Trust Board Febuary 2010 - Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals

6.2 R & D Financial Systems
SWBGB NEW REF
SWBTB (2/10) 030 (a)
6.2.1 The Trust will develop transparent arrangements for the financing of R & D across the
organisation. This will involve research income from external sources, including the
CLRN and commercial organisations, flowing to the new clinical directorates. Similarly,
each directorate will be responsible for the research costs it incurs, including those
involving pharmacy, pathology and imaging. The new system will be in place for the
beginning of the financial year 2010-2011.
6.3 Investigator support
6.3.1 The R&D Department will develop and instigate a support system to assist CI’s and PI’s
with regulatory applications for new and existing clinical trial applications.
6.3.2 In future job planning rounds, the Trust will encourage PIs to identify time spent in
research and whether funding for this has been arranged through the CLRN/TCRN.
6.3.3 The Trust will encourage existing and potential new PIs to apply to the CLRN and
TCRN’s in their two annual rounds for funding for research sessions. Such applications
will be administered and supported by the R & D Department (Research Support
Service).
6.3.4 The Trust will support PIs who apply for academic clinical fellows and academic
foundation scheme junior posts to work in their departments.
6.3.5 The Trust will encourage its PIs to apply for large clinical studies grants from NIHR,
MRC, Wellcome Foundation, etc and charities. The Trust will provide support for PI time
to make such applications from the CLRN provided Flexibility and Sustainability Funding
stream.
6.4 Trust wide network of research nurses and other research support staff
6.4.1 The Trust will develop a network of well trained research support staff which will include
tenured research nurses, allied health professionals research scientists and
administrative staff.
6.4.2 The new network of research support staff will be expanded by new tenured research
nurse appointments. In 2009-2010, the funding for these appointments will be pump
primed with funds secured from the Trust’s charitable sources, but in subsequent years
expansion in NIHR Portfolio trial recruitment will generate the additional income
required.
6.5 Research management and governance
6.5.1 Following the appointment of an RM&G Manager and the return of RM&G
responsibilities to the Trust, audit of SWBH projects by the R & D Department will recommence.
6.5.2 The RM&G Manager and R&D Administrator will be trained in the use of the Coordinated
System for Gaining NHS Permissions (CSP) and the responsibility for
processing new Portfolio study approvals via this system will be transferred from HEFT
to SWBHT.
6.5.3 The R&D Department will continue to collaborate with the Human Resources
Department to develop a policy for the implementation of the Research Passport
scheme to streamline the system to allow researchers from outside organisations to
access researcher resources within SWBHT by the end of 2009.
6.5.4 The requirement that all researchers are trained in the principles of Good Clinical
Practice (GCP) will be promoted by the R&D Department. This will be achieved by
Research and Development Strategy Page 8 of 10
SWBH Research and Development Strategy 2009-2011. Version 1.2. January 2010