TPFS Research Stakeholder Day

Wednesday 4 November 2026, 10:30 to 16:30
The Mandolay Hotel, Guildford, the day before the TPFS Annual Meeting

Calling teams preparing applications to the NIHR HTA faecal incontinence call: pitch your study and get feedback from the people who will deliver it, recruit to it and take part in it.

We originally planned this day as our inaugural Research Sandpit, to develop new ideas based on the James Lind Alliance Faecal Incontinence Priority Setting Partnership. Since then, the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme has opened a dedicated call for research into the clinical and cost-effectiveness of interventions to improve outcomes for adults with faecal incontinence, closing on 6 January 2027. To make the most of this rare opportunity, we have changed the day into a stakeholder event supporting teams applying to the call.

The day is free to attend, with running costs supported by TPFS. It remains the start of a long-term commitment to building a strong, collaborative pelvic floor research community in the UK.

What happens on the day

Short talks: Professor Marcus Drake on what makes HTA applications succeed, and Professor Nikki Cotterill on how best to involve patients and the public
Team pitches: each research team introduces its study to the room
Feedback rotation: each team meets four small stakeholder groups in turn. Every group includes a patient partner, a colorectal surgeon, another specialist (such as a gastroenterologist or pelvic floor physiotherapist), and a GP or community continence nurse
Building our community: a closing session on collaboration, shared resources and recruiting sites

The day is co-led with Dale Vilmachandran, Research Chair of the ACPGBI.

Why pitch?

Test your study design with patients, frontline clinicians and community services before you submit
Hear how an HTA funding committee is likely to view your application
Find recruiting sites, principal investigators and collaborators across the UK pelvic floor community

How to express interest in pitching

If you are leading, or part of, a team planning an application to this call, please email emma@carringtoncolorectal.com by 5pm on Monday 19 October 2026 with:

Lead applicant name, role and institution, and the core team (including CTU involvement)
A working title and a study summary of up to 300 words: population, intervention, comparator, main outcome and design
How developed your application is
The areas where you would most value stakeholder feedback

Places are limited to four teams. If we receive more expressions of interest than we can accommodate, the research committee will select teams to ensure a range of interventions and study designs. Places will be confirmed by Wednesday 21 October. Selected teams will be asked to provide a two-page study summary by Monday 26 October.

Would you like to be a stakeholder?

We are looking for colorectal surgeons, gastroenterologists, GPs, and community continence and specialist nurses who are not part of an application to this call, to join our stakeholder groups. Please email Emma by the same date if you are interested.

Confidentiality and declarations of interest

As teams will be applying to the same call, everyone taking part will complete a declaration of interests and agree to keep study details confidential. Study summaries are shared only with stakeholders, and no one will give feedback to a team they are competing with. The day is independent of commercial sponsors, and industry representatives will not take part in pitch or feedback sessions.

Applied for the original Research Sandpit? Thank you. We will contact you directly about your place on the day.