Mental Health Research Leaders 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 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 Leaders Award 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 Leaders Award (MHLA) Title

Enter an appropriate name of the proposed MHLA. (For example NIHR Mental Health Research Leader Award at University of XXXXXX)

Host Organisation 

Provide details of the Organisation who will be the contractor if the MHLA is funded.

In line with the competition brief, a higher education institute (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 research plan/strategy of the MHLA.

If you have any queries, please contact MHRG@nihr.ac.uk before submitting your application.

NOTE: If your Organisation 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 Organisation Lead creates the application. We understand that the Lead Applicant at this stage will not be the dedicated ‘Research Leader’ as this person will be recruited if the application is successful. We therefore expect the Organisation Lead to be the person at the Host HEI that will be responsible for recruiting and mentoring the eventual Research Leader. 

Proposed start date 

Enter a proposed start date for the MHLA. We would expect the award to officially start at the point where the Research Leader is appointed and joins the Host HEI; it is therefore important to build in time for recruitment prior to the start date. 

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 MHLA, in months.

NOTE: MHLAs can be for up to 60 months. 

Total Funding Amount

This will auto-populate based on the details provided in the ‘Detailed Budget’ (Section 8)

NOTE: Funding is available for up to £2.5m.

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 the chief sponsor of the MHLA at the host HEI. They should have overall responsibility for the recruitment and mentoring arrangements for the mental health Research Leader, even if they are not delivering the mentoring themselves, and ensuring the wider development of the host organisation’s applied research capabilities. We would expect the Lead Applicant to be responsible for leveraging the wider research and governance capabilities of the host HEI to support the Research Leader and associated mental health research team. Please ensure that the application form is created by this individual. 

Co-applicants are considered part of the research group and support team for the Research Leader that is recruited, and therefore share in the responsibility for the successful delivery of the award. As this is an institution level award, with the majority of participants to be appointed post funding outcome, we do not expect a significant number of co-applicants to be added at this stage. Please only add co-applicants who will be funded by the MHLA, and be actively involved in the mentoring and guidance of the Research Leader and wider mental health team. Other supporting members of staff may be added separately in the ‘Detailed Budget’ section. 

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

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. 

Section 3: Research Background - Lead Applicant and Co-applicants 

All named Lead, Joint-Lead and co-applicants with a scientific and/or research background 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 page 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 participants 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 this award

Explain your role as the Lead Applicant in the award. We would expect the Lead Applicant to have overall responsibility for the recruitment and mentoring arrangements for the mental health Research Leader as well as responsibility for leveraging the wider capabilities of the host HEI to support the Research Leader.

%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. We would expect any Joint-Lead to be based at the host HEI. 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 support the mental health Research Leader 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, knowledge and experience that makes them suitable to jointly lead the application.

Specify role in research

Please provide a brief overview of your role in the proposed MHLA. You have the opportunity to elaborate upon this further in the ‘Development Plan’ section.

NOTE: For application/contracting purposes, the JointLead 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 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 considered part of the research group and support team for the mental health Research Leader that is recruited. Co-applicants may also be individuals that bring specific expertise related to mental and public health and care services in the ‘target area’ to help support and guide the Leader. Co-applicants from an ‘established’ HEI in applied mental health may also be included if they are to undertake a mentoring role for the Research Leader.

In contrast, collaborators normally provide specific expertise on particular aspects of the project but do not share in the responsibility for delivering the MHLA. Do not include collaborators, who should be mentioned (if necessary) in the development plan section of the form.

Public co-applicants 

We encourage the inclusion of public co-applicants, where appropriate. For MHLA we would have similar expectations of a public co-applicant as the other co-applicants, in the sense that any public co-applicant should be actively involved in the mentoring and guidance of the Research Leader and wider mental health team. Inclusion of a public co-applicant at this stage is not mandatory and we accept that less research active HEIs may not currently have the ability to source a suitable co-applicant before submission. However we would expect to see a clear commitment, with a dedicated budget, to bringing on a suitable PPIE co-applicant at a future time point.

If appropriate, please include a clear description of their role and the reasons why a public co-applicant is joining the team. They are not obliged to complete a standard CV but are required to provide a summary of any knowledge, skills and experience relevant to their role in the application in a separate text box. This appears when ‘yes’ is selected to indicate if co-applicants are a member of the public.

