Strategy
ALRSGBI Research Strategy 2026
Context
Background and Rationale
ALRSGBI is a national organisation with an evolving international presence through strong professional links with other organisations sharing the mission of widening access to minimally invasive surgical practice and training. The membership of the Association is generic and not limited by specialist practice conferring upon it a wide scope. The Association has an established Academy which has membership and leadership from surgical trainees. Another advantage the Association enjoys is that the membership is, by nature, technology savvy with a niche in minimally invasive surgical techniques.
The current predominant focus and role of the Association is in Education, wherein, in combination with the Academy, the Association delivers a significant and wide range of activities in the form of Webinars, Courses, Podcasts and other educational outputs including a well-established Annual Conference.
Research is another area of interest for the Association and there is much potential to fully exploit available resources in the Association towards establishing a presence in Academia to render it as the Leading authority in the field of Minimally Invasive Surgery, at least for General Surgery, with the possibility of widening this reach.
Plan
Proposal
Population Based Research
- Establish an annual/biennial Population Based research study/output on topics related to MIS
- Include a structured process to allow streamlining and automating this activity for the future
- Strong partnership with Academy (including establishing an Academy research wing overseeing operations)
- Publish output using a Collaborative Authorship model
Use of REDCap
- Most UK based trainees familiar
- Open source resource
- Nominal funding will be required
- To be based out of a clinical research unit, potentially UoA (Aberdeen) to begin with
- Currently host REDCap and deliver operational support to National Collaborative studies
- Shafaque Shaikh has good working relationship with the Applied Health Sciences team at UoA
Annual Conference Research Session
- Showcase above activity in a dedicated ALRSGBI Research session in Annual Conference
- Reputational Value and attract more membership through publicity
- Demonstrate value through opportunities provided
Training in MIS Research
- Establish practice of a ‘Training in MIS’ related research output
- Area of unmet research need
- Partnership with Academy
- Utilise numerous training activities to generate data/participants
- Variable format depending on topic: Qualitative, Survey, Interventional, etc.
- Annual/biennial output and publish findings
Tech & Surgical Innovations Test Bed
- Explore opportunity for Tech/Surgical innovations test bed
- National reach and wide practice scope
- Potential for quick turnaround
Funding Grant for Research
- Continue to fund grant for research
- Invite new ideas/projects
- Reputational Value
Governance & Risk
Important Considerations and Potential Risks
Governance & Accountability
- A formal Research Committee structure with defined roles: ALRSGBI Director of Research, ALRS Academy Research Lead, ALTS research rep, Data Lead, Project leads
- Monthly meetings of Research Committee to execute business
- Project lead to be identified for each research project by Research Committee
- Report by Director of Research at each Council meeting on KPIs
- Governance structure liaising with the Academy
Indicative KPIs
- Number of studies delivered
- Publications/presentations
- Trainee engagement metrics
- External collaborations
- Impact on practice or training standards
- Guidelines and informing policy
Ethics & Sponsorship
Ethics
- Each project will have different requirements for ethics approval and other relevant permissions
- The Research Committee will be responsible for identifying and obtaining relevant ethical approvals for each project
Sponsorship
- Sponsorship for each project will depend upon the primary academic organisation hosting the project
- Could be the organisation employing the Project Lead/Principal Investigator or another organisation identified by the Research Committee
- For Industry/Commercial Research: organisation employing the Lead Investigator, to be discussed and agreed upon at outset
Regulatory Pathway
- Data governance and GDPR will be primarily the responsibility of the Data Lead along with all members of the Research Committee
- In case of multicentre studies, local governance regulations and requirements must be clearly identified and complied with by teams from participating centres
Funding Strategy
- Initial funding of £1,000 will be required for access to REDCap for multicentre studies — source to be discussed at Council meeting
- Dedicated small research fund from ALRSGBI to be created or confirmed
- National funding avenues and charity funding is an option for higher levels of funding, e.g. pump priming grants
- Industry funding an option where appropriate and must be agreed upon in ALRSGBI Council
Roadmap
Strategic Recommendations
Short Term
0–12 Months
- Approve creation of an ALRSGBI Research & Innovation Committee
- Formalise MoU with University of Aberdeen (hosting, governance, REDCap SOPs)
- Deliver one flagship national collaborative study (training-focused)
- Launch a dedicated Research Session at the Annual Conference
Medium Term
1–3 Years
- Establish ALRSGBI as the go-to UK collaborative for MAS training research, similar to what EAES does
- Expand beyond General Surgery where appropriate
- Introduce competitive ALRSGBI Research Grants
- Position ALRSGBI as a test-bed partner for surgical technology evaluation
Long Term
3–5 Years
- Achieve recognition as a national academic voice in MAS
- Generate data influencing training curricula
- Generate data influencing credentialing frameworks
- Generate data influencing technology adoption pathways