eprintid: 10205975 rev_number: 10 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/20/59/75 datestamp: 2025-03-13 15:35:07 lastmod: 2025-03-13 17:22:07 status_changed: 2025-03-13 15:35:07 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Levitas, A creators_name: Taylor, E creators_name: Navelle, PL creators_name: Humphreys, E creators_name: Sheringham, J title: Local authorities need tailored research ethics processes to support research capacity building ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: D12 divisions: G21 keywords: Research ethics, Research governance, Local authorities, Public health, Research capacity building note: © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). abstract: BACKGROUND: Local authorities (LAs) are increasingly aiming to become more research active. Research ethics review is an important prerequisite of high-quality research. It is not clear what a LA ethics review process can (or should) look like, or whether it is needed in addition to external review processes. We aim to describe the scope and purpose of research ethics processes in LAs across England, and factors that are salient to their design. STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative interview study. METHODS: Staff from 15 LAs in England were recruited to describe their research ethics process using purposeful and snowball sampling. One-hour interviews were conducted using a topic guide with five scenarios, drawn from LA projects. Interview transcripts were thematically analysed using a consensus building process among the research team. RESULTS: Factors salient to the design of research ethics processes in LAs included: definitions of research, research ownership, and the distinct relationship LAs have with research participants. A typology with four models is used to describe existing processes. These models are: No Process; The Assurance Model (where LAs assure an external ethics committee has reviewed projects); The Advice Model (where there is no formal review, but ethical considerations are made through formal and informal advice); and The Review Model (where LAs establish their own formal internal ethics committees). These typologies emerged from divergent understandings of the role of research in LAs and can reflect varied views of research as an activity “done to a local authority”, “done with a local authority” or “owned by a local authority”. DISCUSSION: Research ethics processes in LAs need to reflect various LA approaches to what constitutes research, who owns the research process, and how a LAs relationship with research participants may vary from other settings. As LAs continue articulating what research means in their setting, they need support and guidance to establish research ethics processes that enable research activity, while simultaneously being sensitive to the level of research readiness and distinct LA need. date: 2025-06 date_type: published publisher: ELSEVIER official_url: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2025.100587 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 2360121 doi: 10.1016/j.puhip.2025.100587 lyricists_name: Sheringham, Jessica lyricists_id: JSHER91 actors_name: Sheringham, Jessica actors_id: JSHER91 actors_role: owner funding_acknowledgements: NIHR151399 [NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration Islington]; NIHR150727 [Health Determinants Research Collaboration Tower Hamlets]; [DHSC Clinical Research Network North Thames capacity building for public health]; [National Institute for Health and Care Research ARC North Thames] full_text_status: public publication: Public Health in Practice volume: 9 article_number: 100587 pages: 6 issn: 2666-5352 citation: Levitas, A; Taylor, E; Navelle, PL; Humphreys, E; Sheringham, J; (2025) Local authorities need tailored research ethics processes to support research capacity building. Public Health in Practice , 9 , Article 100587. 10.1016/j.puhip.2025.100587 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2025.100587>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10205975/7/Sheringham_1-s2.0-S2666535225000060-main.pdf