Birmingham and the Black Country CLRN RM&G Consortium

Introduction and Contact Details
Gaining RM&G Permission
Ongoing Research within the BBC CLRN RM&G Consortium
RM&G Update
BBC CLRN RM&G Consortium Annual Report
Research in the NHS - Human Resources (HR) Good Practice Resource Pack

1. Introduction
Birmingham and the Black Country (BBC) is an attractive locality to researchers who wish to undertake research within the community. Advantages include a very large and varied population, a number of leading higher education institutions and the largest number of General Practitioners per Primary Care Trust (PCT) in the country.

The BBC PCTs and MidReC (Midlands Research Practices Consortium), the largest Primary Care Research organisation in the UK, have formed a Research Management and Governance (RM&G) syndicate, along with two of the regions Mental Health Trusts. This is called the Birmingham and Back Country Comprehensive Local Research Network Research Management & Governance Consortium or BBC CLRN RM&G CONSORTIUM.

The BBC CLRN RM&G Consortium member NHS Trusts are:

BBC CLRN RM&G Consortium Office manages the whole NHS RM&G Permission process (R&D Approval) for these Trusts and is based with the Birmingham and Black Country Comprehensive Local Research Network (BBC CLRN)

Contact Details:
For further information about undertaking research within any of the Consortium Trusts please contact the BBC CLRN RM&G Consortium Office:

BBC Comprehensive Local Research Network
Unit 1, West Wing
Institute of Research and Development
Birmingham Research Park
Vincent Drive
Birmingham
B15 2SQ

Tel: 0121 627 2843
Fax: 0121 627 2178
Email: consortium.rmg@uhb.nhs.uk

2. Gaining RM&G Permission
Researchers wanting to undertake research within the BBC CLRN Consortium Trusts need to gain NHS RM&G Permission from the RM&G Consortium Office before starting their research project.

If the research starts without RM&G Permission then the researcher will be in breech of the Research Governance Framework 2nd Edition (2005).
The NHS R&D Forum Research Governance Documentation and Information Guide provides a comprehensive summary of the current regulations, guidance and information relating to Research Governance, plus full reference details of how these documents can be accessed electronically.

The starting point for researchers to gain NHS RM&G Permission, Ethics approval and any other necessary approvals is through the Integrated Research Application System or IRAS. The electronic system enables researchers to enter the information about their project once instead of duplicating information in separate application forms.

All researchers must abide by the Standard Conditions of RM&G Permission for the BBC CLRN RM&G Consortium once NHS RM&G Permission gas been granted.

For further information about undertaking research within the Consortium Trusts and about the RM&G Permission Process please contact the RM&G Consortium Office

3. Ongoing research within the BBC CLRN Consortium
Each month, the RM&G Consortium Office produces Research Activity Reports. These are updated with details of the all the research projects registered with the BBC CLRN RM&G Consortium.

Please download document showing All Research Currently Ongoing across the BBC CLRN RM&G Consortium
A document showing Research Recently Registered will be available to view here shortly
Please download document showing Research Recently Completed

4. RM&G Update
The Consortium RM&G Office produces a bi-monthly research management and governance newsletter called the “RM&G Update”. This briefly explains where the BBC CLRN Consortium stands on a number of issues including any procedural developments, new training opportunities and the results of research conducted within the Consortium.

The RM&G Update will be available to view here shortly

5. BBC CLRN RM&G Consortium Annual Report
Every year the RM&G Consortium Office produces an Annual Report to record activity and progress. Along with a short Executive Summary, the documents provide a breakdown of the levels of funding received the numbers of projects registered and the major events from the last year.

Download the CLRN RM&G Consortium Annual Report 2009/10

PDF file, 3.2 MB

6. Research in the NHS - Human Resources (HR) Good Practice Resource Pack
The Research in the NHS - Human Resource (HR) Good Practice Resource Pack describes the Research Passport system. The scheme streamlines procedures associated with issuing honorary research contracts or letters of access to researchers who have no contractual arrangements with NHS organisations who host research, and who carry out research in the NHS that affects patient care, or requires access to NHS facilities.