Managing Research Finance in the NHS

NHS Research Scotland support use of the guidance document Managing research finance in the NHS for handling funds related to research projects in NHS Scotland.

The document sets out good practice and other information to support NHS organisations maintain or develop their research finance management policies and processes. This guidance was drafted by NHS England and published in April 2024, and was reviewed by the NRS Management Board in June 2024.

The ABPI document Rescuing patient access to industry clinical trials in the UK as well as Work Package 5 of the Scottish Government Report Improving Equity of Access to Cancer Clinical Trials in Scotland from February 2023 both included recommendations to facilitate mechanisms to enable local reinvestment of trial income, savings and core funding to feed into service design, which this document addresses.

The document also includes links to other related resources & guidance which set out the key principles of R&D finance, and provides case examples to describe different approaches to management of income.

It acknowledges that flexibility is key to effective distribution of research income, which reflects the range of models used by Boards in Scotland.

If you have questions or comments then please contact NRS Enquiries, enquiries@nrs.org.uk.