3Rs self-assessment tools
Background
Leaders of research groups and institutions who want to ensure an optimal 3Rs culture need support to evaluate their current activities, understand their strengths and establish what could be improved and how.
The NC3Rs initiated a project to help research groups and institutions in assessing and evaluating their 3Rs culture. We worked with the research community to scope out resources that would provide practical advice to those engaged in in vivo research.
We launched two online 3Rs self-assessment tools (one for research groups and one for research institutions) that allow users to collate, track and benchmark their 3Rs activities and progress. This was an ambitious project given the complexity and scope of research organisations and individual group set-ups.
Redevelopment plans
During the last three years we have received much positive user feedback about the actions the tools have catalysed, particularly within research institutions. However, it has become clear that the way that the tools were designed to support assessments does not now fully fit with the collaborative way that the tools are being used on the ground.
We now have an exciting opportunity to improve the user interface, but this will require moving to a new system and a redevelopment of the tools as they stand. This is a chance to take all the positive elements from the current versions and build a new platform where the design of the tools is better suited to the users. The current version of both tools are now closed to new registrations. If you are a current user, with a self-assessment in progress, you will have received an email detailing next steps.
If you would like to be alerted to developments on this project, please subscribe to the NC3Rs newsletter.
Next steps for current users
If you are a current user of either the Research Group or Research Institution tool, then you will have been sent an email regarding these changes.
The tools will be shut down after 5pm, 11 September 2024 at which point all your personal and self-assessment data will be deleted. You will have up to this date to submit any open self-assessments in the system for scores and feedback.
If you have completed self-assessments in the system that you wish to save for future reference, we would recommend that you log in as soon as possible and save the feedback PDFs from your dashboard area. If you experience any problems logging in, you can email self-assessment@nc3rs.org.uk.
Get in touch
We appreciate your understanding and patience while we undertake the redevelopment project. If you need more support or have any questions, please contact us at self-assessment@nc3rs.org.uk so we can discuss further. The tools will be entirely offline after 5pm on 11 September 2024, but we are always happy to discuss how we can support you and your 3Rs activities. We have a dedicated member of staff focusing on developing new tools, who can help with any queries and can provide personalised support to create actions plans or 3Rs strategies.
FAQs
We appreciate your understanding and patience, and we want to develop improved tools that better fulfil the needs of the community. If you need more support or have any questions, please contact us at self-assessment@nc3rs.org.uk so we can discuss further.
Please contact us at self-assessment@nc3rs.org.uk so we can discuss further. There is also an option to submit individual sections and receive a score and feedback for each section without the need to complete the full 3Rs self-assessment.
Thank you, that’s great news and we would love to hear from you. Please contact us at self-assessment@nc3rs.org.uk so we can discuss further.
Thank you, that’s great news and we would love to hear from you. Please contact us at self-assessment@nc3rs.org.uk so we can discuss further.
Once the tools have been shut down all of your personal and self-assessment data will be deleted. We would like to keep in touch with current users so that we can inform you about the development of our new tools. If you are a registered user of the current tools you will have been emailed with details, including an option to opt out of us storing your email address for this purpose.
If you have completed self-assessments in the system that you wish to save for future reference, we would recommend that you log in as soon as possible and save the feedback PDFs from your self-assessment dashboard area. Here, you will also be able to save a copy of your submitted answers for completed assessments by downloading the submitted assessment. If you experience any problems logging in, you can email self-assessment@nc3rs.org.uk.
If you are in the process of completing a self-assessment and wish to save your progress so far then you can download a working document of your submitted answers and any comments from users in your open self-assessment. There is also an option to submit individual sections and receive a score and feedback for each section without the need to complete the full 3Rs self-assessment.
We are completely reviewing the platform used to deliver the tools and the format of the tools and there are likely to be substantial changes. We will be engaging with stakeholders for feedback and user testing on both usability and relevance. If you would like to be involved in user testing, please contact us at self-assessment@nc3rs.org.uk.