Guidance for reviewers of research applications based in settings outside the NHS/HSC – Update
Date: 22 May 2026
Last summer we shared an initial draft of the ‘Guidance for reviewers of research applications based in settings outside the NHS/HSC’*.
This resource was developed by a sub-group of the R&D Forum Wider Health and Care Settings Working Group. The sub-group includes research governance and support professionals, representatives from the Health Research Authority, Health Care Research Wales, NHS Scotland, Health and Social Care Northern Ireland, and NIHR (Research Delivery Network and Research Support Service).
The guidance serves as a resource for organisations and researchers and focuses on governance reviews for health and care research conducted outside the NHS. The goal is to improve access to high-quality research across these settings, ensuring that it is well designed, conducted/delivered safely and subject to streamline review and assurance processes.
We invited feedback on the draft guidance (via online survey) in Summer 2025 and received 71 responses on behalf of individuals and organisations.
Responses indicated that:
- there is a need for this resource, especially in organisations without established research governance processes
- the guidance forms a helpful starting point for organisations developing research governance processes for settings outside the NHS
Suggested areas of improvement included:
- greater clarity on the purpose of the resource
- clearer distinction between research governance and ethics and on the availability of ethical review pathways in certain settings
- potential addition of further information on areas such as data governance, risk management, and aspects such as capability and capacity
We are revising the guidance in response to the feedback, with the intention of having an updated version available later this year.
We want to thank those who provided feedback and look forward to being able to share the updated version with you.
If you have any questions about this work in the meantime, please contact the Wider Health and Care Settings Working Group or laura.brown8@newcastle.ac.uk
Please feel free to share this update with your networks.
*Please note that references to the NHS for Northern Ireland includes Health and Integrated Social Care