Introduction
The HEE/NIHR ICA Pre-doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (PCAF) scheme supports developing practitioner academics from the health and care professions (excluding doctors and dentists) to become competitive applicants for a peer-reviewed doctoral level research training fellowship.
The PCAF scheme offers salaried time to prepare a doctoral Fellowship application and funding for personalised programmes of academic training that equip awardees with the skills and experience to access doctoral level funding.
PCAF Round 6 Competition (2023)
The sixth PCAF scheme competition launched on 26th January 2023 and closed on 16th March 2023. The numbers of applications received and awards made are detailed in Annex A at the end of this document along with some associated analysis.
Observations and Advice for Prospective Applicants
The Selection Committee agreed that the Round 6 competition was highly competitive, and the overall quality of applications was seen as a positive reflection of the increasing support and awareness of non-medical practitioner academic careers.
The Chair and co-Chair of the Selection Committee have made observations of the general strengths and weaknesses of the Round 6 applications and discussed areas that future applicants should consider to strengthen their applications. These are summarised below.
Research Outputs
Whilst NIHR funded doctoral fellowships are not the only option for PCAF award holders to complete a PhD, it should be noted that assessment criteria for both the Doctoral Fellowship and the Doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship include reference to research outputs. Therefore, PCAF applicants are advised to consider a plan for developing outputs during their PCAF if they do not have any at the point of application.
Training and Development Programme
It is important to remember that the PCAF is a practitioner academic award. Therefore, applicants should ensure that their plans for clinical/practice development are clearly included within the application, including acknowledgement of being a future leader within their clinical field.
The PCAF is also explicitly designed to support doctoral application development and should clearly be a step within their overall career development, rather than being a training opportunity in isolation. The plan to progress from the PCAF to doctoral level should be evident in the application.
To ensure a robust training plan is developed, applicants may wish to consider using one of the various analysis tools available to identify their training needs. However, they should also consider what is feasible to achieve within the PCAF timeframe, noting that a PCAF should not just consist of a series of training courses.
With reference to the above points, applicants should give careful consideration to including a full Masters in their application. The option of a full Masters remains available, and in certain cases may be justified to ensure an applicant’s eligibility and/or competitiveness for a doctoral level opportunity. However, in many cases, a bespoke combination of modules and/or other courses and opportunities may be the more appropriate option.
All applicants should review the Guidance Notes and ensure they are confident of the costs that can be included within a PCAF application. Applicants should be mindful of the fact that ineligible costs will be removed if an application is successful and therefore of the potential impact on their plans if they submit an overbudget application.
Area of research interest
PCAF applicants are not expected to have a fully developed topic for a future PhD. However, they should be able to provide sufficient detail about their research area of interest to allow the committee to assess whether the proposed training is relevant and/or sufficient.
Supervisors and Mentor
Supervisors should be involved in the development of the application from an early stage.
Applicants should ensure that the practical arrangements for supervision are detailed in the application. This could include location, format, attendees, frequency. When providing details of each supervisor, this should include what the supervisor is offering the applicant as well as the supervisor’s credentials (as requested in the Guidance Notes).
Applicants are strongly advised to consider the role of their Practitioner Academic Career Mentor. This individual should not be acting as a third supervisor and should have a unique role supporting the applicant as they develop a practitioner academic career.
Host organisation/ collaborations
Applicants should consider the links that their host organisation and/or supervisors can offer to established research infrastructure e.g. NIHR BRCs, ARCs.
The Selection Committee recognises that certain professions and host organisations may be less embedded within existing infrastructure, but in these cases, applicants should consider how collaborations could be established during the PCAF to develop these links and support their career moving forwards.
Statement of Support
There should be clear evidence in the application of the partnership/ joint working between host and partner organisations to support the applicant. The Statement of Support should be completed by the heads of department at both organisations.
The Statement of Support should address all areas highlighted in Guidance Notes. Specific areas which are often lacking are:
- an explicit commitment to protected time for the applicant
- details of the organisations’ commitment to an equality, diversity and an inclusive research culture
- clear articulation of support for a practitioner academic career, including recognition of the clinical/practice aspect of the award
Patient and Public Involvement
Applicants should recognise that appropriate PPI is one of the areas assessed within NIHR doctoral level fellowship applications. NIHR doctoral level Selection Committees will be looking to see that patients/ service users and public have been involved in the development of the doctoral application. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that applicants include PPI within their PCAF (up to £1000 is available for this).
Re-applications
If an applicant has applied previously for a PCAF, they should ensure that all feedback to the previous submission is addressed in their re-application, where relevant and appropriate.
Application Presentation
Applicants are advised to ensure their applications have been proof-read before submission to minimise the appearance of spelling, typing or formatting errors within the applications. The final application will often show if this stage has been missed and may raise concerns within the committee about the thoroughness of the preparation for submission.
Useful Resource for Prospective Applicants
- The Round 6 (2022) PCAF Applicant Guidance Notes are available from the ICA webpages. These provide details of the PCAF scheme, including the eligibility requirements, the funding available, the required employment arrangements and the assessment criteria used by the PCAF Selection Committee when reviewing applications. The Applicant Guidance Notes should be read in full before starting an application.
