King’s Improvement Science (KIS) is a research programme which aims to improve the quality of health and social care for people across south London and beyond.
We work with local providers using our expertise in quality improvement and implementation science to achieve better outcomes for patients and service users.
How we work
The KIS programme supports scalable projects and programmes that improve care delivery and outcomes across King’s Health Partners (KHP) organisations: Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.
The KIS team also develop methodological research to further advance the sciences of improvement and implementation and inform better care.
KIS comprises an interdisciplinary team of researchers with expertise in improvement and implementation sciences, evaluation, patient and public involvement (PPI), service user researchers and a core team of managers and communications professionals. We work closely with colleagues in the Centre for Mental Health Policy and Evaluation, the Health Innovation Network and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South London. We actively collaborate with members of our diverse local communities to co-design our research, drawing on the insights of service users, and responding to local needs and priorities.
We also deliver a range of training, support and advice, and collaborate on research projects which aim to improve care and generate valuable new learning and evidence.
“We aim to improve the way health and social care is delivered, bringing about cost-effective care and improving health and social care outcomes for patients, service users and carers.”
- Zoë Lelliott, Director
Our funders
The KIS programme is funded by King’s Health Partners (£2.5m in total for 2019-2024) and is aligned to the .
KIS is led by Zoë Lelliott, a health and care system leader with over 30 years of NHS experience, spanning roles in clinical delivery, general management, strategy, and leadership in research and innovation.
KIS works closely with the Centre for Mental Health Policy and Evaluation at King’s College London, where it is one of the funded research programmes.
This is the second phase of funding for King’s Improvement Science. It was originally funded by KHP for five years from 2013 to 2018.
Our history
King’s Improvement Science was established in 2013 and funded with £2.5m under the leadership of Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft.
KIS supported five quality improvement projects at KHP Trusts, working in collaboration with health professionals, managers, patients and service users. A major deliverable of this work was the launch in 2018 of the KIS ‘’, which can be used to design scientific or practical improvement projects.
Further to the above project work, KIS was also supported by £2m provided by the Maudsley Charity and the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity [now Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation] to host 14 improvement science postdoctoral fellows between 2015 and 2019, as part of the KIS capacity building programme. This successful programme of work also concluded in September 2019.
