Introduction
The NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement award (DSE) is a post-doctoral level funding opportunity that supports the acquisition of skills and the undertaking of experiences that will enable the next phase of an awardee’s research or clinical/ practitioner academic career.
The award can support an awardee’s salary for up to 2 years whole time equivalent, and the costs of the training and development programme.
The career development supported through a DSE will be in one of the following areas:
- Applicants that need to develop specific skills or undertake specific training/ experience to be competitive for their next grant or academic career development/
fellowship funding application - Applicants that have been developing clinical/ practice leadership roles and need to develop specific skills or undertake specific training/ experience to develop their next funding application whilst continuing their role as a research, system or clinical leader.
- Applicants returning from a research or practitioner academic career break
- Applicants aspiring to enter a research/ academic career (e.g. industry partners coming to academia)
- Applicants developing skills in knowledge mobilisation and/or implementation science
We are particularly interested in receiving applications from individuals that are developing skills and experience within the following strategic themes:
- Health and Care Professionals developing practitioner academic careers
- Health Data Science as applied in clinical, biomedical or population health settings
- Clinical Trials
- Entrepreneurship and working with industry
- Knowledge Mobilisation and/or Implementation science
Please see Strategic Themes below for further details.
Who is the award for?
The DSE supports early to mid-career post-doctoral researchers who are developing careers in applied health and care research.
Eligibility Criteria
- The proposed Host Organisation must be an English HEI, NHS body, or other provider of health and/or care services (see Host organisation below)
- For clinical academic applications: completion of relevant pre-registration training.
- Applicants must hold a relevant PhD or MD, or have submitted their thesis for examination at the time of application. Applicants must have been awarded their PhD or MD by the time they start.
- Applicant demonstrates a continued commitment to a career in undertaking research within NIHR’s remit.
- Applicants must not have submitted a DSE application to the previous submission window.
Applications to the NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement Award must be based in the UK at their host organisation for the duration of the award, except for travel for research, training or development activities as outlined within the proposal. Applications in which the fellow is living overseas from their host organisation will not be supported.
Applicants would usually be early to mid-career post-doctoral researchers (individuals who have recently been or about to be awarded a PhD up to individuals with several years of postdoctoral experience). Whilst not ineligible, individuals that are already established as an independent researcher, especially those that have previously held an NIHR post-doctoral research training award, would not normally be considered for this scheme. If an established researcher applies, a clear justification should be provided to explain why the support is required and why it is not already available through the Host organisation.
Host and Partner Organisations
All applications must propose a Host Organisation that will be the contractor if the award is funded. The Host Organisation must be capable of fulfilling the role of research sponsor as set out in the UK Policy Framework for Health & Social Care Research. Further guidance on the roles and responsibilities of a research sponsor can be found on the Health Research Authority’s (HRA) website.
Applicants may choose to be employed by the proposed Host Organisation or to be employed by another suitable organisation (as detailed below) for the duration of the award. If the applicant will be employed by an organisation that is not the Host Organisation, the employing organisation must be named as a Partner Organisation in the application and the applicant must ensure they will hold an honorary contract for the duration of the award with the proposed Host Organisation.
This means, for example, if an applicant is currently working in a clinical/practice setting e.g. NHS Trust, and the proposed Host Organisation is a HEI, then the applicant can choose to continue to be employed by the NHS Trust or move employment to the HEI, however there must be an honorary contract in place for the duration of the award with whichever organisation is not the substantive employer.
Please note: If the proposed Host Organisation is not an HEI, a partner HEI must be named as a partner Organisation.
Suitable Host and Partner Organisations:
- A recognised HEI based in England
- an NHS body based in England
- an English provider of publicly funded health and/or social care services
- a provider of third sector publicly funded health and/or social care services (for example, a commissioned social enterprise, local authority or hospice)
The decision on where to host a personal award and the subsequent employer for the duration of the award is down to the applicant in discussion with their supervisors, line managers and mentors. The decision should be made based on what is best for the applicant, their career development and the research and training they are proposing to undertake.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will enter into a Fellowship contract with the host organisation. Government procurement transparency regulations require the publication of all contracts made with the DHSC to be made available on the DHSC website. Confidential information including research proposals, detailed finance information, bank details, and departmental staff names (other than the award holder’s name) will be removed from the published versions.
Funding and Support available
A DSE award provides funding for:
- The salary of the award holder for up to 2-year whole time equivalent
- Training and development costs up to £5,000 per year
- Conference costs up to £1,000 per year
- Mentorship costs up to £3,000
DSE award costs will be funded at 100% and Full Economic Costs (FEC) will not be covered.
DSE awards can be held for 12, 18 or 24 months Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) in duration and can be undertaken on a part time basis of between 50 and 100% WTE.
The DSE has been designed to be flexible to meet the needs of individual applicants, however this means that careful thought is needed as to the amount of support and duration of the award being requested. Requests should be justified and evidence based, and demonstrate the desired impact the award will have on the applicant’s career trajectory.
Although the DSE can be used to fund development and leadership skills within a clinical setting, practice time will not be supported.
Please see Annex F for award duration options
Training and Development
Competitive DSE applications will include a detailed training and development plan and a clear articulation of the new skills and experience the applicant will gain by undertaking the proposed training and development and how it will benefit their future career in research.
Examples of training and development that can be supported through a DSE include (but are not limited to):
- Expanding networks and forming new collaborations (e.g. building Industry collaborations, engaging with research leaders and research groups)
- Formal training courses (which could include MSc level modules)
- Informal training courses
- Placements spending time in clinical research settings (e.g. at clinical trials units, hospitals, research centres, shadowing clinical academic/clinical leadership staff, working with research infrastructure)
- Training in or development of skills to undertake Patient and Public Involvement
- Knowledge mobilisation and/or implementation science
- Any other development of skills or experience which would benefit future applications and longer-term research or practitioner academic career plans
- Applicants can also consider wider development training (eg. Leadership).
The DSE award should not be used solely to spend time writing and preparing an application for future funding.
