NIHR Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award (SCPRA) Round 1 guidance notes

Introduction

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is launching the 1st round of the NIHR Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award. This new award is open to senior clinicians and practitioners who have previously obtained a PhD/MD and will provide between 20% and 50% protected time from within current roles to engage in research activities.

Research activity can range from leading research to developing strategies to support innovation in driving and delivering research (e.g. delivery methodology, as well as other research activity such as knowledge mobilisation). The aim of these awards is to support the career development of research active senior clinicians or practitioners, or those looking to embark on or return to a role involving research and help embed roles involving research into NHS and other clinical and practice settings.

The scheme is also aimed at individuals that require additional support to develop their track record as an academic leader which could enable them to submit a competitive application for further funding, eg NIHR career development funding, such as an NHSE/NIHR Advanced Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (ACAF) or take up a Senior Clinical Academic role at their host organisation. Further details on eligibility criteria and the scope of the award is provided below.

The NIHR is administering the competition on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Applications will be reviewed and recommended for funding by an independent NIHR Selection Committee.

This document provides full details of the award and describes the means by which applications should be submitted and how they will be assessed.

Applicants must ensure they have read this guidance before submitting an application. Applicants are advised to refer to this guidance when completing each section of the application form.

Award scope and eligibility criteria

Funding is available from the NIHR to support between 20% and 50% from an individual's current clinical or practice role to engage in research activity. Awards can be up to a maximum of 5 years (and minimum of 2) in duration with less than full time options (minimum one day a week). The scope of eligible research activities is broad with the award able to be used by those leading research or looking to lead research in future as well as those currently supporting the delivery of research who are looking to develop their practitioner academic roles. Whilst the award does not fund a substantive research project, funding is provided to contribute to the costs of training and development (depending on the needs of the applicant), establishing new collaborations, and activity to support further research funding applications, such as collecting pilot data etc.

Awards are open to senior clinicians and senior practitioners who have been awarded a PhD/MD. There isn’t an expectation that applicants have to be in a specific band or grade to be eligible, however they should be able to demonstrate evidence of clinical/practice leadership as part of the application. There is a particular focus with this award to support underrepresented professions and therefore applications from the following specialisms will be prioritised for funding:

• Nurses and midwives
• Allied Health Professionals
• Healthcare Scientists
• Pharmacists
• General Practitioners
• Dentists
• Applicants from ethnic minority backgrounds (including applicants from all medical specialties)

Applicants working in other under-represented areas and/or disciplines, which can include medically qualified applicants, should include justification for this in the Contextual Factors section of the application form.

In order to support this commitment to underrepresented professions the following additional criteria apply at an organisational level:

• At least 60% of the applications from any single organisation must be from the professions listed above.
• Awards must be based within an NHS organisation, local authority or other organisation delivering health and care services or Higher Education Institute in England.

NIHR Remit

Whilst these Fellowships are not designed to fund large scale research projects it is still important to be aware of the remit of NIHR in terms of the type of research it will fund.

All research funded by the NIHR as part of a training award managed by the NIHR Coordinating Centre must fall within the following remit:

The overall remit of the NIHR is early translational (experimental medicine), clinical and applied health research, including social care research. Early translational (experimental medicine) research is within remit, however a clear and plausible path to patient /service user, carer or public benefit must be demonstrable.

NIHR does not support basic science (discovery) research or work involving animals or their tissue.

If the work involves biomarkers:

• Research that tests whether application of new knowledge can improve treatment or patient outcomes, and has obvious direct potential benefit, this might include application of known biomarkers, or other prognostic factors, to refine and test novel therapeutic strategies is within remit
• Research that aims only to elucidate mechanisms underpinning disease, or identify risk factors for disease or prognosis (including search for biomarkers), is out of remit.

The NIHR is keen to support high quality educational research (defined broadly as education for health and care providers) and methodological research. It is expected that the research will have the potential to have practical application and the potential impact on patients/service users, carers and the public must be made clear.

Assessment Criteria

Following the submission deadline, the NIHR will check applications for completeness and eligibility, and distribute eligible applications to the members of the Selection Committee.

The Selection Committee will assess all eligible applications using the Assessment Criteria below.

