Introduction
The NIHR seeks to establish up to ten NIHR Mental Health Research Groups (NIHR MHRGs) in geographical areas with high mental health (MH) burden, limited local research capacity and low recruitment into MH research studies (“target areas”). These will be partnerships between higher education institutions (HEIs) based in England within target areas, and established partner HEIs based in England with more experience and expertise in mental health research, who have a shared interest and vision.
In recognition that some HEIs may not have the capacity and expertise to design and deliver such a programme of work at the outset, a scheme is available to first allow for applications for a five-year Mental Health Research Leaders Award. Those with some existing capacity who wish to apply directly for a MHRG have the option of first applying for a smaller development award if necessary to support preparatory work for development of their full MHRG application.
This document provides guidance on completing an application to the Mental Health Development Award stream. This guidance should be read in conjunction with:
- The MHRG competition brief
- The Supporting Information for Applicants
Section 1: Application Summary Information
Development work title
Please provide a title for the proposed Mental Health Development Award (MHDA). The development work title should state clearly and concisely the proposed work to be undertaken. Any abbreviations should be spelled out in full.
Host organisation
Provide details of the higher education institution (HEI) who will be the contractor if the award is funded.
In line with the competition brief a HEI with no/relatively limited applied mental health research capacity is eligible to act as host organisation and should clearly be in overall control of the development work plan/strategy of the MHDA.
If you have any queries, please contact MHRG@nihr.ac.uk before submitting your application.
NOTE: If your HEI does not appear on this list, please contact the NIHR Coordinating Centre
Research type
Select the appropriate research type. If your proposed programme includes any element of primary research, please select ‘Primary Research’. If you are carrying out a new analysis of existing data, select ‘Secondary Research’. If you are not sure which category to select, choose the closest match to your project as this can be adjusted later.
MHDA duration (months)
Ensure that you have sufficient time to complete all aspects of the development work including applications for regulatory approvals where required and writing the final report.
NOTE: Mental Health Development Award grant applications can be for up to 12 months.
Proposed start date
Please enter the start date for the MHDA. PLease note MHDAs are expected to start on 1st April 2024 to ensure work is delivered in time for award holders to submit an MHRG application in round 2.
End date
This field will automatically populate once you have entered the start date and research duration information.
Total development work costs
This will be automatically pulled through from the budget section.
NOTE: Funding is available up to £150,000 for a MHDA application.
Section 2: CV - Lead Applicant and Co-applicants
Displayed will be the CV details of the Lead Applicant that will have been pre-populated from your account details. To update your CV details, please visit the ‘Manage My Details’ section of your account by selecting 'Save and Close' at the bottom of the page and accessing the left hand menu toolbar.
The Lead Applicant should be an employee of the host HEI and the Lead Applicant’s details will auto-populate with the details of the person who created the application. Please make sure that the person who will be the proposed MHDA Lead Applicant creates the application.
The CV details of co-applicants can be viewed on the Application PDF which can be generated on the ‘Validation Summary’ page
The Lead Applicant from the HEI with some/limited capacity would be expected to have overall control of the development work plan/strategy of the MHDA. There is no requirement for an ‘established’ HEI(s) to be included at this stage, but if so, applied mental health research staff from up to two ‘established’ HEIs should be named as a co-applicant(s).
Up to a maximum of 15 co-applicants will be allowed. Please note that any Joint-ead applicant will be counted towards the number of co-applicants. If you have listed a Joint-ead applicant, then only a further 14 co-applicants can be included.
Section 3: Background - Lead and Co-applicants
All named Lead, Joint-Lead and co-applicants (with the exception of any Public co-applicants) are required to complete the ‘Publication record’ and ‘Research Grants Held' sections below. Co-applicants will need to complete this section individually as it cannot be done by the Lead Applicant.
Publication record
Provide details of a MAXIMUM of 6 of your most recent / relevant publications (in the last 10 years) relevant to this application (using Vancouver or Harvard citation format). Please use DOI reference numbers if needed.
Research grants held
Please select research grants held (as a named applicant) CURRENTLY or IN THE LAST 5 YEARS – as well as any additional previous grants, relevant to this application, stating who the grant is with and the amount of each grant. If no grants are held please enter N/A (as this is a mandatory field).
