Roll out begins for Research Passport System

A new streamlined approach to issuing honorary contracts for researchers carrying out studies involving patients in the NHS is now being rolled out. A conference held in London on 30 October introduced the new system to research managers and Human Resources (HR) leads from both the university sector and the NHS.

Research is an integral part of NHS activity but is often carried out by non-NHS staff. This involves partnership working between the NHS and the Higher Education sector and requires clear understanding about responsibility, accountability, patient safety and the duty of care. One of the foundations of this is the appropriate use of honorary research contracts.

Up to now researchers who work across a number of NHS organisations have needed to obtain multiple honorary research contracts each involving a variety of pre-engagement checks. This takes time and effort on the part of the researchers and HR departments and can lead to delays in the research getting underway. There has also been no clear, practical, national guidance on the situations in which honorary research contracts are required.

The Research Passport system enables pre-engagement checks conducted by non-NHS employers to be shared appropriately with NHS organisations to save time, money and effort by reducing duplication of activity.

Implementation of the Research Passport will be driven by the Health Departments in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales working closely with both the health service and university sectors. The new Comprehensive Local Research Networks of the National Institute for Health Research will adopt the Research Passport as standard practice and develop working procedures with their local partners.