NW Research Workforce, Learning & Development

Research Delivery Workforce Update

September 2024

Welcome to our last Update page as the North West LCRN Workforce Team.

NIHR Research Delivery Network to launch 1st October 2024

The NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) will launch on 1 October when the Clinical Research Networks (CRNs) for Greater Manchester and North West Coast will become the new NIHR North West Regional Research Delivery Network (NW RRDN).

While this transition from one organisation to another takes place, the Team's footprint for Workforce, Learning and Development and event schedule over the next few months, doesn't change.

NIHR Learn is scheduled to update on October 1st - to help users understand what is being offered both nationally and regionally by the new NIHR Research Delivery Network and it's 12 Regional Research Delivery Networks.

Our Team Level X account - @NIHRCRN_nw_wld will close. Please follow the new @NIHRrdn Twitter/X account.

We will share further news via Partner Organisation Research Delivery Leads as the new RRDN service develops.

Accessing Research-Specific Training via NIHR Learn

E-learning

Please note that NIHR Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training is provided online as part of the NIHR Learn suite of 'Research Workforce Training'.

Virtual & Classroom Events

are listed on the North West NIHR Learn page.

As a reminder, here are weblinks to our current suggested learning plans for Research Delivery Teams and Principal Investigators.

Research Delivery Team - Novice Development

If you're planning to support a research novice into your research delivery team, please consider utilising the suggested New Starter Research Delivery Team - learning pathway. This is the model used by NW WF Team to create an offer that matches the likely contents of current competency frameworks and is then scheduled to ensure your learner is best placed to consolidate their peer/workplace learning within face to face events.

Most of the pathway can be accessed directly via NIHR Learn. This is not something the learner should be navigating in isolation - it is expected that the line manager will drive the learning plan and development of research novices, in a timely manner with staff performance & retention in mind.

NEW! Fundamentals of Research Document Management e-learning

A 30 minute module is now available on the Fundamentals of Research Document Management on NIHR Learn.

Originally designed for colleagues that are not required to complete Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training by the Sponsor but need to support a team member who does, or those who may have a GCP certificate but wish to re-engage with topic materials to help consolidate knowledge.

It will help staff understand what Essentials Documents are, where they're kept and the role of a Site File in both a local and study wide context.

Are you getting the most from NIHR Learn?

To ensure your team are exposed to all that is offered - please ensure you (and any learners you have responsibility for) are familiar with NIHR Learn. We have now created a new page within this site to provide useful information about NIHR Learn to help you and your colleagues understand how to best use it as a resource.

If you have logged on to NIHR Learn recently, you may notice it has undergone a makeover. The content on there will still be almost identical to previous versions and there will soon be an update to the search function to make it easier to find what you're looking for.

An updated video walking learners through the platform will be developed in the near future, please keep an eye out for that.

North West Research Delivery Training

Research Delivery Team Essentials (RDTE)* & Informed Consent

We offer a Research Delivery Team (RDT) specific learning pathway to our Partners - scheduled by the line manager, in alignment with how it is offered.

RDTE is designed to underline the first 3-4 months of development & plan for the next few months ahead - and is a course that necessitates line manager nomination. It maps to the Integrated Workforce Framework at either Awareness or Core level for all topics. RDTE Course outline.
"Informed Consent" is an additional course to the consent component of RDTE, specifically for those who will seek consent - so should be undertaken after RDTE. It forms part of the Consent Training Pathway. The Informed Consent Course outline can be explored for more info.

Nominations for Training

We need to be able to schedule these training courses according to demand. Please send us a request via this RDTE and Informed Consent Line Manager Nomination Form to let us know if you have a new starter in post who needs to access RDTE and possibly Informed Consent.

We will then send them a welcome message and will make contact when a place for Essentials becomes available. Places will be prioritised based on time in role, balanced against when nomination was received.

Good Clinical Practice

GCP Consolidation

GCP intro is now only available online. To supplement this, a half-day consolidation session is now offered so that once staff have completed the online training, they can come together in the classroom (virtual will be available in future), to work through the principles in practice.

2 CPD points are awarded for participating in this consolidation session but there is no GCP certificate for this session as participants already have one.

Bookings for this course are through the North West pages on NIHR Learn.

Please keep checking for dates which will be added soon. Virtual sessions will run regularly with 4 face to face events per year across the North West.

