Five years of collaboration: NC3Rs and GW4 reflect on their transformative partnership

The National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) is a government-backed organisation that aims to replace, reduce, and refine the use of animals in research.

It does this by working with scientists and life sciences organisations to develop new technologies and approaches. It covers universities, the pharmaceutical, chemical and consumer products industries, other research funders, and regulatory authorities.

From 2018-2023, NC3Rs Regional Programme Manager for GW4, Dr Jess Eddy, provided dedicated 3Rs support to the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, supporting a major goal of the NC3Rs Vision 2015-2025 to maximise support for the 3Rs within research institutions.

As the NC3Rs regional programme pivots to scale and focus on supporting even more institutions on a national level, Dr Eddy looks back over five years of the NC3Rs and GW4 partnership and explains what’s next for the programme:

What have been some of the main achievements of the NC3Rs and GW4 partnership?

Over the past five years, since the creation of the regional GW4 NC3Rs post, there has been a demonstrable increase in engagement with our resources and funding schemes. In the last four years £4.3 million in NC3Rs research grants have been awarded to the GW4 Alliance universities. This is in comparison to £2.2 million awarded to GW4 universities between 2006-2018, prior to the creation of the regional post.

We have delivered five cross-GW4 3Rs symposia during my tenure – most recently holding a symposium event in December 2023. This annual event provides an opportunity for researchers and animal care staff across GW4 to showcase their 3Rs initiatives and network with colleagues. It also illustrates the commitment of the universities under GW4 to advancing the 3Rs.

We have created and chaired two Early Career Researcher 3Rs groups. The Bristol ECR-3Rs group is made up of in vivo researchers across the major animal research themes within Bristol and provides a forum for discussing 3Rs issues and initiatives for local implementation. This group has promoted several 3Rs approaches including tissue sharing, refined rodent injection methods and habituation of animals in research.

The Cardiff ECR-3Rs group is made up of both in vivo researchers and those working on replacement technologies. This group has focused on increasing the uptake of replacement research and has driven forwards a Cardiff Stem Cell Research Network. In June 2023 researchers were invited to take part in a stem cell research day with the aim of highlighting the stem cell research taking place at Cardiff and across GW4.

How has the use of animals inresearch changed during the partnership between NC3Rs and GW4?

The partnership has allowed for a greater focus on 3Rs initiatives and institutional policies on animal research across GW4. One such example is refined handling. Traditionally, mice have been picked up by the tail using the hand, but research from the NC3Rs and others has shown that this induces aversion and high anxiety levels. This can be minimised by using refined handling methods which involve picking mice up with a tunnel and/or cupped hands. At the beginning of the partnership only one institution was utilising refined handling methods and now all the GW4 institutions have adopted this approach.

In the last five years there has been a reduction in the number of procedures performed on animals across all of the GW4 institutions. There is also a growing interest in alternative approaches that address concerns about the utility of some animal models. This is reflected in the increased number of replacement research projects submitted to the NC3Rs for funding.

Across GW4, and indeed worldwide, there is an increased focus on the reproducibility of animal research. One of the aims of the NC3Rs is to ensure that all research that uses animals is rigorously designed, reproducible and transparently reported, helping to reduce animal wastage. To achieve these aims, our website contains resources on best practice in experimental design. We have produced the ARRIVE guidelines, a checklist of recommendations for the full and transparent reporting of research involving animals – maximising the quality and reliability of published research, and enabling others to better scrutinise, evaluate and reproduce it.

What have some of the main challenges been?

All of the GW4 institutions have differing portfolios of animal research, with different systems and policies in place. Because of this, initiatives that work at one institution may not work well at another and a more bespoke approach may be required.

Collaboration across GW4 can help to solve some of these challenges. To facilitate a more joined-up approach, we have pushed forward initiatives and activities across the Alliance to enable the sharing of best practice in the 3Rs. One such initiative, regular online meetings for the Animal Unit Directors and Named Training and Competency Officers (NTCOs) at each of the four institutions, proved to be the ideal forum for the GW4 institutions to discuss and share their 3Rs approaches.

Another initiative is the GW4 Animal Replacement Network. The network is for both researchers using replacement technologies as well as those looking to gain expertise in these areas. We hope the network will allow members to share research ideas, expertise and results as well as develop collaborations. If anyone across GW4 would like to join the Network, please email contact the GW4 3Rs team.

How is the NC3Rs programme changing?

The aim of our regional programme remains the same as always – to accelerate and support the uptake of the 3Rs at research institutions. The difference is that we are now providing this support nationally.

The regional team has become the Training & Engagement team and we will continue to provide training sessions for researchers, technicians and students both face to face and virtually; these will be free and available to any institution. Our training offering will continue to include old favourites, like the Experimental Design Assistant tool and evaluating environmental enrichment, alongside new sessions based on suggestions from our stakeholders. Please let us know if you have an idea for 3Rs training that would be useful for the community.

We are keen to maintain and build on the fantastic relationships we have developed across the UK to facilitate sharing of 3Rs knowledge and best practice. The 3Rs symposiums have been a great success and we plan to continue with regional and national events in the same vein.

What are the next steps for NC3Rs beyond its partnership with GW4?

 We will continue to support people to use key NC3Rs tools and resources. The Training & Engagement team can provide tailored support for the drafting of institutional 3Rs strategies.

There are also new programmes of work underway, for example a consultation with the Named Information Officer (NIO) community to better understand how the role is resourced and identify opportunities for further support. Other planned projects include new animal welfare resources. We would love to hear your ideas about how NC3Rs can best support the research community.

Find out more about the continuing work of NC3Rs:

• For queries related to applying to the NC3Rs for 3Rs research funding, contact 3rsgrants@nc3rs.org.uk
• To request 3Rs training or for any other 3Rs queries contact the NC3Rs Training & Engagement team at training.engagement@nc3rs.org.uk

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