Internet Explorer is no longer supported by Microsoft. To browse the NIHR site please use a modern, secure browser like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge.

PHR Programme stage 2 guidance notes (REALMS)-ADA

Contents

Published: 04 March 2022

Version: 1.7 August 2023

Print this document

These are the Public Health Research (PHR) Programme guidance notes, for applicants submitting a Stage 2 application via the REsearch Awards Lifecycle Management System (REALMS).

The ‘Add New Ticket’ button towards the top of the screen can be used to raise a support ticket if you have any questions relating to the call or completion of the online application form

This guidance should be used by applicants who have either:

  • been shortlisted at Stage 1 and asked to submit a Stage 2 application

or

  • by those applying for a specific call where a single stage, straight to Stage 2 application has been requested as part of the call. Typically for an Evidence Synthesis or Systematic Review topic.

Some fields in the online Stage 2 application form will be automatically populated with content input to the Stage 1 form. This content is editable and should be updated in line with any changes made to the application following feedback from the funding committee at Stage 1.

Please regularly press the ‘Save Draft’ button, found towards the bottom of the screen to save your progress.

We would like to draw your attention to the ‘Info still required’ button at the bottom of the application page. We encourage you to click this well before submitting – it will bring up a list of all the sections that still need completing and any errors the system has detected (if any) - these can then be corrected in good time before the submission date.

Summary information

Contracting organisation

Please give details of the organisation who will be the contractor if the project is funded. Please note that we expect the CI’s contracting organisation (substantive employer) to act as the contractor. Your primary organisation will be shown by default. If this is not the contracting organisation, search for the correct contracting organisation by typing the name of the organisation in the search box. If the organisation you require does not appear in the search box, you can request to ‘Add New Contracting Organisation’. New organisations need to be approved by the REALMS team prior to submission of your application. Please contact us if this request is being made within two weeks of the call close date.

Please also bear in mind that:

  • Thought must be given to the most appropriate institution to act as the contractor as part of the application process, as changes are unlikely to be agreed once a funding decision has been made.
  • 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 unlikely event that a request is made for the contractor to differ from the CI’s contracting (host) institution, the suggested contractor must be able to fulfil these expectations and to do so in the usual timeframes.
  • In the same way, the contractor is expected to respond to any queries relating to Intellectual Property, commercialisation and benefit realisation.

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

Research title (Limit: 300 characters)

The project title should state clearly and concisely the proposed research. Any abbreviations should be spelled out in full.

Research type

Select the appropriate research type. If your proposed project includes any element of primary research, please select ‘Primary Research’. If you are carrying out new analysis/synthesis of existing data, select ‘Secondary Research’ or ‘Evidence Synthesis’ as appropriate. If you are not sure which category to select, choose the closest match to your project as this can be adjusted later.

Start month

Note this will be from first 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.

Start year

Please be realistic about your possible start date taking account of the necessary contracting, and staff recruitment prior to starting your project.

Research duration (months)

Ensure you include sufficient time to complete all aspects of the research including applications for regulatory approvals (where required) and the final report.

End date

This field will automatically populate once you have saved the research duration information.

Total research costs

These figures are automatically populated from the detailed budget section.

Total National Health Service (NHS) support costs

These figures are automatically populated from detailed budget section. NHS support costs are the participant care costs which will not continue after the end of the study, and can usually be claimed in connection with NHS and non-NHS research.

Total NHS excess treatment costs

These figures are automatically populated from detailed budget section. NHS excess treatment costs are the additional costs or savings associated with the treatment of the participants during the research. The costs included are the additional costs compared with the current cost of standard care, which would continue to be incurred after the research, should the treatment become standard care in the future.

Information is available on how to assess excess treatment costs.

Total Non-NHS Excess Treatment costs

These figures are automatically populated from detailed budget section. Non-NHS excess treatment costs include costs incurred in delivering the treatment, or intervention, which would continue to be incurred after the trial, should the intervention become standard care. The costs included are the additional costs compared with the cost of current standard care. Please note that NIHR have no provision to cover non-NHS excess treatment costs, and it is the responsibility of the applicant to secure these costs if they are needed. Where applicable a letter from the provider of the treatment costs for the purposes of the study should be supplied.
These are similar to NHS excess treatment costs, but they mainly apply to Public Health and Social Care Research. They are unlikely to be applicable to HS&DR unless the intervention is being delivered outside the NHS (e.g. in school or by a local authority etc.).

