Frequently Asked Questions
This webpage will be updated on a weekly basis whilst the funding competitions are open.
If you would like to discuss the programme with a member of the team please contact MHRG@nihr.ac.uk We are very happy to schedule a Teams call to discuss the programme remit in more detail.
Organisation Eligibility
Can UK based Universities outside of England partner on a MHRG application?
No, only Universities within England are able to lead or partner on a MHRG application.
Is it mandatory to collaborate with an established partner HEI?
Yes, the HEI with no/relatively limited capacity will act as lead applicant, and should apply in collaboration with an ‘established’ partner(s) HEI(s) based in England.
Can an application be led by an NHS Trust?
No, NHS institutions can be co-applicants or collaborators on an application but are not eligible to be the lead or established partner institution
What types of organisations should be co-applicants and which should be collaborators on proposed MHRGs?
Co-applicants should be individuals from involved institutions with responsibility for the day to day management and delivery of the award. In contrast, collaborators normally provide specific expertise on particular aspects of projects but do not share in the responsibility for the delivery of the project.
The Lead and Joint Lead applicant should be from the ‘Lead’ HEI. The ‘established’ HEI should also be formally represented on the bid within the co-applicant list. Representatives from NHS, or other, Service providers involved in a bid may also be formally represented on the application form as co-applicants. Beyond that, other collaborators, including charities, community groups or commercial partners, can be included within the detailed work plan.
How can institutions interested in collaborating find each other?
Your first step should be to identify institutions with common research interests. You might look through the staff pages of (local) Universities with mental health research-related departments, or you could use Google Scholar, PubMed, or ResearchGate to find people publishing in the field. Alternatively, you may wish to use a website such as this NHS England Directory to find individual NHS service providers and their contact details. Community organisations often have active social media presences and local libraries can be a great resource for finding out about local groups.
There is no requirement for partnering or collaborating institutions to be in the same geographic area; it is required that the involvement of each partner/collaborator is fully justified in the context of the bid proposed.
How will you be defining what counts as ‘no/limited’ mental health research capacity and therefore deciding who is eligible to be a Lead Applicant?
There is no precise metric for determining the eligibility of the Lead Applicant. This will ultimately be judged on the HEI’s existing capacity and experience within applied mental health research. We recognise that there will be a range of potential measures of justification and it will therefore be important for the applicants to make a compelling case. The decision will ultimately be made by the Independent Selection Committee based on the justification provided by the applicants considering the spirit of the intended outcomes of this funding scheme.
Our expectation is that MHRG awards will be led by a HEI that does not currently have the capacity to undertake at-scale applied mental health research, and therefore require an MHRG to achieve this. For example, HEIs with a history of leading a portfolio of mental health work funded through NIHR programmes such as Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) or large Health Technology Assessment (HTA) or Health & Social Care Delivery Research (HS&DR) awards would not be considered eligible to lead an application to any of the MHRG schemes. Instead, we would hope that such HEIs would consider supporting a smaller HEI in an application to the programme, through acting as the established partner HEI.
If a HEI has had or been involved in one or two NIHR awards, such as those mentioned above, this would not necessarily disqualify them. The objective of the MHRG Funding Programme is to support institutions with no or limited capacity to develop and sustain mental health research capacity and a mental health research infrastructure beyond the lifetime of the MHRG award. Similarly, some relationship with an ARC or other mental health-related initiative would not immediately disqualify a bid, the level of involvement and amount of funding received over time would be taken into consideration by the committee.
The eligibility information is very vague, could you provide more detailed criteria?
As this is a new scheme and concept we are unable to provide precise definitions on what counts as ‘Low,’ ‘Limited ‘ and ‘Established’ capacity. There is no one exact metric that will be used to determine research capacity however we have provided examples that may be used to support your justification, such as your current applied mental health research portfolio, your HEI’s history of leading of large-scale applied mental health awards and your HEI’s involvement in NIHR infrastructure awards and how these currently support applied mental health research within the HEI.
Please note that the committee will be considering the wider picture of why a HEI requires a MHRG in order to build and sustain research capacity and capability so that it can lead, conduct and sustain large-scale applied mental health research that it would not be able to achieve, or maintain long-term, through other funding streams.
Could you confirm whether or not my institution is eligible to lead an MHRG application?
The NIHR secretariat is unable to confirm whether specific institutions are eligible to lead an application to any of the MHRG schemes. Applicants are asked to justify why the HEIs involved in the application should qualify to act as either the ‘Lead’ or as the ‘Established Partner’ as per the application guidance. The final decision will be made by the Independent Selection Committee.
Can an application include multiple ‘Established’ senior partners?
Yes, where suitably justified an application may include up to 2 ‘Established’ Senior partners.
Can an application be led or co-led by multiple ‘Junior’ partners?
No, applications should be Led by a single HEI with no/low mental health research capacity.
Can an 'Established' HEI support multiple applications?
Yes, 'established' HEIs may support more than one application if they have the capacity to do so.
Can individuals from an 'Established' HEI be a co-applicant on multiple applications?
