The Network’s Operations Groups provide opportunities for professional development through peer-to-peer support, networking events, the creation of training and guidance materials and sharing learning and best practice.
Each Operations Group leads a programme of work with the aims of;
- Identifying challenges and developing solutions together
- Highlighting challenges which require a policy response
- Identifying opportunities to improve efficient trial conduct
- Sharing best practice and developing practical guidance on good research practice and quality standards for non-commercial trials
- Contributing to national and internationally led new initiatives within the clinical research community; and
- Representing the views of Registered CTUs.
The Operations Groups develop an annual programme of individual and cross-Group deliverables to support these aims. These deliverables are agreed with the UKCRC CTU Executive Group. The Operations Groups’ activities are underpinned by a set of General Terms of Reference along with Supplementary Terms of Reference which are specific to each Group.
Groups often set up sub- or working groups to deal with specific short-term projects such as the development of a discrete piece of guidance. You can find out a bit more about the currently active groups via the links below.

Statistics – Membership
Catherine Hewitt (Chair) – York Trials Unit
Natalie Rowland (Deputy Chair) – Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit
Mike Bradburn – Sheffield Clinical Trials Unit
Michele Robertson – Glasgow Clinical Trials Unit
Louise Stanton – Southampton Clinical Trials Unit
Graeme MacLennan – Centre for Healthcare Randomised Trials (CHaRT)
Statistics Operations Group Supplementary Terms of Reference

Information Systems – Membership
Amanda Bravery (Chair) – Imperial Clinical Trials Unit
Tim Chater (Deputy Chair) – Liverpool Clinical Trials Centre
Patrick Julier – Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit
Martin Pond – Norwich Clinical Trials Unit
Adam Barrett – Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit
Amanda Loban – Sheffield Clinical Trials Research Unit
John Turgoose – Hull Health Trials Unit
Information Systems Operations Group Supplementary Terms of Reference

Quality Assurance – Membership
Claire Johnson (Chair) – Centre for Trials Research
Nicole Gower (Deputy Chair) – CR UK and UCL Cancer Trials Centre
Gail Holland – Swansea Clinical Trials Unit
Chris Hayward – Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit
Sara Yeats – Southampton Clinical Trials Unit
Quality Assurance Operations Group Supplementary Terms of Reference

Trial Management – Membership
Emma Ogburn (Chair) – Oxford Primary Care & Vaccines Collaborative Clinical Trials Unit
Lucy Culliford (Deputy Chair) – Bristol Trials Centre
Claire Lawless – CaCTUS
Natalie Wakefield – UK Trial Managers’ Network Representative
Alexa Gillman – Institute of Cancer Research Clinical Trials & Statistics Unit
Ana Boshoff – Imperial Clinical Trials Unit
Denise Forshaw – Lancashire Clinical Trials Unit
Jaclyn Brown – Warwick Clinical Trials Unit
Trial Management Operations Group Supplementary Terms of Reference

Policy – Membership
Claire Snowdon (Chair) – Institute of Cancer Research Clinical Trials & Statistics Unit
Carrol Gamble (Deputy Chair) – Liverpool Clinical Trials Centre
Gill Booth – Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit
Nicky Perry – Brighton & Sussex Clinical Trials Unit