Chloe Cowan
- Interim Acting R&I Director
Email: Chloe.Cowan@ggc.scot.nhs.
Chloe Cowan
Email: Chloe.Cowan@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Dr Katriona Brooksbank
Email: katriona.brooksbank2@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Dr Melissa Robert
- Research & Innovation Systems & Operations Manager
Email: melissa.robert@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Dr Caroline Watson
- Research Governance Manager
Email: Caroline.Watson@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Dr Samantha Carmichael
Email: Samantha.Carmichael@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Dr Judith Godden
Email: Judith.Godden@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Charlie Mayor
Email: Charlie.Mayor@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Clare Orange
Email: clare.orange@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Tracey Hopkins
- Lead Research Radiographer
Email: Tracey.Hopkins@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Sandra Quinn
Email: Sandra.Quinn2@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
The West of Scotland Research Ethics Service forms part of the UK wide NHS research ethics service (https://www.hra.nhs.uk/) and applications can be reviewed from across the UK. Applicants are free to apply to any suitably flagged REC in the UK although a local REC is advised. The applicant should book a slot that they are able to attend. The meetings are generally held remotely and instructions for joining the meeting are sent out ahead of time.
The central West of Scotland office is manned by four Research Ethics Committee Managers and Assistants who cover the four West of Scotland Research Ethics Committees.
A list of all contact details and the meeting and submission dates can be found here: https://www.hra.nhs.uk/about-us/committees-and-services/res-and-recs/search-research-ethics-committees/
In Scotland the REC Service is managed regionally across four Health Boards. The Health Board is the appointing authority for each REC. All NHS RECs in the UK work within the guidelines detailed in Governance Arrangements for Research Ethics Committees (20th July 2021) https://www.hra.nhs.uk/planning-and-improving-research/policies-standards-legislation/governance-arrangement-research-ethics-committees/
The role of RECs
The Role of NHS Research Ethics Committees (RECs)
NHS RECs safeguard the rights, safety, dignity and well-being of people participating in research in the National Health Service. They review applications for research and give an opinion about the proposed participant involvement and whether the research is ethical. NHS RECs are entirely independent of research sponsors (that is, the organisations funding and hosting the research) and investigators. This enables them to put participants at the centre of their research. Each year, NHS RECs review around 6,000 research applications. On average, they give an opinion in less than 30 days: well within the maximum allowance of 60 days. Proportionate Review studies are reviewed within a maximum of 21 days.
REC Membership
Each Research Ethics Committee (REC) consists of between seven and 18 volunteer members. At least one-third of the members must be ‘lay’. Lay members are people whose main personal or professional interest is not in a medical research area. The remainder of the committee are expert members, who are specialists including doctors, other healthcare professionals and academics. Membership also includes a category known as ‘lay plus’. This category excludes anyone who has been involved in clinical research other than as a participant. REC members often have the sort of experience which will be useful in scrutinising the ethical aspects of a research proposal. For example, they might be patients, members of the public, nurses, GPs, hospital doctors, statisticians, pharmacists and academics, as well as people with specific ethical expertise gained through a legal, philosophical or theological background.
Interested in becoming a member of an NHS REC?
Please get in touch with us and we can send you further details and let you know of any local vacancies available. All NHS RECs are established by the UK Health Departments for the purpose of reviewing research applications that fall within our remit as set out in GAfREC.
Different types of REC
There are two main types of RECs:
Recognised RECs
These are recognised by the United Kingdom Ethics Committee Authority (UKECA) for the review of clinical trials of investigational medicinal products (CTIMPs), in accordance with The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations.
Authorised RECs
Established under GAfREC but not recognised by UKECA. Authorised RECs can review most research that is not a CTIMP.
Many RECs are fagged to look at particular types of research and these flags can be seen here; https://www.hra.nhs.uk/about-us/committees-and-services/res-and-recs/search-research-ethics-committees/
During the online booking process you will be directed to an appropriately flagged REC if this is required; https://www.hra.nhs.uk/about-us/committees-and-services/online-booking-service/
In the West of Scotland we have one Recognised REC and three Authorised RECs
Information for applicants
Information to help you define if your research project requires review by a Research Ethics Committee can be found here
Research Application Submission
All researchers wishing to undertake a piece of research within the NHS are required to complete an IRAS form. All guidance and information is contained within the site to allow completion of the IRAS form.
