Meeting research governance requirements by developing a joint research and development strategy between NHS and higher education partners

Abstract

The Research Governance Framework (DoH, 2001) requires health and social care organisations to promote a research culture in their organisation and ensure that staff are supported in, and held accountable for, the professional conduct of research. In Wales, recent policy documents also necessitate the building of research capacity in health and social care in order to develop a high-quality workforce (WAG, 2002: 31) and deal with recruitment and retention problems by supporting initiatives and developments (NAfW, 2001). A literature search revealed that, although such strategies exist, none were reported to use an action research framework. This paper, therefore, reports on the progress of an action research project to develop, implement and evaluate a Joint Research and Development Strategy between North East Wales NHS Trust and North East Wales Institute of Higher Education. The strategy reported on in this paper used action research as a means of empowering stakeholders to become involved in research, whilst ensuring that the strategy continues to be implemented and evaluated. The paper reports on progress made in the first cycle of this action research process and outlines plans for future cycles.