Research Resources: Gaining Institutional Support

Securing departmental and institutional support for a potential research project is critical to the project’s success. Most studies require some level of logistical support from within the researcher’s department and the institution. Practice research almost always benefits from multidisciplinary involvement. As the methods for the proposed study are being developed, the research team should assess each component of the methods to determine the impact on different departments within the institution. After this assessment has been completed, an organized plan for gaining support from each of the involved departments should be developed. 

This plan should also address logistical issues that are critical to execution of the study.  For example, will the pharmacists need education regarding the protocol?  Do other departments require review by their departmental research committee prior to Institutional Review Board (IRB) submission? If medical records review is involved, have all HIPAA implications been addressed with the medical records department prior to the IRB submission?  

The study methods should be revised as required to reflect the logistics discussions that occur. Along with positively impacting execution of the study, these efforts to engage other departments will be beneficial as the study is being reviewed by the IRB and by the institution’s office of grants administration if a grant submission occurs.

For an extensive discussion of his topic, see Developing and Executing an Effective Research Plan by Drs. Robert Weber and Daniel Cobaugh.

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