• does the application fit within the prioritised underrepresented specialisms described above 
• the quality and appropriateness of the research activity proposed including any training and development, relative to the funding requested;
• the provision of a supportive research environment including supervision and mentorship;
• the suitability and commitment of the applicant to a continued career involving research
• the appropriateness of the award to the experience and trajectory of the applicant;
• the arrangements for ensuring protected time for the applicant coupled with ensuring continuation of service provision
• that the applicant has a clinical or practitioner post where they will undertake at least 50% of their working week, which can include supporting clinical activities or service provision such as continuing professional development and administration
• that the application demonstrates a commitment to mentorship of the next generation of healthcare practitioners demonstrable track record of the host organisation in supporting people to undertake and develop careers in research value for money as a research training award
• plans for how the institution will support research time of the applicant beyond this award
• academic partner support (where appropriate)
• extent to which the application demonstrates broadening the professional and geographical spread of research active and clinicians/practitioners.

NIHR Postdoctoral Opportunities

There are a number of postdoctoral awards available through the NIHR, a brief summary of these awards is below. Applicants are encouraged to review these to help decide if the Senior Clinical Practitioner Research Award is the right one for them. Outputs from a Senior Clinical Practitioner Research Award could include an application to one of these awards.

If you wish to discuss the options in more detail, please contact the NIHR Coordinating Centre using the details below. Read more about individual awards and career development training opportunities available through NIHR Academy.

Advanced Fellowship (AF)

Supports individuals undertaking research and academic career development in any scientific discipline or sector that can demonstrate a contribution to improving health and/or care. Covers salary, training and development and costs for a substantive research project.

Advanced Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (ACAF)

Supports health and care professionals (excluding doctors and dentists and including individuals registered with UK Public Health Register) who are developing clinical/practitioner academic careers (undertaking health or care research whilst progressing their clinical or practice career). Covers salary, training and development and costs for a substantive research project.

Advanced Local Authority Fellowship (ALAF)

Supports individuals in local authority settings who are developing practitioner academic careers (undertaking health or care research whilst progressing their practice career). Covers salary, training and development and costs for a substantive research project.

Clinical Academic Research Partnerships (CARP)

The CARP scheme supports research-qualified health professionals, not currently undertaking any substantial research activity, the opportunity to form a collaborative high-quality research partnership with established biomedical and applied health researchers, and with protected time and funding to enhance their research skills and experience.

Please note that CARP awards include protected academic time for research activity and funding for the associated research costs, whereas the Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award primarily covers salary and not substantive research project costs.

Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award or Clinical Academic Research Partnership Award?

Of the various postdoctoral opportunities outlined above the CARP award is most similar to the Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award. There are important differences though which are outlined below and should help you decide which award is right for you.

Key features	Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award	CARP
Aim	Support the career development of research active senior individuals, or those looking to embark on or return to a role involving research and help embed roles involving research into NHS and other clinical and practice settings. With a particular focus on supporting underrepresented professions, specialties, disciplines and geographies.	To attract postdoctoral clinicians back into a research career following a significant break from research.
Scope	Broad range of research activity including; leading research projects, preparing for future applications for research funding, undertaking strategic leadership around research delivery e.g. delivery methodology, identifying research priorities, knowledge mobilisation and topics and undertaking research relevant training and development. All research funded by the NIHR as part of a training award managed by the NIHR Coordinating Centre must fall within the NIHR remit.	Undertaking a specific research project which can be within the full range of MRC and NIHR remits.
Eligibility	Postdoctoral, senior clinician/practitioner	Postdoctoral, senior clinician/practitioner
Funding	Salary, training and development, contribution to research activity costs (£20,000 PA)	Salary and research project costs
Duration	Up to 5 years (max 50% WTE)	Up to 5 years (max 50% WTE)

Start Dates

Fellowships must start on the first of the month and for this round will be available to start between 1 May 2024 and 1 October 2024.

Award duration

Awards will be up to a maximum of 5 years regardless of the percentage time undertaking research activity. Applicants can choose between 20% and 50% FTE depending on various considerations including; the research activity they are looking to undertake, whether they are working less than full-time, balancing clinical / practitioner time and other role requirements. Applicants are expected to spend a minimum of 1 day per week undertaking research activities funded by the award.

Extensions to the duration of awards will not be possible except for periods of maternity, paternity, adoption or sickness leave.

