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Welcome to the building better research systems newsletter

I'm pleased to share the first issue of this newsletter, which will keep you informed about our work, on behalf of the IRAS partners, to design and deliver a modern digital service that brings together every stage of health and care research in the UK.

Our new platform will replace existing systems, including the Integrated Research Application System (IRAS), with one streamlined service that enables users to plan, approve, set up, manage and complete health and care research in one place. Following extensive engagement across the research sector, we have agreed the name of the new service: Plan and Manage Health and Care Research.

This new service supports the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan and the ambitions set out in the Life Sciences Sector Plan - creating the streamlined research environment needed to make the UK Europe’s leading life-sciences economy by 2030. By creating a connected, future-ready system, we are helping researchers work more efficiently, reducing duplication, and strengthening the UK’s global reputation as a leader in health and life sciences.

And as you’ll read, our next milestone is approaching quickly. From 10 December a group of research sponsors will start to use the first part of the new service, focused on making changes to existing studies. Although the initial roll-out will be limited, this is an exciting step in starting to open our new service to users that will help us learn and improve from their feedback.

From the beginning, we’ve worked closely with colleagues across the research community to make sure that every decision is informed by experience. Your insights have shaped everything from system design to the language we use, and we’ll continue this as we move through development, testing, and phased implementation.

As you can read below, we are committed to designing services that are shaped by user needs. I extend my thanks to everyone who has already contributed their expertise and time to this work. Please do take every opportunity to get involved, give us your feedback and share with your networks.

Introducing Plan and Manage Health and Care Research

On 10 December, we'll take an important first step in introducing our new digital service, Plan and Manage Health and Care Research.

We have invited 10 sponsor organisations, based on the types and volumes of studies that they are responsible for, to partner with us as early adopters of the new service. From 10 December, these 10 sponsors will be able to start using the service to make changes to existing research studies. We will start with studies with the simplest approval pathway – studies taking place in the NHS that did not require an NHS Research Ethics Committee (REC) review as part of the initial approval.

Why user research is essential to the success of our new digital service

User research is informing the development of our new digital services.

Becky Rowland and Lilly Lee, who are part of the user research team, have written a blog about why this is so important and how user feedback has informed our work so far.

Get involved

We’re always looking for people involved in research to help us with user testing to improve our systems.

We’d particularly value people with accessibility needs who are able to volunteer. It’s important that the systems we build are easy to use for everyone.