Introduction

Previous chapters have examined the nature of the research evidencewhich has been generated in different sectors. Much of the knowledgebase has been contributed by researchers pursuing their owndisciplinary and intellectual interests. This has been productive,leading to important contributions to our understanding of the worldand improved effectiveness of interventions. However, thisinvestigator-led approach has often left important gaps inknowledge, particularly in areas that are relevant to policy andpolicy makers but which may not be of such interest or gain kudos inmore academic circles. More recently, policy makers in variousservice areas have sought to ensure that the balance of researchcarried out more adequately reflects their needs. They have donethis in the UK by further developing inhouse research capacity (forexample, at the Home Office) or by establishing the mechanisms forcommissioning relevant research from external research groups,principally university-based.

Some £350m is estimated to have been spent on policy-related researchby UK central government in 1998/99 (Cabinet Office, 1999). Agovernment review of the use of such research does not make edifyingreading:

This chapter examines and compares how different service areas havesought to develop well-directed research capacity to generateinformation on the effectiveness of interventions and how suchinformation is integrated into the policy process and communicatedto practitioners. Three key policy areas are considered: theNational Health Service, the Home Office and the Department forEducation and Employment.

The National Health Service by TrevorSheldon

Background

There has been international interest in the way that the UK NationalHealth Service (NHS) developed a strategy for acquiring anddisseminating the research evidence needed for policy and clinicaldecision making. Other countries have invested heavily in medicalresearch and the evaluation of healthcare, but the NHS was probablythe first to develop a research and development (R&D) strategythat lay at the core of the service and central to the management ofthat service (Black, 1997)