Central and North West Midlands Commercial Research Delivery Centre (CRDC)

A women being screened by a healthcare professional

Hosted by Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, the CRDC is a collaboration between NHS trusts, primary care partners like GPs, universities and the voluntary and community sector across the West Midlands (known as delivery sites), covering two integrated care boards (ICBs) which are in the following areas:

  • Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, and Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.
  • Birmingham, the Black Country and Solihull.

Within these areas, we want to make research easier to understand and bring it closer to our growing population and diverse communities. The CRDC is doing this by looking at opportunities to work with commercial sponsors, such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices companies and pairing them with delivery sites to host trials and studies.

It means a faster, more efficient way of getting research off the ground which will ultimately lead to better health outcomes for our population.

Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), we don’t restrict our focus on any particular disease but want to prioritise making research easier for participants and for the region to be able to increase research studies.

Who does it serve?

The region is made up of 4.2 million people and it is highly diverse, facing significant health inequalities and poor health outcomes. The CRDC works to make sure people in our region have fairer access to research opportunities, including communities that have historically had fewer chances to take part. Taking part in research may give people the chance to access new treatments, technologies or ways of delivering care, depending on the study. Research also helps to improve future care for others.

How does it work?

The CRDC helps to connect commercial sponsors with the right sites by matching what each study needs with sites that have the right staff, space and capacity to deliver it, using information from our digital database to highlight where potential participants may be.

Working with sponsors

We make it simple for sponsors by giving them one main point of contact and access to our full network of sites, which leads to efficiency when setting up studies.  This means we can deal with any local issues or barriers together, reducing the workload for sponsors and learning from best practice.

A nurse in a hospital looking down at a tablet

How does it benefit patients?

We aim to make it easier for patients to take part in research. Studies can run not only in hospitals, but also in community settings, such as your GP practice, a community centre or at another NHS Trust.

Our Digital Team helps us place studies in the right locations across the region. Our Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Team supports studies to reach people who need them most. Our Hospital to Home and Workforce Teams help increase research capacity beyond large hospitals, making it easier for patients to join and stay in studies in their local communities. This gives patients more choice about where they take part. It also helps us build research skills across the region and supports both sites and sponsors to deliver high-quality studies and ensure recruitment reflects the diverse communities we serve.

How do I get involved?

If you live in our region and are interested in taking part in research, there are a few ways to find out about opportunities. You can ask your doctor, nurse or another healthcare professional if there are any suitable studies for you. Keep an eye out for opportunities at community events.

You can also search for studies yourself through NIHR’s Be Part of Research service, where you can look for opportunities or register to be matched to studies. Taking part is always your choice.

If you’re a commercial sponsor and wish to discuss further, please get in touch with us. Our team will be happy to help you navigate our partnership effectively, answering any questions. Please email: crdc-cnwm@nihr.ac.uk.

CRDC map of delivery sitesOur delivery sites

Below are our delivery partners:

  • Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
  • Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust
  • University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
  • Fernley Medical Group/Balsall Heath and Sparkhill Primary Care Network
  • West Birmingham Primary Care Network
  • Our Health Partnership
  • Modality Partnership Ltd
  • GPS Healthcare and Solihull Healthcare Partnership
  • Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
  • The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • NHS Birmingham Black Country and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB)
  • Aston University
  • University of Birmingham
  • Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust
  • The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
  • Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
  • Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
  • Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust
  • Dudley and Netherton Primary Care Network
  • Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
  • Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust     
  • North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust
  • Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust
  • NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB
  • NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB
  • East Staffordshire Primary Care Network
  • Keele University     

More information and other resources

To find out more about CRDCs nationally, go to: Commercial Research Delivery Centres | NIHR