Clinical Research Practitioners: Updates

Latest update:

July 2023


Please find the CRP Bulletin for July/August which this month includes




Previous updates:

06 June 2023


Please find the CRP Bulletin for May/June which this month includes



10 May 2023


Please find the CRP bulletin for April.  This month's edition includes 




13 April 2023


Please find the CRP Conference Special  for the CRP Conference on the 7th of March 2023


15 February 2023


Please find the CRP Bulletin for January/February 2023.  This includes:



22 December 2022


Please find the CRP Bulletin for December this includes:



04 November 2022


Please find the November CRP Bulletin here, this month it includes:




03 October 2022



Please follow this link for the September CRP Bulletin.



The bulletin this month includes






Latest update:

09 September 2022


Please follow this link for the August CRP Bulletin.



The bulletin this month includes:


https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?e=[UNIQID]&u=841f859216ac18f4b82d940b1&id=0d89256299


08 August 2022

Please find the link for the latest CRP Bulletin. which this month includes 






11 July 2022


Please follow this link for the June CRP Bulletin.  This month includes:


How to get involved in the "I support CRP Registration" campaign




14 June 2022


Please find the May Bulletin for CRP accredited register newsletter.



06 June 2022


Please find the  April Bulletin for CRP accredited register newsletter.



08 March 2022


Please find the February bulletin for CRP accredited register newsletter.


It is great to see an article from our local CRP Rhianne Bostock regarding how you could support the professional development of your colleagues in the bulletin.

03 February 2022


Celebrating Clinical Research Practitioners - marking one year of the accredited register Monday 14 March 1:30 - 4:00

Registration is now open for our virtual CRP event on the afternoon of the 14th March to celebrate the work of CRPs and mark one year of the CRP accredited register!


This event will be a great opportunity for CRPs, their managers and anyone interested in the CRP accredited register to join us to hear about:



We will also include practical tips from CRPs and their managers on the application process and an interactive Q&A session. 


The final agenda and speakers are still being finalised but will include representatives from NIHR CRNCC, the Academy for Healthcare Science, the DHSC, CRPs and Senior Leaders in Research.


This is a free national event and will be of interest to you if you are:



We hope to welcome a large audience and look forward to your participation in this exciting event. 


You can register for the event with the link above. Please contact Maya Leach (maya.leach@nihr.ac.uk) or Carolyn Duff (carolyn.duff@nihr.ac.uk) if you have any questions

03 December 2021


The Academy for Healthcare Science team are now sending out a monthly newsletter to those on the CRP Directory with the aim involving more from the CRP community of practice to join the Directory, building the CRP community on NIHR Learn, signposting to both CPD opportunities and wellbeing resources and of encouraging application to the accredited register.  


This is the most recent issue for your information and on this page you can also subscribe to make sure you do not miss any future issues.



08 November 2021


Advancing Healthcare Awards 2022 - Clinical Research Practitioner Leadership award

The Academy for Healthcare Science is sponsoring the CRP Leadership award. It is a great opportunity to recognise the contribution of individual CRPs in enabling the development of the profession. Nominations are welcome from individual CRPs who can demonstrate how they have supported the development of the CRP role. This could include, but is not limited to, educational initiatives and workforce innovation such as role redesign, promoting understanding of the role, the continuing professional development of CRPs and activities that enable the development of the CRP Community. Closing date for entries: 11 January 2022.


Nominees must be a clinical research practitioner practising within the UK and show evidence of:

• measurable achievements in research delivery

• leadership and team working

• impact on the care of research participants


Entries must be submitted online via the website forms – go to www.AHAwards.co.uk/uk/   and follow the ENTER NOW links.


Don't forget to check out our Workforce Development website in the East Midlands where we are adding resources all the time to help support and develop CRPs within the region


19th October 2021


Thank you to those who managed to attend the CRP Local event on the 6th October 2021, the video for this event is now on the WFD site here. Also on the East Midlands CRP site is the Q&A from the event and also the breakout session feedback regarding the training and development needs of the CRPs.


We have now reached 1000 CRPs on the national directory, you can read more about this here.


More exciting news ! we now have a resources section on the CRP site where you can find resources to help with your development and also application from other CRPs in the region, if you feel you have something to contribute please get in touch with alison.raynor@nihr.ac.uk



07th October 2021


CLINICAL RESEARCH PRACTITIONERS: A CELEBRATION EVENT


Event Video Now available!