Scope of award activities

These awards are designed to support individuals looking to have protected time for research activity within their current clinical or practitioner role. The scope of research activities that can be covered is wide and can include; leading research projects or grants, preparing for future applications for research funding, undertaking strategic leadership around research delivery e.g. delivery methodology, identifying research priorities and topics, undertaking knowledge mobilisation activities and undertaking research relevant training and development which could include formal and informal training, specialist skills training inc research methodologies, conference attendance and research visits.

These awards cannot be used to fund research delivery posts, which are funded through the NIHR Research Delivery Network. Individuals working in research delivery are encouraged to apply and use the award to cover one or more of the activities listed above.

The list of research related activities provided above shouldn’t be considered comprehensive and we are happy to consider applications which are proposing relevant research activity not highlighted above but which helps fulfil the aim of these awards which is to support the career development of research active individuals and help embed roles involving research into NHS and other clinical and practice settings.

Scope of Funding

The NIHR Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award is a personal research training award. As such applications are written and submitted directly by the prospective award holder. The NIHR cannot, however, contract with the Fellow directly and, therefore, all personal award applications must be supported by a suitable Host Organisation.

For awards hosted by an HEI, applications should include a partner organisation, ie an NHS organisation or other provider of health or care services in England.

Funding for awards will be administered by the Host Organisation, which should be an NHS organisation or other provider of health or care services in England or a Higher Education Institute. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will enter into a contract with the Host Organisation. Awards cover between 20% and 50% FTE of the applicant’s salary for research related activities, with any clinical/practice duties covered by the Host Organisation / partner organisation.

An NIHR Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award will fund:

• Between 20% and 50% of the award holder’s salary (including the employer's contribution to National Insurance and Superannuation) to undertake research activities as outlined above.
• A maximum of £20,000 per year (up to £100,000 over 5 FTE years) can be requested, which can be profiled flexibly, towards the costs of training and development and research activities, as the individual requires.
• Full economic costing.

The costs requested in the finance section of the application form will form the basis of the funding should the application be successful. All costs requested should be ‘value for money’ and will be assessed by the NIHR and members of the Selection Committee. The NIHR reserves the right to reject any costs that it considers unreasonable or not fully justified.

Application Procedure and Selection Process

Applications must be made using the online NIHR Academy online Award Management System (ARAMIS).

Applications must be submitted to NIHR Coordinating Centre using ARAMIS by 1.00pm on Tuesday 23 January 2024.

Late applications will not be considered under any circumstances.

The NIHR Coordinating Centre can advise on eligibility and remit enquiries, and answer queries you may have when completing the application form.

All applications will undergo an initial screen for eligibility. Following this, applications are reviewed by the Selection Committee in advance of a Selection Committee meeting where decisions on which applications to recommend for funding are made.

Details of Selection Committee membership can be found on our website.

The Selection Committee will make recommendations for funding that will be considered by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Science, Research and Evidence (SRE) Directorate. Once confirmed, the funding decisions will then 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 awards will be managed by the NIHR Coordinating Centre.

All documents must be submitted in English.

If applicants are successful in being awarded while simultaneously being involved in another NIHR research training award competition, they will be asked to decide which programme they would like to continue with and will be withdrawn from the other.

Registering, Completing and Submitting the Application

Registering

All applications must be completed and submitted via the online application system ARAMIS. 

Before an application can be started, prospective applicants are required to register on ARAMIS if they do not already have an existing registration. Applicants will be asked to supply a valid email address and to complete some basic information. Once this has been submitted, applicants will receive an email confirming their registration and a temporary password. Applicants should follow the instructions in the email to sign into ARAMIS.

Once signed into the system, applicants can update various details including their CV (in “Manage my Details”) and publications record (in “My Research Outputs”) and apply for any open competitions.

When registered on the system you can 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 Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award from the list provided.

After answering all of the eligibility questions, applicants will be able to start completing the online form. Applicants must ensure they have read all of the available guidance text including this document as well as any online instructions thoroughly whilst completing the form.

Completing and submitting the form

Please see Annex A for flow diagrams of the application submission process.

Applicant:

Applicants are required to complete all of the mandatory sections of the form and to enter under the “Participants and Signatories” section the names and contact details of those individuals fulfilling Participant and Signatory roles (see below).

Once the applicant has completed their sections of the form and the Participants and Signatories have made their contribution, the applicant is required to “Submit” the application to the Signatories for final sign off before the closing date.

Applicants can only “Submit” an application for final sign off by the signatories when:

• All mandatory sections of the application form are complete
• All Participants and Signatories have agreed to be a part of the application and have completed their relevant sections
• Applicants have completed the declaration information.