Further information is available with the AcoRD guidance on how to allocate the costs of your proposal to each of the above categories.

Previous submission

Has this application, or a similar application previously been submitted to this or any other funding body within the last 3 years?

We are keen to know if the application has been submitted to this or another NIHR programme or elsewhere and you must be as open about this as possible. This includes, but is not limited to, any facts that, should they come to light at a future date, would embarrass either the programme or the individual who withheld the fact (e.g. if a member of the team holds a patent or has a financial interest within the research area).

Failure to disclose accurately or fully will be considered by the programme as academic misconduct and treated accordingly. You should also include in this section information on whether this or a similar application has been submitted to any programme previously, or to any other funder including other NIHR programmes. You should name and provide dates and outcomes of these. Please indicate whether you hold or have ever held an NIHR programme contract, which has been terminated prior to completion, extended in time or in terms of funding.
Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to indicate whether this or a similar application has previously been submitted to this or any other funding body.

If Yes:

Use the ‘Previous Submissions’ button to select any relevant submissions from the list. If a previous submission was made to another funder or is not listed use the ‘+’ button under the Other Previous Submissions section to record the details of that submission. For more information about resubmission of a research/trainee funding application, or joint funding please contact the appropriate NIHR research funding programme.

NIHR will not accept the same or substantially similar applications to more than one NIHR programme. If two similar applications are submitted, once the overlap is identified, the application that is most advanced through the funding process will continue and the second will not be taken further.

Similar applications will only be considered by two programmes concurrently if:

  • the aims and research proposals are substantially different
  • if successful, NIHR would be prepared to fund both proposals
  • the successful delivery of one project is not dependent on the other

Research team

Lead applicant

Information on your name, main and other affiliated organisations and contact details will be automatically populated from your contact profile. Degrees and professional Qualifications can be added to your contact profile. Update your contact profile to complete any missing mandatory information or make any updates here – you can do this via the ‘My Profile’ icon on your home page whilst in the application form by first clicking the ‘Update’ button alongside your details in the Research Team section and then clicking on the ‘Update Contact Profile’ button. Your contact profile will need to be validated by you, prior to your application submission.

Recent relevant publications

Provide details of a maximum of six of your most recent / relevant publications (in the last ten years) relevant to this application.

To add relevant publications, click on the ‘Open’ button and either select the relevant listed publications pulled in from your ORCiD record, and/or add any other new relevant publications. Once complete click ‘Save selected Publications’.

Research grants held

This should include research grants held (as a named applicant) currently or in the last five years – as well as any additional previous grants, relevant to this application. Please include who the grant is with and the amount of each grant.

To add relevant research grants, click on the ‘Open’ button and either select the relevant listed research grant pulled in from your ORCiD record, and/or add any other relevant research grants. Once complete click ‘Save selected Publications’.

For each manually added research grant entry you should state the registration number, name of registry and the DOI of the main related publication. 

Once all information has been entered and saved, click the ‘Complete’ button.

ORCiD ID

Please note: You (and joint lead applicant – if included) are required to obtain a free unique ORCiD ID number and update your REALMS user contact profile with this before you can submit your application. By clicking the link ‘Create or connect your ORCiD ID’ within the ‘ORCID’ section of your user profile you will be taken to the ORCiD website where you will need to register or sign in. Once logged in to ORCiD and following acceptance of T&Cs, you will need to click on the ‘Continue to import your ORCID Data’ button which will update your profile with your ORCiD ID number, along with other associated ORCiD data (e.g. any publications and grants you have allowed ORCiD to make visible to the public or trusted parties). Grants and Publications drawn from ORCiD in this way will be available for you to use in populating the relevant sections of your application. The ORCiD ID number is a mandatory requirement.

If additional publications and grants need to be added to an application, and you would like these available to select for other applications, you will need to update your ORCiD account first and then click ‘Re-Import ORCiD Data’ on your REALMS ‘My Profile’.

