November 2025 Newsletter
Date: 27 November 2025
Welcome to the RDF November 2025 Newsletter
As the air turns colder and we move into the festive season, I find myself reflecting on changes over the past few months and how all of us are pulling together toward one shared goal: making research happen.
Research delivery is about working together to built on shared learning and adaptability. And wow, we’ve seen some incredible progress recently. In this edition you will read about new resources to make trials more inclusive and governance updates that strengthen our foundations. These aren’t just changes on paper, they’re steps toward a research culture that’s more responsive, inclusive, and impactful.
Yes, the pace of change can feel relentless at times, but it’s also exciting. Every webinar, every discussion, every new piece of guidance reminds us that we’re shaping something bigger than ourselves, a system that delivers research with integrity, quality, and a real commitment to the people it serves. That’s worth celebrating. And even more than that, it’s about impact: seeing new therapies, treatments, and pathways move into routine care, transforming outcomes and experiences.
As we look ahead, let’s keep the conversation going. Your ideas, feedback, and experiences make this community strong. Together, we can keep pushing boundaries, improving processes, and ensuring quality research remains a cornerstone of better healthcare.
Thank you for everything you do. Here’s to finishing the year with energy and optimism and to all the possibilities the next one will bring!
Rachel Gemine
RDF Trustee
RDF26 – Shaping up to be an unmissable Conference
We’re delighted to share that RDF26 has already broken records, with a 36% increase in abstract submissions compared to last year — the highest number we’ve ever received.
Thank you to everyone who submitted. Your ideas, learning, and experience are what make the RDF Conference the central meeting point for the UK’s health and care research community.
As the Programme Content Committee begins reviewing entries, momentum for RDF26 is building fast.
Join us in Birmingham as a delegate, or spotlight your organisation with refreshed exhibition and sponsorship packages.
|
|
R&D Forum Training Courses – Tailor Your Learning
While dates aren’t released just yet, now is the perfect time to explore our exclusive and bespoke training options, ideal for organisations wanting tailored development for their teams. Whether you’re looking to host a course locally, arrange an online group session, or commission a fully customised programme, we can shape our expert-led training to meet your exact needs.
|
|
NIHR Updates
- Applications for the Strategic and Wider Care Settings funding calls 2026/27 now open
- WATCH: Driving research delivery with data: How to supercharge your feasibility, site identification and site selection
- SIGN UP – Shape the digital services and systems supporting research
- NIHR inaugural Associate PI Scheme Alumni online virtual event
HRA Update: Share your feedback on planned changes to the model Clinical Trial Agreement (mCTA)
On behalf of the UK’s Four Nations Contract Leads, the HRA are asking for your feedback on some proposed changes to the model Clinical Trial Agreement (mCTA) and the related suite of commercial template agreements in the UK.
The Four Nations Contract Leads is the group responsible for the creation and maintenance of the UK’s suite of template research agreements, as well as the policy and guidance around their use.
The group regularly reviews feedback they have received, and they are proposing some changes based on recent suggestions.
HRA Update: New data shows promising improvement in rates of public involvement in research
The number of health and social care studies involving patients and the public in research has continued to increase according to the HRA’s latest data.
As part of the HRA’s annual analysis of public involvement in research, the overall number of applications reporting that they had involved patients or members of the public rose by 10%, from 74% in 2023 to 84% in 2024.
HRA Update: HRA response to the NHS Medium Term Planning Framework.
On Friday 24 October 2025 NHS England published the NHS Medium Term Planning Framework.
The framework outlines how the NHS will prioritise work over the next 3 years from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029.
Read the HRA response to the publication of the NHS Medium Term Planning Framework below
HRA Update: Help the HRA test a new draft Commercial Site Selected Letter of Intent
Commercial sponsors and contract research organisations (CROs) are invited to volunteer to test a new draft Commercial Site Selected Letter of Intent.
The Commercial Site Selected Letter of Intent formalises the site-selection stage of commercial contract research set-up in the UK, which is the critical decision point for commercial sponsors and CROs.
The letter is intended to help to standardise the information provided by sponsors and CROs to their prospective sites, to support better-informed joint decisions on the capability and likely capacity of those prospective sites to deliver the study.
MHRA blog: Clinical trials regulations – six-month countdown begins
In six months’ time, on 28 April 2026, the most significant update to UK clinical trials regulations in two decades will come into force.
This will be a pivotal moment for the evolving clinical trial landscape and marks a new way forward for how trials involving medicinal products are set up and delivered across the UK.
Supporting National Ambitions for Life Sciences Research and the 150-day target on set-up of clinical trials
Please see latest joint DHSC/NHSE letter signed by Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Health and Social Care NIHR Chief Executive Officer and Professor Meghana Pandit National Medical Director, NHS England that we understand is also being cascaded directly to NHS organisations.
