The HRA at ten: progress to date and future gazing

On 17 February 2022, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Health Research Authority (HRA) hosted a joint virtual workshop, The HRA at ten: progress to date and future gazing.

In 2010, the Academy of Medical Sciences undertook an independent review of the regulation and governance of health research in the UK to address the increasingly burdensome and complex regulatory framework for health research. A key recommendation of the review included the creation of a new health research agency, now known as the Health Research Authority (HRA).

Ten years on from the establishment of the HRA, there is an opportunity to reflect on its success and the challenges encountered over the last decade, as well as to identify how the remit and work of the HRA might evolve over the next ten years.

The workshop convened experts from academia, industry, research charities, policy, funding and regulation, as well as public and patient representatives, to:

• Reflect on the progress made since the establishment of the HRA, identifying key successes, lessons learned and areas for improvement.
• Consider the research trends that will emerge over the coming decade and identify how the HRA can best meet the future needs of the research ecosystem and facilitate high-quality research and innovation while effectively protecting and promoting the interests of patients and the public.

The meeting was co-chaired by Jennifer Bostock, a public representative, Co-Chair of a Global Research Ethics Committee (REC) for Save the Children UK, former HRA NHS REC Vice Chair and Ethics Lead for the NIHR Research Design Service London, and Professor Chris Butler FMedSci, Professor of Primary Care at the University of Oxford.

The meeting report can be downloaded from the right-hand side of the page.