Objectives
The prime objectives of the Research and Development Directorate are to:
- Maximise opportunities for patients to participate in high quality research programmes
- Ensure the Trust achieves agreed national performance targets
- Improve the quality, quantity and relevance of Research and Development activity within the Trust
- Help researchers achieve external funding from grant-giving bodies and commercial sponsors and to increase the Trust's external income from research
- Foster our relationship with academic partners to provide research support services; including the provision of expertise in statistics and other generic methodologies
- Ensure that the information requested from researchers is the minimum consistent with the highest standards of research governance
- Ensure all Research and Development projects in the Trust are appropriately peer reviewed, approved by a Research Ethics Committee and comply with research governance standards and statutory requirements
- Develop Research and Development training and educational opportunities for Trust researchers
- Raise the local and national profile of research within the Trust and develop appropriate collaborations