CRP Bulletin -July 2023

Welcoming Deirdre Brooking as Strategic Engagement Lead, CRPs

I'm absolutely delighted to introduce myself as the new national Strategic Engagement Lead for CRPs.  I’ll be in this post for the next nine months and will be working 0.5 fte alongside my regular role as Workforce Development Lead at CRN North Thames. You may think a post for such a short time is rather odd.  But this role is a critically enabling piece of the jigsaw. The Department of Health and Social Care and NIHR Coordinating Centre see it as a key focus of activity intrinsic to embedding the newly recognised CRP workforce into research being delivered within the NHS, HEIs and Life Sciences Industry.

The project began to gather pace in 2019 as CRPs were recognised for their invaluable contribution to the research landscape and an essential workforce to deliver the NIHR initiatives, particularly during the Covid pandemic. There have been many milestones along the way but the launch of the  Register in 2021 was a game changer. To date we have 210 registrants.  In order for the register to be self-sustaining it needs more CRPs to join and invest in their future.

The CRP programme has illustrated how difficult organisational change can be with concerns about existing hierarchical posts, CRP job descriptions and banding, lack of vision and understanding of the role. The resources available and the infrastructure to develop CRPs are only a few of the barriers faced. Then there are the multiple layers of approvals needed in the NHS to do anything, and the need to gain consensus can slow things down.  Nevertheless, CRPs have many allies, and this is where my new role comes into play. I will be looking to harness top level leadership support in NHS organisations to enable CRPs to have the resources they need to develop. I will be engaging employees to foster a culture where CRPs are valued, invested in, and encouraged to be senior leaders.

Looking back, I never saw myself in a leadership role at all, well yes, maybe in a clinical setting supporting colleagues in a new study or a clinical technique. But I had little interest in management or long term strategy. That is, until I found myself having to explain my training and competencies and I found this rather insulting. It was time to take action.

It was around 2016 that I stepped up to be part of the early stages of the CRP initiative, joining a committee of like minded individuals who wanted to champion and create a professional community for CRPs, and found I rather liked it. CRPs are brilliant team  players and I really liked being part of this new team, albeit completely different from the clinical environment I was used to.

In 2021 I left my delivery role and became the  Workforce Development Lead  for North Thames, managing the new Agile Workforce for 15 months, together with working closely with our partners to develop training and career opportunities as the Workforce Lead. 

This secondment at the National Coordinating Centre is really exciting. I would like to share some key areas from my plan of action with you:

• Examine the national data set for applications to the Directory and the Register (provided by AHCS), looking at both the highest application rate but more importantly the lowest registration rate.

• Understand numbers of CRPs in LCRNs and their banding, deciphering if there is a trend for lack of development in particular areas.

• Working with LCRNs, co-design, develop and implement a survey to gather intelligence on specific barriers and enablers to supporting CRP registration and/or developing CRP roles

• From this information, plan site/regional visits for dialogue with R&D Departments in Trusts, sharing examples and competency frameworks to offer guidance to support access to registration and career development opportunities.

I will be working closely with NIHR CRN CRP Engagement Leads so please update them, or contact me directly, with any good news you would like to share in relation to increasing engagement with development of CRPs in your organisation.

Finally I'd like to stress that this role does not relinquish my CRP registration, I can satisfy the yearly continual professional development requirement by my management activity and my involvement in training. So, for all the CRPs out there who want to mix up their role a little, speak to your line managers and see how you can get involved in leading your team.

Come along to our CRP drop in sessions

Need help completing your Clinical Research Practitioner register application or you are supporting someone to complete their application?  Then come along to one of our drop in sessions.   No need to book, just turn up and  stay as long as you like.    Bring along any questions or reflections you may have.

• Wednesday 30 August 2023 between 15.00 – 16.00: Click here to join the meeting

• Monday 2 October 2023 between 12.00 – 13.00: Click here to join the meeting

• Tuesday 31 October 2023 between 16.00 – 17.00: Click here to join the meeting

• Wednesday 29 November 2023 between 14.00 – 15.00: Click here to join the meeting

• Friday 22 December 2023 between 11.00 – 12.00: Click here to join the meeting

Any questions in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us crpadmin@ahcs.ac.uk or you can check out the resources on our website 

• Step-by-step Guidance for Accredited Register for applicants

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Model templates 

And if you would like to connect with your local CRP Engagement Lead find their details on the CRP community site.