Learn more about how Marie Curie ensures research involving our services is safe, ethical and follows best practice. On this page, you’ll find out about our research governance processes and the necessary approvals you might need to apply for your own research application.
What is research governance and why it matters
Research governance is the process put in place to make sure that research is safe and that researchers are following the right rules. From completing necessary training to following ethics requirements, all research involving Marie Curie services will need to pass through the proper checks.
Watch this short video from the National Institute for Health Research to learn more about how research governance keeps research safe for everyone.
Watch: Research governance: Keeping research safe for everyoneWatch: Research governance: Keeping research safe for everyone
Research governance ensures that research is safe and that the researchers are following all the rules that they should. This is what we cal…
At Marie Curie, we aim to achieve high standards of research governance, accountability and responsibility by ensuring all research undertaken within Marie Curie services is conducted in line with the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research 2020
This means, if you’re a researcher looking to apply for Marie Curie research funding, you’ll need to follow the process outlined below.
Marie Curie’s research approval process
We welcome high quality studies that increase the evidence base for palliative and end of life care. However, as a charity we have to carefully consider whether we have the resources to support your research proposal and ensure it aligns with our strategic aims.
This approval process may take a couple of months, so please factor this into your project plan.
Before you apply
- Is it research? To help you determine whether a project is research, please use this decision tool.
- Make contact. It's essential that you've discussed your proposal with the relevant Marie Curie research leads. Please email researchgovernance@mariecurie.org.uk to have an initial discussion about your proposal.
Applying for project approval
Before you can start your study, you'll need to apply for project approval so that we can assess the study documents and potential impact.
We have a two-step project approval process:
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Compliance with legal and policy requirements. This process is managed by the Senior Research Governance Manager in the central Research team at Marie Curie. Compliance checks are based on the NHS's checks and include areas like data protection and information governance, roles and responsibilities, and appropriateness of information sheets and consent forms.
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Capacity and capability. This is assessed by the local services, and particular consideration will be given to the potential impact of research findings.
Application forms
When submitting your application, you'll need to provide:
- a protocol/project plan
- information sheet and consent forms
- ethical approval
- evidence of project sponsorship and insurance from the academic organisation (for further information about sponsorship visit the Health Research Authority's roles and responsibilities page)
- a research impact assessment form if there will be resource/staff impact across the hospices
- a data protection form
- if required, we will send you a form to request a letter of access.
Email us with your application materials
Ethics review
Researchers need to consider which type of ethical review is most appropriate for the research they're undertaking. Some research requires ethical review by law, in which case it must be reviewed by the UK-wide National Research Ethics Service. This is a service which mainly reviews research that's concerned with participants recruited by virtue of being patients in the NHS, or their relatives. However, it also reviews other studies where there's a legal requirement for review.
You can find guidance on whether your research requires review by the National Research Ethics Service in the Governance arrangements for research ethics comittees in Annex A.