Please note that you will only be able to see your own selected publications in this section.
To update your publications, please visit the My Research Outputs area of your account by selecting 'Save and Close' at the top of this screen and accessing the left hand menu toolbar. Once in Manage My Details, the publications are available in My Research Outputs.
- Applicants can then select the relevant publications using the green “+” icon.
- The delete icon (the red and white button) to remove a publication from the list.
- The order of each list can be changed by clicking and dragging the green arrow icon.
In order to check that all applicants have added their Publications please refer to the application PDF which can be generated on the ‘Validation Summary’ page.
Section 4: The Research Team
Specify your (Lead Applicant) role in the award
Explain in addition to your role as Lead Applicant, the role that you will be undertaking in the research, e.g. coordination, communication planning, stakeholder engagement, project management, analysis, methodological input etc. You have the opportunity to elaborate upon this further in the ‘Detailed Research Plan’ section.
%FTE commitment
This refers to the percentage of your time that you will commit to this project. If you are funded as part of other NIHR projects that will be running concurrently, your time must not exceed 100% overall.
Joint-Lead Applicant
Where appropriate and justified it is acceptable for the application to be led by Joint-Lead applicants. Where this applies, please complete your name, contact details and other requested information.
Justification for Joint-Lead Applicant
Justification should be given to demonstrate why more than one person would be required to lead the MHDA and how this brings added value to the application.
Relevant expertise and experience of Joint-Lead Applicant
Please summarise the proposed Joint-Lead applicant’s relevant expertise and track record in applied health or social care research, in terms of skills and experience, previous publications, influencing key stakeholders, grant funding and impact on health service or social care provision.
Specify your (Joint-Lead applicant) role in the MHDA
Explain in addition to your role as Joint-Lead applicant, the role that you will be undertaking in the research, e.g. coordination, communication planning, stakeholder engagement, project management, analysis, methodological input etc. You have the opportunity to elaborate upon this further in the ‘Detailed Research Plan’ section.
%FTE commitment
This refers to the percentage of your time that you will commit to this project. If you are funded as part of other NIHR projects that will be running concurrently, your time must not exceed 100% overall.
NOTE: For application/contracting purposes, the Joint-Lead applicant will be counted as a co-applicant.
Co-Applicants
Add details of all co-applicants and their specific role in the MHDA.
Up to a maximum of 15 co-applicants will be allowed. Please note that any Joint Lead applicant will be counted as a co-applicant. If you have listed a Joint Lead applicant, then only a further 14 co-applicants can be included.
Co-applicants are those individuals with responsibility for the day to day management and delivery of the MHDA and can include patients, carers and service users. Co-applicants, including public co-applicants, are considered part of the research group and are expected to share responsibility for its successful delivery. As well as named public contributors and expert researchers from a range of relevant applied disciplines employed or associated with the host or partner HEIs, co-applicants may also be health, allied health and social care professionals that bring specific expertise related to mental and public health and care services in the target area to enhance the relevance of the research. In contrast, collaborators normally provide specific expertise on particular aspects of the project but do not share in the responsibility for the delivery of the project. Do not include collaborators, who should be mentioned (if necessary) in the Detailed Development Work Plan section of the form.
Public Co-applicants
We encourage the inclusion of public co-applicants, where appropriate. Please include a clear description of their role and the reasons why a public co-applicant is joining the team. For further information please access the ‘Public Co-applicants in Research’ guidance.
We recognise and value the varied perspectives that patients/service users and carers bring to mental health research as applicants. In this section, please provide a summary of any relevant knowledge, skills and experience that you will draw upon to contribute to this award.
This could include information about:
- Previous or present work (paid or unpaid) with any relevant organisations
- Links with any relevant groups, committees, networks or organisations
- Experience of particular health conditions, treatments, use of services, being a carer - or as a member of a particular community
- Knowledge and experience of research including previous research undertaken
- Knowledge and experience of patient and public involvement including previous involvement activities
- Skills from any other roles that are transferable
- Relevant qualifications, training and learning
The bullet point list above is not exhaustive. Please include anything else that is relevant to the application.
