The NIHR and Open Access

The NIHR supports the principle of open access to the outputs of research, which can offer both social and economic benefits as well as aiding the development of new research and stimulating wider economic growth of the UK economy.

The NIHR is also committed to adding value in research, which ensures publishing research results in full in an accessible and unbiased report.

Read more on the NIHR open access policy (updated 11/11/2021).

Events and films

Events / presentations

Presentations by event organisers or NIHR representatives taking place within NIHR-hosted events must be on the correct NIHR slide template. For all NIHR fully- or part-funded or sponsored events, you should notify the BRC Communications team at least 28 days prior to the event. All promotional materials for these events should include the correct NIHR / sub-logo. Any promotional materials must be sent to the BRC Communications team for sign off.

Films

If you produce a film which features research funded or supported by NIHR Cambridge BRC, CRF or BioResource, the title page should include the appropriate NIHR logo. It should also include an acknowledgement and a disclaimer (see above drop-down section for sample text).

The BRC Communications team should be notified at the start of the filming project and kept up-to-date with progress. They will also need to see the final version of the film and notify NIHR Central Commissioning Facility (CCF) for sign-off.

Consent

If you wish to film, photograph or interview research participants or members of staff to use on communication materials, they must first give their written consent.

Please contact your organisation’s communications department for the required consent forms or contact the BRC Communications team. The participant must also receive a copy for their records so they know who to get in touch with if they wish to withdraw their consent.

• Download the CUH consent form

Press releases

Your press release must include an acknowledgement of NIHR support, notes to editors and a disclaimer. See below for example wording.

NIHR Cambridge BRC Acknowledgement

If the NIHR Cambridge BRC has supported a research project, it should be named in the first or second paragraph of a press release and spelt out in full at the first mention (after which abbreviations may be used, eg:

1. 1. 1. “Researchers supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) have…” or
      2. “National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-funded researchers at…”

Notes to editors:

Notes to editors are included after the press release and provide information that may be of relevance/interest to journalists.

Please cut and paste the following:

• • About the National Institute for Health and Care Research The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. We do this by:
    • Funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care;
    • Investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services;
    • Partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research;
    • Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges;
    • Collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system;
    • Funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries.

    NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK Aid from the UK government.

  • About the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre Based within the most outstanding NHS and University partnerships in the country, the Biomedical Research Centres are leaders in scientific translation. They receive substantial levels of funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to translate fundamental biomedical research into clinical research that benefits patients and they are early adopters of new insights in technologies, techniques and treatments for improving health.

Disclaimer:

Always include the following:

• • The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

Patient data use:

If you have used patient data in your research, you must also include in your Notes to editors a statement on patient data use:

• • This work uses data provided by patients and collected by the NHS as part of their care and support and would not have been possible without access to this data. The NIHR recognises and values the role of patient data, securely accessed and stored, both in underpinning and leading to improvements in research and care. www.nihr.ac.uk/patientdata

Attachments:

If a research paper or report is the subject of the press release, a copy of the research paper/ report must be included, as well as suitable images.

• Download a Funding Acknowledgement and Press Top Tips

If you are representing an NHS Trust or university check their templates for example wording on what to include for their respective organisations in Notes to Editors.

Displaying the NIHR identity correctly

Logos

The NIHR logo is the most important element of the revised NIHR identity. It now appears on the top left of all NIHR materials and no longer carries the NHS lozenge: NIHR infrastructures now have an individual logo (a ‘sub-logo’) which carries the NIHR abbreviation and name of site in full on the right-hand side (see below).

When to use the main NIHR logo

• All NIHR logos now appear in the top left-hand side of the publication / webpage
• You work for an NIHR organisation but the materials you are producing represent a collaboration between two or more NIHR organisations (e.g. NIHR Cambridge BRC and NIHR Cambridge CRF)
  • Refer to individual parts of the NIHR in your body copy

When to use the NIHR sub-logo

• You work for an NIHR organisation and the materials you are producing promote research that the NIHR organisation you are representing has fully or partly supported or funded
• Other partners’ logos (provided they are not also part of the NIHR) may be included if applicable, but cannot be bigger than the NIHR sub-logo
• The sub-logo must appear in the top left-hand side of the publication / webpage

