Acknowledging the NIHR Cambridge BRC

If we have supported or funded your research in any way, you MUST acknowledge this in your communications outputs – whether this is a formal academic paper, an online talk or event posters and leaflets.

In the tabs below you can find out what you need to include in various situations. Our comms team can also help you with your communications, from ideas for public events to website and social media content to marketing materials.

Has your research had an impact on patient care?

If so the NIHR needs to know about it! Please consider completing our Impact Case Study form, which we can then forward to the NIHR. This may then be forwarded to government ministers to show the real impact DHSC funding has on improving patients’ lives.

Acknowledging us in an academic paper

If your research paper has been accepted for publication and the research was supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, please complete this form as soon as possible. This will help us to check that you have included the correct acknowledgement before publication, and also to evaluate potential media interest in your research.

If your research has been supported and/or funded by NIHR Cambridge BRC, you MUST include the following acknowledgement and disclaimer in the acknowledgements section of manuscripts and publications:

This research was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR203312*). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

*This award number relates to our infrastructure funding, which will be spread over a five-year period from December 2022 to November 2027. The award numbers are used in search engine audits as part of the NIHR reporting process and must be included.

If your research has taken place on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and involved human participants, samples or data, then we have either directly or indirectly supported it and you are contractually obliged to acknowledge NIHR funding. Failure to acknowledge the BRC could exclude you and your theme from future funding. We may also ask you to issue errata at your own cost to relevant papers which include the correct NIHR acknowledgements.

Please remember that our future funding depends on correct acknowledgements in academic papers; the NIHR monitors when acknowledgements are or are not made, and we will be penalised if our support is not acknowledged.

If the paper has already been published we still need to know, so we can inform the NIHR of all the papers whose research we supported.

The NIHR and Open Access

In line with NIHR policy all research papers accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal which NIHR Cambridge BRC supports must be available through 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).

If your research paper has been accepted for publication and the research was supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, please complete this form as soon as possible. This will help us to check that you have included the correct acknowledgement before publication, and also to evaluate potential media interest in your research.

If your research has been supported and/or funded by NIHR Cambridge BRC, you MUST include the following acknowledgement and disclaimer in the acknowledgements section of manuscripts and publications:

This research was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR203312*). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

*This award number relates to our infrastructure funding, which will be spread over a five-year period from December 2022 to November 2027. The award numbers are used in search engine audits as part of the NIHR reporting process and must be included.

If your research has taken place on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and involved human participants, samples or data, then we have either directly or indirectly supported it and you are contractually obliged to acknowledge NIHR funding. Failure to acknowledge the BRC could exclude you and your theme from future funding. We may also ask you to issue errata at your own cost to relevant papers which include the correct NIHR acknowledgements.

Please remember that our future funding depends on correct acknowledgements in academic papers; the NIHR monitors when acknowledgements are or are not made, and we will be penalised if our support is not acknowledged.

If the paper has already been published we still need to know, so we can inform the NIHR of all the papers whose research we supported.

The NIHR and Open Access

In line with NIHR policy all research papers accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal which NIHR Cambridge BRC supports must be available through 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).

If you are preparing a press release for your research, you must inform the NIHR Cambridge BRC Communications team at least 14 days in advance.

If your press release is being written by someone else (for example a communications team from the university, and NHS trust or a funding body) please put them in touch with the BRC communications team as soon as possible.

Your press release must include an acknowledgement of NIHR support (including our award number, which for NIHR Cambridge BRC is NIHR203312), notes to editors and a disclaimer. See below for example wording.

NIHR Cambridge BRC Acknowledgement

If the NIHR Cambridge BRC has significantly 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. “Researchers supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR203312) have…” or
  2. “National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-funded researchers at…”

If the research is predominantly funded through other means (eg a major funder) it is acceptable to acknowledge BRC support elsewhere in the release, along with other funders.

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 in the Notes to Editors:

  • 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 if relevant (eg photo of cells investigated as part of the research – please ensure you have permission to share/publish and where applicable credit the author/owner of the image).

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

If you wish to include an NIHR logo in your online or printed communications materials, please familiarise yourself with the NIHR visual identity guidelines. The NIHR Cambridge BRC comms team are also happy to advise and help you with any NIHR branding questions you may have.

