Acknowledging and communicating research
Sharing research effectively is vital to increasing its reach, influence and impact.
By communicating research findings clearly, we can help patients, the public, healthcare professionals, policymakers and partners understand the difference research makes.
The NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Southampton supports researchers to communicate their work with confidence, providing advice, resources and opportunities to showcase research achievements and discoveries to a broad range of audiences.
Publications guidelines
Accurate affiliations and acknowledgements are essential for reporting research impact, securing future funding, and maintaining the reputation of researchers and their organisations.
You must name and acknowledge the NIHR in any research outputs enabled by them, including through the BRC, as outlined on the NIHR website. A statement should be incorporated within the acknowledgements of publications and other disseminations of research results following studies undertaken at the BRC.
Scenario 1: Instances where the research received majority funding from the BRC:
Acknowledgement and disclaimer for NIHR research at the BRC:
“This study/research is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre: Southampton. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.”
Please also acknowledge any other NIHR funding or expertise the research may have received.
Scenario 2: Instances where the research was funded by another funder but delivered through* the BRC:
Statement (including funder and disclaimer)
“[Research funder statement]. This study has been delivered through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre: Southampton. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the [name of the research funder], the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.”
Please also acknowledge any other NIHR support the research may have received, for example, through a research programme award.
*We define ‘delivered through’ as a project that is supported by BRC Southampton workforce, resources and/or infrastructure to meet the outputs as published, for example BRC-funded or affiliated project managers, use of trial delivery teams, technology platforms or support services, a PhD student supervised by a BRC Theme/programme Lead.
Scenario 3: Instances where the researcher is part-funded by the NIHR:
"[Researcher name] is part-funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre: Southampton."
Scenario 4: Minimum statement to be used in instances where there are funder details and/or word count restrictions AND the research was funded by another funder but delivered through the BRC:
“The research was carried out at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre: Southampton."
For further information on submitting a research paper to a journal, please read Southampton’s Joint Partnership Policy and Guidance on Pre-clinical and Clinical Research Publications.
NIHR brand refresh
The NIHR refreshed its branding in 2026.
Changes include new logos, a new core font, updated brand colours and graphics, as well as updated templates. Resources are available at the bottom of this page.
Visit the NIHR brand website for more information.
Our name
The NIHR’s refreshed Brand Architecture Guidance set out a new naming convention that schemes and services must now be identified as NIHR scheme name: location/specialty.
This means we are no longer known as the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.
Our name is as follows:
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NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Southampton
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NIHR BRC: Southampton
Logos
NIHR Biomedical Research Centres have been given one logo to use. This logo replaces our previous logo that included the name ‘Southampton’.
If you are including logos on any of your outputs, please ensure you are using the most up to date NIHR BRC: Southampton logo, pictured below, or the ‘Supported by NIHR’ logo.
If you require the logo in other colours, such as black or white, or have any questions about the use of logos, please contact the BRC communications team: researchcomms@uhs.nhs.uk
Please download the logos below (right click ‘Save Image As’).
Our fonts
Inclusive Sans is the NIHR’s new main body font – please use this if it is installed on your system. Where Inclusive Sans is unavailable, please use Arial. Lato font (the previous main NIHR font) is no longer used.
Only use black or navy on white background for body text in presentations and posters. This is to ensure accessibility.
NIHR BRC: Southampton templates
There are several templates you can use to communicate about NIHR BRC: Southampton research effectively.
Please direct any questions on BRC templates to the communications team: researchcomms@uhs.nhs.uk
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Presentation (Google slides) - Please use Inclusive Sans font.
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Presentation (MS PowerPoint) - Inclusive Sans and Arial fonts available to use.
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MS Teams Background
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Research poster template can be available upon request.
Communications support
The BRC communications team can help you communicate with staff, patients and the public onsite, online and through others’ broadcast, print or event platforms.
We also push news directly and via the university and hospital, working closely with their press, internal communications and social media teams to develop coverage for staff, students, external stakeholders and the public.
For study recruitment we can provide a range of support including materials, advertisement advice and targeted engagement.
Please get in touch to find out how we can help you: researchcomms@uhs.nhs.uk.
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) template
Strict management of detailed and accurate SOPs is core to any quality assured research activity. We've provided a free to use SOP template that can be customised for your institution or project, alongside an illustrative example. You can download these via the links below.