Senior Investigator Award

NIHR Senior Investigators are prestigious researchers who make an outstanding leadership contributions to the work of the NIHR. They receive funding for 4 years to support their research activities while undertaking a senior leadership role for the NIHR.

About the Senior Investigator Award

We fund Senior Investigators every year. They are NIHR Academy Members and help guide research capacity development. They play a leading role in guiding strategy and tackling challenges in the health and social care landscape, working closely with the NIHR and Department of Health and Social Care. They are ambassadors for the NIHR across the social care, public health and NHS landscape.

Applications for the next round of funding will open in Summer 2025.

Who can apply?

To be eligible to apply, you need to work in health, public health or social care in England and must already be:

• making a substantial contribution to NIHR
• receiving NIHR funding
• leading applied health, public health or social care research

Many applicants support our committees and serve on NIHR boards. They provide leadership for NIHR activities at a regional, national or international level. You can find the eligibility criteria in our guidance for this scheme.

Why apply?

If appointed, you will receive discretionary funding of £20,000 per year of appointment to support your research activities. 

We award this funding for 4 years. 

Senior Investigators can reapply for a second term on completion of their first. They can complete a maximum of 2 awards totalling no more than 8 years. Second applications should not be submitted before the final year of an NIHR Senior Investigator's first term.

What’s involved?

Senior Investigators should:

• contribute significantly to NIHR as senior leaders
• lead the training and development of NIHR’s people, for example through our Mentoring Programme and our Future-Focused Leadership Programme
• act as ambassadors for the NIHR 
• demonstrate research excellence
• advocate for patient, care users, carers and public involvement and engagement in research
• play a leading role in NIHR’s contribution to growth, for example by:
  • attracting, developing and retaining a highly skilled health research workforce 
  • supporting collaborations and contract research within the life sciences industry

What we’re looking for

Senior Investigators are exceptional research leaders committed to supporting NIHR. We particularly encourage applications from researchers working in social care and public health as well as:

• social care practitioners
• nurses
• midwives
• allied health professionals

We hold an annual, open competition to appoint Senior Investigators. 

How to apply

Applications for the next round of funding will open in summer 2025.

You will apply through ARAMIS, our online research award management system. 

Help with your application

For more information on completing an application:

• application guidance describes how you should submit your application and how it will be assessed
• Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement resource pack provides extra information on how to demonstrate expertise in PPI in an application 

How we review applications

A funding committee will review your application. You will not need to attend an interview as part of the selection process. To reflect the diverse professions of applicants, there are 3 funding sub-committees:

• nursing, midwifery, allied health professional and methodology sub-committee
• social care sub-committee
• medical, dental and public health sub-committee