The voice of NIHR

Our tone of voice is how we write and speak to our audience.

We aim to speak with a voice that is neutral and factual. It is authoritative and shows we are a leader in the field.  This doesn’t mean being pompous or full of jargon. It is about showing that we know what we are talking about. We are the authority.  

Our mission is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. We have key messages that should be used in our communications to articulate what we do. 

The NIHR delivers:

1. Impact. NIHR research saves lives and improves the quality of life of the public, enhancing resilience and productivity.

2. Innovation. Health and care research powers the country’s life science sector and technical advantage.

3. Inclusion. NIHR research identifies areas of under-representation, builds research capacity, and collaborates with the public to address health and care inequalities.

4. Investment. NIHR research drives economic returns, inward investment, improved productivity in health and care, and a healthier workforce.

Our research improves treatments and services for the British public, so our work should be written to be read and understood by anyone. We are authentic and realistic.

Our tone and voice should reflect our operating principles of Impact, Excellence, Inclusion, Collaboration and Effectiveness.

Impact

We ground our communications in real world impact, we don’t use the abstract. We use evidence and examples to show results.

Excellence

We operate to the highest standards of integrity and transparency. We inspire through the stories of our work. We make our work accessible, professional and we are not overly colloquial. 

Inclusion

Writing clearly and simply benefits everyone. It is no good to say we are inclusive if our writing and our words are not.

For more information on writing inclusively, take a look at our good practice guide for inclusive language and communications on NIHR Learn.

Collaboration

We are structurally a collaborative organisation. In our writing, we are generous in showing we do not do all our work on our own.

Effectiveness

We write about what our readers want to know and not just what we want to tell them. We are effective with people’s time and succinct with our points.

Example

‘NIHR has been instrumental in developing, testing and evaluating the weight loss drug, semaglutide.’

This sentence shows NIHR’s value, explains an unfamiliar term and explains what the NIHR did in a direct and impactful way.