Survey results: Supporting the Named Information Officer

1. Who is the NIO?

41% of respondents have an animal technology background, 32% have a research scientist background, 11% have a veterinary background, 10% have an administrative background, and 3% have a research technician background. This range of professional experience was reflected by the additional roles and responsibilities undertaken by individuals holding the NIO role. As shown in Figure 1, on average each respondent held an additional 2.74 roles on top of their NIO role, with additional responsibilities including the Home Office Liaison Contact (HOLC, 28 responses), Named Training and Competency Officer (NTCO, 19 responses), administrative role (15 responses), animal facility manager (13 responses) and Named Animal Care and Welfare Officer (NACWO, 13 responses), with many NIOs also holding a personal licence (PIL, 26 responses). 
 

Figure 1. Additional roles or key responsibilities held by the NIO (click to enlarge).  Top: values represent the number of responses per role/responsibility category, with individuals having the option to select more than one additional role. Bottom: the number of additional roles per respondent ranged between 0 (4 responses) and 7 (1 response). 

2. Time allocated to the NIO role

With a tendency towards holding multiple roles (only 6% of respondents declared no roles in addition to the NIO) and/or the role being covered by more than one individual (24% of respondents shared the role with others), unsurprisingly the amount of time spent cumulatively on the NIO role was less than one day per week in most cases (68% of responses, Figure 2). 

Figure 2. Typical amount of time dedicated to the NIO role on a weekly basis (click to enlarge), out of 62 responses (single choice answer). 

3. Who does the NIO interact with?

Within the limited time available to them the NIOs predominantly provide information to animal users (PPL holders, PIL holders, Schedule 1 animal users*), animal facility staff (other named persons, animal technicians) and the Establishment Licence Holder (ELH), most often interacting with all these groups on a monthly basis (Figure 3). NIOs also provide information to AWERB members on average every quarter, whereas interactions with researchers not using animals were less common (50% of responses, on average yearly). 

Figure 3. Groups and individuals that the NIOs interact with as part of their role with multiple selections allowed (click to enlarge). Bars represent the % of responses per category, and the frequency of interaction with each category that was selected most often (most numerous frequency) annotated in the righthand column. 

*Refers to staff who have been assessed, are competent and registered to perform approved methods of humane killing listed in Schedule 1 of the ASPA, but do not hold a personal licence. 

4. What information does the NIO provide?

Respondents were asked to select which topics are included in the information they provide. As shown in Figure 4 more than 88% of respondents indicated giving species-specific information on housing and husbandry, environmental enrichment and refinements (on average on a quarterly basis), information on ASPA, local rules, guidance and best practice, as well as general 3Rs advice (on average every month). Providing 3Rs advice related to experimental design and searching for alternatives to animal use were also covered by most NIOs (84% and 85%, respectively), approximately every quarter.  Fewer NIOs give information on working outside of ASPA (61% of responses) or circulating opportunities for funding (58% of responses), both on average every quarter.  Of note, 100% of respondents provide information on training opportunities every month, suggesting that this is a universally understood and undertaken aspect of the NIO role. Within an additional optional open-text question some responses mentioned additional information topics they cover including PPL application, training and competency, culture of care and public engagement/openness. 

Figure 4. Topics of information handled by the NIO with multiple selections allowed (click to enlarge). Bars represent the % of responses per topic, and the frequency of handling information for each topic that was selected most often (most numerous frequency) annotated in the righthand column. 

When asked what sources they use to gather information relevant to supporting those working with animals the majority consult resources provided by relevant organisations (e.g. NC3Rs 62 responses, LASA 54 responses, RSPCA 48 responses, IAT 40 responses, HOLTIF 41 responses), as well as written handbooks/guidance/codes of practice (40 responses) and scientific journals (43 responses), suggesting that the NIOs are using appropriate sources for the information they need.

5. What activities does the NIO undertake?

NIOs most frequently circulate information from other organisations (98% of responses) and respond to direct enquiries for information (95% of responses), on average every month (Figure 5). Creating information content for an intranet resource is part of the role for the majority (73% of responses), though fewer (45% of responses) prepare a dedicated newsletter. AWERB-related activities take place for most NIOs on a quarterly basis, which likely reflects the typical frequency of AWERB meetings, and 81% of respondents indicated reviewing PPLs as the NIO. Less regular and slightly less common activities for NIOs are spending time organising events related to the 3Rs (61% of responses, most frequently once a year), or facilitating topic-specific meetings (65% of responses, most frequently every quarter). Additional activities mentioned by some NIOs through optional open-text fields included attending external events, teaching or giving talks and networking or forming collaborations.  

Figure 5. Activities undertaken by the NIO with multiple selections allowed (click to enlarge). Bars represent the % of responses per activity, and the frequency of undertaking each activity that was selected most often (most numerous frequency) annotated in the righthand column. 

