Research has moved into the boardroom
For many years, research in NHS trusts often sat apart from operational planning. Trusts valued it and celebrated success, but boards rarely discussed it alongside elective recovery, workforce planning or financial performance.
That is changing.
NHS England's new framework for boards makes research part of routine governance. Boards must review research activity, performance and income every six months. Research is now an area that boards need to understand, measure and explain.
As with any other part of NHS performance, board oversight depends on reliable data. Finance teams already hold much of the information needed through costing, income management and benchmarking. Their role has become increasingly important as organisations strengthen research governance.
What the framework asks of boards
The framework supports a wider national direction.
The 10 Year Health Plan positions research as part of everyday NHS delivery. The Life Sciences Sector Plan aims to reduce clinical trial set-up times to fewer than 150 days and double commercial interventional trial participants by 2026, then double them again by 2029.
The Medium Term Planning Framework 2026/27 to 2028/29 requires trusts to report research activity and income to boards every six months, in line with NHS England research finance guidance.
Boards are expected to monitor:
- Speed: the proportion of National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) portfolio studies recruiting their first participant within 90 days, split by commercial, collaborative and non-commercial studies.
- Delivery: recruitment volumes and performance against study timelines and recruitment targets.
- Commercial income: whether income is accounted for correctly, invoiced promptly and managed in line with research contract requirements.
- Distribution: how research income reaches the services that delivered the work.
- Resourcing: whether the services supporting research have sufficient capacity.
Several of these measures are not available through national datasets. Trusts must collect commercial research income data locally.
Research finance often lacks visibility
Most trusts can report how many studies they are running. Fewer can answer questions that finance directors and non-executive directors increasingly ask:
- What does research cost the organisation?
- Has every invoice been issued and paid?
- Do departments receive funding for the research activity they deliver?
Research activity spans pharmacy, imaging, pathology and outpatient services. It is often mixed with routine care activity. Commercial income may follow separate contracting and invoicing processes. Without reliable comparison data, organisations can struggle to determine whether higher costs reflect research activity or operational inefficiency.
As a result, many boards have limited financial visibility of research. This makes it harder to allocate resources, support growth and demonstrate value.
The timing matters.
The planning framework introduces significant changes to NHS financial management. Providers are expected to maintain a balanced or surplus position, improve productivity by at least 2% each year and reduce reliance on deficit support funding.
NHS England will publish trust-level productivity measures monthly. These measures will contribute to NHS Oversight Framework assessments. NHS England is also bringing together Patient-Level Information and Costing System (PLICS) dashboards, the Model Health System and Health Expenditure Benchmarking to support deeper analysis of cost variation.
In this environment, research requires the same financial transparency as other areas of activity.
Three building blocks for research assurance
Trusts do not need a separate research reporting programme. Many already hold the data required to support board oversight.
Three areas align closely with the framework:
- Understanding research costs
- Monitoring research income
- Comparing performance with peers
Costing: understand the cost of research
Patient-level costing helps organisations identify the resources used by individual patients and activities.
Applied to research, it can help trusts:
- Separate research activity from routine care
- Understand demand on support services
- Prevent research activity from distorting the reported cost of core services
This gives boards evidence when assessing whether services have sufficient capacity to support research.
Income: account for research income accurately
The framework places strong emphasis on income management.
Trusts need clear processes to account for commercial research income, issue invoices promptly and ensure funding reaches the services that generated it.
Structured income monitoring enables finance teams to reconcile activity against billing, identify gaps and track income distribution.
Benchmarking: compare performance with peers
Benchmarking provides context.
Without comparison, cost and productivity figures have limited value. Benchmarking helps organisations understand how they perform relative to similar providers.
For research-active services, this distinction is important. It helps boards identify whether higher costs result from research activity or from genuine inefficiencies.
LOGEX benchmarking uses data from more than 150 healthcare organisations across Europe. This allows trusts to compare cost, activity and productivity measures against relevant peers.
The greatest value comes from connecting costing, income, budgeting and benchmarking. When organisations use these data sources together, research commitments can feed directly into operational and financial planning. This supports the integrated planning approach set out in the NHS planning framework.
Five questions every board should answer
Ahead of the next six-month review, boards should be able to answer the following questions using reliable data:
- What is the total cost of our research activity, including supporting services?
- Are all commercial studies invoiced on time, and what income remains outstanding?
- How much research income reaches the services that delivered the work?
- Are research-active services facing cost or capacity pressures that could delay study set-up?
- How do our costs and productivity compare with similar research-active trusts?
From ambition to assurance
The framework aims to support better patient outcomes through faster access to new treatments and broader participation in research.
Achieving those ambitions requires financial visibility. Trusts that understand the cost of research, monitor income accurately and benchmark their performance will be better placed to expand research activity with confidence.
At LOGEX, we help healthcare organisations turn data into better decisions. Our consultants work alongside healthcare finance teams to improve costing, income management, budgeting and benchmarking. As trusts prepare for their next research review, these capabilities can support stronger board assurance and more informed planning.
Sources
