Glossary

A glossary to pursue consistency in use of terms in the RDN.

Definition: RDN customers are the people and organisations that fund, sponsor, lead and deliver NIHR RDN portfolio studies, and people working as their agents such as Clinical Research Organisations (CROs). RDN customers usually work in research charities, the life sciences industry, universities and health and care organisations, or represent those that do. 

Definition: RDN stakeholder is the umbrella term for all the people and organisations with an interest or concern in the NHS or wider health and care system, health and care research or the NIHR RDN generally.

These include specific groups such as RDN customers, delivery organisations, the research delivery workforce and health and care staff more broadly, research participants, patients and the wider public, groups representing individuals across the health and care system, and Government departments and arms’ length bodies, as well as RDN staff, and the wider NIHR. 

Definition: A participant, also called a research, trial, or study participant, is a person who is recruited into a study or otherwise provides data or other material for a study.

We should be specific and refer to ‘research participants’, ‘potential participants’ or 'volunteers' depending on relevance, rather than patients. It is important to use people-centred language routinely.

Participants and other members of the public are not RDN staff and therefore the possessive term ‘our’ should not be used.

Definition: Delivery organisations (previously referred to in LCRNs as “Partner organisations”) include health and care organisations who deliver NIHR RDN Portfolio studies  or receive RDN Funding to enable them to do so. 

Some delivery organisations may include a number of research locations  (e.g. a large hospital trust or chain of care homes), others may be a single location (e.g. an independent care home). 

To avoid confusion with other RDN stakeholders, we should use the term ‘delivery organisations’ when referring to these organisations, rather than Partners.

Definition: RDN provides funding to Delivery Organisations, supporting them to employ the people they need to deliver NIHR RDN Portfolio Studies. These are collectively known as the Research Delivery workforce  They are not included in the definition of RDN staff. 

NIHR RDN Agile Research Delivery Teams are also part of the Research Delivery workforce and are RDN staff. They are funded and employed by the NIHR RDN to work across multiple delivery organisations in their region, providing additional support and capacity where needed.

Definition: Healthcare professionals include, but are not limited to; nurses, midwives, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, genetic counsellors, clinical pharmacists, healthcare scientists, dentists, doctors and allied health professionals.

Definition: A healthcare professional is defined as ‘new to research’ if they are currently in a training post or within 5 years of appointment to a substantive NHS (or equivalent) position (excluding career breaks, and extended pro-rata for those in less than full-time work). Where development opportunities are restricted to people who are new to research, special consideration will be given to those who can demonstrate they were only able to take up research opportunities later in their career.

Definition: Staff employed by or on behalf of RDN Host organisations (RRDNs and RDNCC). These include:

• RRDN Management Team

• RRDN Agile Research Delivery Teams

• RRDN and National Specialties and Settings Leads

• RDNCC staff

Definition: A multidisciplinary team of regionally based, flexible staff who are centrally managed and regionally deployed to support the RDN portfolio of studies across all specialties and settings. Every RRDN has an Agile Research Delivery Team. 

The Agile Research Delivery Team covers previous LCRN staff who may be described as the direct delivery teams, and/or those funded by the Transformation of Research Delivery funding, primary care, social care and out of hospital research delivery staff, and all other centrally managed, peripatetic research staff.

Definition: The RDN Executive are the directors with collective responsibility for the whole RDN. They are: the 12 RRDN Network Directors, the RDNCC Directors, and the RDN Joint Executive Directors.

The RDN Executive and the DHSC representatives make up the RDN Board.