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July Newsletter
Date: 22 July 2024
Welcome to the Forum July 2024 Newsletter
Summer is here and it’s been an eventful start to say the least with sports, music festivals and politics. We have had the highs and lows, and twist and turns with EURO 2024, Wimbledon, Glastonbury, and not forgetting the General Election. As you will have seen the new Government has announced a full and independent investigation into the state of the NHS, to uncover the extent of the issues facing the nation’s health service, its findings will provide the basis for the government’s 10-year plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future. There is a lot of change in the UK health and care research space at the present time, which can be exciting but at the same time unsettling, but it also brings opportunities to inform change for the better for the R&D community and public and patient healthcare. We look forward to working with all of our colleagues to continue the great work the Research and Development Forum does to reflect the voice of the R&D community from all nations across the UK.
We hope you have a lovely start to the summer and enjoy some sun.
Dipak Patel
R&D Forum Trustee
New RDF Trustees
Following their introduction at RDF24 at Celtic Manor in Wales. We are delighted to introduce four new trustees for the Research and Development Forum Charity.
Mark Brandon-Grove, Head of Clinical Research Performance & Quality, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust & The Institute of Cancer Research
Mark Brandon-Grove is Head of Clinical Research Performance and Quality, leading the Joint Clinical Research & Development Core Services team at The Royal Marsden and the ICR. He is responsible for quality and regulatory compliance, governance and operations, business intelligence, and secretariat across the cancer research portfolio of over 900 active clinical research studies, in addition to central oversight of legal, finance and communications. Mark holds an MSc in Medicine, Health and Public Policy from King’s College London, and has worked in clinical research since 2006, building multi-sector experience across the NHS, higher education institutions, medical research charities and industry (both pharmaceuticals and medical technology). Mark is passionate about the hope and options that clinical research gives to patients and the public, and the importance of building a robust community of practice across professionals. He strives to constantly develop a research support function that strikes the correct balance between people, procedure, performance and priorities.
Pippa Brice, Head of Research and Development for NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board
Pippa Brice is Head of Research and Development for NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board, where she leads an R&D Office for primary and community care and non-NHS settings that also supports a hosted NIHR research portfolio. Pippa joined the NHS in 2023 and was previously Deputy Director of the PHG Foundation, a policy think tank with the mission making science work for health, where she led on external affairs, projects and partnering in precision medicine. Experienced in research knowledge brokering, she is also a long-standing advocate for research inclusion, currently serving as a Public Patient Voice representative to the National Screening Committee.
Rachel Gemine, Assistant Director of Evidence, Evaluation and Effectiveness, NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee
Rachel Gemine is Assistant Director of Evidence, Evaluation and Effectiveness at NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee; Honorary Senior Lecturer at Swansea University and Associate Editor at BMJLeader. Rachel has over 15-years’ experience in R&D, including as a chief investigator and in supporting researcher development. Rachel has collaborated on bids totalling over £20million and is experienced in qualitative and quantitative research, innovation pathways and use of data in research. Rachel also has an interest in leadership and management within healthcare and is a keen runner.
Shahista Hussain, Head of R&D Governance / Deputy Head of R&D Operations (Secondment), Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Shahista Hussain is Head of R&D Governance and Deputy Head of R&D Operations (secondment) for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH). She is responsible for the oversight and management of the R&D governance services in order to facilitate and support high quality clinical and translational research as both a Sponsor and host organisation. OUH currently hosts around 1800 active clinical studies, many of which involve close collaboration with the University of Oxford; the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre; CRN and Oxford Brookes University. Shahista has over 15 years NHS experience having worked in variety of roles across the OUH trust. During her time with the R&D department she has assisted in implementation of various national and local changes, as well as in the development of the department structure and functions.
Thank you for joining us at RDF24
We were delighted to welcome over 870 attendees to RDF24 at Celtic Manor, Wales. The event featured more than 60 speakers, 25 exhibitors, 100 posters, and provided a unique opportunity for learning, developing and networking. Thank you to all the sponsors, speakers and exhibitors for their support.
From the Sunday workshops right through to the final session, RDF24 was an interesting and very informative few days, and we hope you had a memorable experience.
We can’t wait to welcome you back to Manchester next year for RDF25. Save the date: 18-20 May 2025.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the RDF24 survey/feedback form. Your input is invaluable and will help us shape future RDF Conferences. If you added your name and email address to the form, you will be entered into the prize draw to win a conference package to attend RDF25 in Manchester. The individual will be chosen at random and we will contact the winner via email.
