Designated Safeguarding Contact Role Description

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The Designated Safeguarding Contact (DSC) is a key role within a research team who is the main point of contact for receiving details of safeguarding concerns or incidents reported by anyone who has come into contact with the research or innovation activity, and ensuring they are escalated appropriately, in line with the university’s 

Preventing Harm in Research and Innovation (Safeguarding) Policy

A Designated Safeguarding Contact is required for studies that involve one or more of the following:

  • human participants, personal data or human tissue;
  • external partner organisations;
  • engaging with and/or coming into contact with and/or impacting upon members of the public, communities and/or other stakeholders (even where they are not directly participating in the research).

The DSC could be the Principal Investigator, or someone they nominate from the research team. For student projects, the DSC should normally be a supervisor, not the student themselves. 

The DSC should work with other research team members to agree an action plan for handling reported safeguarding concerns, giving consideration to how details of reporting mechanisms will be communicated to those who may need to use them. For research participants, details should be included in a participant information sheet.

The primary focus of the role is to:

  • Deal with reported safeguarding concerns in an impartial, timely and fair manner, which protects the rights of those involved, and ensures that appropriate action is taken.
  • Where possible, address any immediate safety concerns and/or offer appropriate immediate support to the person raising the concern, in accordance with the action plan.
  • Obtain as much information as possible regarding the reported concern, whilst also acting sensitively and providing reassurance regarding the process that will be undertaken for handling the report. Where possible, information regarding the action that the person reporting the concern would like to see taken in response to the concern (and also any actions that they would prefer not to be taken) should be sought, so that this can be considered as a central concern in addressing the matter.
  • Offer support to those who report concerns or incidents, as far as reasonably possible, bearing in mind the limitations of project resourcing (e.g. signposting them to relevant support services; offering to accompany them to report a matter to the Police).
  • Maintain the highest level of confidentiality relating to individual cases and share information only as necessary to safeguard individuals.
  • Notify the PI/supervisors for the study (unless they are the subject of the concern), and the Head of School, as soon as reasonably practicable so that steps can be taken to prevent or limit any immediate or or-going risks of harm (for example pausing the research & innovation activity), and to enable the matter to be investigated.
  • Notify the Research Ethics & Integrity Manager in Research, Partnerships & Innovation (Lindsay Unwin; l.v.unwin@sheffield.ac.uk) so that advice can be sought regarding the appropriate next steps.

Where there is a greater than average risk of the research team identifying safeguarding concerns (e.g. where research focuses on sensitive topics, where researchers will be visiting participants’ homes, or in research involving children, young people or adults at risk) consideration should be given to whether  the Designated Safeguarding Contact (and other members of the research team) should undertake the safeguarding training provided by the University or external organisations such as the NSPCC. 

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