RCVS Academy Learning Needs Analysis 2025

Each year, the RCVS Academy runs a ‘learning needs analysis’, which is designed to gather insight into professionals’ views of the RCVS Academy and their wider learning needs. This is to ensure that the courses delivered by the Academy are relevant and engaging.

As part of this process, we are inviting practising veterinary professionals to take part in a series of small group discussions, during which they will have the opportunity to share their views on the academy and contribute towards guiding the content included in future courses.

An invitation to participate in the RCVS Academy Learning Needs Analysis 2025

If you have been invited by RCVS Connect email to take part in the RCVS Academy Learning Needs Analysis 2025, before you decide whether you would like to participate, please read the following information. If anything is unclear, please reach out to the Research Team.

• You have been invited to participate in this study because you have been selected at random from the Registers.
• Your participation is completely voluntary: you do not have to participate. You can withdraw your data up until three weeks after the focus group.
• Participation in this study involves taking part in an online focus group, using Zoom, which will take approximately one hour.
• All sessions will be recorded. Audio recordings will be held until transcription is completed, which is estimated to be by the 1 January 2026.
• If you are willing to participate in the study, your email address will be shared with the RCVS Events Team to allow them to organise the session.
• During the focus group you will be asked questions about your learning preferences, views on the RCVS Academy, and how the Academy can be made more accessible and engaging. You can refuse to answer any questions, and you can leave at any time.
• There are no incentives for participation in this study.
• A member of the RCVS Research Team will be facilitating the session.
• The facilitator will ask participants not to discuss details outside of the group, to protect everyone’s privacy. However, you should be aware that this is not guaranteed and the risk of individuals discussing details of the group with others remains.
• Discussions will include topics such as CPD preferences and views on the RCVS Academy, including accessibility and barriers to accessing CPD; it is unlikely that any discussions will cause distress, but the session facilitator will monitor for signs of discomfort and distress and will promptly move on from any difficult discussions. The session facilitator may also reach out to you separately after the session to signpost you to relevant support services if this occurs. Disagreements among participants may occur. The facilitator will ask all participants to respect each other’s views. Where particular group members are seen to be causing conflict, they will be given a warning and subsequently asked to leave the group.
• If you wish to review the questions prior to the focus group, please contact the research team and a copy of these will be sent to you.
• All data collected as part of this study will be treated confidentially, and in accordance with UK GDPR. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the data controller for this research project. As part of the RCVS’s public function, it is important that the RCVS conduct research to gain an insight into the veterinary professions. The RCVS will process the data for the purposes of this survey on a public task lawful basis in the public interest.
• Under GDPR you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office at: https://ico.org.uk/
• Focus group transcriptions will be anonymised, and any identifying information will be removed. Results of the study will be used to guide future, and update current, RCVS Academy courses and will not be shared with anyone other than the relevant RCVS staff members.
• If you inform the researcher that you or someone else is at risk of harm during the focus group, the researcher may have to report this to the relevant authorities. If this happens, they will discuss it with you first but may have to escalate this without your permission. If any potential concerns about fitness to practice arise through focus groups, researchers may have to refer this to the relevant team within the College. If you raise concerns about the fitness to practice of past or present colleagues, you will be encouraged to submit a concerns form.
• Pseudonymised data and contact details will be held separately until project conclusion, which is estimated to be six months after the focus group has taken place.
• If you have any questions about how your data will be used, please e-mail: [email protected]
• If you are unclear about any of the information outlined in this document, or wish to ask further questions, please contact one of the research team at [email protected].