When to use the NIHR logos in partnership with other organisations 

• The NIHR logo should be in equal proportion to the logo of its partners, but its position will depend on whether:
  • NIHR is a leading partner (i.e. the main single funder). The NIHR templates should be used with the NIHR logotype positioned top-left on the front page of corporate communication materials, OR:
  • The NIHR is a secondary partner (i.e. not the main funder). The logo can be positioned preferably bottom left on the front page

When to use the NIHR Funded/ Supported logos

• You do not work for or are paid by the NIHR, but the research that you are promoting in your materials has been wholly or partly funded or supported by the NIHR (including Cambridge BRC)
• Use your host institution’s templates such as posters, powerpoint presentations etc
• Mention NIHR Cambridge BRC in the body of the text
• Use either the NIHR Funded / Supported logo as appropriate towards the bottom
• Include a relationship statement and disclaimer (see acknowledgement section, above) in the bottom half of your material
• NEVER use the Funded / Supported logos in document headers or to displace the leading brand on materials
• Examples of where these logos can be used include: study recruitment materials, communications and research dissemination materials, websites, social media, presentations, consent forms and patient questionnaires

Templates

NIHR templates should only be used if you are representing the NIHR and include posters, presentations, banners, business cards and letters.

To find out more about how to access templates, download logos and read more on the NIHR brand identity guidelines, contact our comms team at: cuh.brccomms@nhs.net

Download the NIHR Cambridge BRC poster template:

• A0 portrait
• A0 landscape

Acknowledgement statement and disclaimer

***IMPORTANT: You must send a copy of the paper/article/output to BRCcomms@addenbrookes.nhs.uk 14 days before it is due to be published so it can be recorded and sent to NIHR for review.***

If you are publishing research findings:

When submitting a paper, article or report for publication you must include:

• The relationship statement:
  • The NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is a partnership between Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), AND:
• The relevant funding acknowledgement:
  • This research was funded by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
  • This research was co-funded by [insert name of co-funder] and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
  • This paper presents independent research funded [and/or] supported by the NIHR Cambridge BRC, OR:
  • [Insert name of author(s)] is / are supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
    • Please note this will apply to you if:
      • You are a PhD student supervised by a BRC Theme / Programme Lead
      • You have used BRC infrastructure but no BRC funding
• The following disclaimer must also be included: The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

These statements may be placed in either the acknowledgement or funding section of a publication. It can also be placed in supporting information provided there is a linking statement in the main publication. It is not sufficient to place only in author’s affiliations.

• Download a Funding Acknowledgement and Press Top Tips flowchart or in an accessible format.

Other research outputs (for example, posters, presentations):

Include the appropriate funding acknowledgement shown above and the disclaimer. If you are representing an NHS Trust or university, use their templates and the NIHR ‘funded’ or ‘supported’ stamps. If you are representing the NIHR please use their own templates for marketing materials.

Please also refer to the ‘Displaying the NIHR identity correctly’ section below.

Need help?

Please email the final draft of all publications to us so we can check the acknowledgements prior to submission.

Acknowledgement audits

The NIHR Cambridge BRC management team undertakes regular audits of publications from researchers who have used NIHR facilities to ensure that appropriate acknowledgements have been included.

In circumstances where we have not been appropriately acknowledged when support has been provided/utilised, we may ask researchers to issue errata at their own cost to relevant papers in order to ensure that NIHR acknowledgements are always included where necessary.

When do I need to acknowledge NIHR Cambridge BRC?

Research outputs can include publications, press releases, newsletter articles, websites, presentations, posters and participant materials.

Acknowledgement of BRC funding is an important contractual requirement and a condition of your funding. We maintain regular reports on publication acknowledgements and this information may be used to guide future funding decisions.

Furthermore, acknowledgements are used as a metric by the Department of Health & Social Care to justify future budgets and therefore help ensure continued funding to support clinical research projects and infrastructure.

The NIHR Cambridge BRC not only directly funds projects and staff: we also support essential clinical research infrastructure at Cambridge University Hospitals, including technology platforms, key NHS support services, research nurses, administrators, clinical trials infrastructure and governance support.

Therefore, if your research is translational or clinical in any way, it is supported – either directly or indirectly – by the NIHR and you MUST acknowledge this is all your peer-reviewed publications, press releases and promotional materials.