We recognise and value the varied perspectives that patients / service users and carers bring to a project 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.

For further information please access the 'Public Co-Applicants in Research' guidance'.

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)

In plain English, please describe the specific overarching aims of the proposed NIHR MHLA. It should explain the nature of the proposed NIHR MHLA and its short, medium and long-term aims, including how the institution will develop its applied research capacity in mental health. 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. The summary may be made publicly available.

A plain English summary is a clear explanation of the development plans of the proposed MHLA.

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 MHLA will help:

1. those carrying out the review (reviewers and Committee members) to have a better understanding of your proposal
2. inform others about your award such as members of the public, health professionals, policy makers and the media
3. the research funders to publicise the awards 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 NIHR Research Support Service (where applicable).        

Section 6: Justification for a Mental Health Research Leaders Award 

(max 1500 words)

Please explain why the proposed Mental Health Research Leaders Award is required, justifying the geographical ‘target area’ that will be served, and both the eligibility and the motivation of the Host HEI in applying for an MHLA. The MHLA is intended for HEIs that currently have no, or very limited, applied mental health research capacity or capability, and therefore require a MHLA in order to appoint a senior mental health Research Leader to develop that capacity. 

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 to justify a MHLA should include:

• A description of the host HEI’s current research infrastructure including its capability in applied mental health, and more broadly its core capacity in applied health research and methodological expertise.
• An explanation of the motivation of the host HEI in applying for a MHLA. Why is the organisation interested in developing its applied health research capacity and capability within applied mental health?
• How the Host HEI plans to use a MHLA to develop its capability in applied mental health research and its wider applied health research infrastructure (where necessary) with a view to applying for a Mental Health Research Group Award (MHRG).
• Details of the geographical ‘target area’ that the MHLA would be looking to work within, information about the mental health burden and 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.

Section 7: Detailed Development Plan 

(max 10000 words)

Using all of the headings and guidance below please clearly explain your proposed development plan. Schematics, tables, illustrations, graphs, and other types of graphics can be embedded to clarify the development 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 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 reviewing committee you should ensure that the information is accurate, succinct, clearly laid out and provides adequate detail.

Background and rationale

Building on the information provided in Section 6 describe the background and rationale of the proposed MHLA, addressing the following areas:

What is the organisation’s interest in mental health research

Explain why the host HEI is interested in undertaking applied mental health research that will be directly beneficial for the local communities and health and care system within the ‘target area’. Outline the long term vision of the organisation to develop its research capacity and capability both within mental health, and wider applied healthcare research, and how a MHLA, and a potential future MHRG will enable the HEI to achieve this. 

What is the current research capacity of the organisation in this area. 

Provide a breakdown of any current research capacity and capability within the area of applied mental health within the organisation, including details of any applied mental health research strategies, funding awards or collaborations currently in place and how these will link to the MHLA. In the context of the MHLA scheme it is accepted that current capacity may be very limited.

Describe the current ability of the organisation to undertake applied healthcare research, including what research infrastructure is currently in place, which areas the organisation currently undertakes research in, and how this infrastructure/expertise will be utilised to support the mental health Research Leader and their team.

Aims and objectives

This section should be used to indicate the overarching aims/objectives of the MHLA, outlining the key question(s) and research capacity and capability areas which the work will address. Please also provide specific short (1-2 years) and long (3+ years) term objectives for the organisation in developing its research capacity and capability in this area.

Set-up and recruitment

Please provide details on the organisation's plans to attract, recruit and retain the applied mental health research leader and the other associated roles. 

In addition to the Research Leader please provide a breakdown of the roles that the MHLA will support both within the mental health research team and wider research capacity. We understand that the Research Leader, once appointed, will have a strong influence over the formation of the mental health team and the plans may change as a result, however, please provide the current vision of the organisation of the anticipated configuration of the team.

Development of the mental health research leader and team

Effective development of the Research Leader and wider team will be crucial to ensuring that the HEI is well equipped to submit a competitive application for a MHRG award, as well as ensuring the long term competitiveness of the HEI in attracting and retaining talented researchers to continue undertaking high quality sustained applied mental health research. 

