Mental Health Research Groups Awards - Guidance for Applicants

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 applied 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 Research Group stream. This guidance should be read in conjunction with:

• The MHRG competition brief
• The Supporting Information for Applicants

Section 1: Application Summary Information

Mental Health Research Group Title

Enter an appropriate name of the proposed MHRG. (For example NIHR Mental Health Research Group at University of XXXXXX)

Host Organisation

Provide details of the higher education institution (HEI) who will be the contractor if the award is funded. 

In line with the call brief, a HEI with no/relatively limited applied mental health research capacity is eligible to act as MHRG host/Lead Applicant and should clearly be in overall control of the research plan/strategy of the Group. 

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

Lead Applicant

This will auto-populate with the details of the person who created the application. Please make sure that the person who will be the proposed MHRG Chief Investigator creates the application. 

Partner Organisations

Please provide details of the ‘established’ HEI partner(s) that will support the MHRG if funded. Up to 2 HEIs may be listed, however a justification for the need for multiple partners should be provided in the ‘Justification for a Mental Health Research Group’ section.

A HEI with a significant track record or significant portfolio of applied mental health research would be eligible to apply as an ‘established’ partner organisation, using their experience and infrastructure to support the less experienced HEI (Lead Applicant/Host HEI) to collaboratively deliver the mental health research programme as part of the MHRG award. Examples of this development support may include mentoring, sharing of resources, innovation, training, knowledge exchange and mental health/applied mental health research expertise to support the shared ambition to bolster the applied mental health research capacity and capability of the Lead HEI.

Proposed start date 

Enter a proposed start date for the MHRG.

NOTE: This should be from the 1st of the month regardless of whether this is a working day or not. 

Award Duration (months)

Enter the total duration for the MHRG, in months.

NOTE: MHRGs can be for up to 60 months. 

Total Funding Amount

This will be automatically pulled through from the budget section.

NOTE: Funding is available up to £11m a MHRG 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 MHRG Lead Applicant creates the application. 

Considering the size and scale of the proposed awards we expect a Joint-Lead applicant from the Host HEI to be named on the award who will share in the overarching governance responsibilities for the Group. This may also be utilised to provide a leadership development opportunity. (The Joint-Lead must be from the host HEI and not from a partner or collaborating HEI.)

The CV details of Co-applicants can be viewed on the Application PDF which can be generated on the ‘Validation Summary’ page

The Lead and Joint-Lead Applicants from the HEI with no/relatively limited capacity would be expected to have overall control of the research plan/strategy of the MHRG. Applied mental health research staff from up to two ‘established’ partner HEIs  should be named as a co-applicant(s).

Up to a maximum of 14 co-applicants will be allowed (a maximum of 15 may be added on the application, however, please note that the Joint-Lead Applicant will take one of those positions).

Section 3: Research Background - Lead Applicant 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 available.

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: Research Team

Specify your (Lead Applicant) role in this research

Briefly 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 award. If you are funded as part of other NIHR projects that will be running concurrently, your time must not exceed 100% overall. 

Role of Joint Lead Applicant:  

Briefly explain in addition to your role as Joint-Lead Applicant, the role that you will be undertaking in the MHRG, 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.

Relevant expertise and experience of Joint Lead Applicant

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, grant funding, influencing key stakeholders and generating impact on health service or social care service provision.

%FTE Commitment

This refers to the percentage of your time that you will commit to this award. 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 programme. 

Up to a maximum of 14 co-applicants will be allowed (a maximum of 15 may be added on the application, however, please note that the Joint-Lead Applicant will take one of those positions).

Co-applicants are those individuals with responsibility for the day to day management and delivery of the MHRG 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 outside of the Host or ‘Partner’ HEIs, who should be mentioned (if necessary) in the Research 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.

PPI 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.

Training Lead

Each MHRG will be expected to include a named Training Lead to develop and oversee the planned training and research capacity development strategy for the Group (however individual trainees may have separate named mentors.) Please indicate clearly who will be the Training Lead for the MHRG.

Section 5: Plain English Summary 

(max 450 words) 

A plain English summary is a clear explanation of the research that will be conducted by the proposed MHRG.