Mentorship
Applicants are advised to consider expanding mentorship beyond current supervisory teams and to consider expertise in the field/area their career is developing into. Proposed mentors may or may not be based at the host organisation.
Applicants are required to identify the individuals that will provide mentorship during the award and to clearly describe how the proposed arrangements will support their overall development. Applicants should also provide an initial assessment of the time that will be allocated to the mentorship process.
If you are developing a practitioner academic career, you may want to include a practice mentor and/or a leadership mentor (e.g. regional leadership roles/ NHS senior management)
The appropriateness and proposed support from the mentor(s) will be assessed.
Strategic Themes
Although open to all eligible applicants developing careers in the areas noted, we are particularly keen to hear from applicants that are developing skills and experience in the following areas:
- Health and Care Professionals (HCPs) developing Practitioner Academic Careers
The DSE can be used to support the academic or practitioner academic career development of Health and Care professionals (HCPs), including aspiring researchers who have been engaged in roles related to research delivery or capacity development and seek to advance their own research or practitioner academic careers.
For further information see Annex B.
- Knowledge Mobilisation and Implementation Science
Knowledge from research that NIHR funds is not always taken up where it is most needed, which limits the realisation of its potential value. In order to address this, one of the uses of the NIHR DSE is to enable awardees to develop skills in knowledge mobilisation and Implementation Science.
Applicants are encouraged to explore training and development options that will help them better grasp the concepts of knowledge mobilisation and implementation science. They should also consider activities that promote system-wide influence for the adoption of research findings. Additionally, applicants might want to collaborate with established groups that excel in knowledge mobilisation or are actively researching in this field.
- Health Data Science
The DSE award can be used to develop skills in data science as applied in clinical, biomedical or population health settings and may be used to fund MSc level modules or full courses in HDS. For further information see Annex C
- Clinical trials
The DSE award can be used to support individuals who would benefit from further training within the setting of a Clinical Trials Unit (CTU). The collaboration should offer the applicant the opportunity to experience all aspects and stages of clinical trials and should not be limited to one study. A list of potential UKCRC registered CTUs is available. For further information see Annex D.
- Entrepreneurship and working with industry
NIHR aims to increase the number of researchers and clinical academics who are equipped with the skills to work at the interface of academia, the NHS and industry, and therefore able to contribute to the translation of ideas into new treatments and products from which patients can benefit.
By using a DSE award to increase skills and training in entrepreneurship combined with the experience of working with industry partners it is hoped successful applicants will contribute to this aim and go on to become research leaders able to confidently engage and collaborate with the life sciences and med-tech industries throughout their career. It is also hoped that individuals will develop skills, experience, and make useful networks which would allow them to develop their research ideas and outcomes into business opportunities.
For further information on the core elements your training could include see Annex E.
Start Dates, Duration and Submission Deadlines
The DSE application form is continuously available for applicants to access and begin populating. When ready, applicants can choose from three possible submission windows throughout the year.
Awards must start on the first of the month.
| Submission Window | Review Period | Start Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 9 April 2024 - 26 July 2024 (1pm) | August - October | December 2024 - March 2025 |
| 5 August 2024 - 22 November 2024 (1pm) | December - February | April 2025 - July 2025 |
| 2 December 2024 – 28 March 2025 (1pm) | April - June | August 2025 - November 2025 |
Application Deadlines
Please make sure your application is submitted by 1pm on the last day of the submission window in order to be considered in that round of reviews.
The signatory (Head of Department or Senior Manager) must have approved your application by this time using the Academy Research Awards Management Information System (ARAMIS) online application system.
All components of your application must be submitted by the deadline. No additional supporting documents will be accepted after the deadline.
Please give yourself sufficient time to obtain your signatory’s approval before the deadline. No exceptions will be made.
Assessment Criteria
DSE applicants will be expected to demonstrate a continued commitment to a research career in an area of relevance to NIHR and a clearly articulated plan for how the award will support an application for future funding, including the skills and experience they hope to gain by undertaking the award.
The DSE Selection Committee will assess each application based only on the information provided in the submitted application form against the following criteria:
Applicant
- Applicant clearly articulates their future career plans and how the award will support them to reach the next stage of their research or practitioner academic career
- Applicant is on a trajectory to become a future health or social care research leader;
- Applicant demonstrates a continued commitment to a career in undertaking research within NIHR’s remit.
Applicants are expected to have research outputs from their PhD at the point of application.
Training & Development
- Applicant has clearly detailed the training and development they propose to undertake and provided clear justification for the specific activities proposed
- Applicant has clearly articulated the skills and experience they will gain by undertaking the proposed training and development programme
- Applicant has clearly described how the proposed training and development programme will enhance their chances of achieving their career goal
- The quality and relevance of the training and development proposed
Site and Support
- Appropriateness of the proposed support and mentorship
- Clear articulation of the support that will be provided by the proposed mentor(s)
- Host Organisation has a demonstrable track record in training and supporting people who have gone on to develop successful research or practitioner academic careers (as appropriate)
- Applicant will be supported by the provision of a strong research environment (and for PAs, a strong practitioner academic environment)
- Additional support that will be provided by the host organisation to enable the progression of the applicant’s research or practitioner academic career;
- Evidence of the host organisation(s) commitment to creating and maintaining an inclusive and supportive research culture, including evidence of commitment to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion and research integrity.
Application Procedure and Selection Process
- NIHR Academy uses an adapted version of the NIHR Standard Application Form (SAF), which is a 1 stage process.
- NIHR Academy can advise on eligibility and remit enquiries, and answer queries you may have when completing the application form.
- Following the submission deadline, NIHR will check applications for eligibility and completeness.
- Following this, applications are reviewed by the Selection Committee in advance of a funding recommendation meeting at which the committee discuss the applications and make recommendations for funding to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
- See details of the Selection Committee membership.
- The final decision as to which applications will receive funding rests with DHSC. Once confirmed, the funding decisions will be communicated to applicants.
- Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application by email when all required processes are complete.
- The selection process and subsequent management of the Awards will be managed by NIHR
- All documents must be submitted in English.
