Researcher Voices Working Agreement

Introduction

The aim of UK Biobank is to enable scientific discoveries that improve human health.

Integrating the views and opinions of researchers in our work, along with the views and opinions of participants and other sources of expertise, helps us to achieve that aim. It ensures our data and platforms are relevant, our policies and processes are appropriate and understandable to researchers, participants and the wider public. It also helps us to provide a better experience for researchers, and to communicate in ways that are accessible and engaging.

Our Researcher Voices group plays an important role in ensuring feedback from researchers is taken into account when we plan and design our work.

Researcher Voices has been set up for an initial trial period until December 2026, after which point the work of the group will be reviewed and evaluated.

Remit of Researcher Voices

The purpose of the group is to gain researchers’ views and opinions on what we do and to provide more opportunities for researchers to give us feedback on our work. This ensures that UK Biobank is shaped by the real experiences and views of its researchers.

Members of Researcher Voices are asked for their feedback on different aspects of UK Biobank’s work. This might include:

• Providing feedback on data, data types, formats.  
• Providing feedback on our website, newsletters and communications.
• Reviewing and giving feedback on training materials or courses.
• Testing new functionality or tools.
• Providing feedback on our processes and policies.

Researcher Voices are involved when there is genuine scope to influence UK Biobank’s work.

Membership

Membership is open to all UK Biobank researchers who have a registered Access Management System (AMS) Account. Researchers can join and opt-out of membership via their AMS profile at any time. We aim to have a diverse representation of all researchers, from all research interests and all types of institutions globally.

Commitment

It is anticipated that members are contacted by UK Biobank with requests for feedback approximately every one to three months. Most requests will take under an hour to complete. Members can respond to as many or as few requests for feedback as they like.

Members are usually asked to read a document or complete a questionnaire, then return their feedback via email or by filling in a feedback form.

Most communication with members of Researcher Voices takes place via email or via a video call. There are no regular meetings of the group. However, members might be invited to attend a webinar or an in-person meeting if there is a topic that needs in-depth explanation or discussion.

Members are expected to provide feedback in a constructive and respectful manner.  Members are asked to be generous in sharing ideas and views. All views are welcome – there are no right or wrong answers. Members are also asked to keep responses relevant to the purpose of the email and avoid off-topic discussions or promotional content.

The group may be invited to attend events relating to UK Biobank, such as our annual scientific conference in London. These invitations are entirely voluntary.

Expenses

Membership is on a voluntary basis, and members are not reimbursed for the time they spend on activities relating to Researcher Voices. Occasionally, we may invite you to take part in an in-person workshop or focus group, and reasonable expenses will be reimbursed.

Point of contact

Members are invited to contact staff through the Researcher Voices mailbox: researchervoices@ukbiobank.ac.uk if they have any queries or concerns.

Confidentiality

Members should treat all information received whilst they are a member of Researcher Voices as confidential. Confidential information should not be disclosed to anyone outside of Researcher Voices. This applies during a member’s time in Researcher Voices and when they are no longer a member.

Any confidential documents and emails from UK Biobank should be saved on a password-protected personal device or in another secure location. Any confidential documents and emails should be deleted, destroyed or returned when they are no longer a member.

The need for confidentiality ends if the information becomes available to the public more generally.

Members may be asked to sign individual confidentiality agreements in the event that UK Biobank shares particularly sensitive information, or confidential information that is not yet publicly available for the purpose of gathering feedback from researchers.

Data Privacy

The way that UK Biobank collects, uses and protects any personal information provided by members as part of their contributions to Researcher Voices is set out in UK Biobank's privacy policy: https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/privacy-policy.

Conflicts of interest

Other than by virtue of being a UK Biobank approved researcher, we would ask that if you, your spouse, partner or children, have any interests such as:

• relationships with any organisations that provide funding to UK Biobank;
• roles or investments in healthcare companies; and/or
• their main job and any other appointments (such as trustee positions)

you let us know via email: researchervoices@ukbiobank.ac.uk. Any potential conflicts of interest are normally resolved by declaring the interest and, if necessary, excluding the particular member from certain activities.