The initiative is founded on the success of the first five CRFs, funded by the Wellcome Trust.

CRFs provide sites for patient-oriented research in a hospital setting. Specialised facilities and staff make CRFs ideal sites for research on people, and they act as local beacons of good clinical research practice.

With Wellcome Trust support, CRFs have been established in Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester and Southampton. In an unprecedented joint venture, ten UK funding agencies joined forces to fund eight new bench-to-bedside initiatives – in London (Imperial College, King's College London, the Institute of Cancer Research and University College London), Oxford, Belfast and Newcastle in the UK, and Dublin in the Republic of Ireland.

Four existing CRFs will also receive support for further development. The final sums to be awarded to each centre are currently being negotiated.

The competition was managed by the Wellcome Trust on behalf of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration. Funders included the Wolfson Foundation, the Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and various health departments.

Image: Nursing at the CRFs

See also

• Feature: Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facilities (12 January 2007)