Review date: February 2025
Section 1: Purpose and Scope
This policy explains what information NIHR considers to be confidential and why. This informs decision-making when requests for information are being considered. It does not mean that decisions about release (or withholding) are taken automatically. The NIHR is subject to the Freedom of Information arrangements of the Department of Health and Social Care.
This policy is primarily, but not exclusively, relevant to confidentiality of applications to the NIHR.
Section 2: Principles
Applications submitted to NIHR for funding opportunities are confidential. They contain information outside the public domain that is critical to organisations' ongoing operations, or is commercially sensitive, that could seriously impede them if disclosed. Applications may also contain material considered personal according to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and must therefore be handled in accordance with this Regulation at all times.
The NIHR Privacy Notice provides further information about how the NIHR handles personal data. Requests for information will be considered on a case by case basis in accordance with the NIHR’s Privacy Notice and with our obligations under the Freedom of Information Act. Disclosures of different types of information are provided in Annex 1.
Reviews, reviewer identities, written comments, scores and committee minutes may be used within NIHR for analysis, research and evaluation purposes. All records will be retained in line with NIHR’s Data Retention Policy.
Section 3: Confidentiality and Disclosure of Research Funding Applications and their Assessment Policy
Section 3.1: Confidentiality of Applications
NIHR aims to ensure that the contents of applications are kept confidential. Information contained within applications must be divulged on a confidential basis to third parties in order to make funding decisions. Confidential material must be shared securely no matter what method is used to share. Information from applications may also be used internally to support process improvement and for analysis, research and evaluation.
Application forms and any associated papers are provided in confidence to external peer and public reviewers, hereafter reviewers, and to funding committee or panel members, including public members and observers, hereafter committee members. Applications are not reviewed by individuals where there is a known conflict of interest. Detailed guidance on what constitutes a conflict of interest and how it is handled can be found in the Conflicts of Interest NIHR policy.
By acting as reviewers or committee members, individuals agree to treat as confidential all applications and the content therein. They must not disclose the fact that applicants have applied for research awards nor the content of applications to any other person, including work colleagues, without the prior written consent of the applicant. This written consent must be obtained through the NIHR.
Reviewers must use the information in the application solely to provide a review to the NIHR or the NIHR committee for which they are acting and not for any other purpose. Committee members must use the information in the application solely for reviewing the application and contributing to funding decisions, and not for any other purpose.
Any personal information must be treated according to the GDPR. It must not be disclosed to any third party unless consent has been given through the NIHR for a specific purpose as part of the application process.
NIHR staff must not disclose or discuss the content of any submitted applications apart from when it is necessary to do so in order to manage the application. Colleagues who may need to be consulted may be in the NIHR, In the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and in partner organisations of the NIHR, such as funding partners.
NIHR staff will normally disclose and discuss the content of submitted applications with external peer and public reviewers, staff in the NIHR Research Support Service (RSS) and committee members and observers. When the RSS has access to information about submitted applications, it is not used for the selection process, but to monitor uptake of advice given to applicants.
An exception exists when NIHR completes overlap checks. These are carried out to ensure that duplicate research is not funded. Overlap checks require review of the abstract, and if necessary some other details from the application, in order to make a judgement.
Section 3.2 Confidentiality of Peer Reviews and Public Reviews
The NIHR, reviewers and committee members must treat reviews as confidential. Anonymised reviews and scores for applications are shared with committee members, except those with conflicts of interest. Anonymised reviewer comments are disclosed to the authors of applications. Scores are also shared for career development awards.
Section 3.3: Confidentiality of Reviewer Identity
Reviewer identity is not disclosed to applicants. Only anonymous reviews are returned to applicants. Reviewer identity may be disclosed to committee members. Reviewer identity is not disclosed when a committee member has a conflict of interest with the reviewer or the applicant or both. Aggregated retrospective lists of those people who have undertaken review for the NIHR may be published annually on the NIHR website.
Section 3.4 Confidentiality of Committee Discussions
The feedback provided and outcome letters sent to applicants are based on funding committee discussions. Feedback points are noted in the full committee meeting minutes, except in the case of career development awards. Comments in the minutes are not attributed to individual committee members. The full minutes are confidential. In most cases, these are circulated only to committee members, and to the NIHR and DHSC staff involved in the commissioning process.
