FRF Terms and Conditions of Use

Content last updated: 19 May 2024. Changes made to address the change of legal body from CRNCC to RDNCC under new contract from 1 April 2024.  Change of presentation on site to show all content on one page but also leave distinct site links to separate pages.

Introduction

Find, Recruit and Follow-up (FRF) website is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and run by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network Coordinating Centre (RDNCC) working with NHS Research Scotland and Health and Care Research Wales. 

By accessing and using the FRF website, you accept that you will comply with the following Terms and Conditions, that take effect from the date you first use the site. If you do not agree to these Terms and Conditions, it is recommended that you do not use our site.

The NIHR RDNCC reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions of Use at any time. We may, at any time and at our sole discretion, amend these terms of use for any reason, for example, to comply with legislation or reflect changes to the services or content provided. You will be legally bound by the updated or amended terms from the first time that you use this website after we publish the changes on it. 

The Find Recruit and Follow-up website provides three services:

1. Information for researchers and life science companies: Users can explore the list of services available to help with Find, Recruit and Follow-up activities and learn about how each of the data service providers operates and can be utilised to allow them to make an informed decision about which data service(s) is best suited to the needs of their research. Data service providers of interest can be contacted directly or if further support is required, colleagues in the relevant research support organisations can be contacted about identifying appropriate data services or general enquiries about research support.

2. Information for organisations that offer services that use data to support finding, recruiting or following-up study participants, known as data service providers (or DSPs) who are either interested in getting involved in Find, Recruit and Follow-up or are existing DSPs on the website who need to know about updating their content on the website.

3. Information for colleagues within the various research support organisations across the UK about their roles and responsibilities within Find, Recruit and Follow-up and the resources available to support their understanding of the initiative in order to be able to assist users looking for further support in identifying appropriate data services.

Acceptable Use: What you are agreeing to do

Data within this service is owned by DHSC and they are the Data Controller. The following additional terms also apply to your use of our site:

• Find, Recruit and Follow-up privacy policy, which sets out how we will use your personal data. 

• Find, Recruit and Follow-up Cookie Policy, which sets out information about the cookies on our site.

Researchers and life science companies using Find, Recruit and Follow-up

The information about the different data service providers (DSPs) listed on the FRF website has been provided by the DSPs themselves and edited / standardised by the FRF central team. Therefore the reliability and accuracy of this information is dependent on what has been provided and can become out of date. The FRF central team will request review of information on at least an annual basis and update the content when informed by the DSPs to avoid this happening. You can see the date each DSP entry was last updated on the website. If you find inaccurate information please let the FRF central team know via the contact FRF central team form.

Data Service Providers

To ensure we can provide information about the different data service providers offers on the website, eligible data service providers will have to work closely with the FRF central team to provide accurate, detailed and up-to-date information about their service(s) following the standardised website format and must:

• Complete a questionnaire about how the find, recruit and/or follow-up service(s) they offer operate and can be utilised

• Review and confirm the proposed wording provided by the FRF central team prior to publication on the website 

• Inform the FRF central team of any changes or updates to the content in a timely manner via the contact FRF central team form.

• Review the details relating to their service on at least an annual basis and/or when prompted by the FRF central team.

The FRF website provides users with the ability to contact data service providers directly for further information about the services of interest. 

Data service providers must: 

• Respond to users in a timely manner to ensure they provide a good experience of the service for users.

• Ensure all personal information of users submitted via the contact data service provider form is held in accordance with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 and is only used for the purpose for which it is provided (i.e. providing requested information about services to support find, recruit and follow-up activities).

Lastly, our Find Recruit and Follow-up delivery partner the Health Research Authority (HRA) has a role in overseeing an information governance assurance process for those providers included in the initiative that operates in England and Wales. This oversight framework is being designed with the aim of ensuring data protection and access policies and procedures (including demonstration of compliance with relevant information governance requirements) are transparent for users. To support this process, relevant data service providers may be requested to provide the relevant information about the data sharing and processing procedures surrounding their find, recruit and/or follow-up services, this may involve:

• Completing a questionnaire about the service information governance arrangements

• Sharing maps or diagrams that show flows of data (or data usage) enabling each service you offer and any associated relevant data sharing and processing agreements (DSA/DPAs) /  Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) / data governance policies

• Discussions with HRA for further clarification about the information governance framework in place for your find, recruit and/or follow-up service(s).

Research support organisations 

The FRF website provides users with the ability to contact colleagues within the various research support organisations across the UK to help identify appropriate data services or for general enquiries about research support. Research support organisations must:

• Respond to users promptly to ensure they provide a good experience of the service for users.

• Ensure all personal information of users submitted via the contact research support form is held by the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 and is only used for the purpose for which it is provided (i.e. providing requested information about services to support find, recruit and follow-up activities or general research support enquiries)

Further information on the service

This service may contain links to other sites. We are not responsible for the content of any third-party website and a link to another site in no way constitutes our endorsement of the

Service Availability: What RDNCC provide

Although the FRF central team makes every effort to ensure that all information on the Find, Recruit and Follow-up website is accurate and available in a timely manner, the Service is provided "as is" and we cannot guarantee that

1. the information is accurate, complete or up-to-date

2. this service will meet your particular requirements or needs

3. access to, or use of, the same will be uninterrupted or completely secure

If you find inaccurate information please let the central FRF team know via the contact FRF central team form. 

We endeavor to provide high levels of service availability. However availability at any point, particularly out of support hours, is not guaranteed. Support is limited to core service hours (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays).

Breaches of these Terms of Use: Who to contact

These terms of use (together with the privacy notice and cookie policy referred to in these terms of use) set out the entire agreement between you and us in respect of this service.

If you become aware of any breaches in the use of this service and the data involved, then you should report it to rdncc.ig@nihr.ac.uk. 

Intellectual Property: Who owns the information

Whilst some of the information about data service providers is sourced externally, this is reviewed and adapted for the purposes of the FRF website by the FRF central team. As such, the intellectual property of this service and all materials relating to it belong to the Department of Health and Social Care.

If you wish to copy or use any material, then please contact the team via the FRF central team contact form.

Further information and contacts

Further sources of information are:

Find, Recruit and Follow-up privacy policy for this service, which includes within it contact details for GDPR-related information requests.

For reporting of anything suspicious or wrong doings in the use of this service e.g. a breach in how this service should be used: rdncc.ig@nihr.ac.uk. .

For queries about these terms and conditions,  please let us know via the FRF central team contact form. 

Disclaimer

The Find Recruit and Follow-up website and material relating to Government information, products and services (or to third party information, products and services), is provided 'as is', without any representation or endorsement made and without warranty of any kind whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security and accuracy.

We do not warrant that the functions contained in the material contained in this site will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that this site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or represent the full functionality, accuracy, reliability of the materials.

In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including, without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damages whatsoever arising from use or loss of use of, data or profits arising out of or in connection with the use of findrecruitandfollowup.nihr.ac.uk.

These terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising under these terms and conditions shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.