Suzanne Rankin appointed as the first CEO Research Champion

Suzanne Rankin, Chief Executive Officer of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has been appointed as Wales’ first CEO Research Champion, aiming to facilitate and enable clinical research activities across NHS Wales.

This key role emphasises Wales’ commitment to advancing health and care research by promoting the key enablers to the delivery of clinical trials and innovations in practice and most importantly giving the people of Wales increasing opportunities to access the very best and most advanced healthcare and outcomes.

As the CEO Research Champion Suzanne will be an advocate for promoting and integrating research in NHS Wales which includes chairing the steering group to support the national implementation of the Framework and outlining what ‘research excellence looks like’ in NHS organisations in Wales. The subsequent Embedding Research in the NHS Programme aims to provide guidance on how NHS organisations can embed research in areas such as developing clinical academics, measuring the economic value of research, and integrating research into the NHS Wales workforce. She will also contribute to the oversight and governance in Wales of the commercial research investment programme, to bolster our capacity to support development of cutting-edge treatments.

Suzanne will support Health and Care Research Wales’s drive to work closely with NHS organisations, universities, and research institutions to foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. Chief Executive Officers in NHS organisations across Wales all have responsibility for certain areas of strategic work and as part of this role, Suzanne will collaborate with other NHS Wales CEOs to integrate research into national discussions, policies and practice.

This role follows the appointment of 12 Independent Board Member champions for research within every NHS organisation in Wales. A first for the UK, these champions were established in 2022 to ensure research visibility at the Board level.

Suzanne stated, "As Chief Executive at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of research in saving lives, shaping practice, and influencing policy—ultimately saving time and resources for the NHS.

“It’s essential for us to raise the profile of the outstanding research and development being delivered on our doorstep to both staff and patients across the country which I will do throughout this role, supporting the All-Wales Engagement Plan.

"I am deeply committed to ensuring the benefits of research positively impact the people of Wales as well as NHS colleagues. I look forward to collaborating with the talented teams across Wales to support the building of capacity and capability as we advocate for research in all aspects of our work.

Dr Nicola Williams, National Director of Support & Delivery at Health and Care Research Wales said “It’s so important we have ambassadors for research at all levels of the organisation, including at the most senior positions.

“Together, we can make significant strides in improving health outcomes and ensuring that Wales remains at the cutting edge of health and care research.”

Health and Care Research Wales is confident that this appointment will lead to substantial advancements in the integration of research within NHS Wales, ultimately benefiting patients and communities across Wales.