Once the application is ready for submission i.e. complete with electronic authorisations etc. Please follow the current guidance on online submission; https://www.hra.nhs.uk/about-us/committees-and-services/online-booking-service/
Once you have uploaded all of the study documentation the REC Manager will check and validate the submission. The REC Manager will then issue a validation letter indicating the date and time of the Ethics Meeting and inviting the investigator to attend. The dates and times of all ethics meetings can be found here: https://www.hra.nhs.uk/about-us/committees-and-services/res-and-recs/search-research-ethics-committees/
After the meeting the investigator will receive a letter within 10 working days stating the outcome which will be one of four possible decisions:
- Final opinion – favourable or unfavourable
- Provisional opinion – with request for further information, clarification or revision
- No opinion – gone to referee for consultation before opinion given
The national ethics service allows 60 days from the submission of the application to final opinion. Clear guidance is given within the IRAS website for researchers who wish to make an amendment to their application after approval or add extra sites.
Contacts and committee details
Contacts and committee details (dates can vary due to public holidays always check on HRA website)
Any queries regarding the service or whether an application requires ethical review should be directed to the Scientific Officer / Ethics Manager – Dr Judith Godden
We wanted to inform you that all Scottish recruitment data relating to your study/studies from the 1st April 2019 onwards is now visible on the UK Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS).
The benefit of reviewing your Scottish recruitment data within CPMS is for you to be able to confirm your local site data as accurate or not accurate and provide you with the benefits of tracking your recruitment data at all sites across the UK. This will also help provide NHS Research Scotland and the Chief Scientist Office with accurate recruitment data for Scotland.
What is CPMS?
CPMS is a UK platform which collates local study site recruitment information from local portfolio management systems (LPMS). Since the 1st April 2019 our Scottish R&D offices have been collating recruitment information from your local study teams across Scotland and uploading this to our LPMS. We have now established links between our LPMS and CPMS which means you will be able to login, track and view all Scottish recruitment data to your study at each site since the 1st April 2019. You are kindly requested to confirm if this data is accurate or not accurate using the below attached guides. England, Northern Ireland and Wales have already been live with their recruitment data in CPMS since 1st April 2019.
My study has sites only in Scotland
To reduce the burden of confirming a backlog of recruitment since the 1st April 2019, the Chief Scientist Office has agreed for the NIHR to automatically confirm recruitment data on CPMS for your study during the FY 19/20. Any studies which recruited from the 1st April 2020 we would like to request that you access CPMS and confirm recruitment from this date onward on a monthly basis. You can do this using the attached guides.
Recruitment data for your study will continue to upload into CPMS (including zeros for months where a site did not recruit) and we would request that you access, review and confirm or reject the data on a monthly basis as long as your study is open to recruitment. Once your study halts recruitment please inform your lead R&D office so that they can update the study records.
My study has sites in other UK Nations as well as Scotland
If your study has sites in other nations you will be requested to also confirm recruitment from sites in other nations as well as recruitment from Scotland, if you are not already doing so.
To reduce the burden of confirming a backlog of recruitment since the 1st April 2019, the Chief Scientist Office and Health and Care Research Wales have allowed portions of recruitment data to be automatically confirmed. Scottish and Welsh recruitment data for FY 19/20 will be automatically confirmed on your behalf. If you have sites in England you will be asked to complete the backlog of recruitment from 1st April 2019 or when your study opened if this is later.
Recruitment data for your study will continue to upload into CPMS (including zeros for months where a site did not recruit) and we would request that you access, review and confirm or reject the data on a monthly basis as long as your study is open to recruitment. Once your study halts recruitment please inform your lead R&D office so that they can update the study records.
Training and Help
Individuals who can confirm recruitment must be associated with your CPMS study record. Those individuals who are copied in on this email all have associations with the CPMS record to confirm recruitment. If you wish to add another member of your team to perform this function you must contact your local R&D office and inform them that you require a name added to the CPMS record. You can access your study record here https://cpms.nihr.ac.uk/ and use the email which has been used to contact you in this email to login. Attached is also guidance to help you login.
Attached are a quick start guide which provides an overview of how to confirm recruitment and the full Research Activity Confirmation Guidance which provides more detailed information to help you navigate the confirmation process including help on viewing your recruitment and explanations of the differences between nations where they exist.
There are short videos and guidance which can be found by logging into NIHR learn using your CPMS login details.
************************ Many of the R&I team are working remote from our core offices – please use email or Teams as primary method of contact *************************
In order to gain R&I approval as quickly as possible, we advise that you submit to R&I in parallel with your ethics submission. This will allow us to look at your application and progress while under review by the REC.
In order to define the appropriate contact in the R&I Office for your study, please find contact details for your portfolio team here.
The Research and Innovation Service in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde operates to support researchers in the NHS and academia. It has multiple roles including offering consultancy and advice, providing Management Approval and aiding in the achievement of a successful conclusion to research projects.
Our goal is to release the potential to world class clinical studies across the region, and to play our part in enabling Scotland to grow as an internationally competitive location for medical research.
The Research and Innovation management office acts as a catalyst for discovery and innovation within NHSGGC. We have a ‘can-do’ attitude, striving to support both experienced and new researchers in the design and execution of high quality research studies and ensure compliance to all regulatory requirements.
