Biomedical Research Centres - Stage 2 RMS Guidance

Any colleague(s) invited to participate on this bid will be required to log into the NIHR Research Management System (RMS), access the application and actively select both the 'confirm' and 'approve' options. Please ensure that all applicants invited to collaborate on this application have confirmed their involvement and approval of the application form content before submission.

The host NHS organisation lead and university lead will be required to log into the system, access the application and actively select both the 'confirm' and 'approve' options. Please ensure that all applicants invited to collaborate on this application have confirmed their involvement and approval of the application form content before submission.

Whilst confirming and approving an application can be done at any time during the submission of an application, it is strongly encouraged that this is done well in advance of the deadline.

If you have any queries with your application, you can contact the infrastructure team.

Roles

The application details page will display details of the participants and roles. Please note application roles such as ‘co-applicant’ are used as standard contact types in the RMS, and should not be interpreted as the role the individual has in the bid. 

Applications will need to be approved by all listed participants. If a participant has multiple roles, these can be selected from the application details page and confirmations will be needed for all roles.  

Please note, participant details will only be visible in the application PDF once they have confirmed their participation. 

NOTE: Electronic signatures will be required for certain contact types. Those who are required to tick the signature box will need to go into the application form and tick it. These tick boxes are mandatory and only available to edit for those assigned. 

Section 1: Details of Proposed NIHR Biomedical Research Centre

Name of Proposed BRC

This should be auto populated with the stage 1 title, but can be amended in the form. 

Proposed BRC Director(s)

All information in the box below is auto populated from the ‘Manage my details’ section within the proposed Director’s NIHR RMS Portal account, which should be updated and edited prior to submission. Applicant response will be pulled through from Stage 1 application  (applicants can amend where necessary).

BRC Co-Director? (optional)

Please select whether the BRC will have a co-director or not. (YES/NO)

Host NHS Organisation

Please select the name of the host NHS organisation from the drop down menu. Applicant response will be pulled through from Stage 1 application  (applicants can amend where necessary).

NOTE: If your Organisation does not appear on this list, please contact us via email or phone 0208 843 8000

Details of the Host NHS Organisation Lead

Details for the Host NHS Organisation Lead will be pulled-through from the "Manage my details" section of their portal account, which should be updated and edited prior to submission. The application form PDF will display these details.

University Partner

Please select the name of the university partner from the drop down menu. Applicant response will be pulled through from Stage 1 application  (applicants can amend where necessary).

Details of University Partner Organisation Lead

Details for the University Partner Organisation Lead will be pulled-through from the "Manage my details" section of their portal account, which should be updated and edited prior to submission. The application form PDF will display these details.

Additional Partners

Please list any additional partners, NHS organisations or universities, that will be formally associated with the NIHR BRC. Applicant response will be pulled through from Stage 1 application  (applicants can amend where necessary).

Letters of Support

Letters of support are required for all additional partners listed. All letters  must  be collated into a single document and then uploaded as a single pdf.

Outline Strategic Plan (Part a: Plain English Summary)

In plain English, briefly outline the scientific rationale/context to the areas covered by the proposed NIHR BRC; and outline the vision and goals of the proposed NIHR BRC.  This summary may be made publically available. Please avoid using jargon and explain any technical terms included (500 words). Applicant response will be pulled through from Stage 1 application  (applicants can amend where necessary).

Section 2:  Governance & Leadership

Please describe the leadership and expertise demonstrated by the proposed Director(s) and their proposed contribution to the NIHR BRC, this should include: 

(500 words)

• evidence of their track record of leadership within a research environment.  This should cover examples from the national and international level where relevant;
• evidence that they are at the forefront of their research fields;
• evidence of their ability to facilitate the translation of early translational and experimental medicine research into benefits for patients, public and/or the health and care system;
• experience in leading national or international centres/facilities/institutes;
• evidence of championing the agenda around improving research culture including EDI; 
• evidence of commitment to developing research capacity and capability within the health and care system, including supporting early career research researchers to become future leaders;

Director (500 Words)

Co-Director (500 words)

This box will only appear if the ‘co-director’ condition is ticked in the previous section. 

