Reference &Terminology Service (RTS)

The Reference Terminology Service is the reference data set for the whole of CPMS, including all research activity sites.  The reference data is drawn from many different sources, such as the NHS Digital's Organisational Data Service.

In order for research information systems to communicate with each other consistently and effectively, they need to use the same language. RTS is designed to provide this language by acting as a single "home" for all research reference data, that is capable of “talking” to any operational system.

RTS establishes and maintains a reference data gateway for organisation and site information, providing data for the Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS).  However, RTS is not tied to any one operating system or programming language. This means it is capable of interacting with non-RDN systems and provides an opportunity for the entire clinical research community to access the valuable data it collects and holds. 

RTS is used by the Research Delivery Network Coordinating Centre to populate the lists of organisations and sites used in CPMS.

The Local Portfolio Management Systems also use RTS data  to populate their systems, in order to communicate effectively with CPMS.

The organisation data is also shared with HRA, in order to populate the sponsors and participating NHS trusts in their IRAS application.

There are plans to share RTS with a wider customer base, particularly within NIHR, in order to standardise data sets and reduce duplication of effort across the organisation.