Principal Investigator Training

Offered as part of a PI Pathway. Please make sure you read the course descriptions before booking to ensure you have the relevant experience required for the sessions. These run alternatively approximately every 6 weeks and are mainly being held virtually.

**Note that there are spaces despite showing as 'full' as you are required to complete the registration form to be allocated a place - please read and follow the instructions on 'How Do I Book onto a Session?'**

Becoming a PI - next available date: 4th Nov, virtually
PI Essentials - next available date: 9th Dec, virtually

Dates for our PI training programmes can be found within our North West PI Training pages on NIHR Learn, along with the booking form to register your interest in the sessions. Keep a look out for new dates coming on regularly.

Open DOORS to help your research career...

NW DOORS is a new resource from the North West Workforce, L&D team, aimed to provide a simple to navigate tool, which outlines the various learning opportunities available to colleagues working in research.

NW DOORS is still in it's infancy and we will be adding new roles/interests each month, so even if you don't see what you're looking for right now, we would highly recommend you bookmark the page and check back periodically.

Research-Specific Opportunities

NIHR BRC GM Research Placement Scheme

Calling Nurses, Midwives, Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), and other healthcare professionals working in the NHS who would like to develop hands-on clinical research skills.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) has a number of exciting opportunities for Nurses, Midwives, AHPs and other healthcare professionals currently working in the NIHR Manchester BRC partner NHS Trusts to undertake backfilled clinical research placements.

Further information via

NIHR BRC GM Placement Scheme webpages

Releasing Potential Series - One Day Workshops

Our colleagues art R&D North West are running the 'Releasing Potential' series of free, in-person, one day workshops. The workshops are for early career researchers and beyond and cover a host of topics.

Spaces are limited, please view the Releasing Potential schedule and share with colleagues who may wish to attend.

The next session is:

PCAF & PLAF Application – 30th October 2024

Are you intending to submit an application for a PCAF or PLAF or wish to benchmark yourself in terms of readiness for submitting an application? This workshop will look closely at what is required to make a competitive application to the Pre-doctoral Clinical Academic Fellowship (PCAF) and/or Pre-doctoral Local Authority Fellowship (PLAF).

Next Steps for a Post-doc - 14th November 2024

This workshop is aimed at health and care academic researchers who have completed a PhD, have not yet secured post-doctoral awards and are looking at next steps in their research career. T

Who is Associate Principal Investigator Scheme aimed at?

The event is relevant to all who wish to learn more about the Associate PI Scheme with a particular focus towards Nurses, Midwives, and AHPs. Please share in your organisation to get more people involved in research. It is not aimed at those with a research delivery role already.

What to Expect at the Event:

An overview of the Associate PI Scheme, including how to register and what it entails.
The importance of research and the impact it has on patients.
Insights from a variety of perspectives, including Alumni of the Associate PI Scheme, National Study Teams, NIHR Director of Nursing and Midwifery, NIHR Associate Director of Allied Health Professionals, and more.
Information on other adjacent NIHR learning opportunities, such as the Principal Investigator Pipeline Programme (PIPP) for Research Nurses and Research Midwives.

Unable to Attend Live?

Please complete the following form to receive a recording afterwards: Request the API scheme event recording.

Click here to access the EventBrite page and register for a ticket now.

Book Early Phase PI Training Day via Eventbrite

Early Phase PI Training Day

The NIHR Lancashire NIHR Clinical Research Facility in Preston would like invite current and potential early-phase trial principal investigators to a PI Training Day on

Wednesday 20th November 2024

This free education day will provide guidance needed to help develop as a trial investigator.

Experienced clinical investigators from across the country have been invited as guest speakers and will cover the responsibilities of PIs and trial sites as well as a wide range of topics from statistics to pharmacology in early phase trials.

An application for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) recognition from the Royal College of Physicians has been made.

New Learning Resources

Research Practice in Health, Care and Community Settings

This new resource is aimed at staff who are working in health, care and community settings, organisations or providers, such as social care or the local authority, who would like to know more about how to support research.

This resource can serve as an introduction to the standards involved in research such as how to manage your research records and collect good quality data.

This module can be taken in preparation for using the Research in Community Settings Toolkit.

New Leadership eLearning resources for all

A new range of NIHR Leadership e-learning modules are available on NIHR Learn. A total of 16 will be delivered until 2025. Visit the Leadership eLearning Modules section of NIHR Learn to explore the initial release of leadership modules available for you to work through at your own pace.

