About NETSCC

NETSCC was formally established in April 2008 with the flexibility to take on the emerging challenges in the Cooksey Review. The Cooksey Review of health research funding, published in December 2006, sets out recommendations to ensure publicly funded research is carried out in the most efficient way.

A key recommendation was the establishment of the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR) to coordinate the efforts of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). This includes a greater emphasis on translating research into patient benefit whilst maintaining a healthy science base. The NIHR is part of the Government’s strategy, Best Research for Best Health, and is committed to establishing the NHS as an internationally recognised centre of research excellence.

To meet these challenges research programmes are being established alongside the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme and the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) programme, both run from within NETSCC. These will include the new Public Health Research (PHR) programme and the existing Service Delivery and Organisation (SDO) programme, with future opportunities also likely in broader health services research and other areas.

Who we are

NETSCC is a team of managers, academics, clinicians, researchers and support staff managed by a senior management team. Following the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, NIHR research programmes are expanding significantly, hence the growth of NETSCC.

The senior management team of NETSCC is made up of the following:

Professor James Raftery, view biography Chair of NETSCC and Acting Director of SDO, HSR & PHR programmes (Service Delivery & Organisation, Health Services Research, & Public Health Research)

Lynn Kerridge, view biography Chief Executive Officer, NETSCC

Professor Ian Cree, view biography Director of NETSCC, EME (Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme)

Dr Peter Davidson, view biography Director of NETSCC, HTA (Health Technology Assessment programme)

Michael Lovibond, view biography Director of Operations, NETSCC

Dr Ruairidh Milne, view biography Director of External Relations, NETSCC