What is M-RIC?

The Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC) was established in 2023 as a result of a partnership between Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Liverpool.


How are we funded?

M-RIC is funded by the Office for Life Sciences and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration, hosted by the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre.

We are proud to be a key demonstrator site in the Mental Health Mission (MHM) which aims to increase capacity in mental health research through providing relevant training and creating better systems to support industry and academic led research and investment across the UK. Specific focus is paid to addressing both areas of unmet need and high burden of mental illness.


What does our research cover?

Our research covers six areas or work packages:




We believe that people who have lived experience of using mental healthcare services should play a vital role in guiding our research.

That’s why we have recruited local service users and carers to join our research teams and work collaboratively alongside our academic researchers, NHS healthcare professionals and industry experts. Together they are planning and developing meaningful research that improves mental healthcare treatments and services.

We also have a wider network of public advisors which includes service users, carers, third sector representatives and interested members of the public who support M-RIC by contributing their insights and ideas at various workshops, events and projects.

Partnerships with stakeholders and industry are vital to M-RIC’s success.

By establishing and developing partnerships with industry, it can help us access and develop timely and effective innovations such as digital technology and artificial intelligence to improve patient care.

We also value partnerships with community organisations, charities, public health, and others which are helping us to reach wider audiences, so we engage with people that truly represent our communities. They also help us develop research to understand the social determinants or non-medical factors that can impact mental health.

We hope M-RIC will provide a path for change and a blueprint for developing similar centres across the UK.