Guidance on confirming a Sponsor, securing funding and approvals and putting the essential documentation in place to begin your study. When you're planning a research study, ACCORD will support you from the outset - providing input on funding applications and research agreements. We also act as a Sponsor for studies led by University of Edinburgh staff and students, or NHS Lothian employees.If you're planning a clinical trial, our specialised Clinical Research Facilitators will guide you through the setup process and work closely with our Monitoring, Quality Assurance, and Pharmacovigilance teams to ensure your study is compliant, well-supported, and set up for success. Research funding When planning a research funding application for a research study, get in touch as early as possible with the teams listed here to ensure everything is covered. Research approvals Every study needs the right approvals before it can start. The approvals you need will depend on the nature of your research. Sponsorship and review A Sponsor is needed for all health and social care research and has overall responsibility for your research study. Get in touch with our Research Governance team to confirm sponsorship in the early stages of planning your research. Research agreements Getting research agreements in place can be a complex process. We work closely with the Research Contracts and Legal teams in the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian to help. This article was published on 2025-03-17
