Communicating your research

Communicating well is key to getting research funded, done and taken up by others.

Our R&D communications team provide support, templates and opportunities for communicating your work with a wide range of audiences, while the university-hospital partnership supports effective publication of your research findings.

Statement and acknowledgement

When communicating your research through research publications, conference posters or presentations or via other means, it is important to include full and accurate attribution to the organisations that fund and support the underpinning research so they can be reported to funders and beyond. Future funding, investment, and the academic and clinical reputation of individuals and their institutions, is heavily dependent on such reports, making accurate affiliations and acknowledgements critical. As a result, we request that you use the following statements and logos.

Statement (including funder and disclaimer)

“[Research funder statement]. This study has been delivered through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Facility: 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.

Acknowledgement only (for use within a broader set of acknowledgements/disclaimers)

“The research was carried out at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Facility: Southampton."

Publication guidelines

Please read our Joint Partnership Policy and Guidance on Pre-clinical and Clinical Research Publications before submitting a research paper to a journal.

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 Clinical Research Facility.

Our name is as follows:

NIHR Clinical Research Facility: Southampton

NIHR CRF: Southampton

Logos

NIHR Clinical Research Facilities 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 CRF: 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 CRF 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 CRF: Southampton templates

There are several templates you can use to communicate about NIHR CRF: Southampton research effectively.

Please direct any questions on CRF templates to the communications team: researchcomms@uhs.nhs.uk

Presentation (Google slides) - Please use Inclusive Sans font.

Presentation (MS PowerPoint) - Inclusive Sans and Arial fonts available to use.
Letterhead (Google Doc)
Letterhead (MS Word)
MS Teams Background
Research poster template can be available upon request.

Communications support

The CRF 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.

SOP template