Health and Care Research Wales Support and Delivery Service

The ‘One Wales’ Support and Delivery Service is a Wales-wide service which aims to provide seamless support to sponsors, researchers and the public. The service is delivered at a national level via the Support & Delivery Centre and national Specialty Leads, and at a local level via NHS research and development (R&D) departments.

The Support and Delivery services are delivered in a UK-wide context, working closely with counterparts across the other nations, to streamline research support and delivery services for the benefit of researchers.

Aims of the Support and Delivery Service

Strategic Aim 1: Public

We will increase opportunities for patients and the public to participate in, and benefit from safe ethical research, regardless of geographical locations.

Strategic Aim 2: Research Community

We will enable industry and Chief Investigators to set-up studies in multiple sites across Wales in a single access, streamlined and efficient way.

Strategic Aim 3: Staff

We will attract and deploy appropriately skilled, qualified and experienced staff in a consistent way across Health and Care Research Wales, embedding shared values and behaviours.

Support and Delivery Service 2017 - 22 Strategic Framework

Support provided through the Support and Delivery Service

Support is available for the whole research study pathway, including support for feasibility design and assessment, study set up, regulatory approvals, public involvement and engagement, study recruitment, follow-up and the promotion of research.

The services are offered to all researchers working across health (secondary, primary and community) and social care, for both commercial and non-commercial sponsored research.

The Support and Delivery Service has a continuous improvement programme.

Support and Delivery Service Improvement plan

Specialty Leads

A key part of the Support & Delivery Service is the network of national Specialty Leads who champion and support research delivery across specific topic and disease areas.

They are responsible for promoting and increasing the breadth and spread of studies across Wales. Wales’ Specialty Leads are part of the UK Specialty Groups, led by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Support and Delivery Centre

As part of the Support and Delivery Service, the Support and Delivery Centre provides ‘once for Wales’ support such as:

Coordinating study set-up
Coordinating the all-Wales contracts and costings service
Providing a communications, engagement and involvement service
Providing training and information services
Managing the comprehensive Research Directory of research being undertaken across Wales
Providing research regulatory approvals as part of the UK Approvals Service
Coordinating initiatives to increase commercial, primary care and social care research
Implementation of R&D funding policies and performance monitoring NHS R&D

Contact details:

02920 230 457

healthandcareresearch@wales.nhs.uk

NHS Research and Development departments

Locally, the Support and Delivery Service is delivered by NHS R&D departments, which are based at each NHS organisation in Wales. There are seven health boards and three NHS trusts in Wales.

An R&D operational lead in each NHS R&D department (and their team) support local study set up and delivery. In addition, some R&D departments provide study sponsorship services.

The services the R&D departments provide include:

Developing and delivering a research strategy for their organisation, in collaboration with university colleagues
Providing support to local researchers throughout the research pathway, from grant application to dissemination of results
Ensuring information about research is available to local patients and clinicians
Ensuring staff and other resources are in place so that studies can be delivered
Ensuring the organisation fulfils its legal, regulatory and financial responsibilities relating to research it hosts or sponsors, and managing risks relating to these responsibilities