Allow sufficient time for your co-applicants to complete their sections of the online form before the application deadline.
NOTE: New team members will need to be registered on the RMS before they can be invited by the lead applicant, via the RMS, to participate in the application. Once invited, the co-applicant will receive an automated email via the RMS with an invitation to log in to their account and confirm their participation. Each co-applicant must confirm their participation via the RMS before the submission deadline, the application cannot be submitted without each co-applicant’s confirmation. The RMS registration and account activation process can take up to two working days.
Section 5: Plain English Summary
(max 450 words)
A plain English summary is a clear explanation of your research. In plain English, please describe the specific overarching aims of the proposed NIHR MHDA.
It should explain the nature of the proposed MHDA and clearly articulate the development work’s intended outputs and how they will lead to a future Mental Health Research Group (MHRG) supporting people with mental health conditions, living within the ‘target area’. This should be aimed at members of the public and be written clearly and simply, without jargon and with an explanation of any technical terms included.
Many reviewers use this summary to inform their review of your funding application. They include clinicians, other practitioners and researchers who do not have specialist knowledge of your field as well as members of the public. If your application for funding is successful, the summary will be used on the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and other websites.
A good quality plain English summary providing an easy to read overview of your whole study will help:
- those carrying out the review (advisory committee members) to have a better understanding of your research proposal;
- inform others about your research such as members of the public, health and social care professionals, policy makers and the media;
- the research funders to publicise the research that they fund.
If it is felt that your plain English summary is not clear and of a good quality then you may be required to amend it prior to final funding approval.
It is helpful to involve patients /service users / carers / practitioners and members of the public in developing a plain English summary.
Further guidance on writing in plain English is available online at NIHR Plain English summaries.
For further support and advice on writing a plain English summary, please contact the NIHR Research Support Service (where applicable).
Section 6: Justification for a Mental Health Development Award
(max 1500 words)
Please explain why the proposed MHDA should be funded; justifying both the “target area” and the suitability of the HEI(s) involved. The MHDA should be led by a HEI with some/limited research capacity in applied mental health. Applications can be submitted in collaboration with a named ‘established’ partner HEI (however this is not mandatory for the MHDA scheme). If so, applicants should provide evidence of their relative research capacity and capability to justify being considered either a ‘Lead’ or ‘established’ partner, within the spirit of the intended outcomes of the scheme, as outlined in the competition brief.
There are no set metrics to measure the eligibility of HEIs and target areas, and the final decision on suitability will be made by the Advisory Committee; however evidence provided should include:
- Details of the geographical ‘target area’ that the MHDA would be looking to work within, information about the burden of the major mental health needs of the area and how the area currently i) has limited applied mental health research capacity and ii) is underserved by mental health research. Where preliminary work on the needs of the ‘target area’ have been undertaken, please explain what the key mental health research needs of the area are.
- Evidence that the Lead HEI should qualify to host an MHDA. Please describe the current ability of the Lead HEI to undertake applied mental health research, including what research infrastructure is currently in place, which areas the HEI currently undertakes research in, and how a MHDA would aid in the development of research capacity in this area. You may wish to consider these data points to support your case:
- The total amount of applied mental health research funding received by the Lead HEI over the past 5 years.
- The number of active applied mental health research grants held by the Lead HEI.
- The number of individuals that are research active within applied mental health in the Lead HEI and the number of these individuals employed at the ‘Senior Lecturer Academic’ level or above.
- The Lead HEI’s current involvement in NIHR Infrastructure Awards, in particular with regards to applied mental health research.
- Where ‘established’ HEI partner(s) have been proposed, please detail the expertise of the partner(s) and their role, interest and shared vision for the proposed MHDA (and future MHRG). Noting that the objective of this collaboration is to support the development of the Lead HEI to become a self-sustaining research group during the course of any subsequent MHRG award. The role of the ‘established’ partner will be to provide support, including mentoring, sharing of resources, innovation, training, knowledge exchange and applied mental health research expertise, to support the shared ambition to bolster the applied mental health research capacity and capability of the Lead HEI, and the development of a competitive MHRG proposal.
