Research Delivery Workforce Update

November 2021

Welcome to our Update page, where we intend to share regional & national updates related to training & research delivery workforce matters.      

Please ensure you scroll to the bottom.

Have your met your NW Research Workforce Team? 


LCRNs GM & NWC have entered into a collaboration to provide a single CRN WF Function across the North West. 


The North West Research Workforce Team now work across both LCRN regions, ensuring that there is a cohesive workforce, learning & development offer to our Partner Organisations and the wider workforce.


Please email us at learning.lcrnsnorthwest@nihr.ac.uk if you have any queries.

Photo of the North West Clinical Research Network Workforce team

(Left to right) 

Seonaid Beddows Workforce Learning & Development Manager 

Mary Speake - Workforce, Learning & Development Lead 

Martin Occleston - Learning Technologist

Laura Donnelly - Learning & Development Administrator 

Research-Specific Training Programmes  

Please note that NIHR GCP is currently provided as part of the national suite of online learning only, with some local face to face events prioritised both virtually & in the classroom.


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, especially the range of courses available for new starters - to be in a position to request any available training according to any training plans you may have.

Virtual & Classroom Events 

are listed within the NIHR Learn local learning pages tab (centre of home page) as one NW-wide identity - CRNs North West (GM & NWC).

As a reminder, here are weblinks to current suggested plans for Research Delivery Teams Learning Plan  and Principal Investigators Learning Plan, plus we have a poster of our summarised our COVID-19 research training advice & guidance

How do you support your new starters?                                                     

If you're planning to support a new starter into a research delivery team, please consider utilising the suggested learning pathway to ensure your learner is best placed to consolidate their peer/workplace learning within face to face events.

We plan for incremental learning, using 'spaced repetition', bearing in mind competency frameworks & induction phase timelines. 

A recent addition to NIHR Learn -  Clinical Research in Practice Settings - could be useful in helping new starters settle in if it's used prior to being asked to complete GCP.

Please also see MOOC information below.

Research Delivery Team Essentials (RDTE)* & Informed Consent (relates only to the Research Delivery workforce) 

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. 

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.

Nominations for Training

We need to be able to schedule these training courses according to demand and need support in advance planning from RDT line managers. Please send us a request via this google form for GM teams and this google form for NWC teams to let us know you have a new starter in post who needs to access RDTE and possibly also Informed Consent. We will then send them a welcome message and will make contact when a place for Essentials becomes available - anticipating that once we resume to a more regular schedule, this will be at the recommended time for completion.

Events & Training, Learning & Development Opportunities

NHS R&D North West are pleased to announce that in collaboration with the University of Salford from January 2022, we will be delivering the Integrated Clinical Academic Internship Programme across the North West region of Health Education England.  These highly prestigious internships are funded by Health Education England providing the first step onto a clinical academic career pathway.  More information here. 

These internships are designed to support individuals within our member organisations to undertake a small research project under the supervision of experienced researchers from one of the ARC universities. Open to individuals employed within NWC ARC Member organisations who have an interest in research and are looking to begin the next stage of their research career.  More information here.

The scheduled NIHR Nursing and Midwifery December celebration event has been postponed until a future date to be confirmed.

The decision has been taken in light of increased COVID-19 infection rates. 

NIHR is developing a small video in recognition of nursing and midwifery colleagues' work which will launch via Twitter on 10 December.

New Learning Resources

NIHR Learn Insights

How do we help foster diversity and inclusion within research?


The November issue of NIHR Learn Insights, a CPD resource with new instalments every two months, is now available. This time around, Insights looks at the importance of a diverse and inclusive approach to research.


We are pleased to welcome Dr Shamaila Anwar, Project Lead - Medical Directorate, CRN National Coordinating Centre (CRNCC) and Dr. Esther Mukuka, NIHR Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), as our guest editors for the month. 


In this instalment, we  look at the importance of creating and maintaining workplace diversity. You will also learn how we can all become better allies and find out about some of the important work taking place across the network to improve inclusion for underserved communities 

We will also provide a spotlight on a programme of learning taking place in Yorkshire and the Humber, which has been designed to address local needs and enhance the learning of our Clinical Research Delivery workforce.

Did you know that NIHR Learn Insights is mobile friendly? Grab a cuppa and take a moment.

Have you thought about joining the Clinical Research Practitioner Accredited Register?

We know that for CRPs, joining the directory or applying to join the register can be a really helpful step. So with that in mind, we have created a NW CRP webpage, with the aim to provide you with some fantastic resources to help your continued professional development, as well as supporting with the actual application process itself.  