Representing your host institution?

Basically, for promotional materials (e.g. presentations) use your host institution’s templates. This will ensure you use their logo correctly.

You may wish to include the logos of other organisations that have supported your research, including NIHR. These should all be the same size regardless of the value of their support. Where possible the NIHR organisation that has supported your research should go on the top left-hand side (but only if it is a leading partner).

If more than one NIHR organisation has supported your research you should use the NIHR logo only and then refer to the individual parts (e.g. NIHR Cambridge BRC and NIHR Cambridge CRF) in your body copy.

Representing the NIHR?

If you are representing the NIHR, there are templates available for posters, banners, presentations and reports. Please contact us for further information.

Remember, if the material you are producing represents a collaboration between two or more NIHR organisations (e.g. NIHR Cambridge BRC and NIHR Cambridge CRF) you should use templates with the NIHR logo only and then refer to the individual parts of the NIHR in your body copy.

For everyone:

  1. If your research has been funded through a research programme or career development award, then use the “Funded by” NIHR logo. If your research has used NIHR study support or research facilities, then use the “Supported by” NIHR logo. Please place these in the bottom left-hand corner of your material. Both these logos are available to download from the NIHR visual identity guidelines.
  2. NEVER stretch, manipulate or change the colour of any NIHR logo. The logos are available in full colour, black and white and transparent formats and should fit all your requirements. For more advice and to download the logos for web and print please contact the BRC comms team.
  3. If you want to produce other outputs including video or need help and guidance on using our logo please contact us with as much notice as possible, so we can advise you and where appropriate sign off documents using the NIHR identity.

Templates for NIHR staff only:

If you represent the NIHR, did you know there are templates available that you can use for your posters, banners, presentations and reports?

If the material you are producing represents a collaboration between two or more NIHR organisations (e.g. NIHR Cambridge BRC and NIHR Cambridge CRF) you should use templates with the NIHR logo only and then refer to the individual parts of the NIHR in your body copy.

Please contact the BRC comms team to find out more and to receive word, powerpoint and poster templates.

IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR ALL RESEARCHERS:

Are you using patients’ photos, videos or words in your materials?

Please ensure you have their permission first!

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

Please contact your organisation’s communications department for the required consent forms or contact cuh.brccomms@nhs.net.

Download the CUH consent form.

As of September 2020 all public-sector bodies are required by law to make their electronic documents accessible for everyone, including people who use assistive technologies. Accessible documents and web pages make it easy for people who use assistive technology (for example screen readers, speech recognition and mouse alternatives) to access the information they contain and work their way through them.

As NIHR is a publicly funded body, these regulations apply to our documents, and as an organisation we support the goals of making our documents as widely accessible as possible.

The NIHR Cambridge BRC has put together a guide on how to create documents that comply with accessibility requirements.
This contains information relevant to all researchers on how to make your documents accessible.

For NIHR staff there are also templates which you can download and adapt for your organisations.

A guide to making your documents accessible

This has step-by-step information on how to make accessible documents in Microsoft Office and on a Mac. It includes the following:

  • Create headings and subheadings
  • Create, customise and modify current styles
  • Make images accessible
  • Make tables accessible
  • Create accessible hyperlinks
  • Check your document is accessible
  • Turn your document into an accessible PDF

Download the full guide.

Templates

NIHR Cambridge BRC accessible document template with a ‘quick guide’

This is a template for staff to use but it has quick instructions embedded for those who don’t want to use or refer to the full guide. You can overwrite the sample text and delete the guidelines.

NIHR Cambridge BRC accessible document template with minimal instructions

No sample text or instructions, only prompts. You can use this document as your standard blank template and refer to the full guide to help create an accessible document.

Updated version of the NIHR Cambridge BRC PowerPoint presentation

The template now has alt text on the logo and motifs throughout the master copy. If you are inserting a table or a picture in order for the PowerPoint to be published later on, you will still need to follow the rules mentioned in the full guide.

Read our FAQs regarding accessible documents.

There is no change to the position of logos or branding, this just relates to making your document accessible. If you are adding other logos to your documents e.g. CUH, University of Cambridge you will still add them in their correct position but you need to make sure alt text is added to the logo. Details of how to do this are in the guidelines.

Useful resources

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