Section 7: Detailed Development Work Plan
(max 6000 words)
Using all of the headings (in the order presented) and guidance below, clearly explain the development work needed prior to submission of a MHDA application.
Schematics, tables, illustrations, graphs, and other types of graphics can be embedded to clarify the development work plan but they should not clutter the central narrative. Images do not count towards the overall word count but inclusion of them to overcome word limits is not permitted. Images may only be included within the 'Development Work Plan.' Images included in other sections will be removed from the application and not seen by reviewers.
As this is the main part of your application which will be considered by the advisory committee, you should ensure that the information is accurate, succinct, clearly laid out and provides adequate methodological detail.
Background and Rationale
Briefly describe the background and rationale of the MHDA and future MHRG, providing a clear explanation of why development work is required prior to submission of a MHRG, what topic areas the MHDA will cover, the relevance of this topic within the ‘target area’, and how the outcomes will inform/support the development of a competitive MHRG application.
Applicants should be aware of ongoing research in this topic area and comment on any other research which might be deemed to overlap with the contents of the proposal. In particular, applicants are advised to use both PubMed Central and Europe PubMed Central for recent material on the topic area they are applying for. All applicants must also include reference to relevant on-going studies, e.g. from trial registries.
Any applications that include primary research should include reference to the existing evidence and explain how this evidence has informed the proposed research. Where a systematic review already exists that summarises the available evidence this should be referenced, as well as including reference to any relevant literature published subsequent to that systematic review. Where no such systematic review exists, it is expected that the applicants will undertake an appropriate scoping review of the currently available and relevant evidence and then summarise this in their proposal.
Further information can be found on NIHR ‘Adding value in research’ webpage.
Aims and objectives
This section should be used to indicate the overarching aims/objectives of the MHDA, outlining the key question(s) which the work will address, outlining how it will inform the future MHRG and, where appropriate, any main hypothesis.
Mental Health Development Award work plan
NOTE: Applicants should aim to reserve a significant proportion of the word limit for the detailed development work plan to ensure methodological approaches are fully specified.
Give details of the development work to be undertaken. In particular, specify the key deliverables to be generated by the MHDA and how these outcomes will help develop and inform the future application to the MHRG funding scheme.
List clear objectives and provide brief descriptions, including the methodological approaches proposed.
Applicants are reminded that the NIHR strategy encourages research which follows patient/service user, carer or public need. Researchers should clearly articulate how their research meets this objective, and how this contributes to the scientific rigour of their award. MHDAs should recruit participants from the local geographical ‘target area’ where patient/service user or carer need is greatest including for example the rural and semi-rural areas where many older people live, and represent areas of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic diversity. Equality, inclusion and diversity should also be properly considered when planning and describing the research, and evidenced in the application.
Where the MHDA funding will be used to strengthen or formulate a team and build collaborations, explain how this will be achieved. Clearly describe if and how the MHDA funding, and/or the potential future MHRG, will contribute to capacity building/career development of applicants and of researchers employed on the grant.
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a) Summary of patients/service users/carers/public as research participants:
The successful recruitment and retention of study participants is strategically important for the NIHR. If your proposed study involves patients/service users/carers/public as research participants please use the following bullet points to summarise their characteristics and what would be expected of them throughout the research project lifecycle. The potential burden on study participants can then be understood as well as whether or not the proposed strategies are practical, inclusive and feasible. Please also signpost to where further information on these points can be found in the detailed Development work plan and application.
Points to cover:
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria to help ensure that certain groups were not being excluded without justification
- Recruitment method and consent process to ensure it is practical and fair
- Type and content of participant information materials
- Overview of research methods to capture data from participants and their frequency, e.g. questionnaires/tests/intervention/focus groups/ interviews to include considerations around access for different groups as appropriate
- Study participant support to consider how drop-out and issues of participation would be handled/helplines/ other access arrangements required
- Methods for sharing study progress and findings with study participants
- Payments, rewards and recognition for study participants.
Researchers may find the SPIRIT 2013 statement a useful resource when preparing their protocol.
Project/Research Timetable
Describe the progression of the development work plan, including the timetable, key milestones and deliverables.
