Research eligible for or adopted onto the national portfolio

Projects eligible for adoption onto the national portfolio need to apply for NHS Permission through the NIHR Co-ordinated System for obtaining NHS Permission (NIHR CSP). NIHR CSP streamlines the process for gaining NHS permission for clinical research studies in England and is accessed through IRAS.

In order to access CSP you need to ensure that question 5a (Do you want your NHS R&D application(s) to be processed through the NIHR Coordinated System for gaining NHS Permission?) is answered yes on the project filter in IRAS.

Adoption onto the NIHR Portfolio

Adoption onto the national portfolio forms the first stage of obtaining NHS Permission through CSP and is done via submission of the CSP application form through IRAS. This needs to be validated (usually within 2 working days) before you can submit your R&D form and associated documents. You will need to identify your lead CLRN before submission. This is usually the CLRN in which the chief investigator sits, so for chief investigators’ employed through any of the Norfolk & Suffolk Trusts (except for QEH, Kings Lynn or West Suffolk Hospital) this will be the Norfolk & Suffolk CLRN.

Submission

Once your CSP application form has been accepted you will need to submit your R&D form and all SSI forms electronically through IRAS – further instructions are given within IRAS. These will be accepted and validated through CSP and automatically sent to the participating trusts that were named as sites in Part C.

All supporting documents as listed on the checklist in IRAS need to be emailed to the lead CLRN. A list of lead CLRN contact details can be found on the UKCRN website.

The CLRN will work with the local Trust R&D offices to facilitate approval of the submission. Once all the research governance checks are complete NHS Permission letters will be sent out from each Trust.