Towards a New R&D Strategy A blueprint for R&D in Health and Social Care Noreen Caine Deputy Director of R&D, DH NHS R&D Forum Annual Conference May 2005

Overview  Why we need a new R&D Strategy  Challenges and Objectives  Progress and Timescales  Issues for Discussion

Why we need a new Strategy  Clinical research is central to the health and wealth of the UK  There has been a decline in clinical research in recent years which we need to reverse  Patient Involvement and Public Awareness

Central to health  Clinical research generates evidence for health  Evidence needed to remove uncertainty about how best to promote health and to diagnose and manage ill health

Central to wealth  Improving population health generates wealth  Encouraging R&D in health industries  Providing access to cutting edge technology  Encouraging enterprise in the NHS

Challenges  The low applied evidence base in the NHS

Challenges  The low applied evidence base in the NHS  Changing population and disease trends

Challenges  The low applied evidence base in the NHS  Changing population and disease trends  Problems with career path in research for all health professions

Challenges  The low applied evidence base in the NHS  Changing population and disease trends  Problems with career path in research for all health professions  Problems with access to NHS infrastructure to support research

Challenges  The low applied evidence base in the NHS  Changing population and disease trends  Problems with career path in research for all health professions  We need better access to NHS infrastructure to support research  NHS R&D funding is allocated historically and does not reflect activity

Challenges  The low applied evidence base in the NHS  Changing population and disease trends  Problems with career path in research for all health professions  We need better access to NHS infrastructure to support research  NHS R&D funding is allocated historically and does not reflect activity  The increasing evidence that NHS management is now the bureaucratic block to clinical research

Strategic aim To use the power of research to build better services in health and social care for our patients and communities

Objective 1 Research to inform practice and policy Fund good quality, relevant research to provide reliable evidence to inform key areas of health and social care policy and practice

Objective 2 Research in the NHS Harness the capacity of the NHS to conduct research to improve national health and increase national wealth

Objective 3 The Academic research base Strengthen the capacity of the Academic sector to support applied and practice-based health and social care research

1. Research to inform policy and practice  Priorities – needs of population & patients  prevention of ill-health  independent healthy living for the elderly, children & disabled  access and choice in care delivery  increase in chronic disease, particularly in elderly  increase in cancer, asthma, diabetes, CHD morbidity  new diagnostics and other technologies

1. Research to inform policy and practice  Funding Research  Review NHS R&D programmes  Systematic reviews as well as, and to better inform, primary research  Response Mode Funding Scheme

1. Research to inform policy and practice  Culture eg. Admission of uncertainty. To safeguard against ineffective or harmful health care we need  Clinicians who are willing to continually question their own practice  Supported by access to sources of funding for research that matters to them and to  information about what does and does not work

2. Research in the NHS  Harnessing Capacity  Establish a transparent, sustainable, incentives- based funding system which is linked to research activity  Improve access to NHS infrastructure  Improve access to clinical information eg.CfH

2. Research in the NHS  Minimise bureaucracy and maximise simplicity  templates for contracts and agreements  share forms and processes (e.g. between Research Ethics and Trust R&D Management)  collect data once only  use one dataset for local R&D management and national R&D allocation and monitoring

2. Research in the NHS  Incentives-based  for engaging in high quality R&D  R&D included in Trust “performance ratings”  for managing R&D effectively and efficiently  for rapid “approval” of appropriate R&D  for making processes simpler and easier for researchers  for setting and achieving challenging recruitment targets  for collaboration  with other NHS organisations and University partners  with non-commercial and commercial research funders

3. The University research base  Capacity  sort-out career structures for clinical academic staff (medical and non-medical)  establish effective programmes for training key research disciplines e.g. health economics  RDSU review to provide a national network

Progress via the UKCRC  Research Funders collaboration  NHS infrastructure – Networks and CRFs  Modernising Medical Careers  Tackling bureaucracy - with the R&D Forum  Working on creating incentives – with the HC, the NHS and the R&D Forum, with the HC

UKCRN  Strategic Direction from UKCRC  Leadership from Network Co-ordinating Centres  Topic Specific and NTS Networks  NHS infrastructure  Shared processes & paperwork, SOPs for GCP, pharmacovigilance etc  Provision of regulatory expertise & advice  National Data capture system

Progress in Strategy Development  Consultation and buy-in within the DH  Consultation with Stakeholders including R&D Forum  Target time for announcement is the Summer  Detailed implementation plan in the Autumn  Implementation from

Issues for Discussion?  What are your main concerns  What would you like to see change  What needs to be preserved  Response Mode Funding Scheme