Becky Purvis, Director of Policy and Partnerships
We want to make sure that everyone who volunteers, gets involved with our work or uses our services has the best experience possible. These individuals are best placed to tell us what that experience is like and where improvements can be made. Their feedback is gold dust, helping us understand how we can improve and better meet their needs.
This blog explains how we currently capture and use feedback and highlights how it is informing our work. It also sets out the next steps we are taking to do this more effectively in the future.
How we ask for feedback on experiences of using our services
Applicants and sponsors who have used our services are invited to complete our online feedback survey and rate a number of aspects including our website, their experience of the Integrated Research Application System (IRAS), the helpfulness of the correspondence they have received and their views of the committee meeting if they attended.
How we ask for feedback on experiences of volunteering or getting involved in our work
Every two years, we survey Research Ethics Committee (REC) and Confidentiality Advisory Group (CAG) members and public contributors who have been involved with us during that period. We ask a range of questions to help us better understand what is working well and where improvements may be needed.
We also gather feedback on an ongoing basis:
- we ask public contributors to share feedback with us after their involvement. They can share this in whatever way works best for them, often through a discussion with HRA staff once the activity has been completed
- REC and CAG members can provide feedback at any time, using our online form, or by speaking directly with HRA staff. They are reminded of this opportunity annually. Separate routes are available for raising concerns where needed and further information is available on our website
- whenever someone takes part in training, we ask them to complete a survey so that we can understand what worked well and where improvements could be made. We also ask REC members about their training and development needs through a survey every two to three years
- when we send email communications, we use analytics to help us understand what information people find most useful and where we may need to improve our communications
How we use feedback
We use the feedback we receive to continually monitor and assess our performance. This helps us understand what is working well and where improvements are needed.
Our Board monitors key performance indicators throughout the year so it can be assured that services are performing as expected and that action is being taken where improvements are needed. The latest report from our Board meeting in May 2026 shows our performance against a selected set of key indicators between 1 January and 31 March 2026.
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