In April 2020 the NIHR-BHF Cardiovascular Partnership responded to the outbreak of COVID-19 by announcing a new framework to rapidly identify and prioritise delivery of a small number of National Flagship Projects that address high-priority research questions on COVID-19 and cardiovascular health. Researchers from across the NIHR and BHF-funded infrastructure were invited to develop collaborative initiatives to put forward to the partnership.

Flagship status identifies projects that BHF and NIHR centres will support as a priority to avoid duplication of effort and maximise opportunities for added value. In the first 3 weeks of operation the Framework received 13 research proposals for consideration.  Rigorous peer review of each proposal by around 20 members of the Framework within 3 days, together with a weekly videoconference, has prioritised 6 proposals that have been designated as National Flagship Projects by the NIHR-BHF Cardiovascular Partnership. You can read more about the Flagship Projects here

The Framework remains open for additional projects.