In plain English, please describe the specific overarching aims of the proposed NIHR MHRG. It should explain the nature of the proposed MHRG and its short, medium and long-term aims, and clearly articulate the intended tangible benefits for people with mental health conditions 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:

1. those carrying out the review (reviewers and advisory committee members) to have a better understanding of your research proposal
2. inform others about your research such as members of the public, health professionals, policy makers and the media
3. 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 / carers / service users / 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 Research Support Service (where applicable). 

Section 6: Justification for a Mental Health Research Group

(max 1500 words)

Please explain why the proposed MHRG should be funded; justifying both the “target area” and the suitability of HEIs involved to act as either the Lead/Host HEI or ‘established’ partner(s). MHRGs should be led by a HEI with no/relatively limited applied mental health research, in collaboration with a named ‘established’ partner HEI, or HEIs. Applicants should provide evidence of their relative research capacity and capability to justify being considered either a Lead Applicant/Host HEI or ‘established’ partner, within the spirit of the intended outcomes of the scheme, as outlined in the call 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 MHRG 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 that the MHRG would aim to address.
• Evidence that the Lead HEI should qualify to host an MHRG. 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 organisation currently undertakes research in, and how a MHRG 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/Host HEI over the past 5 years.
• The number of active applied mental health research grants currently 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.
• The expertise of the ‘established’ HEI partner(s) and their role, interest and shared vision for the proposed MHRG. Note that the objective of this collaboration is to support the development of the Lead institution to become a self-sustaining group. 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.

Section 7: Mission Statement for the proposed Mental Health Research Group

(max 750 words)

Please outline the overall vision and plan for the proposed MHRG and how this relates to the high level objectives for the MHRG funding stream. These are: to build and sustain applied mental health research capacity and capability within the target area; to develop a portfolio of ‘at scale’ applied mental health research relevant to the specific needs of people living in, and public services supporting, geographical areas with high mental health burden, limited research capacity and currently low recruitment into mental health research studies (‘target areas’).  

The plan should also explain both the motivation of the Lead HEI to step up its ability to conduct applied mental health research via the creation of a MHRG, and the established partners desire to support and mentor the Lead HEI to becoming an established self-sustaining group capable of delivering high quality applied mental health research.

A summary of the mental health themes and topic areas that will be covered should also be provided together with the overall aims and objectives of the MHRG, and the specific intended beneficial outcomes for the health and social care systems, patients, service users, carers and the wider public in the target areas should be clearly articulated.

Section 8: Management and Governance Arrangements

(max 500 words)

The UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research sets out the principles of good practice in the management and conduct of health and social care research across the UK. Reflecting on the responsibilities described in this policy, please provide details on the specific management and governance arrangements for the NIHR MHRG, including the arrangements for joint working between the Lead HEI and ‘established’ HEI(s), the role of the Chief Investigator and the co-applicants. Also identify other major collaborations that will be important for the research. 

In collaboration with the ‘established’ HEI(s) as appropriate, the Lead HEI would be expected to provide or develop the research governance and management capability necessary to carry out the research sponsor’s responsibilities for the MHRG. Proportionate costs associated with the role of sponsor may be included as part of the budget section for this MHRG proposal. 

Explain why the MHRG is qualified to carry out this research, describing the track record and expertise of the core research team and how the ‘established’ HEI(s) will support the MHRG.

Please also upload (in the slot provided below) an organogram outlining the management and governance arrangements for the NIHR MHRG, including confirmation that the proposed MHRG Chief Investigator will have responsibility for the MHRG’s research strategy & finance as well as any additional external advisory groups or oversight groups that may be established. The document title should be ‘Appendix_Organogram’

Section 9: Detailed Research Plan 

(max 16,000 words)

Using all of the headings and guidance below, please clearly explain your proposed mental health research programme(s) of work.

As outlined in the Competition Brief, detailed and well-developed plans for at least, the first 2 years of the MHRG work programme (phase 1) are expected, together with a summary of the proposed aims and objectives for years 3-5 (phase 2) and the anticipated way the research plans will develop and progress. The full plan for years 3-5 will be requested by the end of year 2 and will be reviewed by the advisory committee.

