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Research Delivery

Research studies are supported by a range of professionals who focus on delivering studies. This means they support studies to meet their planned timelines, recruit the required number of participants, and complete the necessary tests and reports for the study.

The delivery workforce at UCLH is broad and includes Clinical Trial Practitioners (CTP)s, Nurses, Midwives, Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) and research managers and coordinators.  Delivery staff may work with individual studies and researchers, divisional groups or within large units such as the Clinical Research Facility (CRF).

Learn more about the range of research delivery team and roles at UCLH below including blogs from UCLH delivery staff on their roles and pathways into a career in delivery.

Staff with an interest in careers in delivery within technical and specialist services can find out more information on our Technical Service Support webpage. This includes research pharmacy, imaging services, informatics and Information Governance (IG).

Nurses, Midwives and AHPs with an interest in academic careers as research investigators can find more information on our Research Investigators webpage.

Research Nurses and Midwives

Research Nurses and Midwives play a vital role in delivering research. They have several delivery and patient care responsibilities. These include:

  • screening potential participants,
  • inviting patients and healthy volunteers to studies,
  • ensuring patients are fully informed and taking informed consent,
  • patient advocacy
  • protocol requirements such as taking bloods, ECGs, cognitive tests, quality of life questionnaires etc.
  • monitoring patients,
  • coordinating care with multidisciplinary teams
  • administering some medicines including study drugs
  • arranging research tests,
  • care pathways
  • clinical documentation and entering study data to required databases and updating patient notes.

View more information on the NIHR career pages, including training and development courses specifically for research nurses and midwives.

Research Academic and leadership careers for Nurses and Midwives are also available. If you are interested in learning more, visits our webpages dedicated to Academics. Nurses and Midwives at UCLH and UCL can also seek further information and support (including fellowships and other schemes) through the Centre for Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals led Research (CNMR). Find out more via the CNMR webpages.

Research Nurses and Midwives also act as study managers and coordinators as well as leadership roles relating to delivery. See below for further information.

Clinical Trial Practitioners (CTPs) and Clinical Research Practitioners (CRPs)

CRP is an umbrella title for the family of roles in research delivery that have a patient/participant-facing element within clinical environments and other health and social care settings. These roles include but are not limited to: Clinical Studies Officer, Research Practitioner, Clinical Trials Practitioner (CTP), Clinical Trials Officer, among others.

CRPs and CTPs work as part of research delivery teams in both clinical and non-clinical settings. Their work includes taking consent, screening participants, supporting submissions and data collection and some protocol activities. CRPs can also take on project manager activities working with investigators and delivery teams. CRPs with the correct training maybe involved in IMP collection, sampling and processing for diagnostics.

CRPs who work in clinical settings with patient facing roles have clinical responsibilities like research nurses, with the exception of managing and administering Investigational medicinal products (IMP). They can be involved in the collection and processing of samples with appropriate training.

CRPs are involved in ensuring good clinical practice (GCP) is followed when conducting trials. This would involve ensuring participants/patients are fully informed before they take part in a study, coordinate tests needed to include participants in trials and monitoring participants during and after treatment. Good clinical practice would also involve good documentation and collection of data.

CRPs can also work for clinical trial sponsors taking on project manager activities working with investigators and delivery teams but without direct involvement with patients.

The UK Professional Standards Authority (PSA) recognise CPRs as an occupational group in health and social care. The Academy for Healthcare Scientists (AHCS) hold an accredited register specifically for CRPs.

Find out more about the work of CTPs at UCLH by viewing information on one of the Trust’s CTP development programmes at the UCLH Cancer Clinical Trials Unit (CCTU). The CCTU CTPs programme is for CTPs that would like to work in clinical setting and need to develop their clinical skills in a protected and supportive environment. Although the focus of the programme is clinical, it aims to develop CTPs in all 4 pillars of practice: Clinical, Education, Leadership and Research/Innovation.

Visit the NIHR CRP pages, to find out more about the role of CRPs and the CRP register.

The NIHR offer specific career development and training opportunities for CTPs. These include:

Staff at UCLH and UCL may also find useful courses and support through the Academic Careers Office or Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology.

Research Study Coordinators and Study Managers

Research coordinators and managers work across different parts of the research pathway. You will find coordinators and managers working with R&D Offices, within study teams and within units such as Clinical Research Facilities (CRFs). Within the delivery workforce, study coordinators and managers ensure studies are effectively placed within the NHS service and delivered against the milestones required. Coordinators and managers can be from clinical or non-clinical backgrounds (depending on the requirements of the role). Most have a life sciences degree and/or prior experience in academic or NHS research. Their jobs include:

  • supporting local submissions for NHS approvals,
  • identifying new participant pathways and facilitate workflow across teams
  • discussing capacity and capability with services and sponsors,
  • ensuring adequate resources are identified,
  • arranging site initiations, training and vendor access
  • monitoring studies against required milestones
  • responding to queries from services, sponsors, and patients,
  • preparing and facilitating sponsor audits and regulatory inspections
  • maintaining databases
  • processing amendments

Research Data Managers (NHS delivery)

A research data manager typically works within a research team. Data managers can also work in large groups such as Clinical Research Facilities (CRFs). Data managers are crucial to ensuring accurate reporting of clinical and protocol procedures for research studies. A typical data manager will enter data from source, resolve data queries and will QC data ready for sponsor milestones. Data manager primarily use clinical databases such as REDCAP to complete eCRFs for studies. They may also be involved in preparing documents for inspection and audits, maintaining delegation and incident logs. They may interact with R&D systems to provide data. Many large units will have various data managers from junior to senior and leadership roles.

Research Delivery Leadership

Research delivery teams and functions are often led by specialist, senior managers. The nature of these roles varies between organisations and can range from the management of divisional and specialist teams through to managing agile teams working across divisions and Trusts. Leadership positions often require candidates with extensive experience in conducting and/or coordinating research studies through roles as described above and/or academic research leadership positions.