The National Institute of Health Research and Charities Consortium for Hospice and Community Research have stated that the goal for all hospices is to be research active and to be recruiting into portfolio studies by 2022. This poster draws on a case study from one research nurse as she sought to develop research capacity at a hospice in the West Midlands. The poster aims to highlight four key areas the innovative role covers showing how a research nurse is central to:

• Facilitating engagement with research at the hospice. From introducing (sceptical) staff to the range of research studies they can be involved in to the opportunities to embed research into the daily work of both the in–patient and day services

• Being a bridge between the often–competing pressures of clinical care and research by finding novel solutions to obstacles

• Empowering staff by encouraging them to be a part of research in everyday practice as well as being a resource for staff by supporting them with academic assignments producing posters for conferences and disseminating research findings through journal discussions

• Building future research opportunities by developing a research nurse network where ideas and good practice can be shared widely across different organisations.