Embedded Files
NIHR20 - help us shape
Some of you will know that 2026 marks 20 years since NIHR was formed. What a milestone!
Over the last 2 decades, we’ve been at the forefront of advancing health and care research, improving the health of people across the world, and supporting the research community in the UK and beyond.
More than ever this year, we can show how NIHR has delivered on its mission to improve the health and wealth of the nation and the critical role we continue to have in evolving the UK’s health and care systems. Day in, day out we collaborate and enable others across every corner of NIHR, and spread awareness of the fantastic work we’re part of.
We’re looking to you - our brilliant network of communicators - to amplify NIHR20 in your patch of NIHR and encourage your colleagues to take part in our anniversary activities.
Key dates for your diary
Key dates for your diary
NIHR20 will run from January to December 2026. There’s already plenty of events and activities in the diary for next year that you can support:
January: NIHR20 ‘launch’ communications
February: Innovation Catalyst launch
April: Anniversary month focus, including a film, regional birthday events and a potential ministerial visit
May: NIHR20-focused content within the Be Part of Research Campaign and International Clinical Trials Day
June/July: People-focused content for Red4Research and Research Appreciation Day, with a spotlight on the people who deliver health research
September: NIHR Impact Awards
November: Announcement of NIHR Future Leaders
December: A ‘future focused’ end of year mini campaign
We’re busy planning lots more on top of this as well. There’ll be plenty of NIHR20-themed articles and messages for internal and external audiences, showcasing our major impacts and celebrating the people we’ve supported along the way.
We’ll post more information on the NIHR Comms Site about the NIHR20 content plan over the coming weeks and months.
Key resources available through the NIHR20 partner pack
Key resources available through the NIHR20 partner pack
As we’ve done before, we’re developing a partner pack to support you with communications activities you’re running throughout 2026.
The partner pack is being created in November 2025 and will include the following:
An NIHR20 logomark and guidance
Core messages and a boilerplate wording
Newsletter, website and social media headers and templates
We’ll share the partner pack on the comms site as soon as it’s ready.
Start gearing up for NIHR20
Start gearing up for NIHR20
As you’ve already read in this article, we’re organising activities and opportunities centrally for NIHR20, which you’ll be able to jump on board with and support.
On top of that, we’d appreciate it if you could start thinking about what NIHR20 might look like in your area of NIHR. Please use the information in this article to help guide these early conversations.
To help kickstart your NIHR20 thinking, we’re running an ideas session as part of our communicators webinar on 23 October. We’ll be asking everyone on the call to consider the following question and contribute their own ideas:
‘What would you like to highlight from your patch of NIHR as part of the celebrations for NIHR20?’
Whether you’re coming to the webinar or not, please consider this question and start jotting down some ideas that may work for you and your colleagues.
NIHR20 inbox up and running
NIHR20 inbox up and running
We appreciate you may still have some questions. To help us channel questions to the right place, we’ve set up a special NIHR20 inbox.
You’re welcome to send any questions to nihr20@nihr.ac.uk. Communications leads for all parts of the NIHR are involved, so feel free to chat to them too.
Page updated
Report abuse