The 150-day target is a key priority for organisations in the health and care system and this letter builds on previous letters shared. This is a headline action in the 10 Year Health Plan for England, reinforced in the Life Sciences Sector Plan. It is now a requirement in the new ‘Medium Term Planning Framework – delivering change together 2026/27 to 2028/29’ (page 24). The letter provides clarification on the NHS England headcount stipulations which continue to provide staffing challenges in NHS organisations.
ATTC Network webinar: Driving ATMP clinical trials through training and education: Progress and next steps for a UK ATMP training programme
The ATTC network are hosting a webinar to highlight how it is supporting training and education of NHS staff for advanced therapy clinical trials. Please find more information about the webinar below:
- Webinar title: Driving ATMP clinical trials through training and education: Progress and next steps for a UK ATMP training programme
- Date/time: 9th December 2025, 13:00 – 14:00 (GMT)
Speakers:
- Chair: Neil Watson, Director of Innovation at The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Co-Director of Northern Alliance Advanced Therapies Treatment Centre (NA-ATTC)
- Finn Willingham, Chair of ATTC network ATMP Training and Education Board and Operations Manager, NA-ATTC
- Fiona Thistlethwaite, Medical Oncology Consultant at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Director of the Innovate Manchester Advanced Therapy Centre Hub (iMATCH)
RDN Executive Director post now advertised
The NIHR RDN is seeking its next Executive Director to drive strategic direction and ensure operational excellence in research delivery across the health and care system. Applications are welcomed until Tuesday 13th January 2026 at 5pm and are being managed through an Executive Search Agency, Dixon Walter. More information can be found here
New resources to improve inclusion in clinical trials – MAPLE Project
The MAPLE project aims to reduce the exclusion of those with lower English language literacy in clinical trials. We know that the provision of lengthy and complex patient information leaflets (PILs) imposes a barrier to research participation, potentially preventing people with low English language literacy from participating by providing inaccessible information. We aimed to mitigate this barrier through the more widespread use of accessible PILs as part of a layered approach to information provision, as recommended by the Health Research Authority.
The resources developed are:
- A modifiable accessible PIL which can be downloaded and adapted offline for each trial
- A collection of guides to support the adaption of the accessible PIL
- Example images and image guidance for each section of the accessible PIL
The resources and more information about the project are available here
Government fuels NHS innovation to unlock billions in growth
The government has released the first major update to England’s NHS intellectual property (IP) guidance in 23 years, aiming to accelerate innovation, improve patient access to new technologies and boost economic growth. The old 2002 framework has slowed progress, often causing delays through complex local and legal negotiations.
To help organisations understand the new guidance, a series of webinars will run through late November and December for providers, commissioners, innovators, and IP and R&D teams. A video explanation and the full publication are now available, and DHSC has launched a formal evaluation to assess current IP practices; organisations providing or commissioning NHS services are invited to register their interest in taking part.
See webinar information and all resources
Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) Update
The Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP), established by NHS England, facilitates access for cancer patients across the country to cancer vaccine and immunotherapy trials, by identifying and referring suitable patients at scale and supporting tumour tissue processing. It is a high priority project and is a key part of the landmark strategic partnership between UK Government, NHS England and BioNTech. The CVLP network consists of over 77 NHS Trusts, and to date has supported 5 research trials. We are currently setting up two new studies: ROSETTA Lung-02 in non-small cell lung cancer and ROSETTA Breast-01 in triple negative breast cancer.
Due to the CVLP’s unique nature, specific advice is being provided for NHS Trusts on how to setup as a CVLP site and add new trials. The CVLP is a non-interventional platform study, and so the setup process only needs to be completed once when the Trust first joins the CVLP. To add new trials, a simple process has been created where the relevant clinical team attends a training session on the new trial, and any amendments to finances and targets are confirmed via email.
If there are periods of inactivity at a Trust where they are not supporting any trials, sites can amend their study status as ‘suspended’ in LPMS. The status can be updated back to ‘recruiting’ when recruitment recommences. As Capacity and Capability data is only collected once during the initial setup, marking the study as suspended in LPMS will not reset the timeline for this data. This means the original site setup timelines will be retained, provided the site is not deleted from the system and site setup dates are not amended.
UK Clinical Research Delivery website update
The UK Clinical Research Delivery website has been updated. The UK Clinical Research Delivery (UKCRD) is a cross-sector programme that brings together delivery partners and key stakeholders to achieve the common aim of creating a faster, more efficient, more accessible and more innovative clinical research delivery system – making the UK a world leader in clinical trials.
See the latest information on Study Set-Up and FAQs here
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 here.
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