## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the Period**
## **From: 1 May 2024 to 30[th] April 2025**
## **Charity Name: Research and Development Forum**
## **Charity Registration Number: 1189876**
## **Objectives and Activities:**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document.|Para 1.17|The advancement of education and
learning in research and development for
the health and social care community in
England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern
Ireland. This will have public benefit in
improving the quality and effectiveness of
health and social care research.|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or
services identified in the
accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|The main activity carried out by the CIO is
to provide financial support for members of
the community to engage in education and
learning, which is of benefit to UK health
and social care research.
Examples of financial support include:
contributions to cover costs for community
members to attend conferences;
contributions to costs for trustees, working
group chairs and/or co-chairs to represent
the community on national working groups
that influence policy with bodies including
the Department of Health and Social Care
(DHSC), the Health Research Authority
(HRA), NHS England (NHSE) and the
National Institute for Health and Care
Research (NIHR); contributions to costs to
facilitate partnering with other organisations
and groups across the UK who support
health and social care research; and
providing funding to cover the essential
infrastructure needed to facilitate these
interactions.
The trustees remain cautious in its
approach in its awards. This is due to the
ongoing changes in the UK health and
social care research system, impacted by
changes in national policy, systems and
structures.
The trustees are mindful of the inherent
risks of such uncertainty, and this cautious
approach is one way of mitigating such
risk.|
||||
|---|---|---|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit.|Para 1.18|The trustees have regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity Commission on
public benefit.
The CIO funded activities, governance and
oversight support a UK-wide community
that works together to improve the quality
and effectiveness of UK health and social
care research which has impact on
people’s lives.
Equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging
are at the forefront of all decision-making
for the CIO, as involvement and
engagement in UK health and social care
research must not be exclusive.|
**Additional information (Optional):** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant making.|Para 1.38|N/A|
|Policy on social investment
including programme related
investment.|Para 1.38|N/A|
|Contribution made by
volunteers.|Para 1.38|Through the CIO, we have a number of
peer-led working groups that provide peer
support in topics such as research finance,
contracting, data and AI and settings.
These working groups are organic in that
they are formed where there is an identified
need to bring the community together
around specific topics. Members of the
working groups are recognised across the
UK health and social care research system
as experts in their field, often invited to be
part of national consultations and projects.
Working groups are chaired and co-chaired
by volunteers from the R&D community. To
recognise their generosity in giving up their
time, sharing their expertise, promoting the
work of the CIO and leading by example,
they are offered either a funded place at
the annual conference or a place on one of
our training programmes.
The volunteers add value and are highly
valued by the CIO, and without their
support, the CIO would not be where it is
today.|
|Other.||N/A|
## **Achievements and Performance:**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|Through the activities of RDF Professional
Development Limited, the CIO’s trading
arm, we delivered the largest ever in-
person conference to date as well as
training opportunities across the UK health
and social care research community.
The annual conference held in Wales in
May 2024 built on the success of the 2023
conference with over 850 delegates from
across the UK health and social care
research system. It also received record
levels of abstracts, with the UK health and
social care research community keen to
share their work.
We used the conference to announce 4
new trustees, who took up their roles in
June 2024. This increased the number of
trustees from 6 to 10.
The collective skills, experience and
knowledge of the trustees now cover the
breadth and depth of health and social care
research across the UK and is
representative of the community it serves.
The May 2024 conference was also the
first one where we were able to offer
funding to cover costs of attendance for
those in volunteer roles. We also
introduced a paid place for a new entrant to
UK research and development to
encourage attendance from under-
represented groups. Both were well
received and will also be made available
for May 2025 conference.
In the year, we offered 14 different training
courses, covering 8 topic areas, delivered
either in person or online. These courses
attracted 267 registrations, and the
feedback was very positive. As part of our
commitment continuous improvement, the
feedback is acted upon to ensure we are
meeting the needs, through our training
offer, of the community the CIO is there to
support.
We continue to buy in specialist
administrative and co-ordination support for
the CIO from the UK health and social care
research system. This investment has been
instrumental in developing our social media
presence and building our HIVE Mind – a
peer-led and supported network from
across the UK with over 300 members|
which shares best practice, peer support and information in a supportive way. Its monthly online session regularly has over 50 attendees. The role has also been key in reaching out to underserved groups through improving our visibility across a number of platforms. Our working groups are regularly invited to be part of national policy reviews and updates, ensuring the voice of the community is at the table, has influence, and is being heard. For example, the Research Finance Working Group has been working with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) to improve transparency and incentives for commercial research in the NHS, the Research Contracting Working Group has been involved in the Four Nations Research Contracting Group to develop new model contracts and agreements, and the Data and AI Working Group has been working with the Research Delivery Data Intelligence Programme (RDDI) to inform their work.