Equality and diversity reporting system (EDRS)

NIHR is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in research and asks applicants to provide Equality and Diversity Monitoring Information. 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.

Research team

The Research Team section lists any applicants who have been added to this application. NOTE the Joint Lead Applicant, Co-applicants and Administrative contacts are all required to be invited and accept their participation in a Stage 2 application (if not already invited and accepted at stage 1). The ‘Update’ button can be used to access the Applicant Details Form for each applicant and update the details of each user's involvement in this application. Different types of applicants can be added (e.g. Co-applicant/Co-applicant PPI).

Once ORCiD accounts have been linked up, the Lead, Joint Lead and co-applicants need to select which publications and grants are relevant for this application within the Applicant Details Form. This form can be found in the Action Items on each person’s home page once the Lead applicant has added them.

The Applicant Details Form for all applicants must be in Submitted status in order to submit your application.

Research team – lead applicant ‘update’

Click the ‘Update’ button to the right of your Lead Applicant information to add the information regarding your role on the application.

Role (limit: 200 characters)

Specify Applicant's role in research. Enter the role that you will be undertaking in the research e.g. co-ordination and project management, analysis, methodological input etc.

% Full-time equivalent (FTE) commitment

This refers to the percentage of your time that you will commit to this project.

Organisation

Select your primary organisation for the purpose of this application. Your main organisation and any other affiliated organisations that you have already added will be listed by default. Select your primary organisation for the purpose of this application. If the correct organisation is not listed, this can be added by using the ‘Update contact profile’ button towards the top of the page and adding a new organisation (to do this click on ‘Other Organisation’ in the left hand selection bar). Department – Select the primary department affiliated with. If you are a PPI representative and can’t find or don’t have an appropriate registered organisation, please start typing ‘PPI Representative Based in…’ and select the England/Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland option as appropriate.

Department (Limit: 100 characters)

Select your department for the purpose of this application

Joint lead applicant

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to indicate whether this application involves a joint lead applicant, and where appropriate use the envelope icon to add a Joint Lead applicant to your application and complete the necessary information. Once complete click the ‘Invite’ button. Once the joint lead applicant has accepted their invitation they will appear in the 'Research Team' list, and their information can be edited as necessary. The joint lead applicant will need to complete their publications and grants information.

Co-applicants

Use the ‘Add/Edit Co-Applicants’ button to add a co-applicant(s) to your application and complete the necessary information. Once complete click the ‘Invite’ button. Once a co-applicant has accepted their invitation they will appear in the 'Research Team' list, and their information can be edited as necessary. Where appropriate co-applicants will need to complete their publications and grants information.

Do not include collaborators, who should be mentioned (if necessary) in the 'Detailed Research Plan' (upload document).

Co-applicants are those individuals with responsibility for the day to day management and delivery of the project. Co-applicants are considered part of the project team and are expected to share responsibility for its successful delivery. Collaborators normally provide specific expertise on particular aspects of the project but who do not share in the responsibility for the delivery of the project.

Patient and public involvement (PPI) co-applicants

We recognise and value the varied perspectives that members of the public, patients, service users and carers bring to a project as applicants and encourage their inclusion where appropriate. They are not required to provide a full curriculum vitae (CV) (i.e. N/A may be appropriate for 'Publication Record and Research Grants held'). PPI co-applicants should provide a summary of any relevant knowledge, skills and experience that they will draw upon to contribute to this project.

This could include information about:

  • Previous or present work (paid or unpaid) with any relevant organisations
  • Links with any relevant groups, committees, networks or organisations
  • Experience of particular health conditions, treatments, use of services, being a carer - or as a member of a particular community
  • Knowledge and experience of research including previous research undertaken
  • Knowledge and experience of patient and public involvement including previous involvement activities
  • Skills from any other roles that are transferable Relevant qualifications, training and learning

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

Signatories

Please note that signatories are no longer a requirement of a stage 2 application submission. However, if your research proposal is recommended for funding you will be required to add the relevant signatories shortly after receiving your funding recommendation outcome letter as part of the project start-up and contracting process (approximately 2-3 weeks after the funding assessment committee date).