As the busiest Research and Innovation office in Scotland, we received in excess of 640 new research applications in 2024 and have approximately 1000 studies ongoing at any one time.
To ensure consistency of contact, and to help develop an in-depth understanding of therapy area-specific research projects, the NHSGGC Research and Innovation Management office has adopted a ‘portfolio-team’ structure. The portfolio teams form the functional core of Research and Innovation and are comprised of Research Co-ordinators, Research Facilitators, Co-ordinator’s Assistants and clerical support staff.
Research and Innovation Strategy
Research and Innovation Teams
NHSGGC has already earned a reputation with companies for being open to innovative ideas and partnership working. We aim to build on this. In response to the scale of funding and innovation opportunities that are becoming available, NHSGGC has set up an Innovation Governance Group (IGG). The role of the IGG is to primarily assess consortia and bids that aim to use NHSGGC as an innovation test bed with an aim to;
- Prioritise those that align with NHSGGC objectives and strategic delivery plans
- Position NHSGGC to attract Innovation funding to support strategic developments.
Who are we?
Registering a project
As part of the processes for IGG we are now using a new system for the registration of innovation projects. To register your innovation project please complete the registration form (here) and send to innovation@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Please visit our website for more info
www.woshealthinnovation.scot
Diabetes SBRI
Deliver safe and better care for people in Scotland with diabetes, Phase 1 SBRI Competition
The following link provides a recording of the launch event held on 17th August 2020 which was attended by some 79 participants: Click here
The presentations from the event can be viewed here:
01 Brian Kennon Diabetes SBRIs B Kennon 17th Aug 2020
02 Andrew Fowlie – sbri slides Andrew Fowlie 17-Aug
03 Jon Hazell_SBRI APPLICANT BRIEFING DIABETES
04 Sandra AI diabetic Ulcer infograph – S.MacRury
04 Sandra SBRI Diabetes Foot Disease pptx V3
05 Stuart Ritchie Innovation meeting – August 2020
06 Maria Talla Osteoporosis
07 Paul McGinness (Storm) SBRI August 2020
SBRI Diabetes & Endocrine Briefing Event, 17 Aug – Agenda
SBRI Launch event Q&As
The competition is live, with registration closing on the 23rd September 1100am and the competition closing on the 30th September 1100am
This is a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition funded by NHS Scotland. Successful applicants receive 100% funding and access to advice from NHS Highland, NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
The overall programme will be delivered in up to 2 phases. This is phase 1. A decision to proceed with phase 2 will depend on the outcomes from phase 1. Only successful applicants from phase 1 will be able to apply to take part in phase 2.
NHS Scotland is investing up to £300,000 including VAT, in innovative solutions in 3 challenge areas as follows:
Challenge A
Using artificial intelligence and machine learning to help develop prediction algorithms and risk stratification for diabetes foot ulceration, amputations and mortality.
Challenge B
Improving the clinical care of patients with a pre-existing diagnosis of diabetes when admitted to hospital by developing a real-time decision support tool and alert mechanism. The tool must improve triage, prevent medication errors, identify emergencies and streamline the diabetes care pathway.
Challenge C
Improving the identification (case finding) of people at risk of osteoporosis and fracture, including those with diabetes.
You need to submit a separate application for each challenge you wish to apply for. Further details can be found at: https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/664/overview
APPLICATION FOR FUNDING
NHSGG&C RESEARCH ENDOWMENT FUND ALLOCATION 2025/26
NHSGG&C-wide Research Endowment Fund will no longer be hospital specific but will otherwise be awarded in agreement with the terms of the original bequests.
The following categories are open for applications:
Cancer (Funds available – £63,000)
Chest, Heart and Stroke (Funds available – £74,000)
General (Funds available – £88,000)
Renal (Funds available – £27,000)
The usual amount of funding awarded for each project is in the region of £20k to support specific projects running for a duration of 1 or 2 years. However, exceptional projects are eligible to apply for the full funding available in each funding pot. Priority will be given to projects that demonstrate a clear benefit to the NHS and their Patients.
Endowment funds are specifically intended to support early stage researchers to establish their own research portfolio and attract eligible grants for future studies. Experienced researchers (e.g. 7 years post Consultant or Research team leads) should seek funding for their projects from an alternative source
Completed word document applications must be submitted to R&I for review and sign off by finance no later than the 24th of October 2025. Please send these to Islay Morrison (islay.morrison2@nhs.scot)
Following agreement of costings with finance, fully completed and signed off application forms can be submitted. (1 ELECTRONIC COPY & CV).
Electronic signatures will be accepted. Please submit in word document format.