It is highly recommended that applicants complete their application well in advance of the deadline to allow the Participants and Signatories enough time to complete the relevant sections and declarations. Participants and Signatories who are required to complete part of the application form can do so at any time once they have agreed to be part of the application.

Participants and Signatories

Applicants are required to provide the names and email addresses (if not already registered on ARAMIS) of the individuals who will be undertaking Participant and Signatory roles as part of the application. Participants and Signatories must agree to be part of the application before it is submitted.

Participants and Signatories are required to review the declaration for their role before confirming participation. By confirming participation, Participants and Signatories are acknowledging their involvement and input into an application and agree to be involved in it. Applicants must ensure that all Participants and Signatories are happy for their application to be submitted before submitting it on the online system.

Please note it is often the case that one or more of the Participants are also named as Signatories.

Participants

• Research Support: Applicants are required to enter details of at least 1 (and up to 3) individuals who will provide research support (mentorship) during the Fellowship. The individual(s) acting as the applicant’s Research Support/ Mentor must confirm that they have read the application and the Applicant Guidance Notes and are willing to act as the applicant’s mentor for research and career development and agree to abide by the conditions under which an award may be granted.
  
  
• Practice Support: Applicants are required to enter details of at least 1 (and up to 3) individuals who will provide professional practice Support (mentorship) during the Fellowship. The individual(s) acting as the applicant’s Practice Support/ Mentor(s) must confirm that they have read the application and the Applicant Guidance Notes and are willing to provide professional and career development support to the applicant and agree to abide by the conditions under which an award may be granted.
  
  
• Host OrganisationAdministrative Authority or Finance Officer: The Administrative Authority or Finance Officer for the Host Organisation must confirm that they will ensure the accuracy of the financial details of the application and that the Host Organisation is prepared to carry out this research at the stated costs and to administer the award if made. The detailed budget section of the application form will be editable by the finance participant once they have agreed participation.
  
  
• Partner Organisation Head of Department: For applications where the proposed Host Organisation is an HEI, the NHS/health or care organisation must be included as a partner organisation. Only these applicants are required to provide details of the Head of Department for the partner organisation. In agreeing to participate in this application, the Head of Department of the partner organisation must confirm that they support this application and the applicant to undertake this work and provide a statement of support as part of the application form. This must be completed before the application can be submitted. Applicants will not be able to view the statement however, they will be able to check whether it has been completed via the validation summary.

Signatory

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 ‘signing off’ your application. Once their contact details have been entered, the signatories will be invited to log into the system and confirm their participation. Details of what is required and expected of each of the roles can be found below.

Signatories 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. all signatories must have agreed to participate and complete their sections before the applicant is able to press the SUBMIT button and send the application for signatory approvals.

Signatories 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 A) for further information. The final signatory approval will result in the application being fully submitted to the NIHR. All parties (applicant, participants, and signatories) will be notified of this via an automated system generated email.

NIHR will not accept any applications unless fully approved by your signatories prior to the 1pm deadline, no exceptions will be made.

Head of Department: In agreeing to participate in this application, the Head of Department of the host organisation in which this award will be based must confirm that they support the application and that, if funded, the academic training programme will be supported and administered in the named organisation and that the applicant for whom they are responsible will undertake this work.

Application Submission

Once the application is ready (see list of required steps above), applicants are able to submit the application for final signatory approval. Upon submission by the applicant, the individuals added in the signatory roles will be prompted to sign back into ARAMIS and approve the finalised application.

The application will not be complete until all the required signatories have approved the final version of the form submitted by the applicant. Only when the last signatory presses the “Approve” button will the completed application be submitted to the NIHR.

Annex A illustrates the submission process for the application form in the form of a flow diagram.

Please note: all of the steps described here, including signatory approval of the submitted application, must take place before the deadline of 1:00pm Tuesday 23 January 2024. No extensions will be given, and no exceptions will be made to allow for completion of the form.

Should you require assistance in completing the online form, please contact the NIHR Academy:

Tel: 0113 532 8444 or Email: academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk

Application Deadlines and Timetable

Your application must have been submitted by the deadline and any signatories must have approved your application by this time using the ARAMIS online application system.

All components of your application must be submitted by the deadline.

Please give yourself sufficient time to obtain your signatory’s approval before the deadline. No exceptions will be made.

