This online course is taught over 2 consecutive days. All sessions are live and are a mix of lectures, interactive practical sessions and Q&A sessions.

By the end of the course you will have acquired:

1. an understanding of all aspects research governance and knowledge of the processes involved;
2. knowledge of your research governance responsibilities;
3. the skills to think through the ethical issues that might arise in your research; and
4. the knowledge and skills to provide research participants with the information that they need to make an informed decision about consent to participate in your research study.

This is an introductory course aimed at those who are new to health research, and is not designed for those already experienced in this field who may have specific, complex queries.

This course will cover:

1. What do we mean by research governance?
2. Who is responsible for research governance?
3. When in the research process should you start thinking about it?
4. Where can you get help and advice?

This course is taught by Dr Lucy Culliford, Dr Sarah Baos and Dr Jo Worthinhton.

Before booking this course, please make sure you read the information provided above about the target audience. It is important that you have access to the relevant IT resources needed for the course to ensure you can get the most from the course.

Bookings are taken via our online booking system, for which you must register an account. To check if you are eligible for free or discounted courses please see our fees and voucher packs page. All bookings are subject to our terms & conditions, which can be read in full here.

For help and support with booking a course refer to our booking information page, FAQs or feel free to contact us directly. For available payment options please see: How to pay your short course fees.

Participants are granted access to our virtual learning platform (Blackboard) 1 to 2 weeks in advance of the course. This allows time for any pre-course work to be completed and to familiarise with the platform.

To gain the most from the course, we recommend that you attend in full and participate in all interactive components. We endeavour to record all live lecture sessions and upload these to the online learning environment within 24 hours. This allows course participants to review these sessions at leisure and revisit them multiple times. Please note that we do not record breakout sessions.

All course participants retain access to the online learning materials and recordings for 3 months after the course. 

University of Bristol staff and postgraduate students who do not wish to attend the full course may instead register for access to the 'Materials & Recordings' version of this course: Further information and bookings.

93% of attendees recommend this course*.
*Attendee feedback from 2022-2023.

Here is a sample of feedback from the last run of the course:

“Very clear structure to the modules and explained well. The presentations were great”.
Course feedback, January 2023.

“The facilitators and presenters were experienced in the practicalities of live trials and so could give practical, illustrative examples”.
Course feedback, January 2023.

“Good all round introduction on research governance”.
Course feedback, January 2023.

“The question padlet worked well, and there was plenty of opportunity to ask questions. There was a wide range of interesting speakers, and we had some interesting discussions. It's good we still have access to the documents and recordings now the course has finished”.
Course feedback, January 2023.

“It was great as an overview and I know where to go for further info. I will use the learning throughout my PhD”.
Course feedback, January 2023.

“I found the first day to be the most useful and informative. This info will be invaluable as I put together a grant application for clinical research”.
Course feedback, January 2023.

“This was a helpful introduction to research governance and I feel that I know where to go should I need anything further when working on a trial, through the signposting provided. I have a better understanding of the resources available to me”.
Course feedback, January 2023.