November 2022 Newsletter
Date: 30 November 2022
Welcome to the Forum November 2022 Newsletter
As the nights are drawing in, we can hunker down and reflect on all the good things going on.
On recent calls I have heard, many of our community share they can never remember an Autumn so busy. This is certainly true in the R&D Forum with all working groups having meetings and many positive actions, training filling up fast and not to mention the conference programme team bringing together what is shaping up to be an excellent couple of days in North East of England in May. Please remember the early bird discount expires at the end of December.
The Forum would like to ask if anyone has guidance on prioritising studies during staff shortages. We would also like to ask for volunteers to be on a Task & Finish Group. The aim of this group would be to produce some guidance on factors to consider in prioritising studies in the event of strikes, high sickness rates etc. If you are interested in being part of this group please contact info@rdforum.org.uk
Both the HRA and Health & Care Research Wales have produced their annual reports recently (linked in this edition) and show the great achievements of our partners. Do take time to read, learn and be inspired.
With all the busyness, please remember to take breaks, get a walk in the fresh air during daylight and look after yourselves and each other.
Christmas will soon be upon us …………
Shona Haining
Executive, NHS R&D Forum
The Call for Posters Closes on 31st December
The NHS Research and Development Forum are inviting abstracts for presentation at RDF23 Conference, taking place next May.
Your poster should relate to the process, the structure, improving efficiency, improving quality, promoting best practice or adding value in R&D studies, teams, departments or organisations.
For full details on submission guidelines, please visit our website below.
Book to attend RDF23
RDF23 will see more than 500 members of the UK-wide research management, support & leadership community in health and care come together to learn, share, develop and network. Book today to avoid disappointment.
Delegates are currently able to book their place to attend RDF23 at an Early Bird rate, which will be available until December 31st.
RDF Credits – Deadline to use by 31st December 2022
Remember, if you booked and paid for RDF20, your organisation has a credit which you can redeem to book for RDF23 or any of the R&D Forum training courses. Credits apply to the organisation, not the individual. Credits from 2020 must be redeemed by the 31st December 2022. If you have any questions about this, please email: info@rdforum.org.uk
HIVE Mind Meeting – Help Needed
The R&D Manager 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. 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. We are also looking volunteers to write brief notes at the meeting so we have a brief record of topics discussed. If this is something you would be interested in doing, or if you have any further questions, please contact Jeannie McKie (j.mckie@nhs.net) from Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust.
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday 1st December, 11am – if you wish to be added to the circulation list, please contact Jeannie McKie.
NHS R&D Forum Contact Directory
Please can we ask that you check that our Contact Directory listing for you is up to date. Many organisations, including HRA, use this to contact you about studies and if the information is incorrect this causes delays, additional work and could result in you not receiving important information.
Follow the NHS Research and Development Forum on LinkedIn
A reminder that the NHS R&D Forum are on LinkedIn so please follow us to receive the latest updates on the community and announcements for RDF23.
Essentials of NHS Research
19th-20th December – 4 places remaining
This course was previously known as ‘Research the Basics’ but evaluation feedback consistently told us that it wasn’t really basic. Updated material includes a whole new look package of essentials for anyone looking for a complete overview of NHS R&D management.
This is a two day course. The first day covers the overall research landscape and the legislation and regulations that govern it, as well as the various aspects of research management and governance. Day two concentrates more on the design, development and management of a research project, as well as looking at wider issues of leadership and strategy. The course is a mixture of traditional trainer presentation with interactive activities and discussions.
Committee Launches Enquiry into Clinical Academics in the NHS
ARMA – The Association of Research Managers and Administrators – is holding its annual conference in November 2022 in hybrid format. The event is a 3-day event, with days 1 and 2 (12th and 16th November) taking place in the virtual environment and day 3 (22nd November) in person at Newcastle. The title of the conference is ‘Connecting Communities – building resilience and value in an evolving international research ecosystem’. More information can be found on the ARMA website.
The ARMA Working Group on Secondments – Virtual Roundtables
The ARMA Working Group on Secondments has been talking to a number of senior people over the past few weeks in preparation for holding two virtual roundtables at the beginning of 2023.
The roundtables will be run to help get a better understanding at a senior level of strategic and high-level operational issues around seconding staff between institutions for development purposes. Each roundtable will be small (approximately 10 attendees) and be facilitated by two of the ARMA Working Group on Secondments.
At each roundtable the following questions will be discussed:
1) What is your experience of cross institution secondments / how do secondments figure in your staff development plans?
2) What are the barriers and enablers to secondments from your point of view?
3) What one thing would you change, in order to move forward and make external secondments more feasible and accessible?
For more information on the Working Group, click link below.
HRA Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22
The HRA have recently published their annual report for 2021 to 2022. To read the full report, click link below.
Health and Care Research Wales Annual Report 2021/22
The annual report of Health and Care Research Wales for 2021 to 2022 was published in October. To read full report, click link below.
ECMC Accelerated Study Set-Up Pathway Project Webinar
In October the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) programme office held a webinar to outline the ECMC accelerated study set-up pathwayproject. This project, which, in partnership with the HRA, reports into the UK governments’ Research Recovery, Resilience and Growth Programme Board, is part of the implementation plan for the UK Vision for Clinical Research Delivery.
The talk highlighted the urgent need for this project and set the scene for why the ECMC network is the perfect test bed for building efficiencies into the study set-up pathway. A link to the recording of this session, including Q&A session can be found HERE. To find out more about the importance of the project and how you can get involved, click link below.
NIHR Diversity Report
The NIHR is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and addressing inequalities. One key theme of their EDI strategy is to develop an evidence-led approach to our EDI work.
One of the most important tools to enable NIHR to make progress in this theme is by collecting data and evidence. Understanding where we are now will help us establish how we can get to where we want to be. Only by collecting and analysing our data can we identify the bias and under representation in our systems, and set our priorities for future work.
To read the full report, click link below.
Contacting the R&D 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.