Project management
Explain the practical arrangements for managing the development work. This should include specification of the roles and responsibilities of the individual team members who will undertake the development work, the management structure (i.e., reporting lines), the programme manager, frequency of meetings, financial management etc., and highlight the role of any Advisory or Reference Groups associated with the development work.
Ethics / Regulatory Approvals
Outline any potential ethical issues associated with this development work and the arrangements for handling them. If there are no plans to obtain ethical review, this must be clearly justified.
NOTE: the work outlined in your application/protocol must adhere to the UK Framework for Health and Social Care Research
Success criteria and barriers to proposed work
Please set out the measurements of success you intend to use throughout the award. Also the key risks to delivering the development award and what contingencies you will put in place to reduce or eliminate each risk or its impact.
NOTE: A risk is defined as any factor which may delay, disrupt or prevent the full achievement of a research objective. Typical areas of risk for a research application might include staffing, resource constraints, technical constraints, data access, timing, management and operational issues (please note that this list is not exhaustive).
Upload a Gantt chart
It is mandatory to attach a Gantt chart indicating a schedule for the completion of work, including the timing of key milestones and deliverables.
Section 8: Patient and Public Involvement and Community Engagement
(max 500 words)
Whilst the intention may be to use the MHDA to strengthen capacity, generate meaningful collaborations/partnerships with communities, patients/carers/service users and the public, and develop strategic plans for engagement in the target area, patient and public involvement and community engagement (PPIE) remains a key requirement for the NIHR. Those who are underserved in the target area should have a meaningful voice in the full range of the development work. More resources to support the design of your PPI are available on the NIHR website.
Please describe how the community, public and patients/service users/carers have been involved in developing this proposal.
You should describe who has been involved and why this is appropriate, what role(s) they have they played and what influence or change has happened as result of their involvement.
Please describe the ways in which the community, public and patients/service users/carers will be actively involved in the proposed development work, including any training and support provided.
PPI approach, management and support
- Explain why your approach to the community, public and patients/service users/carers is appropriate for this proposal. In your description you will need to say who will be involved and why.
- Please use this opportunity to describe how you plan to manage and coordinate the community, public and patients/service users/carer involvement activities in your project.
- Describe how you will support and enable patients/service users, carers, the public and members of relevant communities to contribute to your research (e.g. access, payments, training).
- We would also encourage you to outline plans for the capturing, evaluating and reporting the impact of patient, user, carer and public involvement activities.
PPI (Patient, user, carer, public) Lead
There should be a named person with appropriate skills and experience who is responsible for leading the PPI element within the project. This role should be an adequately costed and resourced research team member who is able to manage the PPI plans and related activities. More information and examples of the activities a PPI lead might undertake can be found in our guidance on the NIHR website.
Summary of PPI activities
Please provide a summary below of the proposed PPI activities embedded throughout the research project lifecycle. Please clearly signpost to other sections of the Detailed Development Work Plan where the PPI is described further in relation to the relevant project stage e.g. dissemination, intervention design, data collection, analysis.
In rare cases where proposals do NOT involve patients, social care users, carers and the public, clear justification must be provided.
Section 9: Detailed Budget
The purpose of the funding is to meet the University, and partner/collaborator, costs incurred by the MHDA in carrying out an approved development plan, including the funding of staff and core research facilities.
The detailed budget should provide a breakdown of all the direct costs and reasonable indirect costs for which funding is being requested.
In all cases, the value for money of the proposal will be an important selection criterion.
Justification of costs
Provide justification for the resources requested, including the following:
- staff costs,
- travel, subsistence and conference fees,
- equipment (including lease versus purchase costs),
- consumables,
- patient and public involvement, engagement and participation,
- any other direct costs,
- dissemination costs,
- indirect costs.
For help with estimating PPI costs please see the NIHR payment guidance for researchers and professionals.
You should indicate here how this research will potentially benefit the NHS and/ or public health and social care sector. For example, where appropriate, describe the likely cost savings or benefits in terms of numbers of patients treated, treatment times, service users or carers supported etc.
You should describe the value for money of the conduct of the proposed research.
As appropriate, please detail any NHS Support and Excess Treatment cost required in this application. If there are no NHS Support or Excess Treatment Costs associated with the research you must explain why you think this is the case.
