Career development
Health and Care Research Wales funds high-quality research for the benefit of the NHS, public health and social care, and provides learning and support to enable researchers to tackle the complex health and social care challenges of the future.
Encouraging a research-positive culture in health and social care organisations gives patients, service users and the public greater access to research studies that help improve care and treatment options. Research active organisations are also more likely to attract and retain the best staff and offer opportunities for greater workforce development because they enable staff to work at the forefront of knowledge and current practice.
If you are thinking of progressing your research career and would like to find out more about the opportunities on offer through Health and Care Research Wales, a number of schemes are available to researchers from different professions, backgrounds and research interests. These include:
NHS Research Time Award (NHS RTA) – Protected time to engage in research activity in the NHS
This funding award is no longer active. The Health and Care Research Wales Faculty offers a number of alternative personal awards open to staff in NHS Wales.
In March 2020 Welsh Government undertook an evaluation of the scheme to assess the impact and value of the award in addition to feedback on how the scheme has supported research career development in the NHS.
Health and Care Research Wales Support and Delivery Learning and Development Fund
Status: Closed
The Health and Care Research Wales Support and Delivery Learning and Development Fund aims to promote equality of opportunity for staff working in NHS R&D offices, research delivery staff employed by the NHS, and Support and Delivery Centre staff by providing financial support for those who are planning to undertake higher education study.
Research Capacity Building Collaboration Wales
Research Capacity Building Collaboration Wales (RCBCWales) is funded by Health and Care Research Wales and aims to increase research capacity and capability in nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, clinical science and allied health professions, and to contribute to the development of clinical academic roles.
It is a partnership between six universities in Wales (the universities of South Wales, Swansea, Cardiff, Cardiff Metropolitan, Glyndwr and Bangor) providing opportunity for new and experienced researchers in the aforementioned professions to undertake research fellowships. RCBCWales engages with the NHS, industry, charities and policy makers and offers a range of awards, from First into Research fellowships, to PhDs, through to support for those wishing to undertake postdoctoral studies.
The collaboration works to develop those undertaking research for the first time, helping to make the pathway to becoming an independent researcher more attractive and accessible.
Clinical Research Practitioners (CRP)
Health and Care Research Wales welcomed the launch of a new UK-wide professional accreditation scheme for Clinical Research Practitioners (CRPs) in July.
The accredited register, launched by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is part of a UK plan to double the number of CRPs to 2,000 over the next few years.
CRP is an umbrella title used for a family of roles in research delivery that have a patient-facing element and where the post holder isn’t currently registered to a healthcare profession.
The introduction of the register will improve professional identity, recognise the vital role CRPs play in research delivery, and provide a clear path for the career development of CRPs.
The online information sessions below provide further information and guidance:
Clinical Research Practitioner Pathway for Wales
Clinical Research Practitioner Mentorship
Training
Training to help you develop your career can be found on our training section