See the below timetable for dates of the selection process.

Timetable

Competition opens for applications: Monday 2 October 2023

Closing date for submission of online applications: Tuesday 23 January 2024

Selection Committee meeting: Wednesday 6 March 2024

Completing the Application Form

1. Application Summary Information

1.1 Host Organisation

Please give details of the organisation who will be the contractor if the Fellowship is funded. This must be the applicant’s proposed Host Organisation.

Please note: The contractor is expected to respond to annual financial reconciliation exercises, provide the final financial reconciliation statement for the Fellowship and to respond to 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

1.2 Partner Organisation

Please give details of the partner organisation who will be supporting this application if applicable.

A partner organisation is only required where the proposed Host Organisation is an HEI. Partner organisations must therefore be the NHS/health or care organisation.

1.3 Proposed Start Date

Please note: this should be from the 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 prior to starting your Fellowship.

The possible start dates for the NIHR Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award are:

1 May 2024

1 June 2024

1 July 2024

1 July 2024

1 August 2024

1 September 2024

1 October 2024

Do you wish to hold an SCPRA for 2, 3, 4 or 5 years?

Please select the duration of award between 2 and 5 years.

1.4 WTE of Award

Awards can only be undertaken with the WTE* options given. Please select the WTE option to be undertaken during the award, between 20% and 50%.

It is not possible to undertake the award on any other basis than the options provided.

* Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) = percentage of full-time hours per week

Duration

Please enter the duration of the award in months. This should be equivalent to the duration in years selected above irrespective of the selected WTE uptake option, eg 36 months for 3 years duration.

2. Applicant CV

Please note: some of the responses to these questions are automatically pulled through from information entered in the ’Manage My Details’ page of your ARAMIS account.

The Publication Record section of the form is automatically populated from publications added into the “My Research Outputs” page of your ARAMIS account.

Please Note: You must ensure that this section contains any information necessary to determine eligibility for the scheme (please refer to the eligibility criteria) or your application may be rejected.

Applicants are advised to import publications into their ARAMIS account through EuroPubmed.

2.1 Degrees and Professional Qualifications

Please provide the full details of any completed higher degree(s) and, where relevant, the full details of any higher degree(s) you are currently undertaking.

2.2 Present and previous positions

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.

This information is used to assess applications to schemes for which there are specific eligibility criteria around the amount of research and/or clinical experience an applicant has.

Applicants who have just completed or are completing their undergraduate degree don’t necessarily need to complete any details here, although details of any relevant experience, such as placements, can be included.

2.3 Research grants held

Details of all grants obtained in the last five years should be provided, 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.

It is not necessarily expected that applicants at the pre-doctoral level will have been awarded research grant funding as a Principal Investigator (PI) or as a co-applicant, however if this type of funding has been obtained please list the details here. This may include travel grants or other small funding awards.

Please note that your research grant record must be completed within the application form and not via the CV section on ARAMIS.

2.4 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 any publications of any type that are in preparation. If relevant, details of these may be included in the “Applicant Research Background” section.

Do include relevant abstracts, conference proceedings and articles (peer-reviewed or others) which have been published.

Depending on professional background and expertise, applicants are not necessarily expected to have an extensive list of publications at the pre-doctoral application level.

2.5 Relevant Prizes, Awards and other Academic Distinctions

Please provide details of any awards or distinctions that would be relevant to your application including details of what the award was for.

2.6 ORCiD

The NIHR is an ORCiD member and encourages all researchers to obtain this persistent digital identifier that distinguishes them from every other researcher. Lead applicants must include an ORCiD ID in their 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

3.1 Professional background

Select the one option that best describes your professional background. This will determine any options that appear below for your profession, if applicable.

3.2 Professional registration number

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to indicate whether you have a current / active professional registration and enter the number/pin if available.

3.3 Please describe your research career to date

Please use this question to describe your research and professional practice experience and career to date and how this makes you suitable for this award. Please include the following:

Research you have led or made a significant contribution to (making clear what your role was), the research methods you have experience of, and the impact and outputs of the research you have been involved in (linking to details given in your CV).

Any other relevant experience such as supervisory, management, teaching, public engagement and involvement, or leadership experience;

Relevant experience that demonstrates a commitment to a practitioner academic career and the potential to develop as a practitioner academic leader.

