The Road ahead for the NHS Health Research Authority

Janet Wisely is the office newbie at the NHS Health Research Authority. She’s only been the Chief Executive there for two weeks, but already she’s got to grips with the challenges and potential of the fledgling body. Speaking at the Kent and Medway Health Partnerships Research Event she outlined the fledgling body’s brief history.

The HRA took over responsibility for the ethical approval process for NHS research projects in December last year, and you can’t help feeling it’s been handed a bit of a poisoned chalice. Anyone who has tried applying for ethical approval will have their own horror stories around delays and unreasonable demands. As Janet spoke, an academic next to me was whispering and rolling his eyes.

However, Janet hopes to change all that. As well as a simplified, unified application system, she hopes to make the HRA more responsive, to provide constructive advice, and to turn around ‘95% of applications within 40 days.’

A bold ambition, and already the HRA is being more transparent in monitoring its performance towards this goal; have a look at the graphs and data that they have published on their website.  As well as speed, Janet wants to adapt the system so that it is more proportionate. For example, relatively straightforward projects should go through a light touch assessment that should see them returned within two weeks. At the same time she wants to improve the quality and consistency of assessments, which she recognises as somewhat lacking in the past.

I wish her well in these ambitions, and hope that, by the time she crests the hill between newbie and old-timer, my eye-rolling neighbour will be beaming instead.  

Break on through to The Other Side

If you've ever tried contacting the relevant research and development office at your local NHS Trust, you'll know the frustrations of trying to get the name of someone to call. Yesterday I tried to track down the contact details of the Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Research and Development Department. Their website was very welcoming and positive, proclaiming that the Trust was 'committed to ongoing research and development to seek out new ways of improving health and healthcare.'

Great. But who do I call?

They suggested the switchboard. Hmm. If you've ever tried calling the switchboard of a small organisation (not pointing any fingers, BA), let alone a sprawling behemoth like an NHS Trust, you'll know that's a non-starter.

However, help is at hand. Nicole Palmer, the Ethics & Governance Officer here at Kent, is a past master at cutting through the complexities of NHS structures, and suggested that I should start with the NHS R&D Forum. This is a network for those involved in managing and supporting R&D in health and social care, and aims to (whisper it) facilitate interaction, and share best practice. Better still they have a list of the contact details of every R&D dept of every NHS Trust in the country.

Swoon! So you no longer need to bang your head against the wall as you're put on hold by the switchboard operator. Thanks very much to Nicole for this top tip.

Grants Factory at the Hospital

Last year we planned to run a Grants Factory at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital. Unfortunately the weather intervened, and it was snowed off.

Well the good news is it's been rescheduled, and will be taking place on 24th February 2011, 9.30am-12.00pm in the Tutorial Room, Canterbury Education Centre, Kent and Canterbury Hospital. Participants will learn practical skills to help them prepare killer funding applications. The session will be led by Prof David Shemmings, following his recent involvement in an ESRC-funded research development programme. These half-day events use the same techniques as Prof Andrew Derrington's popular grant-writing seminars and will be specially aimed at health-related applications.

We hope that a variety of University and NHS staff with an interest in research will attend so that there will be an opportunity to network with interested parties and initiate new collaborations.

Places are limited so please let Karen Allart know as soon as possible if you would like to participate.

NIHR Seeks Panel Members

The National Institutes of Health Research Trainees Coordination Centre (NIHR TCC) manages a number of different programmes, predominantly for individuals and aimed at applied research with relevance to the NHS. They are seeking members for their Panel, which assesses applications.

I've said it before and doubtless I'll say it again, but I'd encourage anyone with relevant experience to get involved. Being part of the peer review process, and seeing how a funder works, is invaluable for when it comes to writing your own application. It gives you a real insight into the issues, the problems, the choices that have to be faced by the panel members and the funders.

So have a look at their website and complete the Expressions of Interest (EOI) form if you're interested. If you have any questions about the EOI process please contact Dawn Biram or Dawn Burgess by email at comms@nihrtcc.org.uk

Research for Patient Benefit Workshop

The Research Design Service (RDS), which provides help and advice on those applying to the NHS, is running a Research for Patient Benefit Funding Workshop. The workshop will be helpful to those considering developing a research project in an applied health and social care setting and will describe the RfPB funding stream, such as who can apply, what types of research are covered by the scheme, the value of the grant, and the application process itself.

It will be on 23 June 2010 starting at 9:30am. Contact Sylvia Francis if you want to take part.

Health Research Suggestions Sought

The National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR) are asking the public what issues they would like to see researched. 'We're not just talking about healthy eating, how to stop smoking or how to prevent the spread of diseases like 'flu', they say on their website. 'Your idea could be to do with air quality, public transport, urban design - anything at all that could help to make people healthier.'

It's open to all; to take part go to the NIHR site.

Help with Health Applications

The National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR) has issued a raft of recent health funding opportunities. If you want to take advantage of these it would be worth contacting the Research Design Service South East. A collaboration between the Universities of Brighton, Kent and Surrey, the Service provides free support to develop research proposals for NIHR programmes.

'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself'

The Times Higher recently analysed Research Council success rates, and the news was not good. For the first time success rates have fallen to 23%, with the AHRC and ESRC bottom of the pile at 19%.
It’s easy to be dispirited by this. However, success rates only tell a partial story. If your research is good, your case compelling, and your application well framed it is much more likely that you will be funded.
This is shown by some big wins from the very Councils holding up the bottom of the success rate league:

• Jeremy Carrette (Secl—Religious Studies) has just been awarded £450,000 (TBC) from the AHRC for a project on Religious Non-Governmental Organizations and the United Nations in New York and Geneva;
• Caroline Rooney (English) and Anne Hammerstad (PolIR) got 2 of only 14 fellowships made by the ESRC in their ’Global Uncertainties’ Programme. Caroline’s award was £274k, and Anna’s was £162k. Programmes are notoriously hard to succeed in, so this is a great achievement.

And it’s not just good news at RCUK. Jim Mansell (Tizard) and Ann Netten (PSSRU) are part of a successful consortium that established a £15m School for Social Care Research (SSCR). Jim and Ann are due to receive £1.1m each from the NHS for their part in the SSCR.

So be brave: Research Services are ready to help with your applications to ensure that they stand every chance of bucking the success rates.