Clinical Research Committee (CRC) Patient Representative
Summary
Type of activity: Patient Representative
Organised by: Cancer Research UK
Location: Online, anywhere. The meetings will be held either virtually in a hybrid format, or in person.
Time commitment: 3-year term. 3 meetings per year and preparation time. Members of the Clinical Research Committee are expected to attend up to 3 meetings a year. On average each meeting is held over up to two days.
Payment and Expenses: We offer an honorarium (payment) of £300 (a daily rate) to all committee members for attendance and participation at the Clinical Research Committee meetings.
Looking for: People who are or have been affected by cancer, either directly or as a carer/close family member. We’re interested in hearing from people from ethnic minority backgrounds and men, as these groups are particularly underrepresented in our work.
Closing date: Sunday 13 July @ 23:59
About Clinical Research Committee (CRC)
The Clinical Research Committee (CRC) oversees funding and endorsement of clinical trials. As part of this committee and in meetings, we discuss applications and proposals for clinical trials and decide as a group which ones will be funded or not. More information about the committee can be found here.
Involving people affected by cancer
Patient Involvement is a key element of our funding process. We want to work hand in hand with people with lived experience of cancer and we consider patient representatives to be equal members of the committee. We’re looking for people with experience of cancer including patients and carers/family members to work with us as patient representatives as part of our funding committee to make sure the needs and opinions of people affected by cancer are at the centre of everything we do.
If you’re passionate about clinical research and have some patient involvement experience, we’d love to hear from you!
Patient representatives on the Clinical Research Committee will:
Give a patient/carer point of view on applications, considering evidence of patient and public involvement (PPI) plans across (but not limited to) the following areas:
- Defining and developing of any research questions and study ideas
- Planning and design of the research
- Ongoing input into the governance, management and monitoring or the delivery of the study
- Developing and maintaining patient materials
- Dissemination plans
- PPI contributors are appropriate for the disease/patient group being studied, with consideration given to obtaining views of under-represented groups
- Ensure that all research is performed to a consistent and high standard
- Contribute to the ongoing evaluation and development of PPI processes associated within the committee structure
In this role, patient representatives will be required to:
- Attend and actively participate in up to 3 meetings a year (usually over two days)
- Attend PPI “huddles” to discuss upcoming committee round allocations
- Prepare for meetings by reading research applications and other documents
- Actively contribute to committee discussions
- Represent the wider population of people affected by cancer
- Promote understanding of the role and importance of PPI in clinical research
- Work with other CRC patient representatives to improve and evolve PPI processes related to the committee
- Respect requests for confidentiality, and declare any conflicts of interest where they arise
- Have access to the internet and a computer/tablet to access online documents
- Have the ability to use Microsoft Teams meeting platform
The number of patient representatives attending each meeting is variable, with a minimum of 2. This will vary depending on the workload.
We’re looking for people who:
- Are or have been affected by cancer, either directly or as a carer/close family member
- Have some previous experience of patient involvement in research (but we do not need you to have a scientific background)
- Understand the UK research landscape (must live in the UK)
- Are comfortable and willing to share their experiences
- Have good communication skills and the ability to share their opinions constructively
- Can objectively represent the needs of a broad range of people and consider Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)
- Can commit to attending and preparing for up to 3 2-day meetings per year (dates will be communicated in advance)
In this role, we promise to support you by:
- Sending you an induction pack to familiarise yourself with CRUK’s work and more information about the funding committee
- Providing you with a mentor (CRUK Lead Research Nurse) who will answer any questions you have about your role
- Offering you an optional telephone or online introduction to other patient representatives
- Match you with a “buddy” (current patient representative) to support you
- Creating a safe and open environment for feedback, so that you can share your views about how the panel is working and suggest improvements
- Offering you feedback and asking for your feedback to understand and improve your experience of the role
Further information
Download a copy of the role profile for further information about the role and the Clinical Research Committee.
How to apply?
If you are interested in this role, please complete the online application form by Sunday 13 July. In your application, we’d like to find out more about you. Please detail your answers as much as possible to outline why you’re particularly interested in this role and why your skills and experiences make you a suitable candidate for this position.