National contract value review

The national contract value review (NCVR) is a standardised, national approach to costing for commercial contract research.

The NCVR programme aims to make it easier and faster to set-up commercial trials in the UK. It is being delivered as part of the cross-sector Recovery Resilience and Growth programme which aims to deliver on the actions set out in Saving and Improving Lives: The Future of UK Research Delivery.

While all nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are committed to creating an aligned UK service, there will be some differences to how the programme will be introduced in each nation.

Scotland

NHS Research Scotland already operate a single price model for commercial research. As part of the study-level review, the lead reviewer negotiates the study budget with the Sponsor on behalf of all sites participating in the study - there is no additional requirement for validation of the costing template for studies submitted to Scotland. The single price scheme is based on the current version of the NIHR costing template.

This process will remain for commercial contract research in Scotland while the first stage of implementation is being conducted in England (Summer 2022). The final NCVR process will be informed by learning from this stage and we will continue to work with our UK colleagues to share learning from Scotland, and work towards adoption of a UK-wide national contract value review service.

Regular updates on project milestones, process updates or changes in Scotland will be cascaded via:

Research and Development teams
Research Bulletin (sign up here)
NCVR Interest Group monthly virtual drop-in session. To attend please contact Ewan Dougall, NRS Commercial Manager - ewan.dougall@nrs.org.uk

Benefits

The introduction of the National Contract Value Review process across the UK will bring about several benefits:

a new, standardised, national approach to costing for commercial contract research improving consistency in study set-up and making it easier to conduct research
increasing the speed and efficiency of research set up to increase the capacity for more research in the NHS
a transparent ‘no surprises’ approach to contract value negotiations between commercial research sponsors and NHS study sites
builds on local expertise to establish a national process for defining and allocating resource and procedure requirements
by simplifying and improving research arrangements, we can speed up access to new treatments and support patients to receive the best care

More information

For specific queries please contact Ewan Dougall, NRS Commercial Manager - ewan.dougall@nrs.org.uk

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