Yes. Where appropriate, (i.e. where the same expertise or mentoring is requested on different applications that the HEI is supporting,) and where they have capacity to do so, individuals may be co-applicants on more than application.
Who can apply for a Mental Health Leaders Award (MHLA)?
MHLA awards are an institution-level award designed to support the development of a team within the institution who will be able to competitively bid for an MHRG or other MH-based funding in the future. The main objective of a MHLA is to create new posts within institutions, appointing at least one senior-level researcher. Institutions who have no or some existing Mental Health research capacity, but who are too limited in their capacity to develop a competitive bid for an MHRG at this time, are eligible to apply. The person who creates the application for the bid should therefore be someone within the institution already who has the ability to oversee the development of the new roles and recruitment process, that person’s expertise does not need to be in mental health research necessarily.
Target Area Eligibility
Which target geographical areas qualify for MHRG led research?
Potential target areas across England include, but where justified by robust evidence are not limited to, those areas highlighted as having a high burden by the Small Area Mental Health Index (SAMHI) Place-based Longitudinal Data Resource. We have purposefully not selected to use one metric, the SAMHI is convenient as a starting point but is not exhaustive. Justifications for mental health burden could include arguments based on geography, population density, socio-economic factors, intersectionality and more.
Can MHRGs look to address similar needs both locally and in the broader region?
If there are areas of common local need across a number of geographic areas e.g. across a broader region, then it would be up to the research team to justify why these areas should fall within the scope of the MHRG.
Scope
Which mental health conditions is the research activity limited to?
The scope of eligible mental health research activity is limited to diagnosable mental health conditions within the HRCS mental health category, including depression, schizophrenia, psychosis and personality disorders, addiction, suicide, anxiety, eating disorders, learning disabilities, bipolar disorder, autistic spectrum disorders, and studies of normal psychology, cognitive function and behaviour.
Do the MHRG awards support basic/experimental mental health research?
No, the MHRG awards do not support applications, which include basic laboratory/discovery research, experimental medicine or research involving animals.
Would you welcome applications on the prevention of mental health conditions?
Yes work focusing on prevention would be welcome as part of a MHRG.
Finance / Costs
Is the £11m figure the total budget for the initiative, or can each team apply for up to £11m?
MHRG applicants can apply for up to £11m each.
Is there a maximum, or set, rate of Infrastructure or Indirect costs that will be supported, either as a set amount or as a % of overall costs?
There is no set rate or limit for infrastructure or indirect costs. Applicants can propose a rate within the application however as stated in the Competition Brief application budgets will be judged on value for money.
We appreciate that the level of required infrastructure costs may differ between HEIs and will be dependent on the current infrastructure available to support the research so please clearly justify why the level of funding requested in this area is required.
What might an expected budget division between the ‘lead’ HEI and 'established' HEI look like?
The division of the budget will depend on the level of development assistance and mentoring that will be required by the Lead and therefore this may differ significantly across MHRGs. We would expect a large majority of the funding to be allocated to the ‘lead’ HEI however accept that significant funding may be allocated to the ‘established’ partner in order to fulfil their role.
Can studentships be budgeted for?
Applications can include funding for research capacity development, across all stages of the academic career pathway, including internships, Masters, PhDs, post-doctoral. This may also include career development for methodological disciplines.
How should the SoECAT be prepared for an MHRG bid?
We expect a fully detailed SoECAT for the first phase of work to be submitted at application, and that SoECATs will be amended or re-completed as awards progress and work plans develop for later phases.
For MHLA applications will you be mandating a flat, £500K per year, payment schedule?
No. Payment schedules will be built to match the anticipated spend profile of the award and, as will all NIHR awards, will be reviewed on a yearly basis.
The Future of MHRG Funding Programme
Will the MHDA and MHLA calls be run more than once?
This will be kept under consideration and will depend on the number of applications funded in the first round.
Can the NIHR facilitate networking events?
While the timelines will not allow for the NIHR to organise networking events ahead of the first round of the MHLA, MHDA, and MHRG commissioning cycles, we are planning outreach and networking events ahead of future rounds.
Will the scope and criteria change for future rounds of the MHRG funding opportunities?
It is unlikely that the scope will change in future funding rounds of the MHRGs, though as a brand new call, we will continue to develop the guidance and information available to applicants. These developments will continue to be influenced by the feedback and needs of the research community.
Will funded MHRGs be expected to link to one another?
MHRGs bids do not need to include formal plans to link with other funded MHRGs at application. Once MHRGs are funded and active, the NIHR will seek to establish links between MHRGs that are working on similar themes in order to facilitate shared learning.
If our MHRG application is rejected will we be able to resubmit to a future MHRG competition?
Yes, there will be no restrictions on resubmissions, unless the application is rejected based on the eligibility of the Lead HEI.
Co-Applicant Requirements
Is it mandatory to include a PPIE Lead and Co-applicant for Development Awards?
We would expect to see the inclusion of a PPIE Co-applicant on all applications. Ideally a PPIE Lead should also be included but we accept that there are reasons why this isn't possible for ‘Research Development Awards’ and in such situations we would expect to see a justification provided.