Identify investigators and sites for your research

How we help you identify interested sites

This free, UK-wide service enables commercial sponsors to rapidly gather expressions of interest from investigators and sites throughout the UK.

We use our national network and work with partner organisations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to share basic information about your planned research to potential research sites. This includes NHS sites in:

• secondary care (such as hospitals and Patient Recruitment Centres)
• primary care (such as general practice and dentists)
• wider care environment (such as care homes)

The expressions of interest will return important information to support your feasibility process.

Timelines for identifying sites

Interested sites will respond within 15 working days, often sooner. This timeline ensures the investigator, study team, and the organisation’s R&D department are cited on the response. We collate the expressions of interest for you or your chosen Contract Research Organisation (CRO) including contact details. You decide which sites to engage for more in-depth feasibility and selection discussions.

Why this service makes your site selection more inclusive

By using this service, you're providing an equal opportunity for all UK sites to express their interest in bringing your research to their patients. This inclusive approach helps ensure that the people taking part in your clinical trials are representative of those most in need.

It is the only UK-wide site identification service that can cover all publicly funded health and care providers. This is possible because we are funded by the UK government.

If you have pre-selected some of your sites you can still use this service to identify further sites to make your site selection more process inclusive.

Read how we worked with Moderna and Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) to increase accessibility of an international trial of the world’s first personalised mRNA cancer immunotherapy for melanoma. We helped to identify sites in geographically remote areas of England, allowing for people living in the southwest of England and East Anglia to more easily access the trial.

How to request this service

Contact our Industry team for advice if you are using NIHR services for the first time. 

If you have used our services before, use your account details to log in to (CPMS) and request our ‘Site Identification’ service. 

Need more help accessing this service? 

This service is part of the NIHR Study Support Service - a specific set of these tools and support to help you plan, place and deliver research. Our helpful 10-step user guide for our Study Support Service explains how to access the right support, at the right time. 

You may also find our Life Sciences Industry Learning Centre useful. It contains resources that will help you to understand and optimise support available via the NIHR Study Support Service. Log in to NIHR Learn with your existing Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS) details, or create a CPMS account.

What happens if I decide not to use this service?

If you choose not to use this service, and instead use pre-selected sites, you will still need to inform us about those sites in CPMS. Logging site details in CPMS is the only way you can generate site-level costs via the UK’s National Costing Value Review process.

If using pre-selected sites, ensure you are confident about their capacity and capability to deliver your research. 

The studies we support must have clear value to the NHS, as explained in our Eligibility Criteria. Studies that are not progressing can have a negative impact on NHS capacity to deliver other research. This can result in a breach of the Eligibility Criteria and NIHR support may be withdrawn. This approach enables resources to be reallocated to ensure the flow of research participation opportunities to patients is maintained.

In the UK new measures (.PDF) have been introduced which help us to work collaboratively with sponsors to monitor the progress of your research.

Further feasibility and site identification support from the NIHR

Ask clinical and delivery experts to review your protocol

Before seeking sites, access relevant experts to advise if your research will work in the UK health and care system. This free service has been designed for commercial sponsors to support your feasibility processes. The experts we engage may also indicate their interest in becoming an investigator for your research. 

Experience the benefits of selecting an NIHR Associate PI Scheme site

Register your study for the NIHR Associate PI Scheme as part of your site selection process. This will help us to train future investigators and build research capacity. Trainees are mentored by existing Principal Investigators. You will receive increased support at a site level.

Use our research activity data to inform your site selection

We collate real-time research activity data from across the UK. It helps us to optimise all the capacity in the system to deliver research quickly and efficiently. Learn how you can use this data to support your study feasibility, planning and placement.

Siteless, decentralised and out-of-hospital delivery

Our Agile Research Delivery Teams are experts at path-finding non-traditional approaches to research delivery. These teams of experienced professionals can span organisations, care settings, medical specialties and geographies. Explore our support for research delivery beyond the hospital.

Explore more support from the NIHR

This service is just one of the ways we help life science organisations. Visit our  NIHR support for industry page to discover our full range of support or explore all our services and support.

Suggested content

Customers also viewed:

• 10-step user guide for our Study Support Service
• Life Sciences Industry Learning Centre for the Study Support Service (on NIHR Learn)
• Feasibility: Ask NHS clinical experts to review your protocol
• Include an Associate Principal Investigator (PI) Scheme in your site selection
• Access research activity data to help plan your trial
• Deliver research beyond the hospital clinic
• Case studies of our support for industry

Contact the Industry team

Fill out our contact form to request a chat with our team. We aim to reply as soon as possible and always within two business days.

Contact the Industry team