BU Research Blog

In light of the Government’s announcement that new national restrictions will come into force on 5^th November to curb the spread of COVID-19, BU’s Major Incident Group has announced that non-essential travel should not take place during this second ‘lockdown’ period.

Therefore, research and knowledge exchange activities which take place off-campus and outside of the home should be reviewed in light of the latest government guidance on essential work. If these activities can be undertaken in a compliant way, the risk assessment should be updated and approved by the relevant Executive Dean. If they cannot be undertaken under the new lockdown conditions, they should pause for the next four weeks.

For colleagues that have previously completed the return to research process and/or undertaking research in the context of COVID-19 process, and have received a letter stating that they can undertake research off-campus, this permission is now paused until restrictions are lifted. If you have reviewed the activities, still wish to proceed and have the approval from your Executive Dean, please email sia@bournemouth.ac.uk and an appropriate letter will be issued. It is recommended that before requesting permission to proceed with research activities, that you read the latest government guidance on research.

This is important as although BU’s campuses have been made COVID-19 secure enabling you to continue to come into work, this cannot be guaranteed in off-campus locations, and therefore careful consideration needs to be taken as to the feasibility of research proceeding between now and 2^nd December.