Submission Deadlines
- Submission deadline for project to be costed by finance Friday 24th October
- Deadline for project costs to be finalised with R&I finance team – Friday 7th November
- Endowment Award Meeting anticipated to take place week commencing Monday 12th January
Applications received after this date will not be accepted
Email completed applications to islay.morrison2@nhs.scot>
Finance enquiries please email R&I finance
(ggc.randifinancegrants@nhs.scot)
The Application Form, Finance Form and Guidance Notes can be downloaded below, and all Contact Details can be found on the R&I website:
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CSO are delighted to announce that applications are now open for the next round of CSO Response Mode Research Grants. The deadline for submitting the outline application is Friday 27th June 2025.
We would like to highlight that CSO have implemented a new grants management system .Applicants will be able to submit and manage their applications through all the pre-stage and post award stages through this portal.
For more information about the response mode grant scheme please see our website: Response Mode Research Grants – Open for Applications – Chief Scientist Office or contact Louise Campbell or Alan McNair.
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Applications are Invited for the Endowment Research Facility Investment fund
Purpose of fund:
“Investment in Equipment, Information and Communication Technology CT and physical infrastructure for research facilities and activity”.
Please complete Endowment Funds Block Grant Application Form and submit to michelle.mcdermott@nhs.scot
Deadline for submission of applications: Friday 15 August 2025 for 19 August 2025 meeting.
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Contact
CRIF Approval Group:
Email: CRIFDevelopmentApplications@ggc.scot.nhs.uk (Abbey Rea)
Tracey Hopkins
Lead Research Radiographer
Queen Elizabeth University Hospital
Call: 0141 201 2455
Email: tracey.hopkins@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
CRIF Approval Group for MR Optimisation
Research often involves new MR imaging techniques, and optimisation of these techniques is essential before they can be successfully applied in clinical studies. The CRIF Approval Group is responsible for reviewing and approving requests for access to the research scanners for technical development and proof of principle MR research projects. Researchers requesting optimisation of imaging study protocols will complete a CRIF Development Application Form and submit to CRIF Approval Group. The CRIF ApprovalGroup will assess both the scientific aspects of the protocol as well as conduct an ethical review under delegated authority from the main REC. The CRIF Approval Group meet monthly.
Useful documents (hyperlinks):
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VOLUNTEER LAY REP POSITION AVAILABLE
Urgent Call for members
Clinical Research Imaging Facility Approval Group
COMMITTEE DETAILS:
Clinical Research Imaging Facility (CRIF) Approval Group
Delegated by West of Scotland Research Ethics Committee
Expected meeting date: Monthly – Usually the last Tuesday every month
Meeting Duration: 1-2 hours
Volume of activity: maximum of 3 imaging development applications considered per meeting
Location: Online
We have an opportunity for those interested in health research and ethics. Research Ethics Committee members are volunteers who review new research projects taking place in the UK from an ethical viewpoint, protecting patients and the public while promoting good ethical research. The West of Scotland Research Ethics Service is currently seeking to recruit a new member, either Expert or Lay to support the Clinical Research Imaging Facility (CRIF) Approval Group, which specifically reviews studies that are developing new scanning techniques with MRI. Since March 2020 meetings have been conducted virtually (currently via Microsoft Teams), which allows us to expand our membership outside of the Glasgow area and avoid travel.
The committee reviews research applications and gives an opinion as to whether the research is ethical. The position can be highly rewarding and covers a diverse range of research topics. Projects are focused on developing scanning techniques and may involve healthy volunteers as well as patients. You should expect to spend approximately 2 hours per month at meetings and some additional time in preparatory work. Meetings provide an opportunity to interact with researchers and discuss proposals. REC members receive training in ethical review and have opportunities to debate challenging ethical issues.
The work is voluntary and involves reading submissions prior to the meeting and attending a monthly meeting of the CRIF Approval Group (there are usually about 11 meetings in the year). Training is provided.
Meetings are generally scheduled for the last Tuesday afternoon each month, approximately 2-4pm, but may vary depending on availability of members.
Members may also be involved in follow-on work, which is generally conducted via email.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE EMAIL – CRIFDevelopmentApplications@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
2024 – Lay Rep Application Form
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Volunteers Needed for MRI Scans
The MRI Research Team at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is looking for volunteers to undergo an MRI scan so that we can test and optimise new techniques before they are used in clinical research studies.
Please click here for more information
The Safe Haven is the result of a unique collaboration between NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Research & Innovation and the Robertson Centre for Biostatistics, offering an excellent resource for health-related data research in Scotland. All Safe Haven staff are trained in ICH Good Clinical Practice and regularly undertake training in a variety of research related subjects.
The goal of the Safe Haven is ambitious to achieve but simple in concept; to establish a large research resource which is able to link health information datasets at patient level, to provide answers to clinical research questions and inform health service improvement.
For more information, click here for the Safe Haven Website