Please describe the management and governance arrangements for the proposed NIHR BRC, please include

(1000 words)

• The arrangements for joint working between the NHS and university partner, and the arrangements with any additional NHS organisations or universities that will formally contribute to the NIHR BRC.  Please provide evidence of previous effective partnership working between the lead NHS organisation and the university partner; 
• An explanation of how the proposed Director(s) and the proposed Theme Leads fit into these arrangements, including how responsibilities will be managed where there are joint appointments to roles;
• Please describe how the NIHR BRC proposes to prioritise and deprioritise research areas across Themes to deliver those with the highest potential to translate into outcomes likely to benefit patients and the public and/or the health and care system;  
• The proposed NIHR BRC’s governance arrangements and processes for managing  the use of the funding within Themes to support early translational and experimental medicine studies particularly where the majority of the research costs (>50%) are met by the NIHR BRC award; 
• Please outline the centre’s governance arrangements for overseeing: training and capacity building; management and exploitation of intellectual property; and  communication/dissemination of NIHR BRC activities;
• Please confirm that the proposed Director (or where relevant co-Directors) of the NIHR BRC will have responsibility for, and authority over, the NIHR funding if awarded.

Please upload an organogram showing the proposed governance arrangements (including any external governance body(ies)) for the proposed NIHR BRC (Upload)

Please confirm that the proposed Director (or where relevant co-Directors) of the NIHR BRC will have responsibility for, and authority over, the NIHR funding if awarded.(YES/NO)

Please indicate whether the host NHS organisation is currently a member of the UK Health Data Research Alliance (UKHDRA). (YES/NO)

Outline the proposed NIHR BRC’s existing data and health informatics capability, including information governance systems, and how this will support delivery of the proposed BRC Themes. Please also describe any links to existing UK platforms.

(300 words)

Section 3: Strategy and Strategic Delivery Plan

The proposed NIHR BRC’s overall strategy for supporting early translational and experimental medicine research aimed at translating findings from discovery sciences into clinical research, including: 

(2000 words, table excluded from word count)

• the vision and aims of the NIHR BRC and the relevance of these to patients, public and the health and care system.  
• the key research areas, questions or problems that the NIHR BRC is aiming to tackle and how the infrastructure provided by the NIHR BRC will support these.  This should include a description of how the research portfolio will contribute to the health and wellbeing of patients and the public, with demonstration that research is following patient need and reflects the diversity of the population.
• the proposed NIHR BRC’s operational plan, including mechanisms for tracking the progress of the BRC in respect to key activities, for example training, strategic partnership development, as well as overall progress of the portfolio of early translational, experimental medicine research. 
• a brief outline of the Themes, which describes how they are brought together into a coherent Centre. Demonstrate how each Theme enhances the proposed NIHR BRC, and how each links to the overall objectives stated above. (One supporting diagram may be uploaded).
• a brief outline of how the expertise of any additional partners will strengthen the delivery of the NIHR BRCs overall objectives. 
• a summary of the NHS/university partnerships current and proposed strategic partnerships, including with industry, research charities and with other NIHR-funded infrastructure. (One supporting diagram may be uploaded)

Please complete the table to set out specific (SMART) objectives that will be used to track the progress of the proposed NIHR BRC.  Please include details of how the proposed NIHR BRC will monitor and determine successful completion of each objective.

• short term (1-2 years); 
• medium term (2-3 years); and 
• long term (4-5 years)

Case Studies

Up to three case studies which highlight previous successes in translating findings from discovery science into the clinical setting and towards benefits for patients, the public and/or the health and care system. The information presented should be understandable to both lay and expert members of the committee, written in plain English, without use of jargon. Any technical terms should be explained. 

(400 words per case study and no more than three may be submitted.)

Section 4: NIHR BRC Theme Details & Financial Plans

Please create the themes in the table and fill in the associated questions including:

Name of theme

Type of theme (theme/core)

Themes

Theme lead

Add in the details of the theme lead here

Co-Theme Lead (if co-theme leads are appointed)

Add in the details of the co-theme lead here

Key contributing researchers who will add quality and depth to the proposed Theme [Name and expertise/experience]. (300 words).

Please highlight:  

• the strategic rationale for the Theme and the research hypotheses the Theme will aim to address; 
• demonstrate how the areas to be addressed and/or the approaches to be taken will drive innovation in the prevention, diagnosis and/or treatment of ill-health through early translational and experimental medicine research. Please outline how you anticipate  the likely research outputs will have potential for further translation to deliver benefits for patients and the public and the health and care system;
• the relevance of the expected outputs to the health of patients and the public and/or the health and care system. This should demonstrate how the research will follow patient need and reflect the diversity of the population (including support for research activities being conducted in areas with the greatest disease burden, in collaboration with local investigators);
• how the NIHR BRC award will enable the NHS/university partnership to build on its existing capacity and critical mass as scientific knowledge and approaches in the area evolve in order to ensure the theme remains internationally competitive over the course of the award.

