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NIHR IAT Competition - Frequently Asked Questions

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Published: 13 April 2023

Version: Final

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I've logged into my ARAMIS account. However, I do not seem to have an application form within the system. Can you please check if there is a technical issue on my account?

The IAT Competition is a hidden round in ARAMIS. If you cannot see it you need to contact iat@nihr.ac.uk and request 'view access'.

The IAT Competition 2024 & 2025 requires equal numbers of ACF and CL posts in each of the 'Response Mode' and 'NIHR Themed' areas. Please could I check whether it is expected that the total number of posts applied for in 2024 and in 2025 are also equal? For example, if 14 ACF posts (7 in response and 7 in NIHR themes) are applied for in 2024, would it be expected that 14 ACF posts are applied for in 2025?

You are not restricted to proposing the same number of posts in 2025 and 2024 - this is up to the partnership. If you have additional capacity for 2025, for example, you could bid for additional posts and indicate such on the application form.

Is it possible to have access to the progression data you are collating on next destinations for our ACF and ACL trainees, to assist us with our bid preparation?

NIHR does not intend to share any data relating to each partnership's IAT Programme ACF / CL progression data. The data we hold on file is the data submitted by yourselves via your HEE local office; we would expect that you are confident as an IAT Partnership about the accuracy of these data prior to submission to NIHR as part of the quarterly monitoring process. This position was stated during the IAT Competition call.

I understand from the guidance that 50% of the posts have to be allocated to themes and 50% can be response mode. Is that across both CFs and CLs together or for each one separately? For example if you planned to ask for 2 CLs and 2 ACFs, could you bid for 2 CLs in response mode and 2 ACFs in a particular theme? Or would you expect 1 ACL and 1 ACF in response mode and 1 ACL and 1 ACL against a particular theme?

The IAT Competition will award a total number of ACF and CL posts in Response Mode and the Research Themes i.e. 1 x ACF "Digital Theme" and 1 x ACF "Mental Health Theme" would give you 2 x ACFs in 'Response Mode' for you to place within your programmes as you see fit. This will also apply to CLs. The expectation is that you would ask for an equal number of response mode/theme posts for CLs specified in your application.

I wondered if you knew (or if it has already been disseminated) how awards for the IAT bid will be made. That is, will an HEI be awarded:
• A total number of all posts
• X posts in the theme mode and Y posts in the response for the HEI to allocate within each section
• A different number of posts under each theme and subsection of the response mode (e.g N posts in Mental Health Theme or M posts in a Cancer section of the response mode)

As we are not declaring which GMC specialties we are allocating the posts to, there will be a degree of flexibility but internally we obviously know which posts we have in mind when writing the bid and we are finding that this question affects how we craft the relevant sections.

The competition outcome will provide each partnership with a total number of Response Mode ACF and CL posts with the partnership free to decide how to distribute these across the research groups at the host HEI.
The outcome will specify the number of ACF/CL posts awarded across each research theme area e.g. 2 x Digital ACF 2024 & 2025, 1 x Digital CL 2024 & 2025 (2 x ACF + 1 CL).

The above would grant the partnership 2 x ACF + 1 CL in 'response mode'. If not all research theme bids are awarded, there will be a corresponding reduction in the total number of response mode posts awarded.

The Medical School Dean tried to approve participation, but when they go to 'approvals' there is nothing to approve. The application is not complete yet, but in previous competitions the declarations could be done in advance of the full text being pasted into the application. Could you advise please?

The Medical School Dean’s participation confirmation appears in Co-applications, not Participation Approvals.

The Response mode section has a word limit of 1500 words to cover all the posts in the response mode section? The Research Theme posts have a word limit of 3000 words to cover all potential 7 research themes? Is this correct?

Yes, that is correct. The word limits are 1500 (Response Mode posts) and 3000 (all 7 Research Theme posts) respectively.

Proposals for research have to be supported by the relevant participants, such as a Postgraduate Dean or a Medical School Dean, with them logging into the ARAMIS system to confirm their approval. Are there any other forms that signatories need to sign/complete, or ARAMIS approval is the only sign-off stage?

No additional sign-off or forms are required once the Medical School Dean and Postgraduate Dean have confirmed participation in ARAMIS. 

On ARAMIS, how can a hyperlink be included? Do full URLs need to be used?

ARAMIS does not have the functionality to handle embedded hyperlinks. Please use a full text URL in your application. Once your application has been submitted and saved as a PDF, the URL will function as a hyperlink.

Will the ARAMIS system include the full text hyperlinks in the word limit for each section, so reducing the 1,500 and 3,000 words available for the bids?

The URL for the hyperlink will be counted as one word. The links are part of the word limit and so do reduce the overall number of words available for the bids.

A signatory will be on annual leave before the deadline submission. Can they approve before the final version has been uploaded (though they will obviously check a near final version)?

Yes, they can.

I have tried to register on ARAMIS several times and I have never received the verification link to my email; the step that is required before registration.

This is a known issue with ARAMIS that happens with NHS email accounts. If you have a university email address, this might solve the problem. If you do not have access to another email address, it is acceptable to appoint a deputy (based at a HEI) to submit the application on your behalf.

Can funding information which is currently under embargo be included in an application? 

If the funding bid is embargoed at the time of submission then we advise that it shouldn't be included.