Upon becoming a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) on 1 January 2015, the HRA took 
responsibility for issuing guidance for research in England, in place of the Research Governance Framework (RGF).
The HRA and Devolved Administrations committed to the ambition of having a single framework for research across the UK and established a UK wide Steering Group to lead this work. Throughout 2014 the Steering Group worked to fundamentally review the whole framework through seeking comment on the findings from a series of projects (see ‘Key areas of work below). These projects have now concluded and the results used to develop a revised framework.
The new UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care has now been drafted and issued by the HRA and the individual Devolved Administrations for early comment.
A formal consultation period is planned to take place later in 2015 following consideration of the feedback received during the comment period, which closes on 1 May.
Research Governance Framework Steering Group
The Research Governance Framework Steering Group, with membership from the HRA and Devolved Administrations, plus observers from the Department of Health, is overseeing this process. The terms of reference for the steering group are available here.
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