Value Lab: A new joint ICB and ARC initiative in Thames Valley

Written by: Apostolos Tsiachristas – Knowledge Mobilisation Theme Lead

The NIHR Applied Research Collaborative Thames Valley (ARC TV) is working in close partnership with the emerging Thames Valley Integrated Care Board (ICB) to establish a new “Value Lab.” This joint initiative will help the ICB to evaluate NHS services and make more informed decisions about healthcare allocation for more than 2.5 million patients across the region.

As the NHS shifts toward a more strategic, value-based model of commissioning, ICBs are being asked to make increasingly complex decisions about how to most effectively use finite resources to improve population health and reduce inequalities. The Value Lab will meet this challenge head-on by bringing together expertise in health economics, data science, and implementation research to support evidence-informed decision making in real time.

Through close collaboration, researchers will be able to help generate practical evidence that responds to the most pressing questions facing NHS leaders. ARC TV is contributing embedded research capacity, including dedicated analytical staff and methodological expertise, while the ICB is providing core funding, leadership sponsorship, and direct integration into its strategy and commissioning functions. Together, this creates a shared platform where academic insights, system priorities, and population health needs can be aligned and rapidly translated into action.

A key enabler of the Lab’s work is the Thames Valley Innovation Fund, which provides dedicated resources to test, evaluate, and scale new approaches to care delivery and payment. By linking analytic capability with targeted investment, the partnership creates a full pipeline from identifying high-value opportunities through to implementation and evaluation. This work represents a new kind of collaboration between academia and the NHS that moves beyond observation to active co-production of solutions. It reflects a shared ambition to build a more strategic, data-driven health system that works to continuously improving the value of that care for the populations it serves.