(1300 words)

Case Studies

Please include up to 3 case studies (these should be max 400 words or an A4 infographic each) that illustrate the partnership's expertise in early translational and experimental medicine research of relevance to the Theme and support its effective translation into later stage research and/or practice. Case studies should be understandable to both lay and expert members of the panel and written in plain English, without use of jargon. Any technical terms should be explained. Please provide references for up to 3 primary publications per case study.  

(1200 words) (Upload file)

Please complete the table to set out specific (SMART) objectives that will be used to demonstrate, and manage, the progress of the Theme.  

• short term (1-2 years); 

• medium term (2-3 years); and 

• long term (4-5 years). 

(TABLE - excluded from word count)

How you will monitor and manage success (200 words)

Partnerships/collaborations required to support the Theme

Where relevant, please provide details of how any proposed additional partners as listed in Section 1, universities or NHS organisations will contribute to the Theme. This should include details of:

• the additional expertise they will bring to the Theme;

• roles that they will contribute to the Theme;

• examples of previous successful research collaborations between the additional partner(s), universities or NHS organisations, and the NHS and/or university partners.

(300 words)

Justification of Resources

Please provide a description of how the requested resources for the Theme will be deployed to support the work proposed. 

(300 words)

Finance

Please refer to the associated finance guidance document to aid filling in this form.  In addition, there is a short video to visually demonstrate how to complete the finance part of the form.

Please refer to the associated Biomedical Research Centers Application Guidance Annex 1 to review eligible and ineligible costs.If applicants have any financial queries, please direct your query to the NIHR infrastructure team. 

Section 5: Summary of Finances and Justification of Resources

Themes

Use the dropdown option to filter the total requested values by a specific theme.  The default '(Select)' option will show total values for all themes if selected

NOTE: Please click Save above to refresh the values following your selection

Total requested across all themes

Please provide a description of how these resources will be deployed to support the work of the proposed NIHR BRC, including:

• justification for the resources requested, including resource for core costs

• please state the resources that you anticipate will be allocated to PPIE and Research Capacity Development activities

• where you have indicated that you intend to participate in a NIHR TRC(s) please state the resource that you intend to commit to each TRC. statement of how the funding provided will build on DHSC/NIHR investment via other funding schemes including other NIHR Infrastructure to deliver value for money. 

(500 words)

Please provide a statement on how activities would be prioritised in the event of the final award being decreased by the following levels of that applied for:

• -10%, or  -50%.  

(300 words)

Financial Plan

The plan provides the financial summary for the whole NIHR BRC. 

Centres will need to complete a detailed financial plan. This will require:

Centres will need to complete a detailed financial plan for each Theme. This will require a detailed breakdown of costs for staff posts and salaries, travel, subsistence, conference, equipment, consumables, PPIE, dissemination, costs associated with open access publishing, biosample storage, NHS support costs, other direct costs and indirect costs. 

In addition, Centres will need to present the combined cost of all the centres core functions and facilities (e.g. Director’s salary, management costs, technology platforms, etc.) which underpin the Themes. Please note that ‘Core’ is not a Theme; this is prescribed purely for finance purposes. The costs of core functions and facilities should not be spread across the Themes.

Section 6: Approach to Collaborative Working

Please outline the strength of the existing strategic partnerships between the NHS and university partnership and other collaborating NHS/university collaborators highlighted in the application. (600 words)

Please describe the approach and strategy of the proposed NIHR BRC for working with industry, charities and other (non-NIHR) public funders of research. Please provide examples of key strategic partnerships already in place that are directly relevant to the proposed Themes. (600 words)

Please outline the approach and strategy to support the proposed NIHR BRC’s commitment to collaborative working across NIHR and with other parts of the NIHR infrastructure. This should outline how the proposed NIHR BRCs expected will work with other parts of the NIHR infrastructure (including Local Clinical Research Networks) to strengthen regional partnerships and ensure NIHR infrastructures are appropriately joined up to maximise opportunities for driving the translation of research into benefits for patients and the public, the health and care system and for broader economic gain. (600 words)

Please complete the table to indicate whether the proposed NIHR BRC intends to participate in the following NIHR TRCs (select Yes/No).

