Local Research Specialty & Operational Leadership
Page last updated 22 January 2024
Research & The Healthcare System
This section of the toolkit includes lots if useful background on why research is important to the health and care system, how the Network priorities align with other key stakeholders and how together we are supporting the integration of research and care.
Integrating Research and Care
Integrated Care Systems & Research
Research for Patient and Public Benefit
This video looks at timeline of the development of the NIHR since 1996 and its expansion to support research in social care settings. You can use this as an aid to help you explain who we are.
Click the button below to learn more about research and the healthcare system.
Embedding a Research Culture
The following sections provide some 'tools' to help you support health and care service colleagues to further embed research activity in their organisations for patient benefit at the frontline.
Engaging with Health and Care Leaders
Communicating research evidence to boards in health and care organisations
THIS Institute commissioned RAND Europe and the Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) at the University of Birmingham to conduct a scoping study on how health and care boards use research evidence. A summary of the findings are given below or read the full article here.
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.
Research Engagement Champions
Research Engagement Champions have been established in every NIHR Regional Network. Broadly their role is to provide:
A link between local and national initiatives in the Network
Best practice examples of engagement as part of a national Network community of practice.
A conduit for feeding back to the national Network Health & Care Engagement Team any issues, suggestions, innovations, concerns, and perspectives from the Regional Network.
A Catalyst for new positive ways of working with stakeholders in a joint effort to embed research in primary, secondary and community care.
If you would like to get in touch with any of the Research Engagement Champions to support your engagement activities please contact the health and care engagement team in the first instance healthandcareengagement@nihr.ac.uk
Engaging with Integrated Care Boards
ICS Engagement Leadership Group
Each region has an ICS Engagement Lead who is responsible for being the Single Point of Contact (SPoC) for each Integrated Care Board (ICB). Local Research Specialty Leads who develop research in their respective specialty areas will undoubtedly be taking into account the impact of the new ICS structures within their region, both in terms of opportunities and challenges for their areas of work (e.g each ICS will have a range of clinical service specialty development leads attached to them).
Any Local Specialty or Operational Leads activity in relation to an ICS or ICB should be cognisant and completely aligned with their particular local Network's approach whilst their National Specialty Group priorities are taken into account. We encourage Local Specialty Leads to work closely with their local ICS Engagement Lead when engaging ICBs.
Presentations to Support Engagement
Specialty and Setting Specific Research Engagement
The following section will provides you an overview of successful models and approaches to research engagement, as well as 'tools' to help you engage services, providers and health and care professionals across different sectors and settings.
This section aims to support your understanding of the different cultures and languages that are present in different health and care settings and to help you tailor your communication styles to suite to the setting.
