The Research Governance Framework

The Research Governance Framework (RGF) published in 2001 (Department of Health – Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care) has been designed to protect people who use services and their carers from the risk of badly designed or poorly constructed research. 

The RGF is the process through which the quality of research can be assured. This in turn will lead to better service outcomes through informed decision making. By recording our research activities, unnecessary duplication and over-consultation will be reduced.

The Framework sets out a number of standards and procedures to safeguard those involved in research, classified into five main areas:

• Science, requiring research proposals to be independently reviewed by relevant experts;
• Ethics, requiring research to be reviewed independently to ensure the rights and safety of research participants;
• Information, requiring full and free public access to information on the research and its findings;
• Health and safety, requiring the safety of research participants, researchers and other staff be addressed;
• Finance, ensuring appropriate arrangements are made for the use of public money.

Additional details on the Research Governance Framework can be found on the Department of Health website.