- Awards cannot be deferred, without the consent of the NIHR.
- If applicants are successful in being awarded a DSE award while simultaneously being involved in another NIHR research training award competition, they will be asked to decide which funding opportunity they would like to continue with and will be withdrawn from the other.
Guidance on completing the application form
Registering
All fellowship applications must be completed and submitted via the online application system ARAMIS.
Before you can start an application you will be required to register on the system. You will be asked to supply a valid email address and to complete some basic information. Once this has been submitted you will receive an email confirming your registration and a temporary password. You should follow the instructions in the email to log onto the system.
Once signed into the system you will be able to update various details including your CV (in ‘manage my details’) and apply for any open applications. To start an application you will need to go to ‘My Applications’ and select ‘New Application’. You should then select Development and Skills Enhancement Award from the list provided.
After answering all the eligibility questions you will be able to start completing the online form. Please make sure you read all available guidance text including this document as well as any online instructions thoroughly whilst you are completing the form. You can at any stage download a PDF version of the application which can be useful for sharing applications with others.
1. Application Summary Information
Host Organisation
Please give details of the organisation who will be the contractor if the award is funded.
Please note that we expect the applicant’s proposed host organisation (substantive employer) to act as the contractor.
Please also bear in mind that:
The contractor is expected to respond to annual financial reconciliation exercises, provide the final financial reconciliation statement for the project and to provide ad hoc requests for financial information during the lifetime of the project.
In the same way, the contractor is expected to respond to any queries relating to Intellectual Property, commercialisation and benefit realisation.
If the name of your host organisation does not appear in the pre-populated list please email academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk.
Application Type
Please indicate the type of award you are applying for using the drop down lists available. Please ensure you have read the relevant guidance above before selecting your responses to these questions.
Proposed Start Date
Note this should be from 1st of the month regardless of whether this is a working day or not. Please be realistic about your possible start date taking account of the necessary contracting, and staff recruitment prior to starting your project.
WTE of Award
Awards can only be undertaken with the WTE options given. When completing your application, you should select the % WTE you would like to undertake the award and the total duration of the award will be automatically calculated in months.
2. Applicant CV
Please note some of the responses to these questions are automatically pulled through from information you have entered in the ’Manage My Details’ page.
The ‘Publication Record’ section of the form is automatically populated from publications added into the “My Research Outputs” page of your ARAMIS account.
Degrees and Professional Qualifications
Please give the full details of any key qualifications completed and, where relevant, the full details of any key qualifications you are currently undertaking.
This information can be edited in the ‘Manage My Details’ page of your ARAMIS account.
Present and previous positions
Please give the full details of any relevant present and previous positions.
This information can be edited in the ‘Manage My Details’ page of your ARAMIS account.
When entering details of your current and previous positions please indicate at what percentage (WTE) in each post you were undertaking research. For example, if you were a Clinical Lecturer and undertook research for 2.5 days a week and clinical work for 2.5 days per week; please enter 50% for that position. If you have worked part time at 60%, and undertook research for half of that time, please enter 30% for that position.
Research grants held
Please give the details of all relevant grants obtained in the last five years, including personal research training awards or fellowships, plus any additional previous grants relevant to this application. Please indicate clearly any co-applicants and provide brief details of the nature and full extent of your involvement (e.g. project design, project management, day to day running, data collection, data analysis, writing papers for publication, etc.).
Please also include in the ‘Role in Research Grant’ box for each entry: registration number and name of registry and the DOI of the main related publication. Where the study is still ongoing or final results have not yet been published, please provide an estimated publication date. This is in line with the NIHR policy on clinical trial registration and disclosure of results.
Please note that your research grant record must be completed within the application form and not via the CV section on ARAMIS.
Publication Record
The publication record is automatically populated from the information added to the “Research Outputs” section of your ARAMIS account. To update, please “save and close” your application, return to the “home” screen and select “Research Outputs” from the left-hand menu.
When publications have been added, the Lead Applicant name can be edited to show in bold within application forms via the “Assign Grant Contacts” option.
To ensure publications display correctly, with all of the required information, applicants are strongly advised to use the “import” function and import their publications from Europe PMC.
Do not include abstracts, conference proceedings or articles in preparation. If relevant, details of these may be included in the ‘Applicant Research Background’ section. Details of articles which are in press and have been accepted as final by the publisher may be included. Depending on professional background and expertise, applicants are not necessarily expected to have an extensive list of publications.
Only publications relevant to your application should be included.
Relevant Prizes, Awards and other Academic Distinctions
Please provide details of any awards or distinctions that are relevant to your application including details of what the award was for. For example, travel bursaries for a conference, presentation prizes etc.
ORCiD
The NIHR is an ORCID member and encourages all researchers to obtain this persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher. You must include an ORCID iD in your application. Without it, your application will not be validated and you will not be able to submit. For more information and to register please see the ORCID website.
3. Applicant Research Background
Professional background
Select the one option which best describes your professional group. This will determine the options that appear below for your professional background.
Please describe your research career to date
Please use this question to provide a narrative describing your relevant research experience and career to date and how this makes you suitable for this award. All applicants should describe contributions across the four sections below
Contribution to knowledge
Explain how you have contributed to the generation of new ideas and hypotheses, and which key skills you have used and how you have communicated on your ideas to develop ideas and test hypotheses. You can highlight contributions and skills acquired from previous roles and research projects, funding you have won, awards received, and a small selection of key outputs explaining why they are of particular relevance and why they are considered in the context of knowledge generation. Where outputs have a DOI please only include this.
Contribution to the development of others
You might include experiences from project management, supervision, mentoring or line management contributions to the success of a team or team members, establishment of collaborations, or where you exerted strategic leadership in shaping the direction of a team, organisation, company or institution. Highlight expertise you provided which was critical to the success of a team or team members e.g., project management, strategic leadership, teaching activities, mentoring, and establishment of collaborations.
