Research and Ethical Approval
The Joint Research Governance Committee is responsible for the governance of research activities within the Trust in line with the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research and provides advice on healthcare research to the University of East Anglia. The Committee has members from across the Trust and the University and meets monthly.
For further information relating to the Governance Committee, please contact the R&D Office on 01603 289808 and ask for the Research Governance Administrator
All research taking place in the Trust must obtain both local NHS research governance approval (R&D management approval), a favourable opinion from an NHS Research Ethics Committee and HRA Approval. Currently Trust approval can be done in two ways:
- For studies which are NIHR Portfolio Eligible, please submit via the IRAS system where your project will be processed via the HRA approvals process. Click the link for information about the IRAS system. Prior to submission, please talk with the relevant research facilitator who will support you through this process.
- For research which is not portfolio eligible please contact the R&D office on 01603 289808 or email rdoffice@nnuh.nhs.uk for further information. R&D management approval is required for research studies involving the use of any NHS resources (staff, facilities, NHS patients, patient data, patient samples or tissue) within the Trust.
Before projects can be submitted to a Research Ethics Committee they must have written evidence of a scientific peer review. The Joint Research Office can arrange peer review of your project if this is required. Please speak with the relevant research facilitator supporting your research project.
Once projects have been granted Research Governance, HRA and Research Ethics Approval, they can begin. Investigators are obliged to submit annual/final reports to the research facilitators as a requirement under the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research. The submission of this annual progress data also forms part of the standard terms and conditions for the approval of research activities within the Trust.
Amendments to research must also be notified to the Joint Research Office, in order to check that these do not affect the original terms of approval for the study. The research facilitators will review the amendments and issue approval.
If you are seeking Trust approval for your research we advise that you contact the Joint Research Office as early as possible in the process. When a new study comes into the office for approval, the relevant research facilitator will arrange to have a short meeting with you to undertake a risk planning exercise for your study which allows any potential barriers to approval to be identified and dealt with as soon as possible and to plan with you how this will be done.
Trust Sponsorship
Under the UK Framework for Health and Social Care Research all health and social care research projects require a sponsor. The sponsor is the individual, organisation or Partnership that takes on overall responsibility for proportionate, effective arrangements being in place to fund, set up, run and report a research project. The sponsor has overall responsibility for the research and is normally expected to be the employer of the chief investigator in the case of non-commercial research. Where the Trust agrees to be the Study Sponsor we work to our published Sponsorship Policy document and Sponsorship SOP.
Contact Details
Email: rdoffice@nnuh.nhs.uk
Telephone the R&D office : 01603 289808