Topics include:

'Strategic awareness'
'Self awareness'
'Inspiring others with a clear vision'

Additional Workforce, Learning & Development News & Info

Coffee & Chat with Professor Ruth Endacott

Professor Ruth Endacott (Director of Nursing and Midwifery at the NIHR), holds a coffee and catch up slot online regularly.

If anybody is interested to join and have an informal conversation about research feel free to join her. Maybe there could be questions about the Senior Research Leaders role or other.

The next date is: Friday 11th October 9.30 - 10.30 everyone welcome.

You can access the Coffee and Chat meeting via this link

Virtual CAHPR Conference:

Growing our allied health research community

You can now secure your space at the one day online conference, hosted by the Community for Allied Health Professions' Research (CAHPR).

It's open to anyone with an interest in allied health research - clinicians, educators, researchers and any other interested parties, with a chance to meet key members of the community and stay up to date with the latest innovations and direction of the community.

Get your ticket for the CAHPR Conference being held on October 9th.

Clinical Research Practitioners

Bi-monthly National CRP Bulletin.

CRPs North West / Regional Update

You can visit the North West CRP webpage. Within this page, there is the opportunity to sign up to a mailing list to connect you with both the regional and national CRP Engagement Leads.

North West CRP Online Community of Practice - The next date is Thursday 26th September, 2-3.30pm, please register an interest in the NW Online CRP Community of Practice.

North West CRP & Confirmer Workshops

The next regional level workshops is scheduled for Monday September 30th at 09:30 - 12:00. The CRP & confirmer must attend together.

Further information and booking via the North West CRP & Confirmer Workshop NIHR Learn page.
Any queries - learning.lcrnsnorthwest@nihr.ac.uk

If you have any questions regarding the process, please contact workforceandprofessionscrn@nihr.ac.uk

National & Regional Workforce Planning Resources

If you are interested in workforce planning; additional workforce; volunteer deployment; skill mix; you may want to view the National & Regional Workforce Planning Resources.

Engagement Resources

Resources to use with your colleagues and students

We wanted to provide you with easy access to some of the resources you might want to consider using with your students, or colleagues who may be interested in becoming more research active.

On NIHR Learn, the Research Engagement Collaborative pages include things like the NHS Engagement Toolkit
The new NIHR "Transforming Lives Through Research" video
Archive of the Research for the Future newsletters

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs)

A MOOC is a free to complete online course, developed by specialists within that industry. Some universities have their own MOOCs available via their website, or you can visit sites like Future Learn.

With all FutureLearn MOOCs, remember that your do not have to purchase a certificate as you can 'screenshot' your completion page.

What is Health Research?

(NIHR/University of Leeds)

For NHS staff, patients and public and is a good first step and overview. Explore the world of health research and the role volunteers play in transforming treatments and improving health care. What is Health Research? registration page

Improving Healthcare through Clinical Research (NIHR/University of Leeds)

Through the Improving Healthcare Through Clinical Research course, find out how medical treatments are discovered, tested and evaluated to improve healthcare for all. This is more technical that the 'What is Health Research?' course.

Introduction to Randomised Controlled Trials (University of Birmingham)

Discover the importance of trials in evidence-based medicine and learn about the trial lifecycle from conception to publication. To find out more the Introduction to Randomised Control Trials will have everything you need.

Digital Tools for Efficient Clinical Trials

(NIHR/University of Southampton)

Digital Tools for Efficient Clinical Trials aims to give researchers and trial teams an overview of how digital tools can support the recruitment and retention of trial participants, whilst also considering their possible limitations. The course is open to anyone with an interest in clinical research.

Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products

The Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre (ATTC) network have developed a new Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products e-learning programme in collaboration with e-learning for Healthcare. Please share with your networks/communities as appropriate.

Newsletters and a round up of things you may have missed...

The NIHR receives funding from the government to help nurses and midwives develop research skills, knowledge and experience. The Nurses and Midwives in research website contains a link to the Research Careers Framework to help people understand the roles available, ideas to support career development and a stack of resources which may help colleagues interested in taking their first steps into a research career.

The Health Research Authority publish regular newsletters. Take some time to read the August HRA update.

The August Health Services Research UK (HSR UK) newsletter is now available.

If you didn't catch the NIHR & ICS Research Learning Event in January, the recordings and slides are now available to view on demand.

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