On 20th May 2025, I attended the Research and Development Forum (RDF). The conference took place at the Manchester Central Convention Centre and was attended by clinical research professionals.
In honour of international clinical trials day, the introductory talk was presented by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and focussed on the Prime Minister’s newly introduced goal to “turbocharge” clinical research set up and delivery. With an aim to reduce study setup to less than150 days by March 2026, the presentation discussed how setup times will be accelerated through the new Health Data Research Service and improved opportunities for staff, such as the associate Principal Investigator (PI) scheme and investment in pharmacy and imaging teams. As the UK is considered the destination of choice for clinical research, the talk emphasised maintaining this through greater partnerships with patients, hospitals and commercial providers. This was followed by a panel of NIHR staff members who discussed addressing health inequalities, rethinking inclusivity, and simplifying services, systems and pathways to enhance recruitment.
The next talk was presented by the Health Research Authority (HRA) and focussed on understanding the new transparency requirements for clinical trials. Following the UK’s move away from EU directives, updated legislation focuses on transparency across registration, publication and sharing results of clinical trials. The HRA has produced new guidance, which was presented with further details on how this should be implemented and possible exemptions. It was useful to acknowledge how this will impact sharing of trial information across study setup and close out.
I then attended a talk delivered by the Young People’s Mental Health Research Centre within the Pennine Care NHS Trust. They discussed their process of improving services by amplifying voices which are underrepresented in mental health research – primarily young people, those involved in the justice system, neurodiverse and LGBTQ+ individuals. They used creative arts workshops to gain insight from these groups, identify systemic barriers, and inform changes in support services to enhance engagement. They also discussed creating an in-depth affirmative language guide to be used by professionals for autistic young people. Through focus groups with service users and staff, continual feedback and refinement, they were able to create a guide that was reflective of real experiences and could be used in a clinical setting. This was particularly insightful for its potential application to trial documentation language, and what considerations should be made in research in young and neurodiverse people in the consent process.
The final talk of the day was facilitated by the Motor Neuron Disease Association (MNDA) who provide multidisciplinary care and research into the causes, biomarkers, treatments, and healthcare provision of Motor Neuron Disease (MND). The discussion was centred around research into MND and the power of storytelling in raising awareness. Stories were told by an individual with lived experience who had cared for her husband in the final years after his MND diagnosis, and a consultant from the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease who talked about her career journey and future prospects in MND research. As research progress in this disease is typically slow, it was interesting to hear stories which emphasised its significance and the importance of patient and public involvement (PPI) in informing clinical research.
Alongside the talks, there was a poster session which showcased research projects across many institutions, primarily NHS hospitals across the UK. These posters demonstrated how improvements are being made in clinical trials departments to target issues such as inclusivity, recruitment and data management. Overall, the RDF was a fantastic opportunity to appreciate the scale of clinical research in the UK and gain insight into future research directions.
Published on 21 May 2025
Author: Lydia Ainsworth
Senior Clinical Data Quality Manager at Solutions OP Ltd
