28th May 2021
The NICE strategy 2021 to 2026
Dynamic, Collaborative, Excellent
The strategy sets out an ambitious vision for our future, building on the solid foundations of the last 22 years.
Why now?
The world around us has changed and is evolving rapidly. If we’re to stay relevant and remain an international leader in our field, we need a strategy that anticipates, recognises and responds to future changes and challenges.
Added to this, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the UK health and care landscape significantly. The speed at which the crisis gripped our health and care system demanded a new type of response. One that required swiftness and flexibility with constant monitoring of, and reacting to, a changing situation. We rose to the challenge, and the pandemic provided a catalyst for the type of change that we already knew we needed to make.
What will be different?
We’ve developed a vision for the future where we will:
- Be at the forefront of anticipating and rapidly evaluating new and existing technologies to provide independent, world-leading assessments of value for the system and improved access for patients.
- Provide dynamic, living guideline recommendations that are useful, useable and rapidly updated. They’ll incorporate the latest evidence and newly recommended technologies to maximise uptake and access for patients.
- Drive the implementation of our guidance, forming key strategic partnerships to make sure it’s used. We’ll make sure it delivers improvements and contributes to reducing inequalities, with measures to routinely track adoption.
- Be scientific leaders, driving the research agenda and developing innovative and data-driven methods. We’ll use real-world data to resolve issues of uncertainty and improve access to new innovations for patients.
- Transform our organisation to make sure we have the infrastructure, skills and capacity to deliver our strategy. We’ll leverage the use of technology to maximise our efficiency and impact.
Our vision over the next 5 years is reflected in 4 key pillars that underpin where we’ll focus our transformation efforts.
What this means for you
Our new strategy will benefit everyone that interacts with us. From those working in the life sciences industry seeking market access for their technologies, to users of our guideline recommendations and information services.
Guideline users, including health and care providers, practitioners and commissioners will see:
- Guideline recommendations which use up-to-date evidence and data, rapidly incorporating information on the relative effectiveness of new technologies, medicines and interventions.
- A focus on topic areas that represent key priorities and where we are uniquely and best placed to use our skills to add value, making sure we have the greatest impact on health and on reducing health inequalities.
- A guideline methodology that is quicker, more flexible and answers the most important questions.
Public and patients will see:
- An interactive guideline structure that facilitates links to the underpinning evidence and supports shared decision making between patients and professionals.
- A quicker evaluation pathway, improving patient access to the best innovations.
- New ways of engaging and using patient and public opinion to inform the evidence base for guidance development.
Life sciences industry will see:
- Robust and responsive methods and processes for the rapid evaluation of new and emerging products, including diagnostics, MedTech, digital health, genomics, advanced therapy medicinal products and ‘hybrid’ technologies.
- Better management of uncertainty in the evidence base through specifying data collection requirements alongside ongoing evaluation and inclusion in managed access funds.
- A dedicated and comprehensive life sciences hub to help you better understand and engage early with our processes.
International partners and health organisations will see:
- Increased collaboration with international partners, sharing our knowledge and expertise, and drawing on learnings from other health systems to inform our work.
- Development of NICE International. Through this, we’ll support international health organisations, ministries and government agencies to use evidence-based decision making to improve their health and social care systems.