Please click on the above link to access application form and guidance notes for 2011 Doctoral Fellowships.

Lifelong Health and Wellbeing (LLHW) is a major cross-council initiative supporting multi-disciplinary research addressing factors across the life course that influences healthy ageing and wellbeing in later life. The Research Councils in partnership with the UK Health Departments invite applications for phase 3 of LLHW.

A total of £12.5 million will be available to support high quality cross-disciplinary ageing-relevant research through two modes of support:

LLHW Research Grants LLHW Pilot Studies

For details of the call please visit: Medical Research Council

Please click on links below for more information:

Advanced Notice Flyer - phase 3 LLHW

LLHW - Phase 3 timeline summary

The Winter 2009 issue of R&D Today has been published. Please click here to view Issue 12 of the Newsletter

IRELAND-NORTHERN IRELAND-NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE CONSORTIUM ON CANCER

On behalf of the Cancer Consortium, Health and Social Care Research & Development Division, Public Health Agency (HSC R&D), Belfast, and the Health Research Board (HRB), Dublin invite applications for the following summer courses at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Rockville, Maryland, USA.

Please click on the above link for more information.

HSC R&D wishes to bring to your attention the call for research applications under the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative (NAEDI) scheme. NAEDI is an initiative of the National Cancer Research

Institute and involves funding provided by a range of member organisations, including HSC R&D. This is only the first call of the initiative and others will follow. Northern Ireland has research capacity in relevant areas so, although there will be strong competition, our applications should stand a good chance of success.

NAEDI November 2009 Article:
link

NAEDI November 2009 Advertisement:
link

Research & Development

HSC R&D/HRB/ NCI Health Economics Fellowship

The Ireland—Northern Ireland—National Cancer Institute Cancer Consortium, established in 1999, aims to provide world-class cancer care to people on the island of Ireland. The scope of the Consortium includes the development of joint programmes to enhance the environment for cancer control and educational exchange programmes for cancer control personnel on the island of Ireland. As part of the 2010 Consortium activities, the Health & Social Care R&D function of the Public Health Agency, (HSC R&D), invites applications for a Health Economics Fellowship award

Please click on the above link for further information

The Prostate Cancer Charity’s 4th annual call for research proposals opens today!

Deadline: 5pm on 3rd November 2009

Applications are open to any UK-based researcher with an interest in prostate cancer.

Awards will be made on a fully peer reviewed, competitive basis.

Forms and guidelines can be found on our website

Questions? Contact Dr Helen Rippon, Head of Research Management (tel: 020 8222 7161)

Opening Date: 21 July 2009 Closing Date: 16 October 2009 The Health Research Board (HRB) in Dublin and the Health & Social Care R&D Function of the Public Health Agency (HSC R&D) in Belfast* invite applications for an All-Ireland Institute for Hospice and Palliative Care. The aim of this call is to consider proposed plans, select the team of applicants and identify the supporting host institution best suited to fulfilling the vision and objectives of the Institute, as outlined in the call document, in the most effective and value for money driven manner.

A model agreement to simplify the setting up of contract commercial Clinical Investigations using medical devices involving Contract Research Organisations is now available for use in Northern Ireland. Versions of the Contract Research Organisation model Clinical Investigation Agreement (CRO mCIA) are also available for the other three UK nations. The intention is to accelerate the start-up of industry-sponsored clinical studies that are managed by contract research organisations and provide patients’ faster access to novel treatments. The use of the CRO mCIA in unmodified format as a standard template is strongly encouraged.

The CRO mCIA is the latest addition to the suite of model agreements that have been developed to speed up the initiation of clinical research in the HSC/NHS. The CRO mCIA is a tripartite agreement between the medical devices company sponsoring the trial, the contract research organisation managing it and the HSC Trust where the research takes place. The tripartite agreement should be used when the management of a contract commercial clinical investigation is outsourced by the sponsor to a Contract Research Organisation.

The CRO mCTA give Trusts and companies confidence, as they work together on a clinical investigation, that appropriate legal safeguards are in place, without the need for negotiation between each Trust and company on a study by study basis, thus speeding up the process of setting up approved clinical investigations, making it easier for patients to access innovative new treatments, and saving legal fees.

The existing bipartite mCIA for use by HSC/NHS Trusts and the medical technology industry has now been adapted for use in a tripartite format by HSC/ NHS bodies, sponsors and Contract Research organisations (CRO). The CRO mCIA has been agreed by the Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI), the Clinical Contract Research Association (CCRA), the NHS R&D Forum, the Medical Schools Council, Medical Technology companies, CROs, the HSC/NHS and the Departments of Health.