Schematics, tables, illustrations, graphs, and other types of graphics can be embedded to clarify the research 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 'Research 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

We anticipate supporting proposals that develop either an at scale applied mental health research programme, or multiple themed programmes, that cover multiple mental health topic areas.

Briefly describe the background and rationale of the proposed research, addressing the following areas:

What are the problems being addressed?

Provide a clear explanation of the local mental health research needs to be addressed, the expected impact, and how this research would fill a demonstrable evidence gap. Research should directly aim to address the needs of local stakeholders, such as local health, public health and social care systems and local communities with lived experience of mental health conditions and of using mental health services and support.

Explain how your proposed research programme/research themes are within the remit of the MHRG programme and how it addresses the key aims to build capability and capacity in the target geographical area, and develop a portfolio of substantive, at scale applied mental health research with an emphasis on specific needs of local areas.

The scope of eligible mental health research activity is limited to diagnosable mental health conditions within the UKCRC Health Research Classification System (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. Research addressing an alternate HRCS code such as HRCS neurological category, which includes dementia, is out of scope for this call.

Applicants may also wish to consider the MRC mental health research goals 2020 to 2030 strategy, which was a joint-funder initiative, when designing the research programme(s). 

Why is this research important to the ‘target area’, and how does existing literature and any preparatory work undertaken support this proposal?

It is essential that work undertaken within the MHRG meets clear identifiable needs within the ‘target area’, and is developed with appropriate consideration of existing evidence.

Please outline:

• The importance of the proposed applied mental health research and its relevance to the priorities and needs within the ‘target area;’
• How the proposed plans have been informed by work undertaken, and evidence gathered, to date to identify the priorities and needs within the ‘target area’;
• The anticipated outputs, outcomes and impact of the proposed research on the health of local patients/service users, carers and/or the public,
• The anticipated timescale for the benefits to patients/service users, carers, the public or populations and the NHS, public health or social care settings resulting from the proposed research to be realised.

Please note that impacts in the ‘target area’ may include, but are not restricted to - patient/service user, carer benefit; health and/or social care staff benefits; changes in NHS or care services (including efficiency savings); commercial return (which could contribute to economic growth); public wellbeing

We expect MHRGs to work closely with local stakeholders, such as local health, public health and social care systems and local communities with lived experience of mental health conditions and of using mental health services and support. Please outline the current organisational and professional links the Lead HEI has with such organisations within the ‘target area’ and how they have been involved in the design of the work. 

Applicants should be aware of ongoing research in this 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. Applicants should also include, where relevant, reference to related on-going studies, (e.g. from trial registries) and relevant professional and statutory body policy, guidelines and strategy documents that address the mental health needs of the target area.

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. The application may then include a more detailed review in early work packages. Read more about the NIHR's approach to ensuring value at NIHR’s Adding Value in Research framework webpage.

Aims and objectives

This section should be used to expand on the overarching aims/objectives of the applied mental health research programme(s) within the MHRG (provided in Section 7), outlining the key question(s) which the work will address.

Please also clearly articulate the aims/objectives for phase I and the anticipated aims/objectives for phase II. 

The NIHR accepts that the long term objectives may change during phase 1, and that we are only asking for detailed plans for the first two years of the proposed MHRG, however applicants are expected to have mapped out their overarching long term vision for the MHRG at the application stage.

Research Plan/methods

NOTE: Applicants should aim to reserve a significant proportion of the word limit for the research plan to ensure methodological approaches are clearly articulated.

As outlined in the Competition Brief, well-developed plans for at least, the first 2 years of the MHRG work programme, (phase 1) are expected, together with a summary of the proposed aims and objectives for years 3-5 (phase 2), and the anticipated plan of how the research plans will develop and progress.

Describe the proposed research plan(s) for the mental health research programme(s) to be undertaken. The research plans should be clearly organised by theme/topic area, with projects/workstreams/workpackages for years 1-2 in each theme/topic area described in detail, with an accompanying summary plan for years 3-5 for each theme/topic area.