Other skills and experience, which highlights your suitability for the award you are applying for and which demonstrates your potential as a future health and/or social care research leader

Where applicable, justification for your profession being an underrepresented area.

3.4 Impact of Award

Please describe the impact this award will have on your career. You should also provide some justification for the resources and length of funding you have requested in the context of the impact this will provide.

(Word limit: 1000)

3.5 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. 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.

(Word limit: 500)

3.6 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:

3.7 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.

3.8 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, mitigating 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).

If you are not in one of the professions which is highlighted on page 4 or an applicant applying from an ethnic minority background, please state how you are in an underrepresented area or discipline (this may include gender, and specialism, for example).

(Word Limit: 500)

4. Proposed Research Support and Activities

4.1 Proposed training and development programme

This section should provide the Selection Committee with information about the academic content, purpose and management of your award. You should discuss this section with your research support and practice colleagues before you complete the form.

Please describe the academic content of the proposed award. The scope of research activities that can be covered is wide and can include; leading research projects or grants, preparing for future applications for research funding, supporting research projects not led by the applicant, undertaking strategic leadership around research delivery e.g. delivery methodology, identifying research priorities and topics and undertaking research relevant training and development which could include formal and informal training, specialist skills training including research methodologies, conference attendance and research visits.

You should include details of the research methods you will gain experience of, the area of academic research or educational research on which you will be focusing, and any qualification(s) you will achieve as a result.

It is important that the training and development programme is tailored to your specific needs and fully justified. Training may include, but is not limited to; formal courses, training in specialist skills and research methodologies, workshops, placements with other research groups or centres, leadership skills and conference attendance.

The academic element of the award could, for example, include the preparation of an application for a competitive, peer-reviewed, research training fellowship such as the NIHR Advanced Fellowship or NIHR Advanced Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship, where relevant.

Preliminary research in support of the subsequent doctoral level proposal (e.g. a systematic review or small feasibility study) may also be included. Research costs cannot be funded through this award, however, and the primary research support colleague(s) for any subsequent award are responsible for ensuring an awardee secures all necessary regulatory approvals before undertaking any research included in the training and development programme.

(Word limit: 1000)

4.2 Collaborations

Explain what collaborations you intend to establish to support your training and development programme. This may involve short visiting placements or secondments in new (to the applicant) research environments, e.g. clinical trials units or NIHR Biomedical Research Centres.

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.

(Word limit: 600)

4.3 Research Support

Please enter the details of up to 3 individuals (and a minimum of 1 individual) who will have oversight and give direction to the proposed research support and academic development.

Although we acknowledge that formal supervision may not be appropriate for post-doctoral Fellowship applicants, we believe that you will benefit from research advice/mentorship. In this context, the research advice/mentorship role will encompass providing you with support throughout your award in both your research endeavours and your overall career development. It is a two-way process that may be challenging for both parties. For this reason, choosing who will provide research advice will require a great deal of thought.

The individuals who provide research advice 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 Advice 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 advice process.

Please note - funding for research support is available for the lead applicant’s travel and subsistence only and does not support any fees the individuals who provide research advice or supervision may wish to charge the applicant.

The individuals you list here must also be added in the ‘Participants and Signatories’ section of the application form.

Please note - the individuals identified here will specifically provide research mentorship and should not be a career mentor.

(Word Limit: 250)

4.4 Practice Support

Please enter the details of up to 3 individuals (and a minimum of 1 individual) who will provide you with professional practice advice/mentorship during your award.

As well as supporting the development of your relevant professional skills, it would be advantageous for this individual to be able to support and advise you on your broader professional development appropriate to your career stage.

The support detailed here is referred to in the literature as ‘mentorship’ and there are numerous models to be found that could be employed.

Please note - funding for professional practice advice/mentorship is available for the lead applicant’s travel and subsistence only and does not support any fees the mentor may wish to charge the applicant.

The individuals you list here must also be added in the ‘Participants and Signatories’ section of the application form.

Please note - the individuals described above will specifically provide professional practice mentorship and should not be a career mentor.

(Word Limit: 250)

4.5 Host Organisation support statement

The Head of Department of the host organisation is required to complete this section. The statement should detail how the organisation is going to support the applicant to successfully complete their proposed research support activities and training and development programme. This statement should be tailored specifically to the applicant, their training needs, and include how the organisations involved intend to support the applicant to develop their clinical academic career in the long-term.