Contribution to the wider research community
Highlight activities where you have engaged in to progress the research community e.g., commitments such as committee memberships, editing and reviewing and contributions to the evaluation of researchers and research projects. You can also highlight contributions to increasing research integrity and improving research culture (gender equality, diversity, mobility of researchers, reward, and recognition of researchers’ various activities).
Contribution to broader society
Provide examples of where you have been involved in societal engagement and knowledge exchange i.e., engagement with patients and the public, industry, across private sector,and public sectors, clients and with the broader public. Describe where you have contributed to policy development or public understanding, and other impacts across research, policy, practice and business, and other examples of and how you have ensured research reaches and influences relevant audiences.
Has this application been previously submitted to this or any other funding body?
Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to indicate whether this or a similar application has previously been submitted to this or any other funding body. This must include any previous submissions for an NIHR research training award, even if the proposed training programme has changed. Please detail the title of any previous submission(s), the funding body and scheme, the outcome and the date this is due if a decision is pending. If the application was unsuccessful please indicate why and detail how this application differs from previous submission(s) and how any feedback received has been used to inform this application.
Current and previous NIHR awards
In order to help track the progression of NIHR academy members please indicate whether you have previously held or currently hold another NIHR research training award. Please indicate in this section if you are applying as part of the NIHR Infrastructure; for example BRCs, ARCs etc.
Contextual factors
Please use this question to detail any contextual factors you wish to make the Selection Committee aware of. NIHR wants to know about any circumstances so that they may take them into consideration during the assessment of your application. Contextual factors may include:
- Career breaks due to parental leave, or periods of illness.
- Reduced time spent undertaking research due to a disability or caring responsibilities. This could include any physical or mental difficulty that may have impacted your research career. These are situations that have a significant impact on your ability to undertake research
- Reduced opportunities to career support e.g. mentorship, and limited opportunities to undertake prior research and training.
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on your research career
Please also use this section to detail any other factors that may have impacted your research career not listed in the examples provided. The impact on your career to date will be specific to your particular circumstances but could include such impacts as limited opportunities to obtain grant funding, or fewer publications. In general terms, contextual factors should be significant, and relevant.
NIHR acknowledges that you may be reluctant, or uncomfortable disclosing relevant information that is sensitive. However, you should bear in mind that we are unable to take into account factors that you do not disclose. Please be assured that information provided by you is sensitive and will be treated confidentially and in line with General Data and Protection Regulations (GDPR).
4. Training and Development and Research Support
Proposed training and development programme
Please use this section to detail the training and development you will undertake as part of the award. This should cover both the training you may need to undertake any future research plans but also training designed to support your development as a future health and/or social care research leader. Training may include, but is not limited to; formal courses, training in specialist skills and research methodologies, placements with other research groups or centres, leadership skills, conference attendance and overseas research visits. All of which should support the individual in applying for further post-doctoral level fellowship funding to progress their research career within NIHR’s remit.
Any training that you include as part of your award should detail how this will add to development and enhancement and must be justified.
Whilst not ineligible, we wouldn’t expect professorial level applicants to require this award. For applicants at a more senior academic level, i.e. Chair or Pre-Chair, there must be a clear justification why the training in your application is required. There should also be a clear explanation of why the support for such training is not available through your host organisation.
Please ensure that you include detailed information regarding any research visits that you plan during your award. For example ensure that you include the length of time of the visit and what you will do/achieve during that time and why this particular training element is required.
Please describe the impact this award will have on your future career, including details of why you are looking to undertake this award and where you see your career going as a result of doing so. Specifically, how will the proposed training and development enhance your chances of achieving your career goals.
Research support
The individuals you list here must also be added in the ‘Participants and Signatories’ section of the application form. Although we acknowledge that formal supervision may not be appropriate for applicants, we believe that the applicant will benefit from research support or mentorship. The individuals who provide research support may or may not be based in your host organisation. They should, however, have a clear understanding of the research process, the demands your chosen area of training and development are likely to place on you, and your particular strengths and weaknesses.
Research support is referred to in the literature as ‘mentorship’ and there are numerous models to be found that could be employed. Clearly describe how the proposed arrangements will support your overall development and provide an initial assessment of the time that will be allocated to the research support process.
Collaborations
Explain what collaborations you intend to establish to support your training and development programme. Collaborations should complement and enhance the skills and experience you are looking to gain through this award and can include (but not limited to) individuals, research groups, CTU’s, organisations and industry partners.
The NIHR is particularly keen to enhance the cadre of researchers equipped to work at the university/NHS/industry interface, translating ideas into new treatments and products from which patients can benefit. Therefore, where appropriate, you should consider any industry collaborations you may wish to establish during the course of your award. You should include; the training and development the collaboration will provide; the facilities and expertise you will have access to; and how the collaboration will strengthen links between academia, industry and the NHS.
Host Organisation support statement
The statement is completed by the Head of Department and should detail how the host organisation is going to support the applicant to successfully complete their training and development programme as detailed in this application. This statement should be tailored specifically to the applicant, their training needs, and include how the organisation intends to support the applicant to develop their research or practitioner academic career in the long-term.
NIHR sees the responsibility for training the next generation of research leaders as a joint enterprise with host organisations. Therefore information should also be provided on the organisation’s track record of supporting early career researchers, such as evidence of bridging or other support provided to fellows upon completion of an award.
In addition, the statement should also describe the host organisation’s approach to creating and maintaining an inclusive and supportive research culture for all. The statement should provide evidence of how the organisation values and supports equality, diversity and inclusion as well as acknowledging the organisation’s responsibilities with respect to research integrity. Statements may wish to refer to the principles and best practice outlined within relevant Charters and Concordats in these areas, such as the Researcher Development Concordat and Advance HE’s Equality Charters. It should be noted that being a signatory to Concordats or holding bronze/silver status from the Equality Charters isn’t a requirement of funding and evidence can be provided through other means.
Host Organisations are expected to comply with the relevant Principles and Obligations for clinical academic training and it is recommended Host Organisations read these documents, where relevant, before completing the statement of support.
NIHR expects that all commitments made to the applicant within this statement will be honoured for the lifetime of the award.