For each theme/topic area provide descriptions of individual projects/workstreams/workpackages in turn and indicate how they integrate together to form a coherent programme of inter-related research. 

As well as the overarching benefits to patients, service users and carers that the proposal seeks to achieve, the clear and identifiable benefits from each work package should also be detailed. (For example, experience data following qualitative work, increased knowledge following surveys/observational studies etc.)

Outline the methodological approaches proposed (for example, study design, setting, target population, inclusion and exclusion criteria, measurements, sample size, nature of follow-up, economic evaluation, duration, and practical arrangements). The NIHR accepts that such plans may not be fully developed at the application stage and will require iteration throughout the award, however please provide as much detail as possible, outlining where further work is required to finalise plans, as the committee will need sufficient information to assess the suitability of the proposed methods to address the stated MHRG objectives.

Applicants are reminded that the NIHR strategy encourages research which follows patient needs. Researchers should clearly articulate how their research meets this objective, and how this contributes to the scientific rigour of their programme. Patient recruitment should primarily be undertaken at scale within the ‘target area’, however larger national studies and trials may be allowed if suitably justified.

Equality, inclusion and diversity should also be properly considered when planning and describing the research, and evidenced in the application (see ‘Supplementary information for applicants’ for further guidance.)

Summary of patients/service users/carers/public as research participants:

The successful recruitment and retention of study participants within the ‘target area’ is strategically important for the NIHR. If any proposed studies within the first 2 years of the MHRG involve 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 in the research study(s). For studies planned in years 3-5 this information is not required at this stage, but should be carefully considered as it will be requested as part of the MHRGs strategy for years 3-5.  

This information is important to allow the assessment of the potential burden on study participants 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 research plan and application.

Points to cover: 

• Inclusion and exclusion criteria to help ensure that certain groups were not being excluded without justification;
• Recruitment method(s) 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;
• 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 plans. 

Dissemination, outputs and anticipated impact

The purpose of this section is for the applicant to describe the planned outputs of the research, how these will be communicated and to whom, and how the research may lead to short and longer-term impacts. Impacts in the ‘target area’ may include, but are not restricted to - patient/service user, carer benefit; health and/or social care staff benefits; changes in NHS or care services (including efficiency savings); commercial return (which could contribute to economic growth); public wellbeing.

What do you intend to produce from your research?

Please provide brief details of the anticipated main knowledge products or outputs from your research. NB the term ‘outputs’ refers to any tangible product of the research, not just academic publications. Outputs can include but are not limited to: conference presentation or other workshop events; publications (academic or otherwise); guidelines (clinical, service or otherwise); other copyright (e.g. questionnaires, training aids, toolkits, manuals, software, etc); new or improved design of medical devices or instrumentation; new or improved diagnostic; trial data that could be used to support a CE mark, market authorisation or equivalent; trial data that could be used to shape or influence a healthcare market or government; potential new drug or health or social care intervention.

How will you inform and engage patients/service users, carer, NHS bodies including Integrated Care Boards, social care organisations and the wider population based in the target area about your work?

Describe who you need to communicate with within this research, and your plans for engaging relevant audiences. For impact, it is unlikely that simply making outputs available will be sufficient. Please consider, and outline the active approach you will take to engaging key parties, or identify the process you will use to identify them and formulate an engagement plan. Further information and help can be found in our guidance on how to disseminate your research.

How will your outputs enter the health and care system or society as a whole in the target area?

Describe who are the likely beneficiaries of the research in the target area, when they are likely to benefit and in what ways. Describe the process by which the research will enter the health and/or social care environment, including how your outputs will be acknowledged, selected and introduced for use in the health and care services in the target area or wider society. Where possible consider how the work will be able to be adopted and implemented longer term.

Project/Research Timetable

Describe the progression of the research plan, including the timetable, key milestones, and deliverables of each work package / work stream. 

Ethics/Regulatory approvals

Outline any ethical issues associated with this research and the arrangements for handling them. If there are no plans to obtain ethical review, this must be clearly justified. Note that work outlined in your application/protocol must adhere to the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research.

