How to get involved in research with Dorset HealthCare 

This page provides an overview of how research and development (R&D) can support you to undertake your project in our Trust. Please contact us as early as you can in your project development so we can help provide the right guidance from the beginning. 

R&D can provide support and guidance through all stages of the project from project design, getting the right approvals in place and carrying out the research, right through to spreading the word about your results. 

The first step is to contact the R&D team to discuss your project. We need to review any research conducted within the Trust to ensure compliance with local policy and national legislation. 

National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) portfolio research 

The NIHR Portfolio consists of high-quality clinical research studies across a range of speciality groups eligible for consideration for research support from the Clinical Research Network in England. If your study has been adopted onto the NIHR portfolio, we can offer support with the set-up and research delivery – from identifying eligible participants to the collection of data and biological samples. 

We are responsible for providing a diverse assortment of mental and physical healthcare services across Dorset. If you are interested in working with us, please contact us with information about your study, the patients and services you wish to involve, and the timescale for delivery. 

PPI (Patient and Public Involvement) resources for applicants to NIHR research programmes | NIHR 

Non-portfolio research 

If you do not wish to seek portfolio adoption for your research or if your project is ineligible, we can offer only limited support. Importantly, we will still need to review all the relevant study documentation and formally grant approval for the research activity to take place within the Trust. Please compile a set of documents outlined in this checklist to help us complete this, using the following steps as your guide. 

One of the most important steps you must take when developing your project is to determine whether it should be classified as research, quality improvement or clinical audit. Each of these endeavours has a slightly different focus and will also determine whether you will need to seek approval from the Health Research Authority or an NHS Research Ethics Committee (REC). 

Importantly, all projects (i.e. research, evaluation or audit) need some degree of approval whether that is at service, trust or national level. It is also essential that your project is undertaken with the knowledge and involvement of clinical teams. This ensures the project is relevant to clinical practice, likely to succeed and that the results are shared for the benefit of staff and patients alike. 

The Health Research Authority (HRA) provides a handy decision tool to assist in determining whether a project is research. The R&D team will refer to this tool when considering how your project should be classified. If we advise that your project should not be classified as research, then there is no need to apply for HRA approval or to an NHS REC. However, you should still contact the relevant specialist teams within the Trust to ensure you are compliant with all local review arrangements which may apply. For example, to ensure the Caldicott Guardian and/or Data Protection Officer have been consulted on the use of patient data. 

All research requires an organisation to act as sponsor. The sponsor takes formal, legal responsibility for ensuring effective oversight of the initiation, management and financing of the research. The sponsor also provides the indemnity insurance for the research. 

If you are undertaking your research as part of an educational course (e.g. a masters or PhD) then your university must act as your sponsor. Each university will have an individual internal process to apply for sponsorship, usually through their institutional ethical approval process. Your academic supervisor should be able to provide you with more information about this process. 

Unfortunately, Dorset HealthCare is not currently in a position to act as sponsor for research on behalf of Trust staff. If you are employed by our Trust and are neither a student nor hold a contract with a university, you will need to seek the approval of an organisation willing to sponsor the work. Please contact our R&D team to discuss how you might take this forward. 

If your project can be classified as research, you will need to seek approval from the Health Research Authority (HRA) and you may require approval from an NHS Research Ethics Committee (REC) before you can begin work at Dorset HealthCare. The Integrated Research Application System (IRAS) is an online portal that must be used to apply for approvals from both the HRA and NHS REC. 

IRAS will begin governance checks of your project and you may be contacted for clarification of any issues relating to the projects or documentation. If required, review by an NHS REC will take place at the same time. To open an IRAS account, go to www.myresearchproject.org.uk and create an account using your email address and a password. You will receive an email confirming your details.

In addition to the above approvals, you must receive formal confirmation of capacity and capability to conduct the research from our R&D team before any research activity can take place. As part of confirming capacity and capability, we will require you to supply a set of documents called a "Local Information Pack" via email – but do not submit this until you are asked to do so. 

Final confirmation that your study can start is provided by email by our R&D team once the study has received HRA approval (and REC approvals, where required) and all supporting documentation and contracts are in place. Once you receive this confirmation, you are free to begin work.