SUPPORTIVE AND PALLIATIVE CARE (SuPaC) COLLABORATIVES
Our 2002 Strategic Analysis found that research into supportive and palliative care (SuPaC) accounted for only about 4% of direct cancer research expenditure by NCRI partners The NCRI’s Strategic Planning Group (SPG) on Supportive & Palliative Care published the report of their findings in July 2004. This highlighted that the research workforce was fragmented and that more collaboration and interdisciplinary working was needed. In response to this, a consortium of NCRI Partners set up a scheme for Supportive and Palliative Care Research Collaboratives, with initial funding of £5m over 5 years.
Two Collaboratives were awarded and started work in Spring 2006.
- CECo - Professor Julia Addington-Hall, University of Southampton together with Professor Sheila Payne, Lancaster University.
- COMPASS - Professor Irene Higginson, King's College, University of London together with Dr Dan Stark, University of Leeds.
A ‘Capacity Building Grant Scheme’ was also offered during 2006, and awards will be announced in the Autumn. The aim of this scheme is to ensure support for clinical researchers currently outside the successful collaboratives. It was hoped that this would provide a more flexible support mechanism to build capacity in the field and complement the work of the Collaboratives themselves
The SuPaC Collaboratives are funded by the Department of Health, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, and the Economic and Social Research Council.
Marie Curie Cancer Care actively manages the Collaboratives on behalf of the NCRI Partners.
In 2006, the NCRI’s lung cancer SPG identified the need to strengthen research on Supportive and Palliative Care requirements of lung cancer patients. Dedicated funds were pledged by NCRI partners to support a call for proposals in research in this area and the call was managed by the existing Management Committee for the NCRI SuPaC Collaboratives.
The NCRI partners funding this initiative are the Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research UK, Department of Health, the Medical Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Scottish Government Health Directorate and the Health & Social R&D Office (Northern Ireland). The Partners decided to focus this initiative in two broad areas within which interdisciplinary collaborations were encouraged:
- Symptom management with a focus on improving the patient experience
- Studies targeted to assessing the effectiveness of different service models for patients in follow-up
Following a call for proposals in 2007/2008, awards have now been made. To view the successful applicants click here.
Marie Curie Cancer Care, which has managed the call and the selection process, will continue to administer the Lung Cancer SuPaC awards on behalf of the funding partners.
Further details and contacts are available at the Marie Curie Cancer Care SuPaC Collaboratives page.
