capacity and capability to deliver health and social care research

We work together as a network of Welsh universities, NHS boards and trusts, local authorities and care providers to create and sustain capability and capacity in research and to support organisations to lead, undertake and support health and social care research.

Using research to improve health and social care

We work with health and care system leaders and their organisations to promote the effective use of research in innovation and improvement, leading to the spread and scale of those improvements.