Welcome to IFIC England
About IFIC England
Following the formal launch of IFIC England at the 26th International Conference on Integrated Care in Birmingham, The International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) and the University of Bedfordshire are working together to establish IFIC England as a national platform for integrated care collaboration.
IFIC England has been created in response to a clear and growing need for a space that brings together people, organisations and systems working to advance integrated care across England. At a time of policy reform, financial pressure, workforce strain, persistent inequalities and renewed interest in neighbourhood models of care, IFIC England will support a more connected conversation about how integrated care can improve outcomes for people, families and communities.
The collaboration brings together IFIC’s international network, learning platforms and experience of supporting integrated care across countries with the University of Bedfordshire’s academic, research and system partnerships. The University’s Integrated Care Research Hub provides a strong applied research base, with work focused on inclusive workforce and resilience, new ways of working and innovation, safeguarding children and adults with complex needs, and strengthening research capacity.
IFIC England is being developed as an open and collaborative platform, rather than a fixed programme. Its purpose is to connect research, practice, policy and lived experience; support shared learning across systems; and link the English integrated care community more effectively with IFIC’s wider international network.
The early development of IFIC England is deliberately being shaped with partners. The launch session at ICIC26 was framed as the beginning of a process, opening a conversation about where the network can add most value and how it can support practical progress across England. The next phase includes establishing a founding group or ambassador group, developing a clear purpose and scope, and agreeing the first public-facing activities.
Main objectives
The main objectives of IFIC England are to:
- Create a national platform for integrated care collaboration in England, connecting people, organisations and systems working across policy, practice, research and lived experience.
- Support shared learning across English health and care systems, with a focus on practical insight, open exchange and the translation of evidence into real-world improvement.
- Strengthen the relationship between research and practice, drawing on the University of Bedfordshire’s Integrated Care Research Hub and IFIC’s international network, learning platforms and knowledge base.
- Develop and exchange ideas among academics, researchers, managers, clinicians, policy makers and other partners involved in advancing integrated care.
- Support applied research, evaluation, case studies and evidence-sharing that can inform integrated care policy, service design and delivery.
- Focus attention on the current English context, including policy reform, financial pressures, health inequalities, workforce strain, neighbourhood models of care, and the need to keep integrated care centred on people, communities and outcomes.
- Build an England-wide ambassador group to help shape the work, support the University of Bedfordshire and IFIC, and guide the development of a focused programme of activities.
- Facilitate collaboration through conferences, seminars, workshops, scientific-training activities and other opportunities for learning and exchange.
- Connect England’s integrated care learning with IFIC’s wider international community, while developing an approach that reflects the specific policy, practice and system context in England.
