Public membership of the Health Technology Assessment (HTA)
Funding Boards
Is this role for you?
Please ask yourself the following questions for potential public members of our boards:
1. Do you have experience of participating in formal meetings, e.g. GP patient participation
group, school governor, ethics committee, charity trustee, company board of directors?
2. Do you have the time and the stamina for long meetings that can last up to two days?
We support board members with disabilities or access needs.
3. Can you commit to in-depth preparation for meetings? This would involve reading and
considering research proposals in detail and noting points for clarification?
4. Are you interested in a broad range of health and social care issues and research?
5. Do you have an active interest in current affairs relating to health; e.g. via TV, radio,
newspapers, or the internet?
6. Are you confident in using e-mail, the internet, and online information systems?
7. Have you worked in any of the following roles in the past four years?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Medical practitioner, nurse or allied health professional
Health service manager
Public Health Practitioner in health service or local authority
Academic health/medical researcher at doctoral level or above
8. Are you already a public member of a panel or board with NETSCC programmes (HTA,
EME, HS&DR, PHR)?
If you have answered YES to the first six questions - and NO to questions 7 & 8 then please
apply.
Please read on to find out more about the opportunities for public members.
1.
What the HTA Programme does
The HTA Programme funds independent research about the effectiveness, cost and
broader impact of healthcare treatments and tests for those who plan, provide or receive
care in the NHS. It identifies the most important questions that the NHS needs the answers
to by consulting widely with these groups, and commissions the research it thinks is most
important through different funding routes.
The commissioning workstream
The HTA Programme invites proposals on specific questions about health technologies that
have been prioritised by the programme. For primary research, expression of interest
proposals are invited in the first instance. For evidence synthesis, only full proposals are
called for. An invitation for proposals is advertised through various media outlets, including
the HTA Programme website. Standard documentation is provided along with a
commissioning brief for the topic in question.
The researcher-led workstream
The HTA Programme has an ongoing open call to researchers to submit applications for
funding of HTA primary research and evidence synthesis studies, with three closing dates
per year. Although researcher-led, this stream maintains a needs-led focus with an initial
prioritisation process to which all proposals are submitted. This selection process is
undertaken by the HTA Programme’s Prioritisation panels and the HTA Prioritisation Group
(PG), and identifies the proposals that are of greatest importance to patients and the NHS;
these then go forward to the HTA Board.
NIHR Themed calls
A second researcher-initiated funding stream is Themed Calls. In this instance, the NIHR
identifies and defines a broad clinical or technology area, and all programmes within the
NIHR invite proposals to undertake research on a topic of the researchers’ choosing within
this.
2.
The role of the boards and public members
The HTA boards are advisory committees (~23 participants) that assess applications
seeking Department of Health funding, for scientific merit, quality and value for money. All
HTA boards are responsible for making funding recommendations to the HTA Prioritisation
Group (PG).
The HTA Programme is seeking four public contributors; one to join the HTA Clinical
Evaluation and Trials (CET) board, one to join the HTA Commissioning board, and two to
join the HTA General Board. Where possible, the successful candidates with join another
public contributor who has already sat on the boards for a year.
Public members are involved in all aspects of the work of the board they join. Successful
public applicants join on equal footing with the clinical and academic members. Public
members have the key task of bringing a patient and/or public perspective to the
discussions. Please note that public members of NETSCC programmes panels and boards
may not serve on more than one board or panel at a time. If you are already a public
member of any NETSCC programme panel and board, please state which one on the
application form and indicate when your tenure in that role will come to an end.
To find out more about these meetings, including membership, please see the
following: http://www.hta.ac.uk/workwithhta/panelsandboards.shtml
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3.
Role description
1. To look at the board papers and proposals from the perspective of a member of the
public.
2. To regularly attend board meetings. The board meets face-to-face three times a year in
London and the meetings usually last for two days.
3. To prepare for board meetings by reading the agenda papers in advance and raising
any issues for clarification with the HTA secretariat staff or a mentor. The agenda and
associated papers are lengthy documents and will require considerable preparation
(approximately one day per day of board meeting).
4. To participate in voting during the meetings.
5. To liaise promptly with NETSCC secretariat staff regarding all administrative matters
relating to the board, e.g. expenses, meeting dates and confirming attendance.
6. To contribute to discussions and decision-making that take place during meetings,
based on experience and knowledge and on consideration of the papers provided.
7. To participate in appropriate training, development and support activities.
8. To declare any conflict of interest in accordance with the protocols of the board and as
instructed by the chair.
9. To maintain the confidentiality of agenda papers, discussion and decisions made.
4.
Terms and conditions of public board membership
Duration of role
The usual term of office is initially two years, with a possibility of extending to four years.
Payment
Public board members are entitled to receive a committee fee if they are not in receipt of a
full time salary from public funds during the period of their board membership. If a board
member wishes, their committee fee can be paid to their employing organisation. A daily
rate of £225 is paid which covers meeting attendance and preparation work required. The
fee will be paid by the University of Southampton. Public members are responsible for
paying appropriate income tax and National Insurance contributions and must make their
own arrangements for this.
Expenses
Public members can claim all reasonable expenses for standard class travel in connection
with their attendance at board meetings. On request, NETSCC secretariat staff will book
train tickets direct so that board members do not need to meet these costs in advance.
Board meetings always include refreshments throughout the day and lunch.
Support for board members
All necessary support will be put in place to support board members with disabilities, e.g.
hearing loop in meeting rooms, papers in alternative formats. All hotels and conference
centres used for board meetings are fully accessible for people with limited mobility. Board
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members who need the support and attendance of a carer will have the carer’s travel and
subsistence costs met by the programme.
Preparatory work and meeting attendance
HTA secretariat staff will ensure that board members are aware of meeting dates and the
schedule of pre-meeting work in good time. If a member is unable to attend three
consecutive meetings of the board, they may be asked to step down unless there are
exceptional circumstances. Board members unable to attend a meeting due to illness or
personal emergency should contact the NETSCC secretariat. Board members who live too
far from London to travel on the morning of the meeting may stay overnight beforehand and
this accommodation will be booked direct by HTA secretariat staff.
Declarations of interests
All board members are required to declare if they have any interest that might be in conflict
with the work of the HTA board, e.g. if you know someone in a research team personally, or
if you could gain financially if the research was funded. Board members who have a conflict
of interest are asked to leave the room during any discussions or decision on these projects
or issues.
5.
Person specification
Experience
• Experience of health services as a service user or carer.
• Participating in formal meetings, e.g. school governor, ethics committee, charity
trustee.
• Experience of assimilating a large volume of written information.
• Experience of reading and reviewing written documents.
• Experience of working as part of a team.
Knowledge
• An understanding of the importance of and need for health research.
• An active interest in current affairs relating to health, e.g. via TV, radio and
newspapers.
Skills
•
•
•
•
Confidence to contribute to group discussion.
Ability to contribute relevant and succinct information to discussion.
Ability to refer to personal experience appropriately in discussion.
Confident user of e-mail, internet and online information systems.
Personal Characteristics
• Passionate interest in improving health care services and provision.
• Willing to learn the skills of the role and develop as a board member.
• Ability to travel to venue of board meetings.
6.
7.
Contact
If you have any queries, please contact the PPI Team on 02380 599302 or
[email protected]
Useful dates
• The application closing date is Monday 20th March 2017.
• Telephone interviews will take place in May 2017.
• Successful candidates will be invited to attend a board meeting in July or September,
depending on which opportunity they are appointed to.
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