## **Additional Information (Optional):**
|You may choose to include further statements|You may choose to include further statements|where relevant about:|
|---|---|---|
|Achievements against
objectives set.|Para 1.41|N/A|
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set.|Para 1.41|N/A|
|Investment performance
against objectives.|Para 1.41|N/A|
|Other.||N/A|
## **Financial Review:**
|**Financial Review:**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period.|Para 1.21|Following the transfer of a large
contingency from the trading subsidiary, the
success of the 2023 conference in the
previous financial year, the increased
business and engagement of the CIO
volunteers in the current year, the
movement in reserves was planned
Financial sustainability is a priority for the
trustees, and we are putting in place
greater scrutiny of the direct and overhead
costs of our trading activities, as any
surplus from them is used to achieve our
objectives.|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held.|Para 1.22|Sustainability of the CIO and meeting the
needs of the community is a high priority for
the trustees. The UK health and social care
research system is in a state of flux, and
financial pressures in the system can
impact on their ability to investment in its
workforce through education and learning –
our main source of income.
To ensure the CIO is able to function,
should there be a material reduction in our
income, resulting from the funding
challenges in and across the UK health and
social care research system, reserves to
cover 12 months operating costs will be
held as a mitigation.|
|Amount of reserves held.|Para 1.22|£381,575|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves.|Para 1.22|N/A|
|Details of fund materially in
deficit.|Para 1.24|N/A|
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern.|Para 1.23|Longevity for the CIO is a high priority, and
part of planning for this is a prudent
approach to financial management and
maintaining a level of reserves that would
allow the CIO to function without any new
income for a period of 12 months.
Training and conferences continue to be
well attended, and through active
monitoring and feedback loops, we respond
to the needs of our community. We are also
involved in national discussions with
funders and policy makers to ensure we
respond the needs of the wider UK health
and social care research system,
highlighting the CIO is self-sustaining and,
that in the current environment, this is a|
risk. Having such honest and transparent discussions is essential to our operations.
|**Additional Information (Optional):**
You may choose to include further statements|**Additional Information (Optional):**
You may choose to include further statements|
where relevant about:|
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising).|Para 1.47|Surplus from the annual conference and
training activity**.**|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted.|Para 1.46|N/A|
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity.|Para 1.46|The annual conference in May 2025 not
generating forecast surplus and training
planned during late 2025 and into 2026
may not realise funds anticipated.|
|Other.||N/A|
## **Structure, Governance and Management:**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing
document.|Para 1.25|Research and Development Forum
Constitution.|
|How is the charity
constituted?|Para 1.25|Charitable Incorporated Organisation.|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees.|Para 1.25|For vacancies on the Board of Trustees, we
have openly advertised, highlighting, where
necessary, any specific skills, knowledge or
experience that we feel is required. This is
informed through the skills matrix we have,
which is reviewed on an annual basis.
The Constitution allows up to 12 trustees,
and at the end of this reporting period, we
have 10 in post. We will be ensuring, as is
good practice, to have a staggered
approach to replacement, thus ensuring
continuity on the Board.
As we become more mature, more
representative of the community we serve
and more future-focussed, we will become
more targeted in our recruitment of
trustees.
All trustees are part of the recruitment and
selection process for any additional or
replacement trustees.|
## **Additional Information (Optional):** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction
and training of trustees.|Para 1.51|New trustees will be directed to the:
•
Charity Commission’s ‘Roles and
Responsibilities of trustees’ guidance
•
Constitution.
•
Trustees annual report and financial
statements
•
Previous minutes of the trustee
meetings
New trustees will be given:
•
Full access to dedicated shared
platform for CIO business (Future NHS)
•
Ongoing peer support from current
trustees|
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works.|Para 1.51|The CIO has a Board of 10 trustees from
across the UK, with 1 of the trustees acting
as Chair. The Board is supported by a part-
time co-ordinator.
The Board meets monthly, online, and has
a clear agenda, from which minutes and
actions are taken and progressed.|
|||The Board operates under a Compact,
informed by the Nolan Principles, setting
the expected behaviours of how the
trustees and co-ordinator will work together,
as well as with key stakeholders.
Every quarter, the Board meets online with
the Chairs and Co-Chairs of the working
groups to ensure there is good
communication flows between and across
them all groups.
The culture is one where every voice
matters, and these voices inform decisions
made.
The CIO does not directly employ any staff
- it buys in services needed to allow it to
run, both at an operational and strategic
level.|
|---|---|---|
|Relationship with any
related parties.|Para 1.51|The CIO has a trading subsidiary – RDF
Professional Development Limited, through
which it offers conferences, symposia, and
training and development opportunities to
the UK health and social care research
community. An annual charitable donation
is made from the trading subsidiary to the
CIO to enable it to achieve its charitable
objects.