The new agreement and the accompanying guidance are available on the HSC R&D website and on the UKCRC website. The URL for the UKCRC webpage is: here or alternatively follow the existing UKCRC links from the HSC R&D website.

In order to monitor the use of this new agreement and the other model agreements it would be helpful to report instances where the contracting parties are not using the model contracts or are seeking changes. All such instances should be reported to Dr Glenda Fleming at HSC R&D, Public Health Agency (glenda.fleming@hscni.net)

Dear Colleague

Version 3 of the Integrated Research Application System (IRAS) was released earlier this month. This version provides new improved functionality for studies involving investigational medicinal products (IMPs). IRAS continues to provide a user friendly system for capturing data on an HSC research study and generating the necessary application forms - avoiding the need for duplicate data entry on multiple systems. However, version 3 can generate an application to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for IMPs. Researchers need only go to EudraCT website to obtain their EudraCT number.

Researchers requiring permission to conduct research within the HSC should use IRAS and submit the R&D Form generated by the system, along with the Site Specific Information (SSI) Form, to the relevant HSC Trust(s). From 1 April 2009 Site Specific Assessments will be carried out by HSC Trusts rather than through the ethics system. After 01 April 2009 ORECNI will not accept an SSI and this must be sent directly to the relevant HSC Trust.

In order to build on the potential for streamlining provided by IRAS all five HSC Trusts are now working under a common memorandum of understanding to consolidate common working arrangements. Under this new system, where a research study involves more than one HSC Trust, a single lead Trust takes responsibility for sign-off on a specific set of generic issues and generates a Governance Report on behalf of all participating trusts. Site specific issues are considered by the other non-lead Trust(s) in parallel, where possible, before final permission is granted.

A booklet providing information on version 3 of IRAS is attached above in a PDF format. A hard copy will be included with the next issue of R&D Today. Copies should also be available from HSC Trust Research Offices.

With kindest regards

HSC R&D Office

Please click on the above link to find a new HSC R&D Office Scheme designed to capitalise on previous research funded by the HSC R&D Office. This Scheme is designed to add value by supporting knowledge transfer from:

Research-to-Policy

Research-to-Practice

Research-to-Enterprise

This new scheme hopes to focus researchers’ efforts on the direct delivery of knowledge transfer through a variety of innovative approaches and activities where the researcher works with potential user communities to realise practice, policy, social and/or economic benefits. In this way the HSS R&D Office will add value through the translation of HSC research into improved health and social care, products and services.

HSC R&D Office Building Capacity for Evidence- based Health and Social Care The Cochrane Collaboration is a not-for-profit independent organisation dedicated to making up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of healthcare interventions readily available worldwide. It produces and disseminates systematic reviews of healthcare interventions in over fifty topic areas and makes them available as The Cochrane Library. In 2002, Ireland became the first country to provide free national access to the Cochrane Library, an initiative co-funded by the Health Research Board (HRB) and the Health & Social Care Research & Development Office (HSC R&D Office) in Northern Ireland. In addition to providing and promoting free national access, the HRB and HSC R&D Office have developed an annual series of training courses in conjunction with the UK Cochrane Centre, and a Fellowship scheme to allow health and social care professionals, researchers and policy makers protected time to develop their capacity in conducting systematic reviews. As part of its capacity-building programme for 2009, the HSC R&D Office invites applications for two opportunities from the Cochrane Collaboration:

Cochrane Training Application Form:
click here

Cochrane Training Guidance Notes:
click here

Cochrane Fellowship Application Form:
click here

Cochrane Fellowship Guidance Notes:
click here

Please click on the links below for more information:

A Cody Stakeholder meeting 28 Jan: here

D Clark All Ireland Institute Briefing January 2009:here

Summary

All parties interested in the development of the proposed All-Ireland Institute for Hospice and Palliative Care were invited to an information briefing meeting on the 28 January 2009 in the Alexander Hotel, Dublin. The meeting was hosted by the Health Research Board (HRB) in Dublin and the Health & Social Care Research and Development Office (HSC R&D Office) in Belfast and was led by Professor David Clark, current Visiting Professor of Hospice Studies at University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin.

Purpose of the briefing: The session offered the opportunity to:

·Recap on the vision and business planning process associated with the development of the All-Ireland Institute for Hospice and Palliative Care

·Learn about recent developments in funding support

·Receive a pre-announcement about the call for applications to host the Institute

·Hear an outline of the main procedures for application and the criteria for selection

·Ask questions about the call, application procedure, timescale and expected outcomes

For further information contact: Catherine Gill t +353 1 2345 188 e cgill(at)hrb.ie

Please click on the link above to access further information.

Please click on the above link for an application form for NCI Summer Courses.

Please click on the above link to access the Employers Support Letter for NCI Summer Courses.