5. Detailed Budget
Justification of costs
This section should be completed in conjunction with your host organisation’s finance office. You should only include the funding requested from NIHR, any matched funding from your host organisation should be detailed in the support statement.
Please provide a breakdown of costs associated with undertaking the award and provide justification for the resources requested.
This award provides:
- Salary for the applicant for up to 2 years
Use current rates of pay and build in any known annual increments (again at current rates).
The DSE does not fund clinical time.
- Up to £5,000 towards training per year
- Up to £1,000 towards conference/meeting related travel expenses per year
Applicants will be able to choose a 12,18- or 24-month DSE option. Regardless of extensions in duration due to a lower WTE%, the below limits apply.
12 Month - £5k training costs & £1,000 conference/meeting.
18 Month - £7.5k training costs & £1,500 conference/meeting.
24 Month - £10k training costs & £2,000 conference/meeting.
- Up to £3,000 towards the costs of mentorship
This funding can be used freely to facilitate the time spent with mentors or supervisors. It may cover various expenses related to mentorship such as travel expenses, meeting costs, mentor fees, professional development events.
NIHR Fellowships are not project or programme grants; therefore, extensions to the duration of awards to allow for completion of training and development are not permitted. This doesn't affect suspensions of awards to allow for periods of maternity, paternity, adoption or sickness leave.
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 fellowship proposed and should be based on current prices. These costs will be used to assess value for money.
It is in the best interest to undertake a thorough, realistic and accurate costing. You must provide a clear and full justification for all costs.
Costs must be provided at current prices. An adjustment for inflation will be made annually thereafter at rates set by DHSC. Whilst allowances for incremental increases should be included on the form, nationally or locally agreed pay increases should be excluded.
Years should be calculated starting from the anticipated start date of the proposed fellowship. For example, if your fellowship 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.
All applications are expected to have appropriate NHS, HEI, commercial and other partner organisation input into the finance section of the application form.
INFORMATION ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF ORGANISATIONS
This award does not cover Full Economics Costs therefore all prices should be entered at, and will be paid at, 100% regardless of the type of organisation (NHS, HEI or Other).
If the Employing host organisation is a Higher Education Institution, please select the “other” option when entering the “Type of Cost” to prevent costs being submitted at 80%.
DIRECT COSTS
These are costs that are specific to the fellowship, which will be charged as the amount actually spent and can be supported by an audit record. They should comprise:
I) Details of posts and salaries
This section presents an overview of salary costs for the applicant, including normal salary increments broken down individually.
Applicant
Please state the proposed salary point and scale at the start of the fellowship. Please note immediate promotion to a higher grade as a result of securing a fellowship will not be funded.
The Apprenticeship Levy can be included in the salary costs from 1st April 2017 where relevant.
1) Salary costs
This section specifies the annual costs of the applicant. You should now allocate the individual staff member costs to each year of the fellowship, 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 fellowship is underway.
Please note the salary figures need to be calculated using the current annual costs, %WTE and number of months.
It is important to double check that the %WTE, total months and yearly costs information are consistent with the information presented in ‘Details of Posts and Salaries’ (‘Details of Posts and Salaries’ should show the full current staff costs independent of % WTE etc., whereas the yearly costs in ‘Salary Costs’ depend on % WTE etc.).
2) Conference fees
There is a £1,000 per year limit on the amount that can be spent on conference related costs (including all related travel and subsistence as well as conference fees).
3) Training and Development.
Please itemise and describe fully the costs associated with training and development. Please provide estimates if exact costs are not available at the time of application. Any travel and subsistence associated with training and development should not be included here and should be included in the travel section of the form.
Details of mentorship/supervision costs up to £3,000 should be included here under ‘other’. This can include clinical/ practice mentorship for applicants developing a Practitioner or clinical academic career
6. Uploads
To support your research plan you are able to upload the following documents in the ‘uploads’ section of the form:
- Statement of Support (optional): you may provide a letter(s) from the research support participants set out in ‘Training & Development/Research’ Support Section
- Collaborators letter of support (optional): Where you are working with a CTU or industry please include a supporting letter.
- Training & Development Gantt Chart (Required): Please include a Gantt chart of your planned award to aid the selection committee members in understanding the timeline of your training and development programme.
7. Participants and Signatories
A number of participants and a signatory are required to be added to your application and, where applicable, to complete sections of it. Details of the required individuals are provided on the online application form along with details of how they should be added.
8. Acknowledge, review and submit
Conflict checks
Please declare any conflicts or potential conflicts of interest that you may have in undertaking this research, including any relevant, non-personal & commercial interest that could be perceived as a conflict of interest. Please check with your supervisor if unsure.
Agreement to terms and conditions
Please click the check box to confirm you agree to the Terms and Conditions of submission as detailed on the application form.
Completing and submitting the form
Please see Annex A for flow diagrams of the application submission process.
Applicant:
You will need to complete all of the mandatory sections of the form and enter under the ‘Participants and Signatories’ section the names and contact details of participants and a signatory (see below). Once all other parties have made their contribution, you will be required to ‘Submit’ the application to the signatory for final sign off before the closing date. Please note that you will need to read and be aware of the roles of participants and signatory as described in these guidance notes.
You will only be able to press the ‘Submit’ button, which will send the application for final sign off by the signatory when:
- all mandatory sections of the application form are complete;
- all participants have agreed to be part of your application;
- the signatory has agreed to their role;
- the Head of Department has completed the ‘Host Organisation Support Statement’.
Please note; when completing the application form, you are advised to validate your application as you go. You will find a Validation Summary button in the left hand menu. This section will detail any points within your application that are either incomplete or incorrect. Failing to validate your answers may result in you being unable to submit your application by the required deadline.
Participants:
You are required to supply the names and email addresses (if not already registered on the ARAMIS application system) of the individuals who will be undertaking ‘participant’ roles as part of your application. Everyone named in this section will be acting as a ‘participant’ to your application and will need to agree to be part of this application. Participants are required to review the declaration for the role before confirming participation as part of the one-click ‘confirm’ process.
