Identification and Prioritisation of NHS England Policy Research Needs

Identification and Prioritisation of NHS England Policy Research Needs

Identification and Prioritisation of NHS England Policy Research Needs First published: June 2013 Updated: July 2014 Prepared by: NHS England Research Team Version Control Version 1.1 August 2013 Version 1.2 March 2014 Version 1.3 March 2014 Version 1.4 April 2014 Version 1.5 April 2014 Version 1.6 June 2014 Version 1.7 July 2014

Alignment of commissioning priorities with research needs NIHR RDD EU Development /evaluation Funding stream options Internal Review Panel Ensure business needs are aligned to research priorities Capability in NHS Ensure internal expertise to review research priorities Joint research needs with PHE, HEE, Monitor Joint research needs - CCGs NHS England Area, Regional and Central teams Areas of research need Translated into Alignment of business needs and research priorities Business Plan 31 deliverables, 6 characteristics

1 Identification and Prioritisation of NHS England s Policy Research Needs 1.1 This document explains how NHS England identifies and prioritises its needs for policy research. 1.2 The main aim of NHS England is to improve the health outcomes of people. The evidence it needs to provide the best, most cost-effective care comes from a variety of sources. Evidence about clinical practice comes from research funded by the Department of Health s (DH) National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and other public sector and research charity funders. Evidence to inform policy around the organisation and delivery of health care system is provided for NHS England by the DH Policy Research Programme. This document deals mainly with policy research. 1.3 NHS England will circulate a request for identified policy research needs three times a year. The Research Team within NHS England then oversees an internal prioritisation process. The aim of this is to ensure that a prioritised list of NHS England policy research needs go forward for consideration against the priority needs identified by other Arms-Length Bodies at the DH Research and Development (R&D) Committee meetings. 1.4 NHS England s procedure for identifying and prioritising research needs is not a bidding system for research proposals to get funded. Often, further scoping work will be required on a research need before it is ready to inform a research commissioning brief. Sometimes, the need will have been identified by one or more other parts of the health and care system, and synergy can be achieved by developing a commissioning brief that meets multiple organisations needs. 2 Introduction to the Department of Health s Policy Research Programme (PRP) 2.1 The Policy Research Programme (PRP) is a national research funding programme within the Department of Health Research and Development Directorate (DH RDD). The R&D Committee is supported by DH RDD and comprises senior representatives of key Arms- Length Bodies within the health system, such as NHS England, and of Policy Directorates within DH. 2.2 The aim of the PRP is to commission, fund and manage leading edge research that is focused on the needs of policymakers for evidence to inform policy. It provides timely evidence for current policy needs and builds the evidence-base for future policymaking. (www.prp-ccf.org.uk). 2.3 The primary objective of the PRP is to assist colleagues in DH and Arms-Length Bodies such as NHS England, who are formulating, developing or evaluating policy by: Providing robust evidence to inform policy development and implementation in timely and accessible ways, including assessment of potential impact and costeffectiveness Evaluating policies, including the evaluation of pilots before policies are fully implemented Commissioning research evidence for policy-making over the longer-term.

2.4 To do this the PRP commissions a wide range of different types of primary and secondary research. 2.5 The PRP commissioning priorities are discussed by the DH R&D Committee, which makes recommendations to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO). High priority needs are then met by commissioning research managed by DH RDD. 2.6 The Policy Research Programme does not fund: Market research, surveillance; Disease registries; Local service development or audit. 2.7 The PRP works alongside other research programmes in the NIHR, who commission research for practice at the front line in the NHS, public health and social care. 2.8 The PRP encourages and facilitates partnerships and joint identification of policy research needs with other organisations. 3 Research funded by DH Research and Development Directorate (RDD) 3.1 The research supported by DH can include for example health services, public health and social care research. DH also funds research synthesis for example systematic reviews of primary research funded by itself and others. 4 The DH Research and Development Committee 4.1 The DH R&D Committee is composed of national system partners drawn from across health, social care and public health systems and its remit covers the full policy spectrum of member organisations across these sectors, for example NHS England, PHE, HEE and Monitor. Committee members represent National Director level of partner organisations. The Committee also includes senior representatives from Policy Directorates within DH. 4.2 The R&D Committee encourages collaborative ways of working between the DH RDD, DH system partners (Executive Agencies/Arms-Length Bodies) and other DH Directorates. 4.3 The R&D Committee is the main forum for national system partners and for DH Directorates to identify their emerging policy research requirements to DH RDD. 4.4 The Committees role is advisory. The Committee will recommend to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) (as Senior Responsible Officer and budget holder for RDD) policy research topics that it considers are priorities for potential funding and commissioning. 4.5 Research will be commissioned to meet the highest priority needs, although there is no absolute guarantee that topic areas identified as priority areas will gain funding.

