There are currently no national standards, processes or clearly defined research governance and ethics frameworks for public health research in local authorities.
This means that there is variation and uncertainty for researchers who want to undertake research, and for organisations such as LAs or academic institutions, seeking to commission, sponsor or host such research.
As part of our governance and ethics scoping work, we have undertaken a mapping exercise for research governance and ethics systems within local authorities in England.
Collating and sharing examples of existing good practice, documentation and processes
Identified priorities for research infrastructure and developing templates, guidance and recommendations for these
Exploring options for ethical review of research in a local authority setting
Engaging with stakeholders (e.g. NIHR) to determine what future support infrastructure could look like
Developed a suite of projects to support local authority research governance and ethics processes
Other work we are doing in this area includes the consensus definition of research study, and linking in with a number of national networks looking at research governance in non-NHS settings.
This webinar is for local authority colleagues involved in developing, updating, or managing, research governance processes within their organisation and/or anyone involved in the oversight of local authority research activities.
Hear from Paige Hurlstone from Kent County Council, Rachel Murphy from North Yorkshire Council, and Parmdip Dhillon from City of Wolverhampton Council, who have all developed processes to review and agree research activity within their organisation. This includes research activities devised and led internally and also activities where local authorities host research from external researchers.
Presenters also provide an overview of their process and what they have learned along the way.
We want to hear from staff working in local authorities about any research governance or ethics processes currently in place in your organisation, or any processes that you are planning to implement.
We also want to know if there are areas relating to research governance and ethics that you find challenging, or where you feel there are gaps in available support.
We are currently gathering this information via informal conversations (online) and by asking people to share copies of any relevant frameworks, guidance or documents.
If you have any experience of research governance or ethics processes in local authorities or have any ideas on what we should be considering in this process, we want to hear from you.
Please email: NIHR.RSS.Publichealth@newcastle.ac.uk
In order for others to trust in the findings and process of research, and to ensure that research activities meet legal requirements and expected standards, it is important that research governance, ethics and integrity are considered at all stages.
To help you navigate these expectations, the Specialist Centre for Public Health have developed the following explainer documents which seek to introduce these topics and assist with decision making in these areas.