A team of researchers, clinicians, and public contributors across the West Midlands will produce rapid, rigorous evidence reviews that directly inform decisions in health and social care. This matters because policymakers, doctors, and social care managers often lack the time to sift through thousands of studies on a given treatment or service. The group’s reviews will distil complex research into clear, actionable summaries—for example, whether a new drug works, which screening programme is most effective, or how best to organise home care for older adults. If successful, the group will help the NHS, local authorities, and national bodies like NICE make better, faster decisions. The impact is mostly behind the scenes: improving the infrastructure that turns raw research into practical guidance. Patients may never see a review, but they will feel its effects in more effective treatments, safer services, and better value for public money. The work is applied, not fundamental science—it is designed to solve immediate real-world problems in health and social care.
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West Midlands Evidence Synthesis Group (WM-ESG) will be an interdisciplinary academic review team with embedded patient and public involvement and engagement, clinical, social care and methodological experts. We aim to provide 3-5 reviews at £500k/pa from 2023-28. 1. WM-ESG includes Co-Directors (Grove/Chen), senior Co-Applicants, a Methods Hub, an Expert Hub, an Advisory Group and strong networks of experts in academia, social care, healthcare, policy, charities and public health. 2. Team expertise: We unite internationally recognised experts in health and social care with experts in evidence synthesis, from across the West Midlands. Methodological skills include information science, critical appraisal, evidence synthesis, screening & test evaluation, machine learning, HTA, health economics and modelling, (inc. NMA, IPD MA, prognosis & prediction) and qualitative synthesis. 3. Previous experience: We have published over 150 HTAs for NICE, the Social Care Institute of Excellence, the UK National Screening Committee, WHO, and NIHR HTA and HS&DR programmes, and numerous Cochrane reviews including living reviews. 4. Networks: We are embedded in NIHR infrastructures including the ARC WM, Birmingham BREC, SPHR, SSCR and the SPCR. 5. PPI&E: Our outstanding existing public contributor structures allow us to include members from underserved communities and to ensure diversity. 6. Research Methods: We tackle diverse research questions and are flexible, agile and innovative in pioneering methodological innovation. Our breadth of expertise underpins our rigour in reviews. 7. Resourcing and Project Management: builds on our established, successful processes and infrastructure in Warwick Evidence to ensure research integrity and effective resource management. 8. Timetable: We balance comprehensiveness and timeliness with rigour and relevance. We respond to review requests to maximise team potential while offering value for money and ensuring a strategic focus and attention to NIHR research priorities. 9. Dissemination: As a minimum, we will share our findings using; • NIHR’s Journals Library/Open Research platform • Open access publishing • Innovation Briefings (audio and video summaries) • Websites/social media • Audience-targeted accessible evidence resources • Annual Evidence Summit 10. Success criteria: our critical success factors are: a. Our Strong multi-institutional partnership b. Our interdisciplinary team with necessary skill mix, track record and seniority c. Effective use of our Public Reference Group in all reviews d. Strong networks with health, public health and social care e. Commitment to ED&I, capacity building, training, and career progression 11. Ethics: Robust arrangements for ethical and regulatory issues. 12. ED&I: We will diversify the voices of those who shape our research agenda and output. We will ensure ED&I in all our training and HR procedures. NIHR Evidence Synthesis Programme seeks to identify, evaluate, combine, and summarise information from a range of sources to provide decision makers with the best information about the effects of interventions used in health and social care. We will use a range of sources, our multidisciplinary centres of excellence and our collaborative partners across the West Midlands to produce rigorous evidence syntheses across a wide range of topics in health and social care to support the mission of the ESP. *All acronyms are spelled out in full in Attachment 1, Detailed research plan.
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