You can register to join a mailing list, meet your Engagement Manager: CRP Registration as well as enhance your reflection skills. 

Keep an eye out over the coming weeks and months for more resources and events being added to the page.

Screenshot of CRP webpage including photo of a CRP sat in front of a screen
PC Community.mp4

Research And Quality Improvement Learning Community For Primary Care


The Research and Quality Improvement Learning Community for Primary Care offers a rich portal for users to interact with colleagues from across the UK as well as access to a range of high quality resources and related training.  


The Community has been designed to be inclusive, targeting all healthcare professionals with an interest in learning more or linking to clinical scholarship in primary care, the wider community and beyond. The Community allows these connections to be established from links between practices to trainee groups to regional collaborations/national discussions by capitalising on the social functionality of NIHR Learn.


The video on the right hand side provides you with a demo of how to make the most of the new primary care community - check it out!

The Community forums are designed to allow for local and national discussions and provide a vehicle for the exploration of cross cutting themes such as Deep-end /area of social deprivation, PCN/at scale working, GP and AHP Trainees and Early Career Researchers, Community Research /social care, and IT Solutions/digital.


A wealth of resources are provided across a variety of key themes, an example being Quality Improvement, with links to other key initiatives. This growing community is encouraged to share not only emerging ideas but relevant resources, with the functionality to upload directly to the platform, thereby establishing the Community as a platform which fosters collaboration and learning.

How can Primary Care 'Get into Research?'

If you work in the Primary Care setting and are keen to understand more about how you and your practice can become 

Additional Workforce, Learning & Development News & Info

The Associate PI Scheme - What Is It?


The Associate Primary Investigate (PI) Scheme has recently launched a new website for people who are interested in learning more about the programme. The Associate PI scheme aims to develop doctors, nurses and other health professionals to become the Principal Investigators (PIs) of the future. 


You can visit the new website to find out:

Screenshot of the new website including a banner image of four medical professionals in cartoon form

Making research matter Chief Nursing Officer for England’s strategic plan for research

Making research matter Chief Nursing Officer for England’s strategic plan for research was launched on 22 November 2021. NIHR Nursing & Midwifery have been involved in the development of the Plan and Ruth Endacott contributed a Foreword. This is the first ever Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Research Plan and brings together ambitions for nurses delivering, supporting, participating in and leading research. An Implementation Plan will be launched in Spring 2022. NIHR Nursing & Midwifery are also involved in the development of this plan.


Contact Lucy Ainsworth, Programme Officer of Nursing and Midwifery (lucy.ainsworth@nihr.ac.uk).


Embedding Research in NHS Care and Wider Health Services  - A Guide


This updated guide aims to provide some 'tools' to help you support NHS colleagues to further embed research activity in their organisations for patient benefit at the frontline. 


You will find information that should support you in interacting with non research colleagues in your care settings. This might be facts and figures, messaging, reports, new strategic work or examples of approaches to research engagement, including simple key messages that you could use 

National & Regional Workforce Planning Resources

If you are interested in workforce planning; additional workforce; volunteer deployment; skill mix; this webpage holds links to National & Regional Resources.

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) 

Both NIHR MOOCs are scheduled to repeat over the coming weeks/months:

As GCP face to face is not available widely at present, this could be well placed to ensure continuity of formal learning 

for those who are new to research.

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 - weblink here.


With all FutureLearn MOOCs, please remember that your do not have to purchase a certificate, you can 'screenshot' your progress and/or your completion page.

E-learning for Healthcare Logo

Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products

 

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


This series of eLearning sessions is designed to give the learner a core understanding of advanced therapies, how they function in the body, and the steps involved in delivering these medicines. The modules take the learner from the basics of cell and gene therapy, through to a more in-depth look at products currently being delivered through both commissioned treatments and clinical trials.

New Learning Resource on NIHR Learn: Introduction to GCP - IMP management module

 

The Introduction to GCP - IMP Management module is now available on NIHR Learn. This specialised Good Clinical Practice (GCP) module explores Investigational Medicinal Product (IMP) management within the context of clinical trials conducted in the NHS.  

It is a specialist module for the Introduction to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) for those who have delegated responsibility (freedom to act) for IMP management for a clinical trial.  

It meets a training need for GCP IMP management outside of a pharmacy setting and by non pharmacy professionals while continuing to ensure Pharmacy staff receive the relevant training they need to be GCP compliant. 

Did you know you can follow us on Twitter?


We have a North-West Workforce Learning and Development Twitter account where we share some of the great work going on across our region. 

Follow us, tag us when you have something you'd like us to shout about and you never know what opportunities and contacts you might come across along the way!