Career development

Improvements in health and care are driven by evidence from research studies and trials. All health and care professionals are encouraged to help advance healthcare by getting involved in designing and delivering research.

You can have a career in research alongside your clinical or social care job, and it’s never too early or too late to start.

The Research Delivery Network (RDN) helps grow the skills and knowledge of the research delivery workforce in England. We work with employers, universities, and other stakeholders to offer learning resources from experts across the country.

Our training will help you understand your roles and responsibilities and ensure that you can deliver studies to the highest ethical and scientific standards.

Access NIHR training

NIHR Learn hosts free learning resources for the UK research workforce. These are provided by NIHR (including the RDN and the NIHR Academy), the Health Research Authority (HRA) and other stakeholders.

Access to NIHR Learn is available if you are employed by the NIHR, NHS, a UK university, or any other UK publicly funded organisation involved in or supporting clinical research. This includes public health, social care, and non-NHS organisations.

Learn more about the training and support we provide.

NIHR training programmes

Good Clinical Practice (GCP) accessed by NIHR Learn

Associate Principal Investigator (PI) Scheme

Principal Investigator Pipeline Programme (PIPP)

Postgraduate courses on leading clinical research delivery

Senior Research Leader Programme (SRL) for nurses and midwives

New to research

If you are new to research and want to learn more about getting started, we provide a range of resources to assist you.

Discover resources and guidance designed for your profession.

Contact us

If you are not sure who to contact, our NIHR Learn helpdesk can direct your query to the right team to support you.