If you missed us live, or just want to see it again. The recording of the whole event is now ready for you to watch.  Click the link below:

29th July 2021


CLINICAL RESEARCH PRACTITIONERS: A CELEBRATION EVENT


We are very excited to announce that we will be holding a virtual celebration event on the 6 October from 12 - 2pm.


SAVE THE DATE - 6 October 2021 12 - 2pm


At the event we will be hearing about the 

We are currently putting together the agenda for the day but in the meantime if you have any queries please contact crnempractitioners@nihr.ac.uk 


We have had some great promotion of our Clinical Research Practitioner movement with the following articles promoting CRPs both nationally and locally.


28th May 2021

I am delighted to confirm that on Friday 21st May 2021 Tracey Collishaw, Clinical Research Practitioner from Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust was awarded The Academy for Healthcare Science Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Clinical Research Practitioner!! This is really deserved recognition for all your hard work and dedication, congratulations Tracey.


We are currently offering presentations to research teams in the East Midlands about the CRPs and the registration process if you would like to know more please contact Stephanie.Kings-Jones@nihr.ac.uk CRP Lead for East Midlands 



18th May 2021


Celebrating the Advancing Healthcare Awards 2021 with Clinical Research Practitioners. Thank you to all in your teams who have supported nominations for the sponsored Advancing Healthcare Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Clinical Research Practitioner.


Many congratulations to our three CRP Directory Community finalists, who are:






The list of all Advancing Healthcare Award finalists is available here and winners will be announced on Friday 21 May at the virtual Awards Ceremony, being held online 15:00-17:00. The Academy for Healthcare Science sponsored ‘Advancing Healthcare Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Clinical Research Practitioner’ will be presented by Anthea Mould, NIHR CRNCC Director for Organisational Development and Learning. All are welcome to join the celebration and can register to book a free place via this link.

I am sure you will join me in saying a huge well done to the finalists!

We are currently offering presentations to research teams in the East Midlands about the CRPs and the registration process if you would like to know more please contact Stephanie.Kings-Jones@nihr.ac.uk




24 March 2021


Registration is now open for Clinical Research Practitioners (CRPs)! A successful application to an accredited register demonstrates that practitioners meet a defined set of standards and work within an agreed scope of practice. Please click on the link to access further information for how to apply CRP Accredited Register


A dedicated section for the Clinical Research Practitioner (CRP) community has also been set up. The sub-community will include the latest news regarding the CRP directory and Accredited CRP Register, and can also be used to connect and share updates, experiences or advice with your fellow CRP and will be available to those on the CRP directory. You can access this exciting addition to the community by following this link using an NIHR, NHS or academic email address!


11th March 2021

CRN East Midlands would like to congratulate Rachael Fothergill, Becky Rutter and Anne Chafer for achieving recognition by the Academy of Healthcare Science as Registered Clinical Research Practitioners.

Rachael Fothergill took part in the national pilot scheme last year working with the National Institute of Health Research and the Academy of Healthcare Science to develop a Registration Framework for CRPs and she is one of the first Practitioners in the country to achieve this accolade. In order to be accepted on to the Register, Rachael was required to provide substantial and detailed evidence against 16 CRP Standards of Proficiency, within 3 categories, demonstrating high levels of skill relating to Professional Accountability; Leadership and Working across Boundaries as well as a Record of her Practice Achievement.

The Register for Clinical Research Practitioners is accredited by a Quality Assurance Framework which is recognised by the NIHR as an effective way to recognise the skills of CRPs. The CRP Standards of Proficiency align with standards published for nurses, midwives and nursing associates, allied health professionals and healthcare science practitioners recognising the personal and professional skills that practitioners bring to the role of research practitioner. 

Right now it is free to join the directory, applicants need to have joined the CRP Directory before making an application be part of the Register If you have any questions at all please get in touch with Steph Kings-Jones - CRP Lead for East Midlands - stephanie.kings-jones@nihr.ac.uk



24 February 2021

The Academy for Healthcare Scientists are celebrating our CRPs by offering you the chance to nominate yourself or a colleague for an AHCS Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Clinical Research Practitioner.

This award celebrates exceptional Clinical Research Practitioners (CRPs) who have contributed to research delivery programmes in an innovative and impactful way.

