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  developing leaders in clinical and applied health and social care research
 

Research Training Programmes

The NIHR Trainees Coordinating Centre (NIHR TCC) makes training awards to individual researchers whose work focuses on people and patient-based research and who show potential to become research leaders in their particular field. The research must be relevant to the NHS, focussed on the current and future needs of patients and the public and expected to have an impact within 5 years of its completion. There is a large range of awards available, at different levels, to suit different work arrangements, professional backgrounds and career paths:

NIHR Fellowships Programme 

The NIHR Fellowships Programme is open to individuals who work in any discipline that contributes to improving health, healthcare or services. 

·      NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship (NIHR-DRF) - Offers 3 years full-time funding (or 4 or 5 years part-time) to undertake a PhD and are aimed at individuals, of outstanding potential, early in their research careers.  It aims to fast-track them through a customised research training programme in an environment reflecting their individual talents and training needs.  It is anticipated that successful applicants would become independent research leaders within 6 to 10 years of completing an NIHR-DRF Award.

·      NIHR Post-Doctoral Fellowship (NIHR-PDF) - Offers 3 years full time funding (or 4 or 5 years part-time) to individuals who are able to demonstrate their potential as researchers but do not, as yet, have sufficient experience to be fully independent.  Applicants must show evidence of a clear commitment to a research career in the forms of outputs from doctoral and post-doctoral research, where applicable.  Applicants will not have more than 3 years WTE post-doctoral research experience at the time of applying.

·      NIHR Career Development Fellowship (NIHR-CDF) - Offers 3 years full-time funding (or 4 or 5 years part-time) to individuals who have significant and successful post-doctoral experience.  Applicants should be able to provide evidence of a clear commitment to a research career, success in the form of outputs from doctoral and post-doctoral research and the likelihood that during a Fellowship they would become fully independent researchers.  Applicants will not have more than 7 years WTE post-doctoral research experience at the time of applying.

·      NIHR Senior Research Fellowship (NIHR-SRF) - Offers 5 years funding to undertake a programme of research and is aimed at outstanding individuals who are currently independent researchers and can demonstrate the potential to become academic and research leaders within the duration of an award. An NIHR-SRF is expected to enhance existing career opportunities for both themselves and others in health related research and support the development of collaborative partnerships within and between HEI’s and NHS in response to identified health needs.

Integrated Academic Training Programme

NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship (NIHR ACF), In-Practice Fellowship and NIHR Clinical Lectureship (NIHR CL) awards support Doctors and Dentists in pursuing an academic clinical career. The awards make up part of a package of measures of the Integrated Academic Training Programme recommended in the Walport report “Medically and dentally qualified academic staff: recommendations for training the researchers and educators of the future”. ACF and CL appointments are made through selected academic programmes that have been awarded to University/NHS Trust/Deanery partnerships.

The Academic Clinical Fellowships (250 per year) are normally for new entrants to specialty training, provide 25% protected time for research or educationalist training and should lead to the submission of an application for a competitive research training fellowship. In-Practice Fellowships (10 per year) are for fully qualified GP’s and GDP’s and span 24 months with 5 sessions of research per week. Clinical Lectureships (100 per year) are postdoctoral level awards that provide 50% protected time for research or educationalist training for a maximum of 4 years. Clinician Scientist Awards

The NIHR Clinician Scientist award is open to researchers working in medicine and dentistry who are capable of leading research in their discipline. The awards provide salary and research costs for up to 5 years post-doctoral training. It is for medical or dental graduates at SpR/StR/GP Registrar level, consultants or those of GP status who have a PhD/MD.

NIHR/CNO Clinical Academic Training Programme for Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals.

The NIHR and the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for England, in collaboration with the Economics and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) have established the Clinical Academic Training Programme. Four levels of research training awards support the development of clinical academic careers for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. Applicants require NMC or HPC registration at the point of award.

  • Masters in Clinical Research - Up to 70 Masters places are available annually for graduate nurses, midwives and allied health professionals with at least one year of clinical experience. The Masters courses are hosted and managed by seven higher education institutions that are responsible for the selection of students.
  • Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship - The NIHR/CNO Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship is aimed at graduate nurses, midwives and allied health professionals who wish to obtain a research doctorate (PhD) whilst also developing their clinical skills. Applicants must have at least 1-year’s experience of clinical practice since graduating, and have had sufficient research experience or research training to prepare then to undertake a PhD. The fellowships, which must be sited in England, provide funding for full salary and research costs appropriate for a research training award.
  • Clinical Lectureship - The NIHR / CNO Clinical Lectureship represents the postdoctoral training element of the CAT pathway for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. The posts are intended to support postdoctoral level research and research training combined with the continuing development of clinical expertise. The balance of clinical and academic commitments will normally be 50:50.
  • Senior Clinical Lectureship - The Senior Clinical Lectureship is managed jointly by the NIHR TCC and HEFCE. Applicants must have an excellent or exceptionally promising track record of clinical academic research and propose how the award will enable the nominee to make a significant contribution to clinical practice and support their development as a clinical academic leader.

Healthcare Scientists Research Fellowship Programme

The NIHR / Chief Scientific Officer’s Healthcare Scientist Research Fellowships support healthcare scientists who already have some research experience and wish to bridge clinical or service careers and research. Applicants must have completed their training and have HPC (or equivalent) registration at the point of award. There are award levels for both doctoral and postdoctoral applicants:

The Doctoral Fellowships provide funding for healthcare scientists to undertake a research doctorate PhD (not a taught professional doctorate). Applicants require previous research experience, for example MSc or BSc (Hons) with a substantial research component.

The Postdoctoral Fellowships are intended to fund individual postdoctoral research projects. Applicants should have no more than 3 years full time (or equivalent) postdoctoral research experience with evidence of research of publishable quality. 

Health Economics Programme

The NIHR, MRC and ESRC have launched a major initiative, the Health Economics Programme, to boost research capacity in economics of health.  Economics is of increasing importance to health care management to inform and improve decision making.  Whilst demand is high for individuals who can conduct economics evaluations and are able to critically appraise such evaluations, there is an acknowledged lack of capacity in this field.

There are three types of award: Masters in Health Economics, Early Career Post-Doctoral Fellowships of 2 years duration, Training Placements of up to 6 months duration to provide further training opportunities for health economists to work in policy/practice environments.

Implementation of each of the strands will be led by one of the funders.  Further details on each of the strands, including when they will be launched will be available on all funder’s websites.

Research Methods Programme

This supports the development of individuals with expertise in research methods including health statistics, health economics, clinical trial design, and operational research and modelling. The Research Methods Programme consists of four schemes:

  • NIHR Research Methods Fellowship scheme
  • NIHR Research Methods Internship scheme
  • NIHR Research Methods Opportunity Funding scheme
  • NIHR Masters Studentships in Medical Statistics

The Fellowships and Internships are aimed at attracting the most talented individuals, especially those that are not currently working in a health-related field, to expand their research interest into areas relevant to the NIHR.

The NIHR Research Methods Opportunity Funding scheme aims to encourage academic departments with outstanding research strengths in statistics and operational research or in economics and econometrics to explore the possibility or experience of becoming involved in research of relevance to the NIHR and developing capacity and capability in these areas. A maximum of £30,000 will be provided and application is by invitation only.

Funding is available for Masters Studentships in Medical Statistics as part of an initiative by the National Institute of Health Research. These awards are made to academic institutions that are responsible for recruiting students.

 

Further details about the above training programmes are available in the NIHR briefing document                           2.2 Research Training and Career Development.