Connect (Collaborative National Network for Emergency Care Trials & research) is RCEM’s national research network.
It aims to improve NHS emergency care by coordinating and delivering high-quality, multicentre research studies across Emergency Departments (EDs) within the UK.
The Network will support the generation of evidence to improve patient outcomes, strengthen clinical practice, and inform NHS policy, in alignment with national research priorities.
About
Connect (Collaborative National Network for Emergency Care Trials & research) is RCEM’s national research network. Connect will:
- Coordinate and develop national emergency medicine research priorities
- Deliver standalone network studies and surveys
- Support study setup, recruitment, and delivery of externally funded studies across network sites
- Support trainee-led and early-career research development
- Promote patient and public involvement (PPIE) in line with NIHR expectations
- Promote equitable access to research participation across UK regions
- Disseminate findings to clinicians, policymakers, and the public
- Provide a platform for rapid research response (e.g., pandemics, major incidents)
- Organise annual research network seminars
Steering Committee
The network will be managed by a Steering Committee providing:
- Strategic oversight
- Approval of network-supported studies
- Coordination of site engagement and network study delivery
- Oversight of network communications
- Alignment with RCEM, NHS and NIHR priorities.
The Steering Committee will be selected through the RCEM research committee, and will comprise:
- Network lead/chairperson – Gordon Fuller
- RCEM research committee chairperson
- RCEM Professors
- TERN fellow
- RCEM research administrator
- Members of the RCEM research committee
- Patient/Public representative(s)
The Steering Committee will meet quarterly and will report to the RCEM research committee.
Connect Support
To be eligible for network support, studies will meet the following criteria:
- United Kingdom-based study
- United Kingdom-based research team
- Primarily addresses a research question relevant to Emergency Medicine
- Represents research, rather than service evaluation, audit, or quality improvement
Studies can be proposed externally, by individual Steering Committee members, or collectively proposed by the Steering Committee. Proposals will be reviewed by the Steering Committee in line with the RCEM Connect Study Proposal for Support Standard Operating Procedure.
Three levels of network support are possible:
- Network delivered: study directly managed and delivered by the network
- Network adopted: study endorsed by network, coordination and recruitment from network Primarily addresses a research question relevant to Emergency Medicine
- Network affiliated: advice provided, review of study documents, help in identifying sites