Local Research Specialty & Operational Leadership

Key Findings:

• The board members involved in our study engage with research evidence in various capacities, but there are differing views on the extent to which boards use research evidence as part of their activities.

• Many interviewees described research evidence being used in sporadic and opportunistic ways, rather than being systematically and routinely embedded in board functions.

• The types of research evidence used are diverse, and include clinical research evidence, evidence from healthcare services research and organisational and management research.

• The use of research evidence is context dependent. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, boards needed to make pragmatic decisions quickly, which meant that little research evidence was either available or directly consulted by boards. However, boards relied on evidence-based guidelines around COVID-19 to make decisions, among other factors.

• Boards access research evidence through different routes. While some interviewees reported engaging with research papers directly, research evidence seemed more often to be fed to the board through intermediary channels such as sub-committees or to other organisational experts such as clinical teams.

• There was significant appetite among board members to engage with research through simpler and more accessible formats than academic journal articles. Some examples included presentations, bespoke workshops, seminars, summaries of research and discussion papers.

• We identified several influences on the use of research. These relate to the nature of research evidence, the types of decisions being made, external circumstances that impact decision making and the function, structure and composition of boards.