Guidance for collaborators

Guidance and conditions for collaborators on the Born in Bradford programme

Use of existing data or existing biological samples

  1. Requests for existing data and biological samples will be reviewed, prioritised and authorised by the BiB Executive Group. The Investigator should complete an outline proforma available on the Born in Bradford website (borninbradford.nhs.uk) and submit borninbradford@bthft.nhs.uk
  2. Any new data derived from the BiB cohort (interview, physical measurements, new variables derived from existing data) must be lodged with the BiB database at the end of the project (or at any time at the request of the BiB Director). The nested study Principal Investigator must supply adequate documentation concerning new variables (including statistical programs) to permit their use in future analyses of the data.
  3. The Investigator must notify the BiB Director of any potential errors discovered whilst using BiB data or biological samples.
  4. Any residues of biological samples or excess materials must be returned to BTHFT or to the Bristol Bioresource Laboratory, whichever is the originating laboratory, within 6 months of the completion of the research. The expense of transferring both from and back to the BiB site must be met by the applicants.

Collection of new data or new biological samples

In addition to the Guidance for existing data or samples, Investigators collecting new data or samples are expected to adhere to the following Guidance:

  1. Full proposals must be reviewed by the BiB Executive Group prior to submission for funding. The Investigator should complete an outline proforma available on the Born in Bradford website (borninbradford.nhs.uk) and submit to borninbradford@bthft.nhs.uk.
  2. The Investigator should ensure that there is genuine local research partnership and where appropriate a strong link to practitioners to promote translation of findings into practice.
  3. The Investigator will be required to meet additional costs (administrative, data management, laboratory etc) that are incurred by the Born in Bradford programme for new data and sample collection. Where a new grant will be submitted to fund the study, the final copy of the grant including the finances must be sent to the BiB Director for approval at least two weeks before the submission date.
  4. Researchers working on new studies will be employed wherever possible by the Born in Bradford programme in order to promote efficient integration, good research governance and research capacity-building locally.
  5. In addition to the review by an appropriate ethics committee, researchers will be expected to obtain review and advice from relevant patient/public involvement groups, including Born in Bradford’s parent governors group. Please contact the BiB Community Engagement Officer for advice on the most appropriate form of PPI (borninbradford@bthft.nhs.uk).
  6. The Born in Bradford Executive Group will act as data guardians and provide peer review for the scientific merit of research ideas and the use of the collected data and biological samples.

Governance and intellectual property

  1. The BiB Director will be responsible for the design and conduct of the Born in Bradford platform study, ethical approval and compliance with research governance requirements. The Investigators will be responsible for the governance of their specific study.
  2. Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust is the Sponsor of the project.
  3. Intellectual Property developed from the Born in Bradford platform study will be owned by Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust. We will consider dividing intellectual property rights where collaborators will be making a particular contribution. Any such division must be considered and agreed before the collaboration starts.

Publications and reports

  1. We would like to have all work linked to Born in Bradford to be easily identified, including in electronic searches.  We encourage collaborators to include Born in Bradford in article titles e.g. Obesity in a bi-ethnic population: a Born in Bradford study. If this is not possible then authors should include Born in Bradford as a keyword and in the abstract. A protocol and cohort description of the study [1, 2] and BiB 1000 study [3] have been published and should be referred to in all methods sections
  2. Authorship on papers must follow standard practice that all authors must have made a substantial contribution to the conception and design of the study, or analysis and interpretation of data, and drafting the paper. In a long running study such as Born in Bradford there are likely to be a number of people whose work makes production of a paper possible but who may not meet authorship criteria. In such cases we encourage the use of the contributorship (see BMJ guidelines).
  3. The Investigator should agree authorship guidelines with their team and collaborators at the start of any new research project to avoid later disputes. Studies where new data or biological samples will be collected should have a local (Bradford) investigator in the study team.
  4. The following acknowledgement must be included in all papers using BiB data:

“Born in Bradford is only possible because of the enthusiasm and commitment of the children and parents in BiB. We are grateful to all the participants, health professionals, schools and researchers who have made Born in Bradford happen.”

For papers using Born in Bradford GP primary care data, the following additional acknowledgement must be included:

“We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of TPP and the TPP ResearchOne team in completing study participant matching to GP primary care records and in providing ongoing informatics support.”

5. When a paper or abstract is ready to be submitted authors will be required to submit a copy (in confidence) to the BiB Director for review by the BiB Executive Group. All papers will be reviewed within two weeks of receipt to check confidentiality is protected; to ensure that the paper will not bring the study into disrepute; to try to identify overlap with other papers published or in preparation. Advice and feedback will be offered to authors where we feel this may be helpful.

6. Born in Bradford is committed to the translation of research into practice. All authors are required to send the BiB Director a summary of key policy and commissioning  implications from their analysis upon conclusion of their project.

7. Collaborators must send copies of the final submitted draft and an electronic copy of the final published version to the BiB Director. All press releases on research arising from the study must be approved by the BiB Director.

Contact

Please send all enquiries via email to borninbradford@bthft.nhs.uk.

Reference

  1. Born in Bradford Collaborative Group. Born in Bradford, a cohort study of babies born in Bradford and their parents: protocol for recruitment phase. BMC Public Health 2008; 8:327 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-8-327
  2. Wright, J., Small, N., Raynor, P., Tuffnell, D., Bhopal, R., Cameron, N., Fairley, L., Lawlor, D.A., Parslow, R., Petherick, E.S., Pickett, K.E., Waiblinger, D., & West, J, on behalf of the Born in Bradford Scientific Collaborators Group (2012). Cohort profile: The Born in Bradford multi-ethnic family cohort study. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2012; 1-14 doi:10.1093/ije/dys112
  3. Bryant M, Santorelli G, Fairley L, West J, Lawlor DA, Bhopal R, Petherick E, Sahota P, Hill A, Cameron N, Small N, Wright J. Design and characteristics of a new birth cohort, to study the early origins and ethnic variation of childhood obesity: the BiB1000 study Longitudinal and Life Course Studies 2013 4(2) 119-135 doi:10.14301/llcs.v4i2.221