Nominees must be on the CRP Directory; nominations can be for yourself or a colleague and the closing date is the 15th March. Criteria Nominees must be a clinical research practitioner practising within the UK and show evidence of:

• measurable achievements in research delivery

• leadership and team working

• impact on the care of research participants.

For further information and how to apply please visit https://nihr.ahcs.ac.uk/ 

06 November 2020

Did you know there is a Research Delivery Staff Learning Community on NIHR Learn, well there is now a dedicated platform for CRPs too ! Here is the link, Engaging your Local NHS: Research Delivery Staff Learning Community  

As we have seen over the recent months, collaboration is key. Therefore the decision has been made to host the CRP community within the Research Delivery Staff Learning community to allow all research staff to connect with each other within one platform. We will be adding to our existing plethora of resources and there will be more opportunities to discuss issues with colleagues nationally.

Expert Blogs you might have missed

Janice Paterson, CRNCC Workforce Intelligence Manager, talked through the journey to the professional registration of the Clinical Research Practitioner in her blog  ‘A bright Future for Clinical Research Practitioners’.  Leigh Franks, a CRP from West Midlands, has followed Janice’s blog by giving an insight into a day in the life of a CRP.

In August, Eleanor Hoverd, a Research Nurse, and Ann Devrell, a Public Research Champion, discussed how they drive change together via cross communication networks to improve research awareness in their area.

You can find our full selection of Expert Blogs here!

Community in focus!

To ensure that the community continues to provide support and relevant information to help frontline research staff engage with their colleagues, there is also a focus group made up of a varied team of volunteers that are representative of the wider workforce. We hope that this group will help us to continuously improve the space by establishing what is missing and what works well. 

Help to spread the message during Covid-19 Pandemic

Clinical Research Practitioners (CRPs) are on the front line of the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The NIHR is leading a rapid response that is harnessing the research capabilities of our research infrastructure. Covid-19 studies are already open and CRPs are involved in supporting this vitally important work. If you have colleagues interested in joining the CRP register please send them this link

05 May 2020

As at 14th April 2020, there is no fee to join or re-join the CRP Directory. Once established, a £30 fee will apply when you are joining the CRP Register. If you have paid your £10 joining fee and are already listed on the CRP Directory then the fee you will pay to register will be £20 for the first year.

You can the join CRP Directory here  

A listing on the CRP Directory does not guarantee eligibility to join a CRP register. CRP registration processes are being piloted currently.

30 April 2020

On 22 April 2020, the Academy for Healthcare Science received final approval from the Professional Standards Authority for the Notification of Change to add Clinical Research Practitioners to the Academy Register, submitted in December 2019 .

The Authority decided that the changes would not negatively impact on the Academy’s compliance with the PSA Accreditation Standards for the Academy Register and so approved the change. The change was approved by a Moderator following a review of evidence gathered by the Accreditation team and supplied by the Academy.  No conditions or recommendations were issued and the decision is now published on the Professional Standards Authority website .  The document describing the detail of the assessment is accessible here

Accredited registration for CRPs has been warmly welcomed by Janet Monkman, CEO AHCS and Dr William van’t Hoff, CEO NIHR Clinical Research Network.  The CRP Directory website is being refreshed to reflect this important development. 

28 October 2019

Clinical Research Practitioner Bulletin - Issue 3

You may access the Clinical Research Practitioner Bulletin here 


03 September 2019

Consultation on the following documents is now open on the CRP Directory website

 We would like to invite you to participate in the consultation

Responses to the consultation will remain open until Friday 27th September 2019.

In addition the Clinical Research Network National Coordinating Centre have adapted the  CRP Survey and would like to invite local CRPs  to complete a survey

31 May 2019

Clinical Research Practitioner Directory Bulletin - Issue 2 

The Road to Recognition

The way the NHS recruits, develops and supports its people will be crucial to delivering the vision set out in the NHS Long Term Plan. To make the plan a reality we know the NHS will need more staff working in rewarding roles, within a supportive culture, where there are meaningful opportunities for career development and progression. 

You may access the Clinical Research Practitioner Directory Bulletin here

12 October 2018

The Clinical Research Practitioner Directory was launched at a national event in Leeds on 27 September 2018. 

Just over 250 early adopters were listed on the Directory, many from the East Midlands that had registered an interest. Whilst the free early adopter places are now closed, the Directory is now public and open to search and to join to become listed and involved in consultations on the project as it moves forward. 

You may access the Clinical Research Practitioner Directory from here. You can check if you have been registered by searching for your name. You can check who has been registered within your area by searching by your area.

Further information can be found in the Project Briefing Note which you may access from here

26 June 2018

All the presentations, group work and photos from the CRN East Midlands Local Practitioner 2018 event are available to view from here 

Dr Susan Hamer has replied to your postcard

Yes being on the register is personal to you and your practice.

We will be trying to achieve clarity around roles and associated skills initially by using the Integrated Workforce Framework this will lead to more consistency in how individuals are recruited and developed.

It is perhaps easier to think of Clinical Research Practitioner as a family name with different family members inside it. We would expect that in time employers will seek to ensure that members of the Clinical Research Practitioner family are on the accredited register


29 May 2018

Update from Ruth Wallbank Workforce Intelligence Officer CRN National Coordinating Centre

In each Connect we will update you on the progress of the Clinical Research Practitioner Project. This month’s edition also points you to some helpful resources for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It provides updates on Clinical Research Network (CRN) activity to improve research delivery, from digital innovation to working with the CQC. We also share with you a selection of learning opportunities, an outworking of our desire to put good learning in your hands. This desire is echoed by Susan Hamer, Director of Nursing, Learning and Organisation Development in the article we signpost at the end of this Connect.


25 January 2018

Dr Susan Hamer, Director of Nursing, Learning and Organisational Development, NIHR Clinical Research Network

The Department of Health have approved that the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) will now proceed with a proposal to develop the professional identity of Clinical Research Practitioners through a staged approach. Find more information in the link below.

Developing the professional identity of Clinical Research Practitioners


05 January 2018

Happy New Year

Good News!

We are pleased to confirm that the Department of Health (DH) are supportive of the proposed approach to take forward developing the professional identity of Clinical Research Practitioners, advising that they are happy for the CRN to proceed with this project. The CRN Co-ordinating Centre are currently working up a summary of the proposal and we will share this with you all as soon as it is available.

As mentioned in the recent newsletter, a national meeting will take place on 1 March 2018 in Leeds. Each LCRN has been allocated a small number of places and we are looking for Practitioners across the East Midlands who would like to be involved in driving this forward and taking a local leadership role. There would be an expectation that you are able to contribute to this work and willing to share national messages by presenting at local events in the East Midlands. A draft agenda can be found here. You can register your interest in attending the event by contacting michele.eve@nihr.ac.uk. DH will be supporting the event on 1 March and also attending.

We are planning to hold another local event for Practitioners early to mid April, to share messages from the national event. A save the date mail will be sent out shortly and we hope to see many of you there.


24 November 2017

Deirdre Brooking is a Senior Clinical Research Practitioner at the Research and Innovation Centre, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust in Middlesex. Taking inspiration from an NIHR event for Clinical Research Practitioners Deirdre became an early adopter of the NIHR CRN Integrated Workforce Framework (IWF) and a champion for this resource locally. In this second blog she gives us insight into the role of a Clinical Research Practitioner and describes how she and her colleagues have used the IWF to describe capability and support opportunities for progression. 

"This is a classic example of how Research Practitioners are effectively Project Managers. As a lead practitioner I liaised with the clinical staff, clinic receptionist and the research team to support recruitment to this study. I’m pleased to say we managed to recruit 12 patients in one week. "


26 October 2017

Various meetings have taken place with the Department of Health regarding the possibility of Practitioners become part of the Healthcare Scientist workforce. A proposal is being put forward to work with the Academy of Healthcare Scientists to put together a Directory in the first instance. This could then progress to a voluntary accredited register with the educational pathway to follow. The NIHR CRN Coordinating Centre are going to launch a monthly newsletter to keep Practitioners updated.

Fiona O'Neill has been leading on this nationally and unfortunately she left the CRN at the end of August however a new Head of Learning Development and Design in the Workforce Learning and Organisational Development team at the Coordinating Centre has been recently appointed to post. His name is John Castledine and I'm sure John will pick this up in due course. John is one of the speakers at our upcoming Research Forum on 29 November 2017.

We will, of course, continue to keep you all informed of any developments.