Capacity building for research in primary care is a government priority. There is little systematic information available on research activity in the field of primary care nursing or on its future priorities for research and development (R&D). This paper reports on the work of the nursing sub-group of the Primary Care Topic Review group, which formed part of the NHSE R&D Directorate Strategic Review. The UK mapping exercise carried out in 1999 identified a total of 243 projects from 115 organizations. These were mostly funded, descriptive and reflected a wide range of inquiry. The mapping exercise helped to inform a consultation exercise with key players from the NHS, academic departments of nursing, health services research, general practice, and user organisations who developed a framework, and identified research priorities and strategies to overcome perceived barriers. This was achieved in a consensus meeting and progressively refined through consultation with a wider network. The paper seeks to draw some conclusions for building research capacity in primary care nursing.
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