Detailed Budget Breakdown
The finance section should provide a breakdown of costs associated with undertaking the research as described in the proposal. Please refer to the associated ‘How to complete the finance form’ or short video for guidance about how to complete this section of the application form.
Programme specific information
Mental Health Research Development awards are not paid on a FEC basis. Therefore, indirect costs cannot be claimed for HEIs. However, the development awards will fund up to 100% of HEI staff costs.
Development awards can be for up to £150k over 12 months. The amount of funding awarded, however, is determined by the scale and nature of the research activity to be conducted.
General information
The information entered in this section should provide an analysis of the total funds requested to undertake the research proposed and should be based on current prices. These costs will be used to assess value for money.
It is in your best interest to undertake a thorough, realistic and accurate costing. As this is the full application, the committee will pay close attention to any material increase in costs. You must provide a clear and full justification for all costs including NHS costs. You must also ensure that you include all costs including those required to secure good research management.
- We recognise that the current higher level of inflation is increasing costs in research. NIHR aims to ensure that the cost of research is properly recompensed, therefore we will fund appropriate, evidenced inflationary price increases, including pay deals, within current contracts. Researchers should present evidence justifying any additional inflationary costs at contract close, with any pre-close pressures managed through normal contract management.
- Years should be calculated starting from the anticipated start date of the proposed research. For example, if your research is expected to start on 01 April 2024 then its second year starts 01 April 2025.
- Payments will be made to the contracted organisation only and the contracted organisation will be responsible for passing on any money due to their partner organisation(s).
- Appropriate sub-contracts must be put in place for any element of the research which is to be paid to another organisation.
- NHS support costs, including costs for Social Care Research, are funded via Clinical Research Networks. Researchers should contact their local NHS R&D department initially and, if they are unable to help directly or if there is no local NHS R&D department, contact the Local Clinical Research Network (LCRN) senior manager for advice on NHS support costs. Further details about LCRN contacts are available on the "NIHR LCRN website".
- All applications are expected to have appropriate NHS, HEI, commercial and other partner organisation input into the finance section of the application form.
- Non-commercial led Awards (e.g., NHS, HEI etc.) will be paid via BAC transfer payment schedules. The NIHR will release funds net of VAT as Research and Development is considered VAT exempt. There are some cost items within an application which may incur VAT, such as equipment or subcontractors. If the applying organisation is unable to claim back the VAT on these items (e.g., maybe they are not VAT registered) then applicants can charge the gross value to the application.
- Commercial led awards will be paid via invoicing. It is up to the company to decide if it is appropriate to apply VAT on the invoice. If the company decides to apply VAT, then DHSC will pay the invoice and claim back the VAT. We recommend that applicants seek advice from VAT experts within their organisation before applying.
Please note that whilst the applicable percentages will be used to calculate the maximum grant payable, the programme reserves the right to award a grant for less than this maximum where it is considered appropriate.
Information on different types of organisations
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
Mental Health Research Development awards are not paid on a FEC basis. Therefore, indirect costs cannot be claimed for HEIs. However, the award will fund up to 100% of HEI staff costs.
NHS bodies and other providers of NHS services in England
For applications involving co-applicants and collaborators employed by an NHS body or provider of NHS services in England, up to 100% of direct costs will be paid.
Commercial/other partner organisations
For applications involving co-applicants and collaborators employed by commercial organisation/consultancy, please fill in direct costs and commercial indirect costs. Indirect costs should be charged in proportion to the amount of research staff effort requested on the funding application form. Up to 100% of costs will be paid.
Alternatively if co-applicants and collaborators are employed by another partner organisation (e.g. charity or NGO), please fill in direct costs and other partner organisations indirect costs. Indirect costs should be charged in proportion to the amount of research staff effort requested on the funding application form. Up to 100% of costs will be paid.
Direct costs
These are costs that are specific to the research, which will be charged as the amount actually spent and can be supported by an audit record. They should comprise:
Staff costs
This section presents an overview of salary and associated on-costs for the applicant(s) contributing to the research, including normal salary increments broken down individually.
Where applicants are already in receipt of NIHR funding for any part of their salaries (e.g. NIHR Fellowships), these should not be additionally charged to the project.
