Clinical Studies Groups

The following diagram outlines the organisational relationships between the NCRI Board, the NCRN Steering Group, the NCRI Clinical Studies Groups and the NCRN.

The responsibility for the Clinical Studies Groups (i.e. performance management, appointment of Chairman, oversight of the appointment of members, development of new groups) is held by the Steering Group. The Steering Group is chaired by Professor Peter Selby in his capacity as Director of the NCRN (explicitly at the request of the NCRI Board and the DoH). The two roles of Chairman and Director are not identical but it was felt by the NCRI Board and the DoH important that they should be combined in order to make sure that no fragmentation occurred between the role of the Clinical Studies Groups and the other parts of the organisation.

The Steering Group is also charged with overseeing operations of the NCRN and is responsible for the performance management of the networks.

The make up of the Steering Group was carefully crafted and negotiated to include representatives of the funding bodies and senior representatives of the clinical community appointed by the NCRI Board on the recommendation of the Chairman in the first instance although recommendations for reappointments will come from the Steering Group as a whole.

The Steering Group also assumes the old UKCCCR Management Group functions to oversee the former UKCCCR secretariat, which was incorporated into the Coordinating Centre of the NCRN.

The Steering Group and its Chairman report to the NCRI Board, which is a very high level and strategic body and has devolved quite comprehensively and explicitly the responsibilities for looking after the Clinical Studies Groups and the Research Networks to the Steering Group. A close connection is maintained in a series of ways, including the active involvement of Liam O’Toole as the NCRI administrative Director on the Steering Group formally, and informally in a wide range of initiatives.

The Coordinating Centre is responsible for the operational management of and giving support to NCRN Networks and Clinical Studies Groups incorporating, as it does, the former UKCCCR secretariat.

The NCRN, its Coordinating Centre and Director are answerable to the DoH in managerial and budgetary matters but are equally accountable to the Steering Group and through the Steering Group to the NCRI Board. This dual line of accountability is complicated but workable and is essential to ensure that fragmentation is avoided.

For a Clinical Studies Group Chairman, the key elements in these arrangements are that he or she is appointed by a sub committee of the Steering Group, chaired either by the Chairman of the Steering Group or another member. This consists of members of the Steering Group including funding body representatives, academic members and where additional expertise is necessary, external member(s) will supplement that group. The Steering Group delegates the responsibility for the appointment to the sub committee completely and does not have to confirm the appointment if it is made through due process. This has worked successfully now on several occasions.

Each Clinical Studies Group, represented by the Chairman (and one or two members if appropriate) will undergo a review process every three years. The performance management and peer review of the research networks will be approached in a similar way.

The NCRI Clinical Studies Groups have a clear “United Kingdom” wide remit and everyone has agreed that this should be retained. The NCRN is limited only to England but close working relationships are already becoming established with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where similar structures already exist or are being developed.