Community-based care calls for community-based research

Community-based research is essential for a sustainable, equitable NHS. Despite most patient care happening in primary and community settings, research funding and activity remain hospital-centric. Expanding research into communities improves relevance, inclusion, patient outcomes, workforce development, and service innovation. Advantage Accreditation supports organisations to deliver high-quality, CPD-approved training in community settings, boosting credibility, compliance, and impact.

Key Points:

NHS policy promotes care closer to home, but research is concentrated in hospitals.
Community-based research improves access, equity, and patient outcomes.
Barriers include funding complexity, fragmented infrastructure, and workforce constraints.
Initiatives like PC-CRDCs and NIHR RDN are helping decentralise research.
Embedding research in community care supports workforce development, professional recognition, and strategic system change.

Increasingly, the evidence shows that where research happens matters as much as how it happens, and there’s a growing need to expand research beyond hospitals into the community.

Hospital-Centric Research

The NHS has committed to shifting care from hospitals to communities, emphasising prevention and services closer to home. Yet research funding and delivery have largely remained hospital-focused. Despite most patient care happening outside hospitals, only a small proportion of NIHR research delivery funding currently reaches community and primary care settings, though there are plans to increase this share over the next few years.

Hospitals naturally attract research; they have the infrastructure, expertise, and track record, but this “right drift” away from community-based care risks:

Under-resourcing innovations in primary care
Limiting access for underserved populations
Reinforcing health inequalities
Missing the real-world context where most care is delivered

In short, without change, research risks staying disconnected from the people and communities it is meant to benefit.

Community-Based Research

Stakeholders across the NHS and wider health system have identified seven key benefits of expanding research into community settings:

Representative and Accessible Research – Community locations enable larger, more diverse participation and reduce barriers such as travel, time, and cost.
Greater Relevance and Impact – Research aligned with local community needs is more likely to produce actionable results.
Stronger Inclusion and Engagement – Trusted local organisations can reach underrepresented groups and embed meaningful co-production.
Improved Patient Experience and Outcomes – Research-active organisations consistently deliver higher-quality care.
Direct Service Improvement – Insights from real-world settings translate faster into practice and attract investment into underfunded services.
Workforce Benefits – Research involvement improves skills, job satisfaction, retention, and the status of community-based roles.
Supporting Strategic System Change – Community research aligns with prevention, long-term conditions, and broader determinants of health, helping shift resources away from hospitals.

Barriers

Despite these benefits, community-based research faces structural and cultural barriers:

Funding systems favour hospitals, with complex processes and track record requirements that disadvantage smaller providers.
Weak and fragmented infrastructure, including limited research staff, administrative systems, and coordination.
Workforce capacity and culture, with overstretched staff, little protected research time, and low embedded expectation for research participation.

At Advantage Accreditation, we understand how robust frameworks, clear guidance, and accessible training can help overcome these barriers, supporting organisations to deliver high-quality training in any setting.

Progress

Recent initiatives signal a shift:

NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) funding is increasing for wider care settings.
Primary Care Commercial Research Delivery Centres (PC-CRDCs) are bringing commercial trials into communities.
Agile Research Delivery Teams and Health Determinants Research Collaborations are supporting delivery and capacity-building.

Local successes, from Bristol to Sheffield, show that investment in community infrastructure, training, and networks creates a virtuous cycle: stronger capability leads to more funding, better outcomes, and further capacity-building.

Accreditation

Independent accreditation ensures that training meets recognised quality standards, helping organisations:

Build credibility and reputation
Streamline administration and embed best practices
Support workforce development and professional identity
Deliver CPD-approved training that empowers staff to lead research in new settings

By providing a seal of approval, Advantage Accreditation supports organisations to navigate regulatory complexity, adopt best practices, and help bridge the gap between policy intent and reality.

Moving Forward

For a truly research-enabled NHS, community and primary care must be central to the research ecosystem. This requires:

Coordinated action across funders, national bodies, and local leaders
Investment in infrastructure, training, and workforce support
Inclusive, equitable approaches to patient and public involvement