By confirming participation, participants are acknowledging their involvement and input into this application and agree to be involved in it before it is submitted. You must ensure all participants are happy for your application to be submitted before submitting it on the online system.
Required Participants (if applicable):
- Research Support (maximum 4): The individual(s) providing Research Support (mentorship) must confirm that they have read the application and the guidance notes and are willing to act as your mentor for career development and agree to abide by the conditions under which an award may be granted. If you have included external collaboration in your application for example with a CTU, Industry or Health data science they must confirm their participation in this section of the application
- Practice Support: Applicants who are developing a practitioner academic career can include details of an individual who will provide professional practice Support/ Mentorship during the award.
- A maximum of four mentors/research participants can be added to the application in ARAMIS. If you are working with more than four, please provide a statement of support in the uploads section to clarify this.
- PhD Primary Supervisor: If you have submitted your thesis but have not yet been awarded the degree, your primary supervisor needs to be included in the application to confirm this. (Signatory on ARAMIS is Post-Doctoral Primary Supervisor)
- Host Organisation Administrative Authority or Finance Officer: The Administrative Authority or Finance Officer for the employing host must confirm that they will ensure the accuracy of the financial details of the application and that the host organisation is prepared to host and administer the award, at the stated costs, if made.
Participants must confirm their participation in your application before you will be able to press the submit button. They will have no further action to take in the submission process. It is recommended that you contact your participants as early as possible to ensure they understand any action they must take before you can submit the application.
Signatory:
You are required to supply the names and email address (if not already registered on the ARAMIS application system) of the individual who will be ‘signing off’ your application. Once their contact details have been entered, the signatory will be invited to log into the system and confirm their participation. Details of what is required and expected of the role can be found below.
The signatory will be required to agree to the role being asked of them in the application before the application is submitted by the applicant, and then approve the final version of the application after it has been submitted via the online system, i.e. they must have agreed to participate and complete their section before the applicant is able to press the SUBMIT button and send the application for signatory approval.
The Signatory must approve the application after the applicant has selected the SUBMIT option but BEFORE the application submission deadline.
Please see the 'Application Submission Process Flow Diagram’ (Annex B) for further information. The final signatory approval will result in the application being fully submitted to the NIHR. All parties (applicant, participants and signatory) will be notified of this via an automated system generated email.
NIHR will not accept any applications unless fully approved by your signatory prior to the 1pm deadline, no exceptions will be made.
Required Signatory:
- Head of Department or Senior Manager: You will be required to include the Head of Department from your host organisation. The Head of Department from the host organisation (in which this award will be based) must confirm that they support this application and that, if funded, the research and training will be supported and administered in the named organisation and that the applicant for whom they are responsible will undertake this work. As such, the Head of Department will be required to complete questions in the ‘Training & Development and Research Support’ section of the Application Form.
Once the application is ready (see list of required steps under the ‘applicant’ heading above), you will be able to ‘Submit’ the application for final sign off by the signatory. At this point, the signatory will be prompted to log back into the system and approve the finalised application. The application will not be submitted to the NIHR for consideration until the required signatory has approved the final version. When the Head of Department or Senior Manager presses the approve button, the application will be submitted to NIHR.
Please note that all the steps described here need to take place before the deadline of 1:00 pm on the final day of the submission window, no exceptions will be made.
Should you require assistance in completing the online form, please contact the NIHR Academy at 0113 532 8410 or by emailing academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk.
Additional Supporting Information
Plagiarism in NIHR funding applications
NIHR expects all content within applications for funding to be original material of the applicant's own work, with the exception of sections that other participants are required to complete. Whilst we anticipate and expect that applicants will get help and advice from various sources when putting together an application, including on occasion input from those previously awarded funding, care must be taken to ensure this does not lead to plagiarism of either published work or other previous applications. If an allegation of plagiarism is raised against an application this will be investigated in accordance with the NIHR Academy’s policy on plagiarism, a copy of which is available on request from academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk.
NIHR Privacy Policy
Our purpose for collecting information is to communicate with you about your application and have the necessary information to evaluate you for a fellowship. The data we collect here is collected in the public interest. Information provided here may be subject to Freedom of Information requests.
The NIHR Academy is part of the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The contracting agent for the NIHR Academy is the Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust (LTHT). The DHSC is the Data Controller and LTHT is the Data Processor under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) EC 2016/679. DHSC NIHR respects the privacy of individuals who share their data and processes it in a manner that meets the requirements of GDPR. The DHSC Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at data_protection@dhsc.gov.uk)
The NIHR privacy policy includes further information including ways we may use your data, our contact details and details on your individual rights regarding how your data is used. Your data may be shared across the NIHR, including with other coordinating centres, to allow the application to be managed and for statistical analysis, and with external grant reviewers as part of the process for managing the allocation of a grant. Information collected from you will not be shared outside the EEA without your consent.
This notice is under constant review and will be updated and / or revised based on that review as appropriate.
Equality and Diversity Monitoring Information
NIHR is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in research and asks applicants to provide Equality and Diversity Monitoring Information (age, sex, ethnicity and race, and disability). By answering these Equality and Diversity Monitoring Information questions, you will help us to better understand the different groups of people that we fund and their experiences of being funded – particularly the groups protected by UK equality legislation. Although it is mandatory to answer these questions, it is possible to select “prefer not to say” as a response. However, the more information you provide, the more effective our monitoring will be. This information will not be used to make decisions about funding.
NIHR Carbon Reduction Guidelines
Researchers applying for NIHR funding are asked to consider the carbon footprint of their research and take steps to reduce carbon emissions where appropriate. Advice on how to do this can be obtained from the NIHR Carbon Reduction Guidelines.
Transparency Agenda
In line with the government’s transparency agenda, any contract resulting from this tender may be published in its entirety to the general public. See further information on the transparency agenda.
Ethics / Regulatory Approvals
Guidance on the application process for ethical and other approvals can be found on the HRA website. Please note that if your study is led from England and involves the NHS in England you should apply for HRA approval.