6. Understanding of the role

Fifty NIOs described their understanding of the role and gave their opinion on what the role should encompass. Thematic analysis revealed an understanding that the role includes identification or collection of information (94% of responses), dissemination of information (88% of responses), keeping abreast with research (28% of responses) and advising (18% of responses). 

"I see the NIO…as a role which supports researchers and staff by advising on how to search for information they may require on the animals and procedures they are involved in. This is in addition to pushing out relevant and timely news, again related to the animals housed in the establishment."

For half of these responses there was a mismatch between their understanding of the role and their opinion of what the role should be about: the majority (80% of responses) indicating that they would like additional aspects to the role, such as a focus on acquiring 3Rs knowledge, supporting and leading on 3Rs implementation, establishing a network of NIOs and fostering collaborations. 

"[The NIO should be about] Embedding the three Rs into everyday activities through improved knowledge."

In contrast the remaining 20% of responses want to change the remit so that the NIO was not solely responsible for information provision, but that this was shared across individuals (other named roles, for example). 

"The NIO should be focussed on the dissemination of information and not always the locating of said information. I would consider many other named roles as contributing to the efforts of the NIO."

7. Successes and challenges of the role 

When asked to highlight their successes in the role, within the 47 responses, the achievements mentioned included creating a dedicated process or event to share 3Rs advances (16 responses, e.g. local 3Rs network), being the source of information leading to changes in policy, practice or behaviour (11 responses, e.g. influencing researcher behaviour change around breeding practices), and identifying refinements which become practice (7 responses).

"[My biggest success as NIO is that] I was able to alert colleagues to a refinement which is now used routinely in many studies."

The biggest barriers to the role identified from open-text responses fell clearly into specific categories: lack of time (22 responses), awareness of the role by others (17 responses), getting access to information to share (12 responses) and understanding of the remit of the role and what they should be doing (10 responses).

"Beyond circulating newsletters from other organisations, it is hard to identify other relevant resources easily. Internally no one recognises the NIO role as a source of information."

8. Support for the NIO within the establishment 

Only 40% of respondents had a budget available to support the NIO role, with this being dedicated (not shared with other roles/activities) for only 6% of respondents. Where available this budget was used for training the NIO, NIO attending meetings/events and NIO organising events. 

In line with the guidance [1] NIOs are actively supported by other named persons (48 responses), the ELH (33 responses) and the AWERB (32 responses), with other support coming from administrative roles (15 responses) and 3Rs Champions (7 responses), with only 12 responses indicating an absence of support from any of the above. 

Themes from optional open-text responses (42 responses) demonstrate that, where provided, this support primarily comes in the form of direct interactions (e.g. regular meetings) with the ELH (16 responses), other named persons (20 responses), the AWERB (8 responses) or interactions with other informed individuals (15 responses) such as librarians, researchers or biostatisticians. Some (13 responses) referred to other individuals/groups contributing relevant information for the NIO to pass on. 
 

When given specific options of further support requirements, roughly one-third of respondents agreed that they would value support from their institution in the form of recognition for the role, support from other named persons and the AWERB, as well as more time and budget allocated to the role (Figure 6, green bars). 

9. Support, resources and training for the NIO role from outside the establishment 

89% of respondents are familiar with the guidance document [2] related to the NIO role, and more than half are aware of NIO-specific training opportunities (56% of responses), with a similar proportion (53% of responses) having undertaken specific training for role (either in house training or from external providers). 

As shown in Figure 6 (purple bars), in terms of additional opportunities to expand skills and knowledge, 60% of respondents would like NIO-specific events, and 48% would be interested in receiving training on searching databases/literature for information on the use of animals in research (including advice on searching for alternatives). Whereas training in ASPA-related topics, NC3Rs resources and experimental design were considered less necessary (Figure 6, purple bars). 

The most popular resource to support NIOs was a dedicated NIO newsletter (82% of responses), as well as a searchable online resource for information related to the NIO role (68% of responses), and materials for NIOs to disseminate to their community (56% of responses, Figure 6, blue bars). 

Lastly, responses to an open-text question on final comments on the role and the support it needs, reflected similar themes around role identity and awareness, NIO-tailored resources, and an NIO forum/network.
 

"[Further support that would be most beneficial to the NIO role would be] Having a list of relevant newsletters/distribution lists/forums for individuals to sign up to. Creating a group for NIOs at different establishments to be able to communicate and share knowledge. More emphasis on the importance of the role." 

Figure 6. Additional further support needs selected from options by NIOs with multiple selections allowed (click to enlarge). Bars represent the % of responses per support option to be provided by specific resources (blue bars), training opportunities (purple bars) or the establishment (green bars).