With this in mind, please detail the training and development strategy that the HEI will put in place to support and develop the Leader and wider team (accepting that the Leader will have a strong influence on the development of the wider team) including:

• The mentoring arrangements that will be established to support the Research Leader, including who will be responsible for providing such mentorship. 
• The resources available to the organisation that the Research Leader will be able to draw upon in developing the team.
• Where internal expertise or mentors do not currently exist, how will the organisation put in place suitable mentoring and support arrangements with external partners; and what agreements and discussions have been had around this to date. 
• How will you support diverse career paths and promote equality, diversity and inclusion for the Leader and associated posts.

Development of the Mental Health Research Group application

The primary intention of the MHLA funding stream is to enable organisations that do not have an established mental health research team to create a team that can develop a competitive proposal to receive a full MHRG award within 2 years of the start of the award. If the team is successful in applying for a MHRG then it is expected that the MHLA will be terminated early, at a suitable time point, and staff will be transitioned onto the MHRG as appropriate. 

With this in mind, and building on your answers above, please describe how the HEI will support the Research Leader, and wider team, to develop a credible application to the MHRG funding stream. Please consider the following questions when crafting your response;

• How you will support the mental health team to undertake research into applied mental health evidence gaps, research priorities and service delivery challenges within the ‘target area’ that would inform the research priorities and work plan of a future MHRG. 
• Engagement with the local health, public health and social care systems, as well as local communities with lived experience of mental health conditions and of using mental health services, will be essential in developing a strong MHRG application that can deliver real world benefits for patients and service users. What relationships does the organisation currently have with organisations and groups within the ‘target area’ and how will you support the Leader and wider team to engage and further develop these relationships. 
• How you will seek to establish a productive and effective relationship with a HEI(s) with significant existing experience in applied mental health research, who will be a partner on a future MHRG application. If discussions have already been initiated with the ‘established’ HEI(s) please provide details of the proposed arrangements and what their role will be. 

Award Timetable

Describe the progression of the development plan, including the timetable, key milestones and deliverables.

Success criteria and barriers to proposed work

Please set out the measurements of success you intend to use throughout the MHLA. Please detail the key risks to delivering this 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 an objective. Typical areas of risk 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 the proposed development plan, including the timing of key milestones and deliverables.

Section 8: Patient and Public Involvement and Community Engagement

(max 500 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.

The NIHR recognises that for this programme the Research Leader will have a strong influence on the future research to be undertaken, including the arrangements for PPIE. 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..

For this application please outline the Host Organisation’s core strategy for patient and public involvement, engagement and participation in health and care research. Applicants should provide information on the infrastructure and strategies that are currently in place to engage with, support and ensure effective participation of patients and members of the public within the ‘target area’. This may include links with local NHS PPIE groups and infrastructure. If the host organisation does not currently have such infrastructure and strategies in place please provide an outline of how this will be developed.

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 9: Detailed Budget 

The purpose of the funding is to meet the University, and partner/collaborator, costs incurred by the MHLA in carrying out an approved research capacity building plan 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
• dissemination costs
• indirect costs

For help with estimating PPI costs please see the NIHR payment guidance for researchers and professionals.

You should describe the value for money of the proposal.

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.

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.
• 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 Cost (FEC) of their research using the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) methodology. Up to 100% of total direct and indirect costs will be paid provided that TRAC methodology has been used.

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 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

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. For more information please visit the RCF webpage.

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 cost 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.

For further information, please see the attributing the costs of health and social care research and development (AcoRD) guidance. 

Section 10: 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 submission for all applicants and should be attached in this section:

• One single-side A4 page, listing references cited in your application.
• A letter of support from the Host Organisation.

The following file(s) are considered non-mandatory to submission; please number your files and attach;

• Any further supporting documentation (flow diagrams, pictures, logic models, etc.)  

The following files are mandatory to submission and are uploaded elsewhere in the form:

• Gantt Chart

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 11: 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 12: 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 13: 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 and 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, 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 the recruitment and overall support and mentoring of the Mental Health Research Leader and the Research Team. In addition, you will accept responsibility for ensuring that the host institution and interested parties are kept informed.

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