The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Delivery Network plays a vital role in advancing research across the NHS, including primary care settings. Click here to find out more.

The James Lind Alliance is a non-profit making initative that brings together patients and clinicians to identify and establish key research priorities, particularly in the area of cardiovascular disease. Full details can be found on there website here. 

These are several key publications that highlight the need to increase the number of clinical academics, particularly within primary care. Take a look at the below: 

• The Academy of Medical Science - Building clinical academic capacity and the allocation of resources across academic specialties
• Medical Research Council - Clinical researchers in the UK: reversing the decline

The NIHR Research Support Service (RSS) is dedicated to helping researchers design impactful studies and apply for funding to bring their projects to life. Their website provides support on how to develop applications for national, peer-reviewed research programmes. For further information, please click here. 

Key funders supporting cardiovascular research include the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the British Heart Foundation. Full details about what they fund can be found on their website. 

The NIHR Academy offers funding opportunities to support primary care team members across disciplines to conduct essential research. It also provides training and support to health and care researchers at all stages of their careers. 

At the PCCS 8th Annual Conference 2025, Prof Derek Connolly gave us an overview of "What's new in research": 

Prof Clare Taylor, Professor of General Practice at the University of Birmingham, presented at the PCCS 5th Spring Conference on "Research: Evidence into Practice": 

The British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellance (BHF CRC) offers a wide range of resources and services to help support you at every stage of your research journey, from early-stage project development through to collaboration and public engagement. Whether you are looking for funding opportunities, expert consultation, or a platform to connect with like-minded researchers, there is something here for everyone. Below is an overview of what is available to you:

• Research Development Fund (RDF) – A small grant to support early-stage research projects. Find out more here: https://bhfcrc.org/researchdevelopmentfund/
• CoNNeCT Cardiology Programme – A dedicated online platform designed to support cardiologists in training to participate in multi-centre research projects. Find out more here: https://bhfcrc.org/connect-cardiology-a-collaborative-nationwide-network-of-cardiologists-in-training/
• Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement – A coordinated approach to PPIE, connecting researchers with patient and public advisors, based on the expertise and characteristics they seek. We achieve this via our diverse network of patient-focused organisations and a dedicated online space for patients and public members to connect with research involvement opportunities. Our support also extends to facilitating introductions and enabling connections with PPI. Find out more here: https://bhfcrc.org/our-network/
• Research Group (RG) Coordination and Collaboration – Provision of an online Microsoft Teams platform and coordination services to facilitate consistent research group engagement and collaboration, as well as access to a well-equipped meeting room ideal for face-to-face and hybrid meetings. For enquiries, please contact enquiries@bhfcrc.org
• Research Development Support – We create and facilitate surveys, partner meetings and stakeholder events for researchers. Find out more here: https://bhfcrc.org/shaping-the-future-of-congenital-heart-disease-research/
• CTU Packages – We facilitate and fund up to four hours of consultation with expert Clinical Trials Units (CTUs) across the UK. Find out more here: https://bhfcrc.org/clinical-trials-units/clinical-trials-units-ctu-consultancy-packages/
• BHF CRC National Research Collaboration Database – An online space linking clinicians, academics, patients, funders and specialist industry partners to support wider participation in research. Find out more here: https://bhfcrc.org/bhf-crc-national-clinical-research-database-patients-and-public-researchers/
• Priority Setting – We provide essential support for the planning and delivery of priority-setting projects, including infrastructure, administrative support and networking. Find out more here: https://bhfcrc.org/deciding-the-top-10-research-questions-for-hypertension/
• Hosting educational podcasts and webinars - We collaborate with leading organisations to enhance research education and development. Find out more here: https://bhfcrc.org/soopr-podcast/ and here: https://bhfcrc.org/cardiowebinar/

Enabling cardiovascular research excellence across Wales and beyond.

The National Cardiovascular Research Network has three new funding opportunities open to healthcare professionals in Wales. Whether you have a research question you’ve always wanted to explore or an innovative project around heart health that needs a boost to get it off the ground - we can help you take the next step.

Our funding schemes are designed to support healthcare professionals at all career stages, helping to overcome common barriers to research, develop new skills and grow cardiovascular research capacity across Wales.

Find out more about all three funding opportunities at: https://ncrn.uk/funding/

If you'd like to discuss an idea or learn more about how we can support you, please contact the NCRN team at admin@ncrn.uk.

AURORA

AURORA (Addressing Underrepresentation through Outreach and Research Access) is a funding programme from the National Cardiovascular Research Network supporting community-led activities that make heart health and research more inclusive and accessible in Wales.

