The Health Research Authority (HRA) has been recognised by the Institute of Regulation for our collaborative work with organisations across health and social care research sector.
We received their Collaborative Practice award at the Institute of Regulation’s (IOC) Annual Conference on Thursday 27 March 2025.
The Institution of Regulation is a membership organisation established in 2021. It has over 1,000 members from the corporate, public and third sector, and provides professional development in regulation and promoting good practice.
The award celebrates those working at the forefront of regulatory practice, leading cross-sectoral collaboration with other regulators or stakeholders to achieve maximum impact.
We were recognised for our ongoing work to bring together the health and social care research sector and maximise our collective impact on research. By working together, we have seen real benefits to patients, the public and the economy.
The judging panel were particularly impressed with our approach to partnership working which had made a measurable difference to:
- faster approvals – cutting approval and contracting times by 38%
- efficiency – reducing duplication and accelerating study set up by 100 days
- stronger public involvement – more than 30 organisations are now working together to insure patient and public involvement in health and social care research through the Shared Commitment to Public Involvement
Speaking about the award, Marcial Boo, chair of the Institute of Regulation and chair awards panel said: “We were particularly struck by your entry as an outstanding example of a regulator cutting through complexity and fostering true collaboration across several organisations to reduce regulatory friction, with demonstrable benefits for the NHS and the economy.”
Matt Westmore, Chief Executive of the HRA, attended the Institution of Regulation Annual Conference to receive the award on behalf of the organisation.
Matt Westmore, Chief ExecutiveWe are delighted to be recognised by the Institute of Regulation for our commitment to collaborative work. This award also recognises the joint efforts of our partners across the UK, so we are gratefully accepting this award on their behalf too.
Our role as a regulator is to make it easier to do research that people can trust – and we know that we can’t do this on our own.
We are proud to work in partnership with organisations based across the UK. With regulators, funders, other agencies, the research community, our volunteers and above all with people.
By taking this collaborative approach we are making changes that benefit everyone – researchers, the NHS, the economy and patients.
The Institute of Regulation’s Annual Conference is the UK’s largest annual gathering of regulators, drawing together regulatory professionals, experts, academics and government representatives.
You can find out more about the Institute of Regulation at ioregulation.org