The trading subsidiary is supported via a
virtual office for its activities and the
relationship and has its own, separate,
Board of Directors.|
|Other.||N/A|
## **Reference and Administrative Details:**
|Charity name:|Research and Development Forum|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses:|N/A|
|Registered charity number:|1189876|
|Charity’s principal address:|39 Mill Crescent
Hebburn
Tyne and Wear
NE31 1UG|
**Names of the Charity Trustees Who Manage the Charity:**
|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for**
**whole year**|**Name of person (or**
**body) entitled to**
**appoint trustee (if**
**any)**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Angela Topping|Chair|||
|Carolyn Maloney||||
|Dipak Patel|Treasurer|From March 2025||
|Margaret Cooper|Treasurer|To February2025||
|Mark Brandon-Grove||From June 2024||
|Philippa Brice||From June 2024||
|Rachel Gemine||From June 2024||
|Sean Scott||||
|Shahista Hussain||||
|Shona Haining||||
## **Corporate Trustees – Names of the Directors at the Date the Report Was Approved:**
|**Was Approved: **||
|---|---|
|**Director name**|**Dates acted if not for whole year**|
|N/A||
## **Name of Trustees Holding Title to Property Belonging to The Charity:**
|**Charity:**||
|---|---|
|**Trustee name**|**Dates acted if not for whole year**|
|N/A||
## **Funds Held as Custodian Trustees on Behalf of Others:**
Description of the assets N/A held in this capacity. Name and objects of the N/A charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects. Details of arrangements for N/A safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets.
## **Additional Information (optional):**
Names and addresses of advisers (optional information):
**Type of adviser Name Address** N/A
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (optional information):
N/A
## **Exemptions From Disclosure:**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details:
N/A
## **Other Optional Information:**
N/A
## **Declarations:**
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity trustees:
Signature(s): **Full name(s):** Angela Topping **Position:** Chair **Date:** 10.02.2026
||**Research and Development Forum**
**Charity Name**|**Research and Development Forum**
**Charity Name**|**Research and Development Forum**
**Charity Name**|**No (if any)**|**No (if any)**|**No (if any)**|**CC16a**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**For the period**
**from**|1-May-24
Period start date|**To**||30-Apr-25
Period end date|||
|||||||||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**||||||||
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest**
**£**
**50,000**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**50,000**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**50,000**
**3,701**
**41,965**
**13,000**
**14,454**
**29,154**
**4**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**102,278**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**102,278**
**- 52,278**
**-**
**433,852**
**381,574**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**||**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**50,000**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**50,000**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**50,000**
**3,701**
**41,965**
**13,000**
**14,454**
**29,154**
**4**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**102,278**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**102,278**
**- 52,278**||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|Transfer of funds trom tradingactivities|**50,000**||||||**366,257**|
||**-**||||||**-**|
||**-**||||||**-**|
||**-**||||||**-**|
||**-**||||||**-**|
||**-**||||||**-**|
||**-**||||||**-**|
||**-**||||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_|**50,000**||||||**366,257**|
|||||||||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**||||||||
||**-**|||||||
||**-**||||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**|**-**||||||**-**|
|**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**||||||||
||||||||**366,257**|
|||||||||
|Expenses|**3,701**||||||**2,143**|
|External Services - Co-ordination|**41,965**||||||**193**|
|External Services - Oversight|**13,000**||||||**-**|
|Grant Funding- RDF24 Contribution|**14,454**||||||**-**|
|Grant Funding- RDF25 Contribution|**29,154**||||||**-**|
|Postage|**4**||||||**-**|
||**-**||||||**-**|
||**-**||||||**-**|
||**-**||||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_ **|**102,278**||||||**2,336**|
|||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**||||||||
||**-**|||||||
||**-**|||||||
|**_Sub total_ **|**-**||||||**-**|
|**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**||||||||
||||||||**2,336**|
|||||||||
||**- 52,278**|**-**|**-**||**- 52,278**||**363,921**|
||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**||**-**|
||**433,852**|**-**|**-**||**433,852**||**69,931**|
||**381,574**|**-**|**-**||**381,574**||**433,852**|
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
1
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at**|**the end of the period**||
|---|---|---|---|
|**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**|Signature
**Details**
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**381,574**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**381,574**
**-**
OK
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
Angela Topping|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||OK|
||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of
approval|
|||Angela Topping|10/02/2026|
|||||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
2
## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts**
## **Section A Independent Examiner’s Report**
|**Report to the trustees/**
**members of**
**On accounts for the year**
**ended**
**Set out on pages**|Charity Name
Research and Development Forum|Charity Name
Research and Development Forum|Charity Name
Research and Development Forum|
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
||2024/25|**Charity no**
**(if any)**|1189876|
|||||
||(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)|||
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 30/04/2024.
**Responsibilities and** As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation **basis of report** of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
**Independent** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have **examiner's statement** come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: *accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or *the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
* _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._
**Date:** 12th February 2026 **Signed: Name:** Averil Armstrong **Relevant professional** Fellow Chartered Management Accountant (FCMA) **qualification(s) or body (if any):** 5 Dene Terrace West Wylam **Address:** Northumberland NE41 8AZ
**October 2018**
1
**IER**
IER
October 2018