Working Groups

UK Research Finance Group

The UK Research Finance Group is a professional community of NHS R&D Finance Managers across the UK.

It resulted from a request from UKRD (a national community of R&D Leaders established in 2017) to establish a working group of NHS R&D Finance managers specifically to explore and discuss topical and on-going issues facing NHS R&D departments, how they impact on individual Trusts and the R&D community as a whole.

The group provides the opportunity to forge professional relationships and establish a network of colleagues.

For this initiative, UKRD is working jointly with the NHS R&D Forum as there is overlap and interest in this work for both communities.

The group is led by:

Susan Keenan (chair)
Joe Mwanza (deputy chair)

Peer Development Groups

A pilot scheme was established for the Peer Development Groups in 2020 enabling participants to experience peer learning first hand and share good practice. Seven groups have since been established with over 50 participants across the UK. Following excellent feedback (see video here) UKRD will continue to support these groups throughout 2021 and beyond.

The groups are organised by:

Kate Blake
Tracy Shalom

UKRD Clinical Directors Group 

The current UKRD Clinical Directors group is comprised of over 90 members. Members are clinical NHS R&D Directors from around the country, with the aim of creating a network for UKRD to draw on if we need advice, guidance and peer support.

The group is co-chaired by:

Nav Ahluwalia
Nick Hart

Latest updates:

• Clinical Directors Working Group Meeting – March 2022: Read the meeting outcomes here.
• R&D Clinical Directors Survey – January 2022: Read the results of the survey here.

UKRD Digital Working Group

Using digital technology in health and social care can not only improve quality, efficiency and patient experience, but also support more integrated care and improve the health of the population.

Last year UKRD shared information with the UKRD community on NHS Digitrials that supported the RECOVERY trial against COVID-19 infections. This year we aimed to address the benefits and challenges of using AI, big data and driving digitalisation in research across the NHS.

Work is underway to launch a National Digital Research Maturity Survey of Hospital Electronic Patient Records Systems.

Read this article summarising the Digital sessions held during the UKRD 2021 Summit.

The group is chaired by:

Ameet Bakhai

UKRD Inclusion Working Group

The UKRD Working Group on Inclusion in Research has been established to enable the UKRD community to have a disruptive and positive impact on inclusion in research.

The group identifies opportunities for UKRD to innovate in the policies and practices it champions and adopts in relation to inclusion. We explore where there are good examples from other organisations of positive inclusion activities that could be adopted by UKRD and where the work of other organisations can helpfully be supported and strengthened by endorsement or input from UKRD. The Working Group is tasked with leading on this work, with a particular focus on race and ethnicity.

UKRD Inclusion Symposium 2024:

• Sapna Kurade and Catherine Heffernan – Research Cafes (SW London)
• Mark Dawson and Iftikhar Khan – Diversifying our approaches to Community Engagement (Bradford)
• Anna Badley – CoLab: Using community participatory approaches to increase inclusion in research (Solent)
• Anbhu Balasubramanian – EDI impact assessment tool (Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust)
• Cassidy Rowden and Paige Hurlstone – Community Voices in Research (Kent County Council)
• Kate Fryer – The IBISES model: development of a Community Research Link Worker role through action research, to increase accessibility of primary care research within ethnic minority communities (Sheffield)
• Keerti Gedela – Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Framework (NW London CRN)
• Rachel Taylor – Oxford and Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centres Ethnicity Inclusion Workshop (Oxford BRC)

UKRD Inclusion in Research Symposium 2023:

• Read the key takeaways and watch presentation videos from the Symposium.

UKRD Inclusion in Research Symposium 2021:

• Watch the Symposium Highlights video.
• Read the key takeaways from the Symposium.

The group is co-chaired by:

Lynis Lewis
Nick McNally

NIHR Race Equality Framework 2022

Increasing diversity in research participationSapna Kurade and Catherine Heffernan presentation – SW LondonCoLab: 

This working group was set up in January 2023 to explore what needs to happen to enhance the environment for commercial trials in the UK, working with our partners at ABPI and with pharmaceutical company leaders to identify and take action on areas where change is needed to improve the clinical trials process.

The working group will take forward three important areas of work: clinical trials operations, clinical trials finances and new models of clinical trial delivery.

The UK Joint Research Office (JRO) Network aims to connect JROs across the UK to encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and NHS organisations. Membership is open to JRO representatives and professionals involved in joint research management, as well as NHS/HEI partnerships interested in forming a Joint Research Office. The network provides opportunities to learn from established offices and supports strategic alignment in research management.

We are aligned with UKRD and the R&D Forum and aim to develop relationships with other relevant national bodies to ensure our work supports national research and development policies across both NHS and Academia.

Our objectives

Members of the JRO Network work together to:

• Facilitate collaboration across UK JROs.
• Deliver strategic work streams.
• Develop metrics to measure joint working between HEIs and NHS organisations.
• Promote knowledge sharing and best practices.
• Engage stakeholders and maintain strategic partnerships.
• Organise events and surveys to inform and enhance network activities.
• Act as a reference group for national strategy and policy in health and care research.

What we do

Our activities span several key areas:

• Network Management: Convening and supporting regular meetings and communications.
• Work Stream Oversight: Coordinating progress and ensuring timely delivery of goals.
• Metrics Development: Identifying indicators to assess JRO partnerships.
• Event Coordination: Hosting conferences, workshops, and webinars.
• Survey Administration: Running the Annual JRO Survey and analysing results.
• Knowledge Management: Sharing best practices and resources across the network.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborating with UKRD, ARMA, NCURA, and the R&D Forum.
• Communications & Marketing: Promoting the network’s activities and impact.

The group is led by a Steering Group:

Chris Bray (Oxford JRO)
Lloyd Gregory (KCL/GSTT JRO)
Sean Scott (Newcastle JRO)
Rajinder Sidhu (UCL/UCLH JRO)
Karen Underwood (University Hospitals Southampton)