If you are using patient information from an existing database, you should check whether the patients have given their consent for their data to be included in that database for research purposes, or if not whether the database is exempt under Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006. Where exemptions are not already in place, approval to use confidential patient information without consent must be requested from the HRA who make decisions with advice from the Confidentiality Advisory Group (CAG).
NOTE: NIHR is interested in taking advantage of the growing utility of routine data (such as HES, GP records etc.), and would like investigators, where appropriate, to ask study participants to consent to long term follow up (e.g. beyond the outcomes to be collected in the funded trial) using routinely collected data, and appropriate linkage to allow this data to be best used.
Contractual Arrangements
Financial support under an NIHR Fellowship is subject to a contract between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the host organisation.
Once funding for a Fellowship has been discussed and agreed, NIHR will confirm the financial arrangements with the host organisation. NIHR will provide the host organisation with a contract setting out the details of these arrangements.
The host organisation will be expected to issue the individual with an employment contract commensurate with their experience and seniority.
Government procurement transparency regulations require publication of details of all contracts made with the DHSC on their Website. Confidential information including research proposals (Plain English Summaries will be published), detailed finance information, bank details, and departmental staff names (other than the award holder’s name) will be removed from the published versions.
Freedom of Information Act
The NIHR Academy manages the NIHR Fellowship Programme on behalf of the DHSC. As such the findings of researchers funded by the programme are incorporated in to the Department of Health and Social Care Freedom of Information Publication Scheme.
Equal Opportunities and Diversity
NIHR is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in research and asks applicants to provide Equality and Diversity Monitoring Information (age, sex, ethnicity and race, and disability). By answering these Equality and Diversity Monitoring Information questions, you will help us to better understand the different groups of people that apply to us for funding and their experiences of the funding process – particularly the groups protected by UK equality legislation. Although it is mandatory to answer these questions, it is possible to select “prefer not to say” as a response. However, the more information you provide, the more effective our monitoring will be. This information will not be used to make decisions about funding.
Guidance and Advice
Please read these Guidance Notes carefully. If you require any further information, advice or guidance please contact the Personal Awards team by calling 0113 532 8410 or email academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk
Annex A: Submission Flow Diagram
Image description: Outlined are the steps for submitting an application. The applicant starts the application and adds participant and signatory details. The participants and signatories can then log in and confirm their participation and signatories can complete the sections of the form as directed. The applicant can continue entering data and completes all relevant sections of the form (step 3). The applicant then presses the ‘Submit’ button. Once the applicant submits, signatories will receive automated emails to approve the application. However, automated ‘out of office’ replies to these emails will not be relayed to the applicant. Once all signatories have approved the application, it is automatically submitted to NIHR for consideration. Rejection of the application by any individual at this stage will return the application to step 3.
Strategic Themes
Annex B: Health Care Professionals
Practitioner Academics
The term “Practitioner Academic” is used in these Applicant Guidance Notes and in the application form to encompass both those developing a clinical academic career and those eligible individuals developing a career combining research and other practice or policy roles.
The Development & Skills Enhancement Award (DSE) can be used to support the academic or practitioner academic careers of Health and Care professionals (HCPs).
Support for HCPs pursuing research or practitioner academic careers can include:
- Aspiring researchers who have been engaged in roles related to research delivery or capacity development and seek to advance their own research or practitioner academic careers.
- Individuals in the process of developing clinical academic or practitioner academic careers.
- Professionals who have transitioned from clinical practice to academia and aspire to cultivate a practitioner academic role
In their applications, all candidates are required to outline the specific skills or training experiences they require to enhance their competitiveness in future funding applications. Additionally, applicants have the flexibility to propose a part-time DSE to continue their research delivery, capacity development, or clinical academic responsibilities while participating in the training program.
While the DSE does not fund practice time, applicants are encouraged to suggest training and development activities that will facilitate the growth of their practitioner academic careers. This may include opportunities like shadowing clinical academic and clinical leadership staff in NHS settings to gain insights into effectively managing a combined clinical and academic role.
Competitive practitioner academic applicants will have collaborated closely with their host organisations to establish support for their clinical academic role development during and after the DSE. The Host Organisation Statement of Support should articulate the host's commitment to the applicant's clinical academic career post-award, including a well-defined job plan that integrates both clinical and academic components.
Annex C: Health Data Science
This award can be used to support existing NIHR Academy members who wish to develop their skills in data science as applied in clinical, biomedical or population health settings. Health Data Science (HDS) is a recently established inter-disciplinary field whose importance to all aspects of health research will continue to grow. The three pillars of HDS are: statistics; computation; domain knowledge. The first two of these are underpinning methodologies, the third is context-specific, ranging from molecular to whole-population studies. It is rare to find this combination of expertise in a single individual. Hence, HDS is best approached as a team science endeavour in which each member of the team is an expert in one of the three pillars but conversant in all three. NIHR Academy is interested in applications from individuals from all types of professional and research background who are seeking to develop skills in HDS.
Below is a list of key skills that are relevant to HDS. The list is broader than could be covered in any single award. Applicants should propose a training programme that balances breadth and depth in a way that reflects their current skill-set and their future career development goals. The double listing of machine learning is deliberate. A key characteristic of data science is that many of its methodological underpinnings bridge the traditionally separate disciplines of statistics and computer science.
Statistics
- Study design principles: formulating the research question, validity, efficiency, controlling for extraneous variation
- Choosing a study design: observational, interventional or randomised trial
- Probability: quantifying uncertainty in data, and in conclusions drawn from data
- Inference: turning data into evidence - testing, estimation or prediction?
- Critical appraisal of research evidence
Machine learning
Computing
- Data collection, processing and management
- Programming
- Machine learning
- Reproducibility of data-driven research
- User-interfaces
Domain knowledge
- Biology
- Epidemiology
- Public health
- Health services
Generic
- Multidisciplinary team science: leadership, networking, collaboration
- Communication: within and beyond the research team
- Governance, including regulatory requirements and research ethics
- Patient and public involvement
Annex D: Clinical Trials
This award can be used to support post doctoral researchers with an interest in, and/or experience of, working with clinical trials who would benefit from further training within the setting of a CTU. The award should expose the applicant to all aspects/stages of trials and should not limit individuals to one study. A list of potential UKCRC registered CTUs is available, which you could collaborate with.
