Evidence from high-quality research is vital to policy and clinical decision-making and underpins the best possible care for patient. The RCGP Research Programme works in a number of ways to help ensure robust evidence remains at the heart of what we do.
Research Ready®
Get access to training and research support to upskill the whole practice team.
Scientific Foundation Board
Apply for research grant funding through the RCGP Scientific Foundation Board.
Research Surveillance Centre
Join the internationally renowned network to support research and disease surveillance.
Key statistics and insights
The RCGP has collated key statistics to provide an easily accessible source of information.
Research awards
These awards celebrate research excellence and recognise individual researchers.
Research members' forum
A place where RCGP members can discuss research in general practice and beyond.
We work with our members and partners to strengthen research in and for general practice by
- Embedding research culture and capability.
- Building and sustaining clinical academic careers.
- Maximising the impact, visibility and influence of general practice research.
- Supporting and expanding high quality, sustainable research delivery in general practice.
We also develop and use new research to help provide the evidence for robust decision-making:
- Developing research and data analyses in priority areas.
- Using evidence to understand the current state of general practice and hold Government and the NHS to account on their commitments.
- Working with key stakeholders to develop new research projects and opportunities.
The Royal College of General Practitioners supports and collaborates in research across the primary care network. Below is a summary of the work we are involved in:
Society for Academic General Practice (SAPC)
SAPC is a membership organisation for primary care academics clinicians, educators and health service researchers. They champion expertise in academic research and education driving improvements in primary care.
SAPC have numerous working groups that bring together Heads of Departments or Heads of Teaching and Special interest groups. SAPC also hold national and regional conferences that offer opportunities for academic researchers to present their work and participate in workshops.
SAPC and the College provide two combined awards: The Outstanding Early Career Researcher Award and the John Fry Award. For more information on these, please look at our awards page.
Wise GP
The WiseGP a collaborative initiative was started by SAPC and RCGP. The goal of this collaboration is to support person-centred primary health care, by inspiring clinicians to develop their knowledge and provide them with the tools to help them manage the complexities of everyday practice.
WiseGP has a library of GEMS, where you can find out about the latest research related to General Practice, which can be applied in practice ways to tackle everyday problems and improve the provision of care. The research covers a range of topics and is relevant to the extended primary care team.
To find out more please look at the Wise GP website.
National Institute for Health and Care Research
NIHR funds and delivers research across all levels of care. The NIHR covers all levels of care, and the departments the College engages most with are the Research Delivery Network (RDN) and the School of Primary Care Research (SPCR).
NIHR Research Delivery Network
The NIHR RDN launched in October 2024 and supports high-quality research studies across England. They have a large range of resources, which are allocated on a national and local level. Their mission is to enable the health and care system to attract, optimise and deliver research across England.
Their 3 primary purposes are to:
- enable research delivery across England
- invest in capacity and capability for delivering the RDN Portfolio
- support the implementation of national policy
The RDN have 12 Regional Research Delivery Networks that support local research studies. They do this by providing funding, connecting researchers to participants, and ensuring research is done efficiently.
NIHR School of Primary Care Research
The NIHR SPCR is a partnership between 9 of the leading academic centres. The partnership connects academics and practitioners across the country to conduct, support and offer exciting opportunities to researchers working to improve primary care and general practice.
The universities included are:
- Bristol University
- Exeter University
- Keele University
- Manchester University
- Nottingham University
- Oxford University
- Queen Mary University of London
- Southampton University
- University College London
The College collaborated with the NIHR SPCR to create the Research Engagement Hub, which was created to celebrate and showcase academic general practice as an exciting and varied career path. The Director of the School Professor Christian Mallen, contributed a testimonial, please take a look and find out more about how to get into research.
Oxford University and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
RCGP collaborates with Oxford University and UKHSA to deliver the Oxford-RCGP Research and Surveillance Centre (RSC).
The RSC serves as an active research and surveillance unit that now collects pseudonymised data from over 2,000 practices across England. This network is a key source of information UKHSA, supports monitoring of outbreaks, and conducts impactful, data-driven research.
We work with the University of Oxford to deliver the RSC for which the data sits within the ORCHID database, hosted by the University. Pseudonymised practice data within ORCHID is used to produce a valuable Weekly Communicable and Respiratory Disease Report for England which covers 40 monitored conditions.
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