FAQ: NIHR Flexibility and Sustainability Funding
Q: What is NIHR Flexibility and Sustainability Funding?
A: NIHR Flexibility and Sustainability Funding (NIHR FSF) is a research funding stream designed to help research-active NHS organisations attract, develop and retain high-quality research, clinical and support staff by supporting the salaries of their Faculty members and associated workforce in a flexible manner. NHS organisations are able to use NIHR FSF to create and maintain a sustainable capacity for people and patient-based research.
Q: Which organisations will receive NIHR FSF?
A: NIHR FSF is allocated to research-active NHS organisations that receive other NIHR funding. It is allocated annually based on the NIHR income received in the previous calendar year, and senior investigators in post or appointed at the start of the new financial year. In addition, a proportion of NIHR FSF is allocated to NHS Clinical Research Networks via their host NHS organisations.
Q: How much NIHR FSF will research active NHS organisations receive?
A: The amount allocated to each organisation for its own use is in proportion to the total amount of NIHR income the NHS organisation receives, and the number of senior investigators associated with the organisation in post. The amount given to individual organisations is announced each year prior to allocation and varies according to the income streams and circumstances.
In 2011/12, the income weightings for calculating FSF are as follows:
|
Criterion for Standard FSF |
Weighting for 2011/12 |
|
Number of NIHR senior investigators |
£75,000 per SI appointed at 1 April 2011 |
|
NIHR and PRP research grants |
48p/£ grant income in the previous calendar year |
|
NIHR centre funding |
24p/£ centre/unit income in the previous calendar year |
|
NIHR infrastructure funding |
16p/£ income in the previous calendar year |
As NIHR funding schemes have matured, the total NIHR income that triggers FSF payments to Trusts has increased. Therefore the weightings applied to levels of income are are lower than in 2010/11 in order to maintain FSF within its budget of £100m.
In addition, an FSF allocation is made available for the use local clinical research networks (either as part of the Comprehensive Clinical Research Network, the Primary Care Research Network, or the Topic-specific Clinical Research Networks) via the local network’s host NHS organisation.
Q: How can NIHR FSF be used?
A: NIHR FSF can be used to support the costs of some or all of the following:
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The research-related component of an NIHR Faculty member’s salary, which is not covered by other funding sources.
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Salary costs of new staff, who are expected to be Faculty members, but who have not yet obtained funding from other NIHR sources.
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Salary costs of existing Faculty members who are ‘between grants’.
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The time of Faculty members in preparing grant proposals (this is not applicable to the NIHR FSF associated with research networks); the time of Faculty members in contributing to the wider research endeavour (e.g. membership of peer review panels).
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The research-related time of NHS-employed scientific, administrative and secretarial staff that are supporting Faculty members in their NIHR-related work.
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The cost of training in research management and governance for staff of the Trust’s R&D Office, provided the Trust can (if so requested) demonstrate outcomes showing that the Trust is using the national standards, systems and operating procedures described in the NIHR Research Support Services framework (pub. May 2011). Flexibility and Sustainability Funding may also be used to train R&D Office staff so that the Trust can establish the base capability needed to begin to demonstrate such outcomes.
Salary costs include direct (i.e. salary) and indirect (e.g. payroll, HR and training costs). FSF may only be used to support costs not met from other sources.
Q: Who are NIHR Faculty Members?
A: NIHR Faculty Members are individuals:
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who conduct or support patient or people based research
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whose salary is funded, in part or in whole, from the NIHR Projects, Programmes, Centres or Units funding and/or DH Policy Research Programme (PRP) funding
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or who are funded through approved NIHR training programmes
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and who are employed by an NHS organisation, an English University, or a charitable organisation based in England.
Q: Can NIHR FSF support salary costs of individuals employed by other organisations?
A: Yes. NIHR FSF can only be received by NHS organisations. However, the NHS organisation in receipt of NIHR FSF (the ‘host’) can spend these funds supporting researchers employed by a different NHS organisation or in a university, provided there is a formal agreement between the host and the organisation where the funds are spent.
Q: Will staff employed in a university but funded by NIHR Funding from an NHS Trust attract NIHR FSF to that NHS Trust?
A: Yes.
Q: Is there a maximum time for which FSF may be used to support an individual?
A: The emphasis of FSF is on both flexibility and sustainability. It is therefore important that FSF is not used as if it were an alternative source of long term funding, particularly in the case of networks. However, we do expect FSF to be used strategically. So, while FSF will normally only be used for short term support, there may exceptionally be good reasons for supporting some posts for longer, provided this is consistent with one of the eligible uses of FSF funding. Such cases will need to be decided individually, and early engagement with the Trust R&D Director or the relevant CLRN/LRN Director (for Network FSF) will be important.
Q: How can an organisation qualify for and receive NIHR FSF?
A: NIHR FSF for an NHS organisation’s own use is based on the income the NHS organisation received from the NIHR and Policy Research Programme (PRP) during the previous year, plus the number of senior investigators associated with the organisation in post on 1 April of the year in which the FSF allocation is made. To qualify, an organisation must:
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be an NHS Trust
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be associated with at least one senior investigator in the current year, or have received NIHR Funding other than NIHR FSF in the previous calendar year
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employ staff who do or support research
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fund research staff employed in a partner organisation, such as a university, through a formal agreement.
The allocations received by NHS organisations hosting local research networks, for use in supporting those networks, have been determined by the Clinical Research Network Coordinating Centre, working closely with the Topic-specific Clinical Research Network Coordinating Centres.
Q: Who decides how Network FSF is used?
A: While Network FSF allocations are paid to each comprehensive local research network (CLRN) or local research network (LRN) via the NHS host organisation, it is not funding for that host organisation. The CLRN/LRN Director is responsible for the distribution and management of the Network FSF funding. The Director must set up transparent arrangements for its allocation
Q: Is there a minimum amount of NIHR FSF that can be allocated to an NHS organisation?
A: Yes. This is a strategic fund, so we will not allocate very small amounts of NIHR FSF. The current threshold allocation below which FSF payments will not be triggered is a nominal FSF allocation of £20k.
Q: Does the Department of Health Policy Research Programme funding attract FSF?
A: Yes, where awards are made to NHS organisations. However, PRP contracts are held overwhelmingly by universities for research projects or programmes in units. This work attracts Quality Related funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE QR). Universities, unlike NHS organisations, are eligible to receive HEFCE QR funding and the amount paid to universities is determined through the Research Assessment Exercise. Flexibility and Sustainability Funding is awarded for the same purpose as HEFCE QR is awarded - to create a stable source of income enabling maintenance of a strong research infrastructure.