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We are an organisation committed to collaboration – listening to and working with others to identify and make improvements to the health research environment.

Recommendations to the government on the long-term success of the UK life sciences sector have been published today. Life Science’s Champion Professor Sir John Bell’s report aims to put the UK in a world-leading position to take advantage of the health technology trends of the next 20 years through the establishment of the Health Advanced Research Programme.

Earlier this summer the HRA published its annual report. Among the detailed review of twelve months’ of work, there are some particularly interesting statistics that we’d like to share:

We've improved the HRA website to make it easier to navigate and find information. It's a work in progress.

The Social Care Research Ethics Committee currently has vacancies for expert members who are interested in thinking about the issues from the perspective of a potential research participant and would like to develop knowledge of research ethics. We're particularly interested in receiving applications from health care or social work professionals working in mental health or social care.

Transparency, public involvement, safety and proportionality must be at the centre of UK health research, a new position statement published today has demanded.

Studies involving human tissue can improve our understanding of health and disease, and ultimately lead to improved healthcare. But evidence supplied by the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre suggests some tissue in banks goes unused by researchers because it is not adequately linked to patient data or not linked to future health data.

The HRA's Collaboration and Development Manager, Will Navaie, describes how the HRA is looking at ways of breaking down barriers to researchers using biobank resources in the UK.

Three new HRA eLearning modules are now available.

A new initiative to explore how research waste can be reduced has been taken up by two researchers who chair HRA Research Ethics Committees (RECs).

Researchers should not waste time completing inappropriate training, according to updated HRA guidance. Instead, researchers should be appropriately trained by qualifications and experience for their role.

After five years as chair (and several more as a member before that), Dr Mark Taylor is stepping down from the Confidentiality Advisory Group. As Dr Taylor leaves to take on a new role at Melbourne Law School in Australia, he describes how the group gave him a fresh insight into discussions of how the privacy of patients sits alongside the public interest.

We are looking to increase our CAG membership from April 2018. As one of the CAG’s voluntary members, you will robustly assess applications within our regulatory framework and developed principles to advise whether the activity is in the public interest. We are keen to recruit a diverse set of both lay and expert members from a variety of backgrounds. You could be a member of the public, a patient representative, a member of a consumer group, a healthcare professional, or a member of a professional regulatory body or an academic/research institution.

Researchers running or planning projects incorporating the administration of radioactive substances will need to be aware of changes to the approval process.

Health researchers are 'missing a trick' by not demonstrating how patients and the public have contributed to the design and conduct of research, the HRA has said.

NHS England has launched a consultation looking at how arrangements for research in the NHS could be simplified.

A new chair has been appointed to the Confidentiality Advisory Group (CAG). Dr Tony Calland, a former GP and current CAG vice chair of the group, will replace current chair Dr Mark Taylor in January 2018.

Janet Wisely has been awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list. She is recognised for services to health and social care research.

An updated HRA Approval validation process is being rolled out following successful piloting. We began the roll out of our new validation email templates in early December, with full implementation to all HRA Approval applications expected by the end of February.

HRA chair Jonathan Montgomery will be giving evidence to the Science and Technology Select Committee on Tuesday 30 January.