The self-assessment of organisational readiness tool (SORT) and accompanying guide, published by NHS England, provides a framework for organisations to assess - and develop - their research capacity within nursing and wider health and care practice.
Health and care organisations who complete the tool are asked to review their organisation against a series of forty-four statements, providing evidence to illustrate their answers. This assessment uses a matrix to evaluate organisations’ level of research maturity and the scale of support currently available for nurses undertaking research. Organisations are then asked to create an improvement plan to better implement research within their nursing practice.
The publication of the SORT self-assessment follows the Chief Nursing Officer for England’s (CNO) ambitious strategic plan for research, which aims to create a people-centred research environment that empowers nurses to lead, participate in and deliver research in order to benefit patient care.
Professor Parveen Ali, Professor Julie McGarry and Professor Joanne Cooke from the University of Sheffield’s School of Allied Health Professions, Nursing and Midwifery, led the development of the toolkit alongside colleagues from NHS England, the third sector and other healthcare professionals involved in research.
Professor Ali said: “Health and care organisations across England are in varying stages of preparedness when it comes to successfully supporting nurses to embed research within their day-to-day practice. Carrying out a SORT assessment is an important first step for organisations to see what structures, processes and type of support is needed to develop research capacity and capability among nurses, and to recognise achievements and celebrate successes."
We’ve specifically designed SORT to align with organisations’ equality, diversity and inclusion strategies, to make sure that all individuals in the communities we serve have equitable access to health and care research opportunities, and the benefits this can bring.
Professor Parveen Ali
Professor of Nursing and Gender Based Violence
Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: “[The] publication of SORT is a significant milestone in the implementation of the Chief Nursing Officer for England’s strategic plan for research, helping organisations to achieve success in supporting nurses to undertake the full spectrum of research as common practice.”