In October 2007, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) announced a call for proposals to establish pilot Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC).

CLAHRCs are designed to address key recommendations of Sir David Cooksey's Review of Health Research and of the Chief Medical Officer's High Level Review of Clinical Effectiveness by undertaking high-quality applied health research focused on the needs of patients and supporting the translation of research evidence into practice in the NHS.

The South West Peninsula Clinical Research Collaboration (SWPCRC), a partnership of local NHS trusts, the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth and the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD) committed to increasing excellent clinical research in the south-west, submitted a bid to NIHR in January 2008. Following a highly competitive short-listing and interview process we were awarded £10 million to establish a five-year pilot CLAHRC in the region. This funding will be matched by a further £10 million from a number of sources including the Strategic Health Authority, the Universities and local NHS trusts. A summary of the original bid application is available to download. This document requires Adobe Reader to view.