Economic growth

NIHR is a powerhouse for innovation and economic growth, but our contributions are often told in isolation—programme by programme, announcement by announcement. While effective individually, these stories often miss the bigger picture: that the NIHR is a critical national asset, essential to the UK’s competitiveness, health system transformation, and economic growth.

To capture the true scale of our impact, the Economic Growth Communications Framework builds on existing activity and provides a practical framework for planning, prioritisation and external positioning. It complements ongoing work on NIHR's engagement themes approach, which organises communications activity around the three shifts set out in the 10 Year Health Plan, the NIHR Communication Strategy and the NIHR 2026 Messaging Framework.

What is this framework?

It is not a new campaign, and it certainly isn't an extra approval layer. Think of this as a strategic "lens" that sits alongside our current engagement themes, that helps you answer the more strategic question, "why does this matter to the UK's growth and innovation?". 

Three narratives

The framework is built around 3 broad narratives.

• First, the UK is becoming a better place to do research - through our work on clinical trials reform, faster and more predictable study set-up, RDN activity, industry confidence and commercial research performance.

• Second, research helps innovations reach patients faster - through innovation, HealthTech, MedTech, digital research, real-world evidence, adoption, prevention, productivity and better services.

• Third, NIHR is building the foundations for long-term growth. This includes capacity building for the research workforce, infrastructure, through the NIHR Academy, supporting research careers, partnerships, inclusion, international reputation and regional capability.

A new thematic approach

To underpin the economic growth narrative, we are using the three shifts in the 10 Year Health Plan for England; Hospital → Community, Analogue → Digital, Sickness → Prevention. Communication activities sit underneath themes, and themes sit underneath the economic growth framework. 

There is an opportunity to connect the big picture - growth - with changes people can see and feel through the shifts – and drive home the NIHR’s role in it.

This is new! Each theme runs for a defined period, with activity already happening aligned underneath it. This doesn’t encompass the entirety of the NIHR’s work.

• Theme 1 (June to September 2026): Hospital → Community - Unlocking growth across the UK through care closer to home. Example: NIHR20 Social Care Gamechanger, NIHR Workforce Development Update

• Theme 2 (October to December 2026): Analogue → Digital - Accelerating digital innovation to make the UK globally competitive. Example: Impact Prizes announcement

• Theme 3 (January to March 2027): Sickness → Prevention - Driving long-term economic growth through healthier populations. Example: National Cancer Plan - One year on. 

By focusing on economic growth and one shift at a time, we can create stronger content, deliver a more cohesive message, and show NIHR’s contribution against each of the shifts. It’s simpler for anyone creating content to focus on one theme and economic growth, rather than having to focus on all the shifts all the time. 

In practice:

1. we prioritise and sequence activity around a theme

2. we strengthen the ‘why’ - linking everything to impact and growth

3. we measure success based on contribution to that narrative, not just outputs, and how that cuts through to our audiences

How can I help?

We’re looking to create a consistent and detailed narrative that demonstrates how the NIHR is involved in driving economic growth across the UK. To help us achieve this, we’re exploring how we can weave key messages relating to economic growth into our planned communications. 

Where possible, we’d like you to identify connections with economic growth and the time-relevant ‘shift’ in communications you’re sending during these periods, and highlight these connections in your content. We appreciate this won’t always be possible, but please take all the opportunities you can. 

We’re aiming to create a consistent narrative for economic growth and the 3 shifts across the NIHR. Your support will help us achieve this across a broad range of NIHR channels.

This is a new approach to strategic communications for us. We’ll use this as an opportunity to test new ideas and learn from the results our comms activities produce. So please bear with us while we trial this new way of working!

The Economic Growth toolkit

The aim is to move beyond content that says what the NIHR does, towards integrated activities that explain how the NIHR contributes to capability, innovation, public benefit and economic growth. 

The new Economic Growth toolkit gives colleagues simple suggestions on how to align their content to the economic growth agenda. This toolkit primary audience is NIHR communicators, and all NIHR colleagues creating content, including in NIHR infrastructure. It is also relevant for senior leaders and non-comms colleagues to explain this new approach.

Access the new Economic Growth toolkit (link)

The Hospital to Community toolkit

The Hospital to Community community focuses on identifying opportunities to strengthen existing communications, rather than adding new messages where they don't naturally fit. Inside, you'll find key messages, case studies, statistics and practical examples that can be tailored to your audience and channel.

Hospital to Community communications toolkit 

The role of the Strategic Communications Delivery team

The Strategic Communications Delivery Team helps give strategic intent, prioritisation, coordination and oversight to NIHR comms. It enables the economic growth framework to function effectively, combined with the themes. For any questions and support, please email Stratcomms@nihr.ac.uk