This section can only be accessed by the Head of Department once they have agreed participation and cannot be accessed, but can be viewed, by the applicant.

This section should include how the host institution will support the research time and academic career development of the applicant beyond this 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.

For medics and dentists: UK clinical academic training in medicine and dentistry: principles and obligations

For all other professions: UK clinical academic training for nurses, midwives, AHPs and other health and care professionals: principles and obligations

NIHR expects that all commitments made to the applicant within this statement will be honoured for the lifetime of the award.

(Word limit: 1000)

5. Detailed Budget

Guidance for the completion of the finance section is available in the next part of the Applicant Guidance Notes. (See Finance Guidance on pages 18-21 of these guidance notes).

6. Participants and Signatories

A number of participants and signatories are required to be added to your application and, where applicable, to complete sections of it. Details of the required individuals are provided in these guidance notes and in the online application form along with details of how they should be added.

Please note: For applications where the proposed Host Organisation is an HEI, the NHS/health or care organisation must be included as a partner organisation. Only these applicants are required to provide details of the Head of Department for the partner organisation. In agreeing to participate in this application, the Head of Department of the partner organisation must confirm that they support this application and the applicant to undertake this work and provide a statement of support as part of the application form. This must be completed before the application can be submitted. Applicants will not be able to view the statement however, they will be able to check whether it has been completed via the validation summary.

The flow diagram in Annex A goes through the actions required of participants, signatories and the applicant.

7. Acknowledge, review and submit

7.1 Conflict checks

Please declare any conflicts or potential conflicts of interest that you may have in undertaking this Fellowship, including any relevant, non-personal & commercial interest that could be perceived as a conflict of interest.

7.2 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.

8. Finance Guidance

The finance section should provide a breakdown of the costs associated with undertaking the award and provide justification for the resources requested.

This section must be completed by the Applicant in conjunction with the Research Support Office or Finance Office at the host organisation (the organisation that authorised the application).

Applicants must make a copy of these Applicant Guidance Notes available to the Finance Officer in question.

The funding requested in the finance section will form the basis of the Fellowship should the application be successful.

All costs provided should be ‘value for money’ and will be assessed by the NIHR and members of the Selection Committee. The NIHR reserves the right to reject any costs that it considers unreasonable or not fully justified.

The NIHR Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award funds:

• Between 20% and 50% of the award holder’s salary (including the employer's contribution to National Insurance and Superannuation) to undertake research activities as outlined above.
• Up to £100,000 in total towards the costs of training and development and research activities, as the individual requires.

Full economic costing.

The fellowship does not include, or pay for, any research activities.

The NIHR Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award is a personal research training award, not a project or programme grant; therefore, extensions to the duration of awards to allow for completion of research and/or training and development are not permitted. This does not affect suspensions of awards to allow for periods of maternity, paternity, adoption or sickness leave.

General Information to support the completion of the finance section

• Costs must be provided at current prices. An adjustment for inflation will be made annually thereafter at rates set by the Department of Health and Social Care. Whilst allowances for incremental increases should be included on the form, nationally or locally agreed pay increases should be excluded.
• When justifying staff costs you should also provide the % amount of time input of each member of staff and link this to the specific area/work package of the proposed study where this input will be taking place.
• Years should be calculated starting from the anticipated start date of the proposed award. For example, if your award is expected to start on 1 June 2024 then its second year starts 1 June 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 award 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.

Summary of Costs

NIHR programmes currently fund HEIs at a maximum of 80% of full economic cost, NHS bodies and other providers of NHS services in England at 100% and commercial/other partner organisations at 100%.

Please note that whilst these 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.

9. Detailed Budget

Details of Posts and Salaries

This section presents an overview of salary costs for the applicant. Please state the proposed salary point and scale at the start of the award (“starting point on scale”). These should be input at 1.0 WTE i.e. the full-time current salary, even if you wish to apply for a less than full-time award. Please note immediate promotion to a higher grade as a result of securing a fellowship will not be funded. Please do not include any Clinical Excellence or Discretion/Merit awards or discretionary points. NIHR agrees to fund consultant salaries at a full-time rate equivalent to 10 Programmed Activities per week.

10. Direct Costs

These are costs that are specific to the award, which will be charged as the amount actually spent and can be supported by an audit record. They should comprise:

10.1 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 award, allowing for increments. Use current rates of pay subject to the limits on the basic salary that NIHR will fund for the time in academic training and build in any known annual increments (again at current rates). You will not be able to claim for pay awards retrospectively, once an award is underway.