Committee members must not disclose details of discussions or decisions to anyone outside the committee, DHSC or NIHR. Individuals assigned to lead committee discussions, that is lead assessors or designated committee members, are not disclosed to applicants, except in meetings where the applicants are present as part of the assessment process.
Public minutes are published after communication of decisions to applicants. The public minutes contain application reference numbers and titles. The names of committee members with conflicts of interest and the outcome of committee discussions for each application, including funding recommendations, are also published.
Section 3.5: Confidentiality of Written Comments
Committee members may submit written comments on applications for discussion by the committee. This happens if members will be absent from their committee meeting or if they play a particular role in the discussion, such as lead assessor or designated committee member.
Written comments on applications are used to aid the NIHR secretariat to write up the meeting minutes. They may sometimes be used to assist contract negotiation. They are not disclosed to applicants.
Section 3.6: Confidentiality Of Committee Member Identity
Committee member identity is not confidential. Names and affiliations of committee members may be published on the NIHR website and in other relevant documents.
Public minutes published after consideration of applications at committee meetings and communication to applicants contain details of committee members and observers. These details are: names of committee members, secretariat and observers attending committee meetings, names of committee members giving apologies for non-attendance and those committee members who are conflicted with specific applications.
Section 4: Terminology
External peer reviewers: Scientific and/or technical experts that are not members of the relevant Funding Committee who review applications for research funding
Lead assessor / Designated committee member: Funding committee members who provide specific and detailed reviews of an application to the committee
PPI/CEI committee members: Public members (such as patients, carers, users of health and social care services, community representatives and members of the public) of a Funding or Prioritisation Committee that contribute to the assessment of applications to NIHR Funding or support opportunities
PPI/CEI reviewers: Patients, carers, users of health and social care services, community representatives and members of the public who give feedback on research funding applications but do not sit on a Funding or Prioritisation Committee
Professional committee members: Scientific and/or technical experts who are members of an NIHR committee and contribute to the assessment of applications.
Section 5: Responsibilities
Internal
Directors, Assistant Directors and their teams must ensure compliance with the policy.
Guidance to reviewers and committee members should include reference to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and handling information in accordance with this Regulation at all times.
External
Chairs must ensure the review Committee or committee members compliance with the policy.
All reviewers and committee members must read this policy and agree to abide by it and all other supporting guidance relevant to their role before undertaking any review of applications.
Section 6: Related One NIHR Documents
Annex 1: Freedom of Information
All requests for information should be made to the Department of Health and Social Care.
Summary of Information Disclosures
| Type of information | Disclosed to public and external peer reviewers | Disclosed to committee members | Disclosed to applicants | Published on website and in programme documents | Disclosed if requested under FOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application number and / or project title | Yes | Yes | On website in public minutes | On website in public minutes | Publicly available on website |
| Complete or part applications | Yes | Yes | Only applicant’s own application | Abstracts from successful applications | No, confidential |
| External peer and public reviewer comments | Anonymised | Yes | Anonymised, only for applicant's own application | No | No, confidential |
| External peer and public reviewer names | No | May be shared | May be included on single annual list on website, not associated with specific applications | May be included on single annual list on website, not associated with specific applications | Single annual list publicly available on website |
| External peer and public reviewer scores | No | Yes | For career development awards only | No | No, confidential |
| List of committee members (not observers) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Publicly available on website |
| Names of all those in attendance at committee meetings | No | Yes | On website in public minutes | On website in public minutes | Publicly available on website |
| Conflicts of interest of those in attendance at committee meetings | No | Yes | On website in public minutes | On website in public minutes | Publicly available on website |
| Names of Lead Assessors/ Designated committee Member | No | Yes | No, unless applicant is present for assessment at meeting | No | No, confidential |
| Written comments from committee members | No | Yes | No | No | No, confidential |
| Application scores | No | Yes | For career development awards only | No | No, confidential |
| Full meeting minutes | No | Yes, when produced | Own application extract only | No | No |
| Summary meeting minutes | On website | On website | On website | Yes | Publicly available on website |
| Formal secretariat notes | No | Yes | No | No | No, confidential |
| Equality & diversity monitoring data, where collected | No | No | No | No | No, confidential |