The Allied Health Professions’ Research and Innovation Strategy for England was published in January 2022. You can access the full strategy document HERE. The Allied Health Professions’ Research and Innovation Strategy for England clearly sets out the relevance and essential importance for the whole AHP workforce community, inclusive of all sectors, all job roles and all career stages. The strategic aims and objectives apply to all AHP practitioners, educators, managers and policy leads, as well as to those individuals who are already engaged in research activities, roles or careers.
The publication of this Strategy marked a landmark, as a collective national reference statement that encompasses and supports the existing research and innovation strategies of all the 14 UK Allied Health professional associations.
In this Strategy, research is defined to encompass the full spectrum of quality improvement approaches for excellence in practice, with the primary objective of driving care quality – for all those who receive AHP services, as well as those who deliver AHP services, including Public Health roles and new ways of working.
The Strategy is presented in Four Domains:
1. CAPACITY – engagement of the wider AHP Community
2. CAPABILITY – for individuals to undertake and achieve excellence in research & innovation activities, roles, careers & leadership
3. CONTEXT – for AHPs to have equitable access to sustainable support, infrastructures & investment
4. CULTURE – for a transformational shift in perceptions and expectations that research and innovation is an essential aspect of all AHP professional identities and roles
The Strategy sets out three Strategic Aims, each underpinned by a number of Strategic Objectives and descriptors.
The Research and Innovation Strategy has been embedded into the Chief Allied Health Profession Officer’s national Strategy “AHPs Deliver 2022-2027” https://www.england.nhs.uk/ahp/allied-health-professions-strategy-for-england/
The implementation of the national Strategy is being rolled out at regional, local and organisational levels, and has been adopted in alignment with strategic priorities by many groups of stakeholders, including Integrated Care Boards. The one-year anniversary after the publication of the Strategy was marked by a showcase of news updates, presentations, newly created resources and a wide range of AHP case examples. The presentations were all recorded and can be viewed HERE.