What is a DLAF?
The Doctoral Local Authority Fellowship (DLAF) scheme is one element of the NIHR’s wider Local Authority Academic Fellowship Programme. This initiative has been designed to facilitate service-benefitting research within local authority settings by supporting the academic ambitions of individuals wishing to develop as health and/or social care researchers.
The DLAF scheme supports the graduate employees of local authorities and local authority supporting services to undertake research doctorates (PhDs) whilst remaining employed within, or at least salaried to work in support of, a local authority setting.
A DLAF supports the award holder to develop their research skills and their professional skill sets in parallel: the latter through dedicated time for practice and/or through other activities that support their development as a practitioner.
A DLAF has a duration of 3 years when taken full time, but can be taken part time over as long as 6 years.
How does it work?
The DLAF is a personal research training award. As such, applications for DLAFs are written and submitted directly by the prospective award holder.
ALL applicants do, however, require formal support by a partnership of two organisations:
- a provider of health and/or social care services AND
- the Higher Education Institution (HEI) at which the applicant’s PhD will be registered.
The NIHR cannot contract with the award holder directly and so one of these two organisation must be identified as the organisation that will host the applicant’s Fellowship – referred to as the ‘Host Organisation’. The Host Organisation will hold the award contract and receive and manage all award funds.
The organisation not chosen to act as the Host Organisation is referred to as the ‘Partner Organisation’.
In addition to the above choice, the applicant may choose to be employed by either the Host Organisation or the Partner Organisation. This means, for example, if an applicant is currently working at a county council, which will act as the Partner Organisation, the applicant can choose to continue to be employed by the council or move employment to the HEI Host.
The decision on which organisation should host the award and, indeed, on which should employ the awardee is down to the applicant in discussion with their supervisors, line managers and mentors. The decision should be based on what is best for the applicant, their career development and the research and training they are proposing to undertake.
What are the benefits for the awardees employer?
Backfill
A DLAF funds the salary of the award holder, freeing the employer to backfill the award holder’s role whilst they are undertaking the PhD and professional development.
Paid practice time / supernumeracy
20% of DLAF award time must be spent undertaking professional practice/development. Awardees will be supernumerary within their department for this component of the fellowship, with their salary being paid by the award.
The development of a new evidence base for organisational decision making
The DLAF scheme encourages applicants to propose a research project for their PhD that addresses a priority issue for their local authority, and which will, therefore, be of maximum strategic or operational value.
Enhanced research literacy, capacity and capability
DLAF awardees develop research skills and experience that are more broadly applicable than to their own research interests and projects. This enhanced research literacy can facilitate the adoption of evidence-based practice, even in areas not directly related to the research area of the awardee. As research champions, awardees will act as research advocates and support awareness raising across their services and beyond, develop the research skills of colleagues, and further enhance research capacity and capability at the Host Organisation.
Staff retention and recruitment
Research training opportunities are attractive to experienced health and care professionals. Supporting access to research training opportunities has been found to improve retention of senior and/or experienced staff and make departments more attractive to prospective employees.
Attainment of research strategy objectives
Supporting access to research training awards such as the DLAF can help an organisation achieve its research strategy objectives, improve local care outcomes, and create demonstrable linkage between the two.
Strengthening academic partnerships
Research training awards such as the DLAF serve to strengthen and formalise links with universities, facilitating further and broader cooperation and engagement.
Increased research profile
NIHR research training awards are prestigious and will raise the research profile of the Host Organisation.
Who at the partnership of organisations is required to engage in the submission of a DLAF application?
Host
Finance Manager
A finance manager is required to support the costing of the DLAF application and to confirm, via a declaration on the application form, that the finances it contains are accurate.
Head of Department/Directorate/Service or other appropriate Senior Manager
This senior individual at the Host Organisation is required to confirm, via a declaration on the application form, that they support the application. Following submission of the application, the same individual is required to ‘sign off’ the submitted application.
This individual is also required to write a ‘Statement of Support’ for inclusion within the application form, which details the organisation’s support for the applicant and their undertaking of the training and development programme proposed.
Partner
Head of Department/Directorate/Service or other appropriate Senior Manager
This senior individual at the Host Organisation is required to confirm, via a declaration on the application form, that they support the application. Following submission of the application, the same individual is required to ‘sign off’ the submitted application.
This individual is also required to write a ‘Statement of Support’ for inclusion within the application form, which details the organisation’s support for the applicant and their undertaking of the training and development programme proposed.
What is required of the partnership of organisations if an application is successful?
Host
Award payments will be made to the Host Organisation, which will be responsible for managing award funds and making payments to external bodies for training and conference attendance funded through the award.
In addition, the Host Organisation will be required to submit financial reports of award spend to the NIHR on request.
These responsibilities will be covered by a standard contract with the Department of Health and Social Care, which the Host Organisation must be party to.
Partner
The partner organisation must ensure that the awardee is supported and protected to undertake all aspects of the agreed fellowship that require such support and protection.
Funding available through a DLAF award
| DLAF costs | Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) | Any local authority setting |
|---|---|---|
| Salaries | 80% | 100% |
| Travel, subsistence and conference fees | 80% (excepting conference related costs paid at 100%) | 100% |
| Equipment, consumables, patent and legal, public involvement and engagement, and other specific costs needed to support the research | 80% | 100% |
| Training and development | 100% | 100% |
| Estates charges and other indirect costs | 80% | 0 |
Where costs are covered at 80%, it is required that the HEI (the university at which the PhD is registered) will cover the remaining 20%. There is no cost to the Local Authority partner when the HEI acts as Host.