Project / Research expertise

Explain how the applicants will work together, and identify other major collaborations important for the work of the MHRG. State clearly the particular contribution that each of the applicants will make towards the MHRG and the particular contribution that any collaborators intend to make.

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 this research and what contingencies you will put in place to reduce or eliminate each risk or its impact.

Please also reflect on the possible barriers to generating impact from your research and provide insight into the approaches you will use to overcome potential barriers to engagement, adoption and implementation by commissioners, services and the public located in the ‘target areas’.

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. This should include detailed timings for the phase 1 work packages scheduled in years 1-2, and a broader high level view of the timings for the work packages anticipated in phase 2.

Section 10: Research Capacity Development 

(max 1000 words)

Developing applied mental health research capacity and capability within the ‘target areas’ is a fundamental objective and requirement of the MHRG programme. Please outline the Lead HEI’s objectives and plans for research capacity development for research staff, support staff and academics in training, explaining how this builds on the ‘Lead’ and ‘established’ organisations’ track-records in this regard, and how it will align with the NIHR Academy and its offer to its Members and Associates. 

Each MHRG will be expected to appoint a named Training Lead, and develop and implement a training plan. Whilst principally intended for applied mental health researchers, we would encourage HEIs, especially those inexperienced in applied healthcare research, to look to develop their entire applied research ecosystem, including applied research methodologists, that will be necessary to support large scale applied mental health research both now and in the future. This should include: 

• The range of clinical and non-clinical research professions to be developed;
• The attributes of the research training environment and the efforts to be made to ensure that all research staff, as well as those on an academic pathway, receive a high-quality development experience; (This may include, but is not limited to, highlighting the approach taken to leadership, research management, mentoring, addressing areas of low research capacity, and presenting opportunities to participate in priority research areas.)
• Please include a clear statement of the Partnership’s equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, and its application to research staff, which we expect to include flexible working arrangements and support for people at all stages on the career pathway. 

Section 11: Patient and Public Involvement and Community Engagement 

(max 1000 words)

Patient and public involvement and community engagement (PPIE) is a key requirement for the NIHR.

We expect the research to be undertaken in collaboration with the patients, public, service users, carers and communities who are most likely affected by the research outcomes in the target area. Those who are underserved in the target area should have a meaningful voice in the full range of the research (for example, in its design, delivery and dissemination). More resources to support the design of your PPIE are available in our guidance on the NIHR website.

Given the focus of the call, NIHR recognises that support for early phase PPIE activity may come from the established partner HEI as the Lead HEI develops capacity. Therefore, within six months of the contract's start date, successful applicants will be required to submit a fully developed PPIE strategy addressing engagement with the local community and people with lived experience of mental health problems, demonstrating the ways they will help inform the design and conduct of the research, with an emphasis on co-production. This should then be published on the Group’s website. 

Please outline the Partnership’s strategy for patient and public involvement and community engagement in the work of the proposed MHRG.

Partnerships should indicate how their plans will:

• respond to current challenges and opportunities for involvement, engagement and participation;
• reflect the diversity of the relevant populations it serves, fostering community-led approaches to research and topic prioritisation, developing new methods and approaches (e.g. the use of digital technologies);.

Please describe the ways in which the community, public and patients/service users/carers, will be actively involved in the proposed research, including any training and support provided.

Explain why your approach to community, public and patient/carer/service user involvement is appropriate for this proposal

Describe how you will support and enable community, public and patient/carer/service user, involvement in your research (e.g., payments, training).

Partnerships should also outline how their plans will incorporate the UK Standards for Public Involvement in Research: Inclusive Opportunities, Working Together, Communication, Learning and Support, Impact and Governance.

