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We are one of a number of organisations that work together in the UK to regulate and approve different aspects of health and social care research.

Participation in research is where someone takes part in a research study, for example, being asked questions about their health condition or testing a new treatment in a clinical trial. People may be asked to consider joining a study by their GP or come across an advertisement to join a trial on a noticeboard or in a newspaper.

Relevant and appropriate research always aims to answer a new question and contribute to the current body of medical and scientific knowledge. For this reason, there is a certain amount of risk for research participants. Independent ethical review is vital to ensure that participant safety is at the centre of the research.

As an organisation that protects and promotes the interests of patients and the public in research, it is important that we have a good understanding of what these interests are. By involving and listening to the views of patients and the public, we help to ensure they are placed at the centre of what we do.

Public confidence in health research is critical to its success and so we are committed to building the public voice into policy development.

There are a number of key performance indicators and operational indicators that we closely monitor to determine and demonstrate progress across the HRA.

We lay our annual report and accounts before Parliament on a yearly basis. Our annual report describes the work of the HRA and outlines some of the most significant achievements and sometimes challenges, wherever possible.