1. Managing a NITCAR Project: Perils and Pitfalls
Experiences from the HOODINI Project
Damian MAwer

2. Areas of Project Management
Starting out
Setting up
Keeping going
Finishing off

3. Starting out: Identify the research question(s)
Think carefully about your research question(s)
Identify an area that interests you… and others
Do the background reading
Talk to the experts
Generate questions
Focus on one
Think carefully about your question(s)
Do a lot of background reading – try to understand the subject area
Speak to the expert(s)
Pick one that interests you, will interest others too, is relevant and realistic

4. Starting out: Gather your resources
Time
Colleagues
Consultants
Other trainees
Expert help (e.g. databases, stats)
Time – it takes a lot of time. Can you be released from some / all of your clinical duties for a period of time? HOODINI wouldn’t have been possible if I’d been doing a lot of clinical work alongside it.
Consider doing it as part of a Fellowship (e.g. Graham Ayliffe)
Think upfront about who you will need help from and how you will access that help

5. Setting up: seek advice
Ethics and Governance:
Local R&D
Information Governance
HRA
Practicalities:
Local audit department
Consultants / colleagues
Protocol
Examples
Speak to consultants / other colleagues with large-scale audit experience
If you’ve never written a protocol before look at examples of others, e.g. HOODINI, CABI

6. Setting up: Pilot and practice
Protocol
Clear, unambiguous, concise
Outline authorship
Data collection
Simple data collection form (paper / electronic)
User-friendly database (Excel / online, e.g. OpenClinica)
Pilot at several sites
Don’t forget the details…
Study file (old and new documents)
list
Protcol:
Include all the info required to run the project
Make it clear and unambiguous
DCF:
- Ask critically – do I really need to collect this data? Ask that question for each element of the form
- Think about who will be collecting the data. Trainees, nurses, scientists, others?

7. Setting up: generate interest
Target audience
Trainees
Others?
Communication strategy
Web-based
Presentations
Timing
Signing-up period
Project timeline
The ‘Who, how and when’ of marketing your project
Others who might be interested depends on the project. For HOODINI it was IPC teams, for others it might be specific specialties or laboratory staff
Comms:
Web-based = NITCAR website, trainees section of the BIA website, relevant newsletters (e.g. BIA, IPS)
= BIA consultant’s list, IPS member list
Presentations = HIS and BIA training days

8. Keeping going: trouble shooting
Be prepared to find mistakes and to confront problems
Be available and willing to find solutions
Communicate the solutions to others

9. Keeping going: communication and follow up
Communicate regularly with those involved
Be prepared for timings to slip – can the project tolerate that?
Data collection and verification – a lot of follow up will be required!
Communicate: problems and their solutions, deadline reminders, newsletter?
Data collection and verification was the most time-consuming part of HOODINI. Lots of chasing-up was required. You can feed you’re making a nuisance of yourself!

10. Finishing off: data analysis and presentation
It takes time
It can feel daunting
Expert help may be required
Presentation
Identify your target conferences / journals
Be prepared for rejection
Ensure early feedback of results to participants
Data analysis takes time but try not to let it drag on. Get the analysis done and the data disseminated ASAP, whilst it still remains relevant.

11. conclusions It takes time Expert help is required
You must communicate well
Gathering the data is only part of it
It will be worth it in the end!