Government priority project updates

Introduction

Since the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) official launch on 1 October 2024, we are making progress on delivering government priority projects set up in response to the changing requirements of the health and care research system.

The government priority projects respond to the priorities in the health and care system and have been designed to help make the UK a more attractive place to conduct high quality research. The NIHR has been specifically asked to deliver these by the Department of Health and Social Care.

December 2024 update

Scoping Locations for Research

A new Scoping Locations for Research tool has been created to boost transparency and speed up the process of selecting research locations across the whole of the UK. 

This self-service tool combines RDN research activity data with local prevalence. It helps sponsors, their delegates and researchers take a data-driven approach to quickly scoping potential locations for research. This proof-of-concept will be further expanded to include population demographics to support visibility of participant diversity. 

We have co-created this tool working directly with trade bodies, life science companies, Delivery organisations and existing national working groups to display relevant insights for attracting research to the UK.  Now available more widely, broader user feedback can be gathered to further enhance this innovative tool.

The self-service tool meets a specific requirement of the research sector while also acting as an additional entry point into the UK wide research location identification service, which coordinates study specific interest nation-wide. The RDN service is being transformed to deliver a consistent, quicker and transparent approach to match studies with optimal research locations for research delivery.  Learnings from implementation of this new approach, with over 50% of NHS organisations in England to date, is being consolidated to refine the approach as this is rolled out.

The Scoping Locations for Research training video is available.

Enhancement of the Sponsor Engagement Tool

The Sponsor Engagement Tool for studies on the NIHR RDN Portfolio has been enhanced. 

In response to user feedback and in order to support sponsors to meet the expectations outlined in the DHSC policy ‘Terms & Conditions for NIHR Clinical Research Network support (.PDF)’ (now NIHR RDN), the tool now enables users to have improved visibility, oversight and control of the data the RDN holds on the sponsor organisation’s portfolio of studies.

Engagement with the tool and ensuring the data the RDN-holds is up-to-date, supports users of RDN data (including DHSC and NHS England) with data-driven decision making. More accurate data also enables sponsors (and their delegates) with efficient planning and placement activities for future studies. RDN-held data (along with other sources) is used to help generate a picture of research being delivered in the UK, and enables the research community to work in partnership with the RDN.

The Network Support for Sponsors video provides more information.

The National Contract Value Review 

The National Contract Value Review (NCVR), in which the RDN plays a key operational role, is driving significant efficiencies in the research system. NCVR is a UK-wide process which has standardised pricing and contract terms for commercial research across the NHS. Initially implemented for phase 3 and 4 studies, in October 2024 it was extended to all trial phases and has become routine practice for commercial research. General Practice continues to benefit from this approach through a voluntary sign up scheme. The number of days taken from initial service submission to first patient recruitment has fallen by 244 days since the 2019/20 financial year, when NCVR started. The timeline for contract signature has fallen by 146 days since NCVR went live nationally, in October 2022.