Clinical Research Bulletins & Key Policy Documents
Issued by the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, this publication keeps the clinical research community actively setting up and delivering studies in the UK healthcare system. Evolving from the Research Reset bulletin, these bulletins are technical updates with specific calls to action.
Latest policy statement
Originally published on 9 February 2026
On 9 February 2026, updates to NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) Portfolio Eligibility Criteria were published on the UKCRD programme website, studies must comply with national policy and central guidance to avoid unnecessary duplication of processes and reduce study set-up times.
Click here to read the full update.
Bulletins
Key Policy Documents
- Updates to RDN Portfolio Eligibility Criteria, published 9 February 2026 (HTML)
- Guidance on interpretation of IR(ME)R in NHS research, published 28 January 2026, (HTML / PDF)
- Guidance on detailed definitions and processes for site-level performance reporting, published 22 December 2025 (HTML)
- DHSC Terms and Conditions for NIHR RDN Support, published 22 December 2025 (PDF)
- Policy Statement: Action to enhance visibility of clinical research delivery against the UK government’s commitment to reduce the set-up time for clinical trials to less than 150 days, published 2 October 2025 (HTML / PDF)
- Transforming the UK clinical research system: August 2025 update, published 4 August 2025 (HTML)
- Study Set-Up Policy Statement, published 1 April 2025 (HTML / PDF)