5 How the Committee works 5.1 The Department of Health R&D Committee meets 3 times a year to advise on overall priorities for the research funding which is held by the CMO. To do this, each Arms-Length Body can submit for consideration their: a) Own policy research needs; b) Joint policy research needs with partner organisations. Each partner organisation is responsible for internally prioritising its own list of topics for research. 5.2 The Committee will discuss and agree the relative priorities of all the submitted topics. Agreed Committee priorities will be based on a strategic view of policy research priorities across health, social care and public health systems; where possible it will identify links and synergies between requests and identify key gaps. 5.3 DH RDD will work with R&D Committee members to scope and take forward agreed Committee recommendations for research, and will report back on progress. 5.4 The DH RDD R&D Committee is the forum through which DH Directorates and national system partners communicate their policy research needs. 5.5 The Committee is a means of: Assessing, identifying and prioritising emerging research needs; Assessing the priority level of the project; Assessing and identifying whether similar projects are already taking place or are planned; Assessing and identifying where joint projects might be possible; Assessing the potential resource implications of a project and whether it would provide value for money. 5.6 The DH R&D Committees function is to help prioritise the policy research needs for potential funding; it is not to fund organisations who submit research ideas. 6 Process for identifying and prioritising policy research needs 6.1 Identification of a policy research need In alignment with criteria for the DH R&D Committee, NHS England will circulate a request for identified policy research needs three times a year. 6.2 Submitting an identified policy research need submissions can either be as; a) Individual NHS England identified policy research needs; b) Joint policy research needs with partner organisations. One template (Appendix 1) should be completed for each submission and emailed to: the Research Team; england.randdproposals@nhs.net. Any queries should be directed to the research Team contact (Email w.maw@nhs.net, telephone 0113 8248281).

The Research Team will support the development of joint partner needs and will act as a sign post to ensure that partner organisations work closely and with the most relevant individuals or teams. 6.3 The DH R&D Committee expects templates to identify: a) Individual organisation needs; b) Joint systems partner needs. It is not expected to include the development of research questions. 6.4 Those with research needs are advised to undertake the following actions prior to submission of: a) Individual organisation needs; b) Joint systems partner needs; Check for current research activity in the topic area e.g. on the NIHR database 1, Cochrane database 2, research charities, etc.; Discuss the proposed policy research need with their Director to ensure that the policy need identified meets the Directorate priorities and/or partner organisation priorities; Seek advice and support from the NHS England Research Team. 6.5 Draft process Each Directorate should identify their policy research needs in discussion with their Director prior to submitting a DH PRP template to the Research Team. Drop in sessions will be supported by the Research Team to support the completion of PRP templates. Directors will be asked to approve templates prior to internal review. Each National Director will nominate a representative to form an internal review panel to ensure that submissions meet the criteria of the Policy Research Programme. The panel will also have representation from Area and Regional Teams and CCGs (Process to be agreed). 6.6 The R & D Committee members will receive advance notice of proposed policy research need submissions as per the DH RDD timeline. This may result in DH RDD seeking further clarification or information prior to the R&D committee meeting. 6.7 DH RDD criteria provided to NHS England to guide decision making at the R&D Committee are as follows; Ministerial priority and relevance to the aims and objectives of the DH and the other organisations; Size and importance of the problem; How the research would inform policy; Whether the research contributes to the evidence base; The type of research required; Cost, timescale, impact and return on investment; The feasibility and tractability of the problem; Capacity across the research community; 1 http://public.ukcrn.org.uk/search/ 2 http://www.thecochranelibrary.com