Salary costs (apply to years)
This section specifies the annual costs of each applicant contributing to the research. You should now allocate the individual staff member costs to each year of the research, allowing for increments. Use current rates of pay, and build in any known annual increments (again at current rates). You will not be able to claim for pay awards retrospectively, once your research is underway.
Please note, as this programme does not fund HEI indirect and estate costs, HEI shared staff costs charge out rates should exclude HEI indirect costs and estate costs when being calculated.
Travel, subsistence and conference dissemination costs
This section includes journey costs, subsistence and conference fees. Where applicable, you will need to include the travel and subsistence costs of your project advisory group, steering committee and/or data monitoring & ethics committee. Travel and subsistence costs relating to dissemination should also be included here, as should costs relating to overseas travel.
Journey costs
Enter the total cost of transport for all journeys for destination/purpose. If travel is by car, apply your institution’s mileage rates (however this should not exceed HMRC approved mileage allowance payments, which is 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p thereafter).
Travel by the most economic means possible is encouraged. NIHR programmes do not usually fund first class travel.
Subsistence
Subsistence covers accommodation (if necessary) and meals associated with the travel, excluding any alcoholic beverages.
Conferences
Where national or international conference costs are included, a statement naming the conference or purpose of travel and the benefit to the research must also be made; failure to adequately justify your attendance at a conference will mean the programme will not fund this cost.
For research projects of three years or more, the programme will usually fund up to a maximum of two international conference attendances (two people attending one conference or one person attending two conferences). There are no limits on the number of UK conference attendances.
Equipment
Essential items of equipment plus maintenance and related costs not included as part of estates should be input in this section. These can be lease or purchase costs.
- The purchase cost of pieces of equipment, valued up to £5,000 excluding VAT, will be considered.
- Pieces of equipment costing more than £5,000 to purchase will usually need to be leased. Where applicants are leasing equipment with a purchase price of more than £5,000, a comparison of leasing versus purchasing costs must be provided in the ‘Justification of Costs’ section.
- Items of equipment valued at £250 or more must be itemised separately; however grouping same type equipment is permitted.
- Costs of computers are limited to a maximum of £1000 per item. This includes the costs of any associated software and VAT. A statement of justification must be included, in the relevant ‘Justification of Costs’ section, for any purchase above this limit.
Consumables
This section includes non-reusable items specific to the research. Please itemise and describe the requirements fully (e.g. postage, stationery, photocopying). These items should be research specific, not just general office costs which should be covered by indirect costs.
Patient and public involvement
Please itemise and describe fully the costs associated with patient, user, carer and public involvement. These are likely to include individual travel, out of pocket expenses, payment for time and any relevant training and support costs. Costs related to study participants should not be itemised here.
If voluntary, charity or community groups are supporting the research via activities such as facilitating contact with potential participants, hosting research activities or providing advice, an adequate budget must be included to compensate for their time and resources.
For further information on budgeting for involvement, please read the NIHR Payments Guidance for researchers and professionals.
Other direct costs
These are costs, not identified elsewhere, that are specifically attributed to the research. For example, costs associated with the use of research facilities, external consultancy costs, costs associated with inclusivity (which may include, but are not limited to justified translation of research participant material into other relevant languages), computer licensing, recruitment and advertising costs.
Please note that for organisations claiming indirect/overhead costs, costs such as recruitment of staff, and general training (e.g. in common IT packages) are costs that should be covered by the indirect costs element of the award being sought and should not appear in this section.
If external consultancy costs are included in this section they must be fully justified in the ‘Justification of Costs’ section. Please specify the hourly rate and the number of hours and note that consultants must not be people who are already employed by the applicant’s institution. If they are, any costs should be entered as direct costs in the ‘Details of Posts and Salaries’ and ‘Annual Costs of Posts’ sections.
Please note that external consultants must not be people who are already employed by any NHS organisations, equivalent non-NHS settings, or organisations from the independent sector providing NHS services and other universities, who will be conducting research activities via an appropriately justified subcontract. If they are, any costs should be entered as direct costs in the ‘Staff Posts and Salaries’ and ‘Annual Costs of Staff Posts’ sections.