Please note – Updated Guidance Notes will be published with the launch of the Round 6 competition. Applicants must ensure that they are referring to the most recent Applicant Guidance Notes when making an application. - The HEE/NIHR ICA Programme Approved Regulatory Bodies and Regulators are available via the ICA webpages.
- The Applicants Guidance Notes for the HEE/NIHR ICA Doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (DCAF) and the NIHR Doctoral Fellowship schemes are also available via the NIHR webpages. The guidance details the questions on the doctoral fellowship application form and the eligibility requirements for the schemes.
- Award holders are listed on the NIHR webpages and may be a useful resource for prospective applicants wishing to link in with other practitioner academics.
- ICA Programme Bridging Scheme supports non-medical practitioner academics to build on their previous academic training and to develop proposals for a doctoral or post-doctoral award, and to take the next step on their practitioner academic pathway.
Information on the bridging support in your region is available through the Health Education England Clinical Academic Careers webpages.
Annex A
PCAF Application and Awards Summary
"Standard" PCAF
|
Competition Round |
Total Eligible Applications |
Eligible Applications |
Recommended |
Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 (2018) |
145 |
145 |
85 |
40 |
|
2 (2019) |
122 |
122 |
98 |
35* |
|
3 (2020) |
105 |
81 |
62 |
30 |
|
4 (2021) |
106 |
75 |
62 |
33 |
|
5 (2022) |
79 |
59 |
54 |
54** |
|
6 (2023) |
68 |
51 |
39 |
39# |
PCAF Bridge
|
Competition Round |
Total Eligible Applications |
Eligible Applications |
Recommended |
Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 (2018) |
145 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
2 (2019) |
122 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
3 (2020) |
105 |
24 |
20 |
20 |
|
4 (2021) |
106 |
31 |
26 |
11 |
|
5 (2022) |
79 |
20 |
19 |
19** |
|
6 (2023) |
68 |
17 |
12 |
12# |
*an additional four awards were offered subsequently due to an identified underspend
** this includes awards funded by both HEE and DHSC
# funding from DHSC
Round 6 PCAF Applications and Success rate by Region
"Standard" PCAF
|
Region |
Applied |
Recommended |
|---|---|---|
|
East Midlands |
1 |
1 |
|
East of England |
2 |
0 |
|
London |
16 |
13 |
|
North East |
2 |
1 |
|
North West |
9 |
7 |
|
South Central |
5 |
4 |
|
South East Coast |
1 |
1 |
|
South West |
3 |
2 |
|
West Midlands |
6 |
6 |
|
Yorkshire and the Humber |
6 |
4 |
|
Total |
51 |
39 |
PCAF Bridge
|
Region |
Applied |
Recommended |
|---|---|---|
|
East Midlands |
1 |
1 |
|
East of England |
0 |
0 |
|
London |
9 |
7 |
|
North East |
0 |
0 |
|
North West |
3 |
2 |
|
South Central |
0 |
0 |
|
South East Coast |
0 |
0 |
|
South West |
1 |
0 |
|
West Midlands |
2 |
2 |
|
Yorkshire and the Humber |
1 |
0 |
|
Total |
17 |
12 |
Round 6 PCAF - Applications and Success rate by Profession
"Standard" PCAF
|
Profession |
Applied |
Recommended |
|---|---|---|
|
Art Therapist |
0 |
0 |
|
Clinical Research Practitioner |
0 |
0 |
|
Dental Therapist |
1 |
1 |
|
Dietitian |
4 |
4 |
|
Healthcare Scientist |
3 |
2 |
|
Midwife |
3 |
2 |
|
Nurse |
15 |
11 |
|
Occupational Therapist |
3 |
2 |
|
Orthoptist |
0 |
0 |
|
Paramedic |
1 |
1 |
|
Pharmacist |
2 |
2 |
|
Physiotherapist |
12 |
8 |
|
Practitioner Psychologist |
0 |
0 |
|
Prosthetist / Orthotist |
1 |
1 |
|
Radiographer (Diagnostic) |
1 |
1 |
|
Social Worker |
1 |
0 |
|
Speech and Language Therapist |
4 |
4 |
|
Total |
51 |
39 |
PCAF Bridge
|
Profession |
Applied |
Recommended |
|---|---|---|
|
Art Therapist |
1 |
0 |
|
Clinical Research Practitioner |
1 |
0 |
|
Dental Therapist |
0 |
0 |
|
Dietitian |
0 |
0 |
|
Healthcare Scientist |
2 |
1 |
|
Midwife |
1 |
1 |
|
Nurse |
3 |
2 |
|
Occupational Therapist |
0 |
0 |
|
Orthoptist |
1 |
1 |
|
Paramedic |
0 |
0 |
|
Pharmacist |
2 |
2 |
|
Physiotherapist |
2 |
1 |
|
Practitioner Psychologist |
3 |
3 |
|
Prosthetist / Orthotist |
0 |
0 |
|
Radiographer (Diagnostic) |
0 |
0 |
|
Social Worker |
0 |
0 |
|
Speech and Language Therapist |
1 |
1 |
|
Total |
17 |
12 |
Round 6 PCAF Applications and Success rate by Sex
|
Sex |
Applied |
Recommended |
|---|---|---|
|
Female |
74% |
78% |
|
Male/ Prefer not to say |
26% |
22% |
|
Total |
100% |
100% |