Section 12: Deployment of Resources 

(max 1000 words)

Please provide a description of how the resources and expertise of the applicant HEIs will be deployed to support the work and development of the proposed NIHR MHRG, with a clear split between what resources and expertise are currently available to the ‘Lead’ HEI and what resources and expertise will be provided by the ‘established’ partner(s) to support the Lead. The level of resource, and associated costs, provided by the ‘established’ partner(s) should be complementary to those provided by the Lead. The NIHR accepts that the level of development assistance will vary and will depend on the resources, expertise and infrastructure available to the ‘Lead’ HEI, for example HEIs that are relatively new to applied research may require far more development assistance than those who have established applied health expertise and the infrastructure that supports such research (e.g. Clinical Trials Units (CTUs) or Health Economic departments).

Your response should include:

• Justification for the resources requested;
• What resources and expertise does the ‘Lead’ Institution currently have and how will these be deployed to support the development of the team and wider MHRG;
• What expertise will be provided by the ‘established’ partner(s) in order to support both the programme(s) of work to be undertaken, and the development of the Lead HEI. 
• The financial split between the Lead HEI, ‘established’ partner(s) and any other collaborating organisations.

NOTE: Financial details, including a breakdown of the proposed MHRG’s costs for resources, should be provided in the budget section.

Section 13: Detailed Budget

The purpose of the funding is to meet the University, and partner/collaborator, costs incurred by the MHRG in carrying out an approved programme(s) of research in applied mental health research, 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 (including training and development costs for staff)
• 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.

Detailed Budget Breakdown

The finance section should provide a breakdown of costs associated with undertaking the research as described in the proposal. 

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 February 2024 then its second year starts 01 February 2025.
• Further itemisation of costs and methods of calculation may be requested to support the application at a later date.
• 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.

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)

HEIs should determine the Full Economic Cot (FEC) of their research using the Transparent Appraoch to Costing (TRAC) methodology. Up to 100% of total direct and indirect costs will be paid.

NHS bodies and other providers of NHS services in England

For applications where the contractor is an NHS body or provider of NHS services in England, up to 100% of direct costs will be paid.

Commercial/other partner organisations

If you are involving a 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.

If you are involving 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.

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 and community 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.

Training and Development costs

We recognize that training and development will likely have to be provided for members of the MHRG, such as training courses and workshops to enhance research team member’s technical research skills and/or personal development skills. We encourage MHRG applicants to ring-fence a budget to support training and development of individual research team members. The NIHR Academy also offers a wide range of training schemes, which applicants may consider when planning training and development. Please include training and development costs within the ‘Other Direct Costs’ tab on the budget spreadsheet.

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

Please note that from the 1st June 2022 the NIHR requires all publications arising from majority funded NIHR research must be freely, immediately and permanently available online for anyone to read, share and reuse (i.e. Gold Open Access.) The NIHR will cover reasonable Article Processing Costs (APCs) and costs to cover APCs should be accounted for in the application budget.

Further information can be found by reading the NIHR Open Access Publication Policy.

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 and should be calculated on the basis of TRAC methodology.

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.

HEI indirect costs

Total HEI indirect costs must be fully justified. HEIs are permitted to claim estate and other indirect costs provided that TRAC methodology has been used.

HEI indirect costs are based on the number of full-time equivalent research support staff working and the indirect/estates charges set by an institution.

Where staff from more than one HEI are supporting research services there may be different indirect/estates charges for each one. Please list each institution on a separate line.

Please note HEI indirect costs cannot be claimed on shared staff costs.

The applicant(s) should consult their HEI finance departments for the appropriate figures to include in the estate charges and other indirect costs section.

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 NHS R&D department initially and, if they are unable to help directly or if there is no local NHS 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 14: 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(s)

Mandatory elsewhere in the form:

• Gantt Chart
• Management & governance organogram

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.) 

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 15: Administrative contact details

Please provide the details of an administrative lead from the Lead HEI 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 16: Research and Development office contact details

Please provide the contact details and job title of a person in the R&D office at the Lead HEI 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 17: 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.

Agreement to terms and conditions

In ticking this, you as Lead Applicant 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 and governance of the MHRG, including responsibility for the MHRG’s research strategy & finance as well as any additional external advisory groups or oversight groups that may be established. In addition, you will accept responsibility for ensuring that the Lead/Host HEI and interested parties are kept informed.

Ticking this box constitutes an electronic signature of the lead applicant with regard to this application