Dissemination cost
Open access costs
MHDA applicants are not required to include open access costs as part of their detailed budget Research Costs.
Since the 1st of June 2022 all eligible awards contracts issued across NIHR Programmes, NIHR Personal Awards and NIHR Global Health Research Portfolio will have an Open Access Envelope allocated to them on top of the award value, which is ring-fenced for open access costs of peer reviewed research articles that arise directly from the research funded by the award in question.
Further information can be found by reading the Open Access Funding Guidance.
Other dissemination costs
Any large costs should be further detailed with a breakdown of constituent parts or a timescale profile of the costs. Meetings to share best practice, training events and events to disseminate research findings must be run at the lowest possible cost with minimal catering. ‘Conferences’ which are described as such are not eligible for funding.
Indirect costs/overheads
Indirect costs will be charged in proportion to the amount of research staff effort requested on the award.
They comprise:
- General office consumables
- Premises costs
- Library services/learning resources
- Typing/secretarial
- Finance, personnel, public relations and departmental services
- Usage costs of major research facilities
- Central and distributed computing
- Charge out rates for shared equipment
- Cost of capital employed
NHS bodies or other providers of NHS services indirect costs
NHS indirect costs cannot be claimed through NIHR/DHSC programme funding. NHS bodies or other providers of NHS services have been allocated NIHR Research Capability Funding (RCF) to contribute to the cost of hosting NIHR/DHSC-supported research. For more information please visit the RCF webpage.
HEI indirect costs
Mental Health Research Development awards are not paid on a FEC basis. Therefore, indirect costs cannot be claimed for HEIs. However, the award will fund up to 100% of HEI staff costs.
Commercial/other partner organisation indirect costs
Commercial/other partner organisations can claim indirect costs which are the costs of resources used by the research that are shared by other activities. Please seek advice from your finance department about the appropriate cost for this section.
Total Commercial/other partner organisation indirect costs must be fully justified.
NHS support costs
These are the additional patient and service user care costs associated with the research, which would end once the R&D activity in question has stopped, even if the patient or user care service involved continues to be provided. These might cover items such as extra patient or user tests, extra in-patient days, extra nursing attention, extra care visits and extra care worker attention.
Researchers should contact their local R&D department initially and, if they are unable to help directly or if there is no local R&D department, contact your Local Clinical Research Network (LCRN) senior manager for advice on NHS support costs. Further details about LCRN contacts are available on the NIHR LCRN website.
Section 10: Management and Governance
Is Clinical Trials Authorisation required?
Yes / No
Does your project require ethics approval?
Yes / No
If yes, has ethics approval already been obtained?
Yes / No
Section 11: Uploads
Please note that all supporting documentation uploaded should be given concise and clear file name descriptions. These should be headed by a numbered ‘Appendix’ and a brief filename description that clearly describes the file (e.g. Appendix_References).
The following files are mandatory to submit for all applicants and should be attached in this section:
- One single-side A4 page, listing references cited in your application.
- Letters of support from the Lead HEI and ‘Established’ Partner HEI(s) (where relevant)
Mandatory elsewhere in the form:
-
Gantt Chart
The following file(s) are considered non-mandatory to submit; please number your files and attach:
- Any further supporting documentation (flow diagrams, pictures, logic models, graphic of approach to knowledge mobilisation, trial protocols, any letters of support etc.)
Please note that all supporting documentation uploaded should be given concise and clear file name descriptions. These should be headed by ‘Appendix’ and a brief filename description that clearly describes the file (e.g. Appendix_References).
No more than 5 separate files are permitted in this section. The total file size of all uploads should not exceed 5Mb. Total file sizes larger than this may not be considered as part of this submission. We strongly recommend that only .doc or .pdf files are uploaded as some file types are not supported by the system (such as .xls and .zip file types which will not render out into the final version of the application form). Should you wish to upload documents of other file types, we encourage you to check that they appear in the PDF of the application form prior to submission as changes cannot be made after the deadline has passed.
Section 12: Administrative contact details
Please provide the details of an administrative 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 13: Research and Development 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: This person does not need to be included as a co-applicant.
Section 14: Acknowledge, review and submit
Conflict checks
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.