Please note the salary figures need to be calculated using the current annual costs, %WTE and number of months. If the research lasts for several years and an individual’s involvement varies over the course, it may be necessary to explain fully in the justification of costs section the %WTE and months per year for an individual staff member.

In this section, “Add salary costs”, you add the costs of the time that you would spend on academic training:

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.).

Where the 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%.

10.2 Travel, Subsistence and Conference Fees

This section includes journey and subsistence costs, including conference fees.

10.2.1 Journey Costs

Enter the total cost of transport for all journeys. 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.

10.2.2 Subsistence

Subsistence covers accommodation (if necessary) and meals associated with the travel, excluding any alcoholic beverages.

10.2.3 Conference Fees

If a cost relates to travel, subsistence or fees for a conference please select “Conference Fees” as the cost description. Conference costs do not need to be individually itemised for each conference. The justification box should detail the conferences the costs will cover.

There is a £2,000 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)

Where the 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%.

10.3 Training and Development

These are costs relating to the applicant’s training and development programme.

Please itemise and describe fully the costs associated with the training and development programme. Please provide estimates if exact costs are not available at the time of application. Any travel and subsistence associated with training and development should be included here.

Any conference costs should be included in the “Travel, Subsistence and Conference Fees” section of the finance section.

Where the 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%.

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 grant. 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.

Requirements for systematic reviews to be registered with PROSPERO

Applicants undertaking systematic reviews should note the commitment of NIHR to publication in the database. PROSPERO was developed by the NIHR’s Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) and is the first online facility to register systematic reviews for research about health and social care from all around the world. Access is completely free and open to the public. PROSPERO registration is a condition of NIHR funding for eligible systematic reviews. Please see the PROSPERO website for further details.

UK Biobank

UK Biobank is a major national health resource, and a registered charity in its own right, with the aim of improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses – including cancer, heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, eye disorders, depression and forms of dementia. UK Biobank recruited 500,000 people aged between 40-69 years in 2006-2010 from across the country to take part in this project. They have undergone measures, provided blood, urine and saliva samples for future analysis as well as detailed information about themselves. The health of members of this large cohort will be followed over the coming years and the participants have consented to be approached about health research.

Applicants are encouraged to consider whether Biobank may be able to provide suitable data for their study. We do not want to discourage establishment of new collections of participants and their data where this is necessary to address the research questions under consideration, our aim is to avoid applications for funding to set up Biobank-like cohorts where the use of Biobank would prevent wasteful duplication of Biobank-like activities.

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. Read government guidance on procurement and contracting transparency requirements.

NIHR Research Support Service

The NIHR provides support for prospective applicants to make high quality applications for research funding from the NIHR and from other national research funders. Assistance is primarily focused around refinement of research questions, research design and methodological support. Complementing the advice applicants receive from supervisors and/or mentors. The Research Support Service (RSS) can also assist prospective applicants to understand the scope of the NIHR’s various funding streams and to develop patient and public involvement (PPI) strategies. It may be able to support applicants with small grants to work up PPI plans with, for example, patient groups.

The RSS operates nationally. Researchers should approach the RSS Hub they believe best meets their needs. The RSS will be based on best match to research need or specialism rather than location.

Find out more about the Research Support Service. 

Involvement of service users, carers, the public and other key stakeholders in the development and conduct of the research

The NIHR expects appropriate and relevant involvement of service users, carers, the public and other key stakeholders in the development and conduct of the research it supports.

Access information and resources to assist prospective applicants, including a detailed definition of public involvement in research, and briefing notes for researchers on how to involve the public.

In addition, the NIHR has contributed to a Toolkit for Increasing Participation of Black Asian & Minority Ethnic Groups in Health & Social Care Research, and has produced a further resource on Public Involvement in Social Care Research.

The NIHR Learning for Involvement website also serves as a repository of useful information and resources dedicated to learning and development for public involvement in health and social care research.

Applicants may wish consider seeking input from elected members at their associated local authorities, these individuals being representatives for their communities by definition.

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).

Please 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.

Guidance and Advice

Please read these Guidance Notes carefully. If you require any further information, advice or guidance please contact:

NIHR Coordinating Centre
Phone: 0113 532 8444
Email: academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk