NJRO & NHRP: a collaborative approach to research across the North East and North Cumbria

Blog by Sean Scott, General Manager for Newcastle Joint Research Office, a partnership between The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University. 

The Newcastle Joint Research Office (NJRO) was established in 2006, as a collaboration between Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle University. The mission of the NJRO was to provide a team of specialist and expert people, to ensure that the research visions for both organisations were met in the clinical trial landscape. To this day, the NJRO still provides such a service to the organisations – including, but not limited to, costing of grants, specialist governance support, legislation compliance and contracting and training. 

Over the years, the NJRO has become more efficient and has been recognised nationally as an effective support service in the life sciences arena. There are now over 15 Joint Offices across the UK, proving that the model and collaborative way of working is not only a success, but also beneficial. JROs, including Newcastle, have an excellent network of dedicated and enthusiastic people, with a passion for well written, well executed and well managed research. 

As the national vision for research is ever changing, it is important for the NJRO to continually adapt and provide a consistent platform for all future developments. With the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England, in which prevention and community health are set as priorities, the NJRO is again looking at how it can better support research in these areas. The shift in health care provides a unique opportunity to bring organisations together, supporting cross-organisational governance processes, as well as streamlining these processes, preventing duplication and reducing the potential paperwork burden. 

As a key part of the Newcastle Health Research Partnership’s (NHRP) strategy, the NJRO will continue to work closely with partner organisations to strengthen relationships and progressively expand its services to all interested collaborators, while maintaining its national leadership role. With NHRP championing initiatives that improve partnership and system working effectiveness, such as joint appointments, shared workspaces, and integrated access to buildings and IT infrastructure – the NJRO is well positioned to drive forward a more connected research environment. Together, these efforts represent a powerful opportunity to open up research to a wider population across the North East and North Cumbria, ensuring that resources are combined to address the issues that matter most to local communities.  

We have been consulting with colleagues across the partnership and have produced a document to show what the NJRO offers, here. Please feel free to get in touch if you’d like to discuss further and we look forward to working with you moving forward.