We fund innovative projects that raise awareness of heart and circulatory health, build understanding of research and encourage participation from communities often underrepresented in healthcare.

Healthcare professionals can play a key role in identifying unmet needs within their communities and developing activities that help build trust, reduce barriers to participation, and improve engagement with cardiovascular research. Projects may include patient education sessions, community workshops, awareness campaigns, engagement events, or other innovative approaches tailored to local populations.

By supporting trusted community-based activity, AURORA aims to ensure that future cardiovascular research better reflects the diverse populations it is designed to serve.

Funding available: £2,000
Deadline: Open call with no application deadline.

Research Responsive Fund:

The Research Responsive Fund supports healthcare professionals and cardiovascular researchers in Wales to develop early-stage research ideas and generate the preliminary evidence needed to secure larger external funding awards.

Designed to pump-prime innovative research, the fund can be used to support proof-of-concept studies, pilot data collection, interdisciplinary collaborations, service evaluation activities with a research focus, and the purchase of small items of equipment required for preliminary research.

The scheme is open to applicants at all career stages across NHS organisations, universities and social care settings, with early career researchers and clinicians particularly encouraged to apply.

For healthcare professionals seeking to translate clinical observations into research opportunities, the fund provides a practical route to test new ideas, establish collaborations and strengthen future grant applications.

Funding available: Up to £7,500 for projects lasting up to 6 months.

Deadline: 24 September 2026, 5pm.

Secure Data Access Catalytic Fund:

The Secure Data Access Catalytic Fund enables healthcare professionals and cardiovascular researchers in Wales to access secure, linked health datasets and generate preliminary findings that can underpin future research programmes and funding applications.

The fund is designed to overcome common barriers to data-enabled research and can support access costs for Trusted Research Environments (TREs), biobanks and linked datasets, as well as staff time and analytical support provided through the National Cardiovascular Research Network.

The scheme is open to applicants at any career stage working within Welsh higher education institutions, NHS organisations or social care settings. Collaborative applications are encouraged, particularly those involving early career researchers.

For clinicians and researchers interested in using routinely collected health data to answer important cardiovascular health questions, the fund offers a valuable opportunity to develop research capacity, establish feasibility, and build competitive applications for larger-scale funding.

Funding available: A total of £15,000 is available, with funding expected to support 2-3 projects. Projects should not exceed 12 months.

 Deadline: 24 September 2026, 5pm.

PCCS is supporting the University of Birmingham to carry out a heart failure diagnosis audit in primary care. The format is similar to the National Cancer Diagnosis Audit and uses a simple survey to ask about symptoms, tests, diagnosis and treatment for patients diagnosed with heart failure in the last year.

Each survey should take 15-20 minutes to complete, and we would ask you to do up to five surveys in total. You will receive a £25 ‘Love2Shop voucher’ for every survey completed. If you would be interested in taking part, please enter your details here:

Heart Failure Audit Interest Survey

The University of Birmingham has received funding from Bayer to carry out this audit. Bayer were not involved in the development of the audit, content or the arrangements.

We want to share information about an important new clinical trial that could benefit people living with both heart failure and atrial fibrillation.

The CRAAFT-HF study,  funded by the British Heart Foundation, is evaluating whether early catheter ablation improves outcomes in patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation. We're powered to detect changes in all-cause mortality, cardiovascular hospitalisation, and quality of life with planned enrolment of 1,200 participants.

The trial is now actively recruiting across UK and international sites.

We need your support to:

• Refer potentially eligible patients to existing sites
• Share information through your professional networks

Eligibility criteria:

• Diagnosed heart failure (LVEF <50%)
• Paroxysmal or persistent AF (≤3 years)
• Recent symptoms or hospitalisation

This is real-world, pragmatic research comparing catheter ablation (cryo, RF or PFA) vs optimal medical therapy—designed to generate definitive, generalisable evidence for clinical practice.

For patient referrals, site enquiries, or more information: craaft-hf-cvctu@qmul.ac.uk or craaft-hf.mailchimpsites.com

Thank you for helping us answer one of the most important questions in cardiovascular care.

PCCS is supporting promotion of the PREG HEART Study, a UK wide, NIHR BHF-supported research initiative establishing a national, longitudinal platform to better understand heart disease in pregnancy. Heart disease remains the leading cause of serious illness and death for pregnant women in the UK, yet maternal cardiovascular health is significantly under researched. The study is open to women who are currently pregnant or who have been pregnant in the past and were diagnosed with heart disease before, during, or up to six months after pregnancy, as well as pregnant women without heart disease. Participation involves completing a short online consent form and an annual health survey, helping to improve future care and outcomes for women.

Find out more and share with your networks at: https://thehearthive.org/preg-heart