HIVE Mind Meeting – Help Needed
The R&D Forum Hive Mind meetings take place each month for 60 minutes. We are keen this valuable forum continues and we are looking for volunteers to rotate as the chair, alongside the current chairs, Shahista Hussain, Lisa Wann, and Helen Riding. This will help secure the future of the monthly Hive Mind meeting and involvement would be estimated to chair once every quarter. There is minimal involvement needed – it is really to help the flow of the conversation during the session and bring any suggested topics to the meeting.
If this is something you would be interested in doing, or if you have any further questions, please contact info@rdforum.org.uk
Working Group of the Month – R&D Forum/UKRD Finance Managers Working Group
The R&D Forum/UKRD Finance Managers Working Group is a professional community of NHS R&D Finance Managers across the UK.
The chair is Susan Keenan, Head of Finance R&D, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The group was formed in 2019 at the request of members of the R&D Forum and UKRD, specifically to explore and discuss topical and ongoing issues facing NHS R&D departments, how they impact on individual Trusts and the R&D community. For this initiative, UKRD is working jointly with the R&D Forum as there is overlap and interest in this work for both communities.
The Working Group has written research finance guidance, has an annual research finance survey, has created various task and finish groups for topical issues, established regional networks to expand our reach and represent wider community, holds monthly virtual coffee mornings, plus the group are actively engaged with DHSC on several national initiatives.
If you are interested in joining this Working Group please email: info@rdforum.org.uk
Upcoming Courses
The R&D Forum courses have been designed to support individual development in health research management, support, and leadership.
Bookings are open for our upcoming courses:
- Getting the most out of IRAS – July 17th & Virtual Classroom
- Essentials of Research Sponsorship – August 6th & Virtual Classroom
- Archiving Masterclass – September 17th & In-Person in Birmingham
- Essentials of NHS Research – September 23rd-24th & In-Person in Birmingham
- Practical Application of Monitoring in a Health and Care Setting – September 24th & In-Person in Edinburgh
- Local Capacity and Capability for Research – October 21st & Virtual Classroom
We also have a wide range of courses running from October through the end of the year. Bookings will open shortly for these courses:
- October 28th: Getting the most out of IRAS
- November 4th: Regulatory Inspection Ready
- November 8th: Essentials of Research Sponsorship
Full details of all our courses and events can be found on our website.
New course running October 2024
The R&D Forum is delighted to announce that we have a brand-new course that will take place on 11th October. Book your place today to join us for “Research Governance for PIs and Delivery Teams”.
In addition to carrying out the protocol-driven activities of the research studies in which they participate, Principal Investigators and their delivery teams must ensure that the studies are managed as required and that all the governance requirements are fulfilled. The course has been designed to give an overview of the governance and management requirements throughout the life cycle of a research study within the NHS/HSC across all the four nations in the UK.
Find out more and book your place
Health Research Authority public involvement newsletter: What difference is public involvement making to the HRA’s work?
At this year’s RDF24, HRA staff and two public contributors involved in the Shared Commitment to Public Involvement group delivered a workshop, disseminating information, stimulating discussion, and listening to delegates.
A summary of the workshop “What difference is public involvement making to the HRA’s work? Attending the 2024 Research and Development (R&D) Forum to speak about our Shared Commitment to Public Involvement – Health Research Authority”, as well as the July HRA public involvement newsletter, can be accessed below.
Research into the use of data by Integrated Care Systems (ICSs)
Understanding Patient Data commissioned research to understand how Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) in England currently use and share patient data, and how data can be better used to improve health services for local populations.
Bursaries for master’s level qualifications in clinical research delivery leadership
Regulated Health and Care Professionals can apply for bursaries to take master’s level courses aligned with the Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework. The qualifications are for experienced healthcare practitioners who want to take on leadership roles in clinical research delivery.
New process for Specialised Commissioned studies
As of the 1st July, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) will take on responsibility for administering and funding Excess Treatment Costs (ETCs) associated with research into services which are locally commissioned.
Due to this, any studies which are categorised as Specialised Commissioned from 1 July will be brought into the existing National ETC Payment System, and will be managed by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Research Delivery Network Coordinating Centre (NIHR RDNCC).
These studies will be treated in the same way as the existing Integrated Care Board studies and will be assigned one of 8 payment models as agreed with the Chief Investigator or Sponsor.
Resources
Resources from The Research and Development Forum are there to support health and care research in the UK. Discover the latest resources on our website below.
Contacting The Research and Development Forum
As a reminder, should you need to contact the Forum the best way is via email which is info@rdforum.org.uk
The latest job vacancies displayed on our website.