• NIHR-BHF Cardiovascular Partnership
• NIHR Dementia Translational Research Collaboration
• NIHR Diet and Activity Research Translation (DART) Collaboration
• NIHR Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration
• NIHR-Versus Arthritis UK Musculoskeletal Translational Research Collaboration
• NIHR Oncology Translational Research Collaboration
• NIHR Respiratory Translational Research Collaboration

Please indicate whether the proposed NIHR BRC intends to participate in the NIHR BioResource for Translational Research. (Yes/No)

Section 7: Patient and Public Involvement, Engagement and Participation

Please describe the partnership's approach to and future plans for Patient and Public Involvement, Engagement and Participation in research.

(1000 words)

This section should consist of a summary of:

• The proposed NIHR BRCs strategic objectives for Patient and Public Involvement, Engagement and Participation including the approach that will be taken to equality, diversity and inclusion and the need to reach underserved communities.
• The programme(s) of activity to deliver the strategic objectives including involvement and engagement across the research Themes.
• An outline of the resources that the proposed NIHR BRC intends to commit to delivering the programme of activities, highlighting the role(s) and FTE that will be committed to enable delivery of the PPIE strategy. Please consider what resources you will put in place to support novel involvement and engagement mechanisms such as community engagement, digital engagement or other models that broaden reach.
• The relevant strategic and operational partnerships and collaborations at the local, regional and national level.
• The processes for assessing and evidencing the impact of the proposed NIHR BRCs PPIE approach - and for capturing and sharing the wider learning that is generated -  across the full spectrum of research delivery/dissemination.
• The leadership mechanisms that ensure progress in delivering the plans feed into the management and governance processes of the proposed NIHR BRC

Section 8: Research Capacity Development

Please describe the partnership’s approach and future plans for Research Capacity Development. Please provide:

(1000 words)

• The proposed strategy and objectives for delivering academic capacity development and training within the proposed NIHR BRC. This should include consideration of the whole of the academic career pathway (including post-doctoral training and future career development), pathways to impact of all proposed activities, and personal and professional development opportunities, such as access to mentorship and leadership programmes.
• Evidence of strengths that the NHS/university partnership brings to delivering successful research capacity building. 
• Demonstration of commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in capacity building and to improving research training culture. 
• The proposed organisational oversight and responsibility for the delivery of the academic career development strategy, including the role of Academic Career Development Lead (and/or co-Leads if appropriate) and where they will fit within the strategic and operational governance structures of the proposed NIHR BRC. 
• Demonstration of how your approach to Research Capacity Development is complementary to the national offer provided by the NIHR Academy.

Section 9: Other authorising roles – signatories (electronic)

Electronic signatures

These approvals are required to ensure that the costs submitted are agreed by the Host NHS Organisation and partner university as an accurate estimate of the cost of undertaking the proposed research. These approvals must be in electronic form and can only be completed by the selected contacts below via the Research Management System. Failure to complete these approvals will result in the application failing validation at submission.

The BRC Director must add the following supporting roles from the host organisation to the application:

• Chief Finance Officer of the Host NHS organisation
• Authorised signatory for the Host NHS organisation.
• Authorised signatory for the partner university.

On assigning these contacts an email will be sent to each by the system requesting they approve the application and confirm the content by checking the boxes below. Once these contacts have approved the application you will be able to proceed to submit.

No original or ‘wet ink’ signatures are required for this application.

Authorised signatory of the proposed BRC Director(s)

In ticking this, you as the proposed Director confirm that the information given on this form is complete and correct and that the host NHS organisation and partner university fully endorses the application for an NIHR Biomedical Research Centre award and assert that appropriate support will be provided to the BRC should the application for funding be successful. You also confirm that the BRC will comply with all NIHR research governance initiatives, including use of model research agreements/contracts and compliance with the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research requirements.

Ticking this box constitutes an electronic signature of the directorial  role with regard to this application.

Chief Finance Officer of the Host NHS Organisation

The Chief Finance Officer must approve the application and check the access controlled box below before the application can be submitted.

In ticking this, you as the Chief Finance Officer for the Host NHS organisation confirm that you have checked the financial details of this application and that the named institution is prepared to carry out this research at the stated costs and to administer the award if made. You also confirm that the staff grades and salaries quoted are correct and in accordance with the normal practice of this organisation.  

