December 2024 Newsletter
Date: 31 December 2024
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Welcome to the Forum December 2024 Newsletter
As we enter this festive season, it’s a time for reflection, gratitude, and celebration. Whether you observe Christmas or Hanukkah or simply enjoy the winter break, this period offers a chance to pause and appreciate the moments that matter most. The season also invites us to look forward with hope and optimism, embracing the opportunities and challenges that the new year will bring and reflect on the successes of the past year.
2024 was filled with remarkable achievements and collaborative efforts. In 2024, the R&D Forum continued to play a crucial role in advancing research and development across the nation through training and partnerships. One of the standout events was the RDF24 Annual Conference held in Wales, which saw record attendance with over 870 participants, 60 speakers, and 20 exhibitors. We now look forward to welcoming you to Manchester in May for RDF25.
To all our wonderful members, colleagues and friends, may this season bring you joy, peace, and a well-deserved rest!
Rachel Gemine
R&D Forum Trustee
Early Bird Bookings Closing Soon – Register by 31st January 2025 for Reduced Rates
Don’t miss your chance to be part of the R&D Forum Annual Conference 2025 in Manchester, 18th-20th May 2025. Join health and care research management professionals from across the UK for three impactful days of expert-led sessions, networking, and career development.
Register now to secure Early Bird Rates before they end on 31st January 2025. With record-breaking attendance in previous years, RDF25 promises cutting-edge insights, valuable connections, and unmatched opportunities for professional growth.
Register with Early Bird Rates Now
First Courses of 2025 Announced
The R&D Forum courses have been designed to support individual development in health research management, support, and leadership. New courses for 2025 are now available for registration.
Bookings are open for….
- Getting the most out of IRAS(16 January 2025)
- Research Governance for PIs and Delivery Teams(14 March 2025)
- Essentials of NHS Research Virtual Course (2 day course – 24 & 25 March 2025)
- IN PERSON – Leeds: Regulatory Inspection Ready (4 April 2025)
- IN PERSON – Birmingham: Local Capacity and Capability for Research(31 March 2025)
NIHR Updates
HRA Update: New clinical trials regulations laid in parliament today
The laws which regulate the way clinical trials are carried out in the UK are changing. The HRA have been working with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the past two years to draft proposals to update clinical trials regulations. The statutory instrument to amend the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004 has been laid before Parliament. The updated regulations will be debated in the new year and after a 12 month implementation period will come into force in early 2026.
HRA Update: Simplifying the process of seeking and recording consent in low risk clinical trials
The laws which regulate the way clinical trials of medicines are carried out in the UK are changing. One of the proposed changes to the law is to simplify the way that informed consent is sought and recorded in low risk clinical trials. It is important that these proposed changes work for everyone, using an approach that people can trust. The HRA want to hear feedback on the proposals from people who have taken part in research, people who may be considering taking part in research, members of the public, Research Ethics Committee members and the wider research community.
Your feedback will be used to help inform the future Clinical Trials regulations in the UK and supporting HRA guidance.
Read more & complete the survey here
£72m boost for commercial research to benefit the health of the nation
The NIHR is announcing £72 million of funding to establish 14 new Commercial Research Delivery Centres (CRDCs) across England.
The new centres will enhance the speed and efficiency of commercial clinical research delivery, contributing to the health and wealth of the nation. They will work with industry and other research delivery infrastructure to support the UK’s status as one of the best places in the world for innovative companies to bring their portfolio of research.
The value of industry clinical trials to the UK – extended report
Commissioned by the ABPI and written by Frontier Economics, this report examines the value of industry clinical trials to the UK, including the benefits of growing this activity. The report found that industry clinical trials in 2022:
- Generated £7.4 billion for the UK economy, supporting a total of 65,000 jobs.
- Raised £1.2 billion of NHS revenue, supporting 13,000 jobs in the NHS.
- Helped prevent 3 million sick days by improving patient outcomes in research-active hospitals.
- Led to almost 5,000 academic publications between 2019 and 2023.
This extended report builds on the previous report published in September 2024, which focused on the benefits to the UK economy, the NHS, and UK R&D, by extending the analysis to the benefits to patients.
Implementing Follett principles for health and care professionals: guidance for HEIs and NHS provider organisations
This guidance is intended to support organisations in implementing the Follett Principles for regulated, registered health and care professional (HCP) clinical academics. Specifically, this document provides guidance on the principles of joint working between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and organisations who provide services to the NHS.
HEIs and NHS organisations will already have processes and policies in place for medical and dental clinical academics. The purpose of this document is to encourage organisations to ensure that the same principles are applied to HCP clinical academic placements.
Funding call: Decarbonising the health and social care system
The NIHR are looking to fund research into decarbonising the health and social care system. As part of their climate health and sustainability commitments to help reduce carbon emissions and achieve net zero, this cross-programme funding opportunity will run annually for the next 5 years. There will be £25 million total funding available across the 5 years, with a new application process opening each year.
Inclusion now a key condition for NIHR funding
The NIHR has officially launched a new requirement that all applicants demonstrate how their research will address existing inequalities in health and social care as a condition of funding.
Costing and contracting is now standard practice for commercial research
Following the rollout last month of the National Contract Value Review (NCVR) to all trial phases, NIHR’s Head of Study Support Services reflects on the impact of standardised costing and contracting on commercial study set-up in the UK.
RDN Leaders Blog
We have been asked to share the following blog from Professor Andrew Ustianowski, Interim RDN Executive Director. This will be monthly blog for stakeholders to keep them informed on RDN progress.
RDF Resource Exchange
Resources from The Research and Development Forum are there to support health and care research in the UK.
Browse the Resources available to the RDF 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