The North West Coast Research and Innovation Showcase 2026 celebrates the people, partnerships and projects that are driving meaningful improvements in health and care across our region.
Delivered in partnership by Health Innovation North West Coast and the Applied Research Collaboration North West Coast, the showcase recognises outstanding achievements in research, innovation and collaboration that are improving outcomes for patients, staff and communities.
We're delighted to reveal the shortlisted entries for the North West Coast Research and Innovation Showcare 2026.
Award Categories
Industry Collaboration
- Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - Alerts to action: Scaling heart failure innovation across Cheshire and Merseyside
- Liverpool Women’s Health Innovation (WIN) Studio – WIN Studio: Accelerating women’s health innovation through industry collaboration
- NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group and Decently – From two wards to three hospitals: Scaling Melo through partnership
Innovation in Workforce Culture
- Liverpool Orthopaedic and Trauma Service - Creating a shared identity and culture of innovation within the Liverpool Orthopaedic and Trauma Service
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust – Making research part of everyone’s business
- Wirral Academic Surgical Programme, Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – WASP: Growing our own innovators from rota gaps and overlooked talent
Patient Safety and Care Improvement
- Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust – Sapphire Ward: Integrated eating disorder services improving young people’s care
- The Liverpool Limb Reconstruction Service – part of The Liverpool Orthopaedics and Trauma Service: NHS university Hospitals of Liverpool Group – External fixator removal in the outpatient clinic using regional anaesthesia: A positive patient experience
- The Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit, NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group – Improving diagnosis and management of haemophagocyctic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)
Research Capacity Building
- ReproNorth – A trauma-informed approach to research capacity building for reproductive justice
- University of Lancashire – Development a Sustainable Stroke Research Workforce through COMMITS
- Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust – Wirral Academic Surgical Programme: turning rota gaps into research capacity
Research Student of the Year
- Dr Sindhu Sekar
- Mohamed Abosheisha
- Rio Foster
Sustainability
- APRIN Network supported by Edge Hill University – APRIN: Connecting evidence, nature and collaboration for health and sustainability
- GroundsWell, The Mersey Forest, NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North West Coast – Forest bathing: the natural health service
- The Wellcome Trust – Powering the sustainable workspace with PoE
Tackling Health Inequalities
- Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance working in partnership with (One Knowsley, Warrington CVS, Cheshire West Voluntary Action, Community & Voluntary Services Cheshire East, Halton & St Helens Voluntary and Community Action, Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services, Sefton Council for Voluntary Services and Wirral CVS) – Community ownership of cancer Awareness to reduce inequalities
- Community CVS – Call for a kit: Reducing bowel screening inequalities
- Liverpool Women’s University Hospital – Digital for the many, not the few: Inclusion by design
The Ruth Young Award for Public Involvement in Research Implementation
- Liverpool John Moores University – That Girl: Lived Experience Transforming Research into Practice
- University of Liverpool – Alcohol Care Team Involvement and Engagement (ACTIVE) group
- University of Liverpool – DynAIRx: Co-produced AI Transforming Medicines Optimisation for Complex Patients