Ticking this box constitutes an electronic signature of the supporting role with regard to this application.

Authorised signatory of the Host NHS organisation

This is the individual who can authorise this application on behalf of the Host NHS Organisation.

The authorised signatory must approve the application and check the access controlled box below before the application can be submitted.

In ticking this, you as an authorised signatory for the Host NHS Organisation, confirm that the Host NHS Organisation fully endorses the application for an NIHR BRC award and assert that appropriate support will be provided to the BRC should the application for funding be successful. You also confirm that the Host NHS Organisation will comply with all NIHR research governance initiatives, including uptake use of model research agreements/contracts and compliance with the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research requirements.

I confirm that I have checked the financial details of this application and that this Organisation is prepared to carry out this research at the stated cost and to administer the awards if made. The staff salary quoted are correct and in accordance with the normal practice of this institution.

Ticking this box constitutes an electronic signature of the supporting role with regard to this application.

Authorised signatory of the partner university

This is the individual who can authorise this application on behalf of the partner university.

The authorised signatory must approve the application and check the access controlled box below before the application can be submitted.

In ticking this, you as an authorised signatory for the partner university, confirm that the partner University fully endorses the application for an NIHR BRC award and assert that appropriate support will be provided to the BRC should the application for funding be successful. You also confirm that the university will comply with all NIHR research governance initiatives, including uptake use of model research agreements/contracts and compliance with the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research requirements.

I confirm that I have checked the financial details of this application and that this Organisation is prepared to carry out this research at the stated cost and to administer the awards if made. The staff salary quoted are correct and in accordance with the normal practice of this institution.

Ticking this box constitutes an electronic signature of the supporting role with regard to this application.

Section 10: Administrative contact details

Please provide the details of an individual lead as a secondary point of contact for any queries relating to the application, should it be supported. 

NOTE: This person does not need to be a co-applicant.

Section 11: Research office contact details

Please provide the contact details and job title of a person in the R&D office so that we are able to notify them of the outcome of this application including any associated feedback.

NOTE: Please note this person does not need to be included as a co-applicant.

Section 12: Acknowledgement, review and submit

COI declaration

Please declare any conflicts or potential conflicts of interest that you or your co-applicants may have in undertaking this research, including any relevant personal, non-personal and commercial interest that could be perceived as a conflict of interest. (300 words)

Please declare any conflicts or potential conflicts of interest that you or your co-applicants may have, including any facts that, should they come to light at a future date, could lead to a perception of bias. Include any relevant personal, non-personal & commercial interest that could be perceived as a conflict of interest. Examples include (this list is not all encompassing) secondary employment, consultancy, financial or commercial gain (pensions, shareholdings, directorships, voting rights), honoraria, etc. In a case of commercial sector involvement with the application or the study, please state clearly the relationship to ownership of data, access to data, and membership of project oversight groups.

Agreement to terms and conditions

Director

In ticking this, you as Director confirm that the information given on this form is correct and that you will be actively engaged in this research and responsible for its overall management.  In addition, I will accept responsibility for ensuring that the Host University and interested parties are kept informed.

Ticking this box constitutes an electronic signature of the Director with regard to this application.

Co-Director (if one has been selected)

In ticking this, you as Co-Director confirm that the information given on this form is correct and that you will be actively engaged in this research and responsible for its overall management.  In addition, I will accept responsibility for ensuring that the Host University and interested parties are kept informed.

Ticking this box constitutes an electronic signature of the Co-Director with regard to this application.

Section 13: Validation Summary

Please follow the next steps in order to complete your application submission process;

• Validate all mandatory/required fields listed below (that are required to be completed/amended before submitting)
• Check all co-applicants, this includes the University Lead, PHE lead and Research Theme Leads,  have completed their CV details as appropriate and review the PDF final version for any formatting issues
• Click 'Save and Close'
• Click the 'Submit' option (this must be completed by 20 October 2021)

You will receive an automated email containing the acknowledgment that we have received your application.

If there are no validation requirements above you may be ready to submit the application. To do so 'Save and Close' the application and then click ‘Submit’. 

If you have any queries about the RMS and the application process please contact us via email or phone us on 0208 843 8050.

Once there are no validation requirements you may be ready to submit the application. To do so, select the 'Save and Close' button followed by the ‘Submit the Application’ button on the summary page.