NIHR does not dictate what the training within an award should be or how it is delivered as it should be bespoke to an individual’s needs and requirements. However it is very important that the trainee experiences all elements of clinical trials from idea to dissemination. It is particularly important for example to ensure training in patient and public involvement and health economics (where needed) is included early in the lifecycle of a training award to ensure these elements can be utilised right from the inception of the study.
Below is a list of key skills that applicants should consider when putting together an application focussed around clinical trials. The list is intended to cover all aspects of clinical trials that future health research leaders competent in clinical trials should be knowledgeable in and it may not be necessary for a training award to encompass all these elements depending on the skills and experience the applicant already has.
- Evidence based medicine and critical appraisal of clinical trials
- Systematic reviews
- Basic statistics for clinical trials including power calculations
- Clinical trial design and protocol design
- Complex interventions and intervention development
- Randomisation
- Blinding
- Governance including; GCP, regulatory requirements, ethics.
- Recruitment
- Data collection, processing and management
- Data analysis
- Trial reporting, dissemination and impact
- Patient and public involvement
- Outcome measurement
- Health economics
- Priority setting and question development
- How to reduce bias and research wastage
- Funding for pilot and feasibility work
- Multidisciplinary working encompassing leadership, networking, and collaborating
- Ideas generation
In order to experience all the elements of a clinical trial as described above it may also be beneficial to gain exposure to the following:
- Trial development groups
- Trial management groups
- Data monitoring and ethics committees
- Trial steering groups
- Dissemination meetings
For more details see our Clinical Trials Guide.
Annex E: Entrepreneurship and Working with Industry
This award can be used to support post doctoral researchers with an interest in, and/or experience of entrepreneurship and working in industry. NIHR does not dictate what the training should be or how it is delivered as it should be bespoke to an individual’s needs and requirements. However it is important that the awardee experiences enough aspects of entrepreneurship and working in industry which would allow them to work successfully in this area in the future. Some of these core elements should involve:
- People and Leadership- HR framework, policies, goals, team dynamics, role of the board and business pitch.
- Clinical Need- health economics, patient benefit, product definition and competitive advantage.
- Market analysis and strategy-market structure, routes to market, quantifying patient benefits, commercial potential and value proposition.
- IP/Route to market- IP strategy and overview, protection, contracts, product roadmap, technical risks, project plan and product adoption.
- Manufacturing- Scalability of process, process development, project plan and contracts and licences.
- Regulatory- Compliance framework, milestones and approvals, risk assessment and management, pre-clinical development and clinical development
- Funding and Finance- Finance basics, financial models, valuation, sources of funds, funding strategy and elevator pitch.
- Business plans- Purpose, content and presentation.
It is expected that applicants who are using the DSE to gain skills in entrepreneurship and working in industry will collaborate with an SME or an industrial partner. Below is a list of organisations who could facilitate finding an appropriate business to collaborate with, if you would like specific contact information please get in touch with the NIHR Academy.
- Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) - Represent innovative research based biopharmaceutical companies, large, medium and small, leading an exciting new era of bioscience in the UK.
- Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI)- is the UK's leading industry association for health technology (HealthTech). ABHI supports the HealthTech community to save and enhance lives.
- The British In Vitro Diagnostic Association (BIVDA) - is the national industry association for the manufacturers and distributors of in vitro diagnostic products in the UK.
- NIHR Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure (NOCRI) - NOCRI is a unique resource for the global life sciences industry - improving the quality, efficiency and success of translational research.
- NIHR Medtech and In vitro diagnostics Co-operatives (MICs)- build expertise and capacity in the NHS to develop new medical technologies and provide evidence on commercially-supplied in vitro diagnostic tests.
- Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN)- Innovate UK’s network partner and also provides innovation networking for other funders in line with its mission to drive UK growth
- Academic Health Science Network (AHSN)- As the only bodies that connect NHS and academic organisations, local authorities, the third sector and industry, we are catalysts that create the right conditions to facilitate change across whole health and social care economies, with a clear focus on improving outcomes for patients.
NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme
Alongside placements with industry partners it is possible to take advantage of already established training programmes, such as the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme. The programme is the biggest entrepreneurial workforce development programme of its kind. Open to both clinical and non-clinical NHS staff, the programme aims to provide the commercial skills, knowledge and experience needed to successfully develop and spread innovative solutions to the challenges facing the NHS. The curriculum covers all aspects of setting up and running a small business, including attracting investors, applying for funding, and ensuring appropriate corporate governance. A dedicated programme in how to build a start-up – and how to operate in this highly-charged environment – is delivered as a series of educational events attended by industry mentors. The programme aims to allow entrepreneurs to pursue their innovation without having to leave the health service, providing a wider benefit to economic growth through inward investment in the health, social care and life science sectors. As such, the programme currently offers mentoring, networking, bespoke commercial education, customer matching, resources and development tools to over 500 individuals including Doctors, Dentists, Healthcare Scientists, Nurses and Midwives, Allied Health Professionals and Pharmacists. More information can be found on the NHS England Clinical Entrepreneur Programme webpage.
Annex F: DSE Award Duration Options
Below are the available durations available for the DSE Award.
12 months DSE award duration
| % WTE | Duration in Months |
|---|---|
| 100 | 12 |
| 90 | 13 |
| 80 | 15 |
| 70 | 17 |
| 60 | 20 |
| 50 | 24 |
18 months DSE award duration
| % WTE | Duration in Months |
|---|---|
| 100 | 18 |
| 90 | 20 |
| 80 | 23 |
| 70 | 26 |
| 60 | 30 |
| 50 | 36 |
24 months DSE award duration
| % WTE | Duration in Months |
|---|---|
| 100 | 24 |
| 90 | 26 |
| 80 | 30 |
| 70 | 34 |
| 60 | 40 |
| 50 | 48 |