OAHP Priority: Create an integrated Oxford Joint Research Office across all OAHP partners to promote operational collaboration.
The Oxford Joint Research Office (JRO) brings together Oxford’s four main academic and NHS partners for clinical research. It links together the people and processes for research governance, finance and contracts so they can share knowledge and expertise and streamline ways of working.
Its goal is to enable academics, trial staff and clinical teams across Oxford to set up and deliver trials seamlessly. It also plays an important role in helping to deliver the research aims of the Joint Forward Plan required by all Integrated Care Boards.
The Oxford JRO was established in 2011 by the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It incorporated Oxford Brookes University and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust in 2022. While the JRO is an effective hub for collaborative working and shared decision making, there remains a need to remove duplication and streamline work.
Led by the OAHP Chief Operating Officer, Dr Sara Ward, this project aims to further streamline and simply processes across Oxford JRO.
Adopting a Quality Improvement methodology, the project involves:
- A review of existing processes
- Revising process maps for governance, finance and contract teams
- Preparing flowcharts with clear guidance for researchers and non-specialist managers to support compliance.
- Identifying opportunities for further alignment of processes across the four partners.
The project will deliver recommendations for areas that will benefit from further improvement and change.