Social and ethical issues; The balance of agreed priorities; The appropriateness of the funding. 6.8 The DH R&D Committee will recommend which submissions are to be prioritised. They will be given one of 3 categories of prioritisation by the R&D Committee: High priority essential for the organisation and/or system Medium priority important but not essential at the current time Not feasible or more work required to develop a researchable proposal or topic. 6.9 The committee submits its recommendations to the CMO for approval. 6.10 Notification of the outcome of the committee - DH RDD will notify committee members of the outcome of their submission and advise one of the following: 1. Immediate RDD action the topic is high priority and business/time critical and immediate follow up is essential. 2. For RDD to action as resources allow RDD to follow up but with lesser priority. 3. Not a priority project is out of the scope of the policy research committee or is not feasible. 4. Not for RDD action yet NHS England leads to re-consider/make changes and resubmit at a later date. 6.11 NHS England Research Team has noted through experience that outcomes 1 and 2 may still require additional work to further develop the policy research need. 6.12 Identified policy research needs that are agreed by the CMO, and can proceed to the development of a full proposal, will be allocated by DH RDD, to either the Policy Research Programme (PRP) funding stream or a National Institute for Health Research funding stream and assigned a DH Liaison Officer. The Liaison Officer will take forward high priority research needs in discussion with the policy customer. 6.13 Next steps those whose policy research need is to be developed into a full proposal should work closely with DH Liaison Officer to undertake this work. Where the policy research need requires further work, submitters should seek support from the NHS England Research Team and DH RDD to refine their outline. 6.14 The process is detailed further in Appendix 2.

February 2014 version Appendix 1 DH R&D COMMITTEE TEMPLATE - RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS Care Quality Commission (CQC) Health Education England (HEE) Monitor (M) External partners NHS England (NHS E) NHS Trust Development Authority (NTDA) Public Health England (PHE) DH Finance & NHS (DH F&NHS) DH Group Operations & Assurance DH GO&A) Internal partners DH Directorates DH Public Health (DH PH) DH Social Care, Local Government & Care Partnerships (DH SCLG&CP) DH Strategy & External Relations (DH S&ER) Please complete a separate template for each policy research topic / theme that you would like the R&D Committee to consider. Q1 What is the title of the research topic / theme? [Please write in the box below, using a maximum of 20 words] Q2 What are the key policy questions that the research will need to answer, and what evidence do you think may be required? Are there any areas of uncertainty that need to be considered? [Maximum 400 words] 9

February 2014 version Q3 Name E-mail address Telephone number Who is the Senior Responsible Officer and the policy lead for this policy / research template? Senior Responsible Officer Lead policy contact Q4 Have you discussed / worked-up your research requirement with DH RDD in advance of submitting this template? [Please tick the relevant box below IF YES: Who have you discussed your requirements with? [Please write in the space provided below] Yes No Q5 Are you aware of any recent / ongoing research or evidence on this topic / theme? If required, would you be able to summarise or provide this material? [Please tick one box below] Yes aware of research evidence, and can summarise / provide material if required No Not aware of research evidence No research exists on this specific topic 10

Q6 What is the policy relevance or service context of your proposed research topic / theme. For example, what, if any, public commitments will it support, who is the main audience for the research, and what decisions / actions will it inform? [Maximum 200 words] Q7 What, if any, risks are involved either in carrying out research on this topic / theme, or in not doing so? [Maximum 200 words] Q8 Are there any important timing issues (eg for delivery of research outputs) that need to be taken into account? [Maximum 200 words] Q9 What would the impact be for your organisation / Directorate if the Committee does not prioritise this policy question / topic, or if the project does not proceed? What alternative options may be available to meet this requirement? [Maximum 200 words] Q9 Finally, is there any other information it would be helpful for the R&D Committee to consider? [Maximum 200 words] FOR RDD USE Please return to england.randdproposals@nhs.net By xxxxxxxx Draft version 1.7, date July 2014 11

Appendix 2 Process for submission of Policy Research needs Needs further work Allocated to funding stream RDD Project Manager allocated Not to be taken forward Requires more discussion before funding agreed Low priority Medium priority High priority Recommend to CMO for approval Submission to DH RDD Committee Review by Research Needs Panel Needs further work prior to review by Policy Research Review Panel Submit completed policy research needs template to research team Make contact with research team to access support for developing policy research need Discuss with Directorate teams to ensure policy research needs sits with its annual priorities Internal request from NHS England for policy research needs to be submitted DH PRP call Draft version 1.7, date July 2014 12