Applicants must follow their host organisation’s application review and sign off procedures before submitting an application. Failure to do this may result in any agreement to fund being withdrawn.

Administrative contact details

This facility allows you to provide an alternative contact(s) who will also have access to the application but will not be able to submit it when complete. The lead applicant must submit the completed application and will still receive all emails automatically generated through the system.

If you wish to include an administrative contact, use the envelope icon below to enter the administrative contact's details, and invite them to participate in this application.

Application details

Scientific abstract and plain English summary

Scientific abstract (Limit: 3,500 characters)

The scientific abstract should be a clear and concise scientific summary of the 'Detailed Research Plan / Methods', with a character limit of 3,500 characters (one side of A4 maximum). The following is a list of potential elements / headings that might be included depending on the design of the proposed research, the setting and programme being applied to, and whether it is for primary research or secondary research. It will be for researchers to decide the appropriate elements to be included in the scientific abstract, and could include elements outside this list. Applicants may find the guidance on the EQUATOR Network website useful.

  • Research question
  • Background
  • Aims and objectives
  • Methods
  • Timelines for delivery
  • Anticipated impact and dissemination

Plain English summary of research (Limit: 3,500 characters)

A plain English summary is a clear explanation of your research.

Many reviewers use this summary to inform their review of your funding application. They include clinicians, other practitioners and researchers who do not have specialist knowledge of your field, as well as members of the public. If your application for funding is successful, the summary will be used on NIHR and other websites.

A good quality plain English summary providing an easy to read overview of your whole study will help:

  • Those carrying out the review (reviewers and funding committee members) to have a better understanding of your research proposal
  • Inform others about your research such as members of the public, health and social care professionals, policy makers and the media
  • The research funders to publicise the research that they fund.

If it is felt that your plain English summary is not clear and of a good quality, then you may be required to amend it prior to final funding approval.

It is helpful to involve patients/ carers/ service users/practitioners and members of the public in developing a plain English summary.

Content

When writing your summary consider including the following information where appropriate:

  • Aim(s) of the research
  • Background to the research
  • Design and methods used
  • Patient and public involvement
  • Dissemination

The plain English summary is not the same as a scientific abstract - please do not cut and paste this or other sections of your application form to create the plain English summary.

Further guidance on writing a plain English summary is available on the NIHR website.

For further support and advice on writing a plain English summary, please contact your local Research Support Service (RSS) where applicable (this was previously supported by the Research Design Service).

Changes from first stage (Limit: 6,000 characters)

Please list the feedback received at first stage and under separate headings indicate what has changed as a result.

Please describe and explain any additional changes that have been made to this proposal since the stage 1 application e.g. in the light of new research.

Please note, if you are submitting a one step, straight to stage 2 proposal please ignore this question as it is not applicable to you. If this is the case, please enter ‘not applicable’ in the box.

Patient and public involvement (PPI)

Please describe how patients/service users, carers and the public have been involved in developing this proposal (Limit: 3,500 characters)

You should describe who has been involved and why this is appropriate, what role(s) they have they played, and what influence or change has happened as result of their involvement.

Please describe the ways in which patients/service users, carers and the public will be actively involved throughout the proposed research, including any training and support provided (Limit: 3,500 characters)

PPI approach, management and support

  • Explain why your approach to patient and public involvement is appropriate for this proposal. In your description you will need to say who will be involved and why.
  • Please use this opportunity to describe how you plan to manage and coordinate the patient and public involvement activities in your project.
  • Describe how you will support and enable patients/service users, carers, the public and members of relevant communities to contribute to your research (e.g. access, payments, training).
  • We would also encourage you to outline plans for the capturing, evaluating and reporting the impact of patient and public involvement activities.

Patients, carers, service users and the public can be involved in every stage of a research project, from developing a proposal through to dissemination and evaluation.

You can find further resources to support the design of your PPI on the NIHR website. This includes standards for public involvement in research, guidance for researchers on PPI and guidance on Payment and recognition for PPI, which includes a budgeting guide. The NIHR Research Support Service provide advice on developing research applications including involving patients and the public and the James Lind Alliance has a step-by-step guide on involvement in research identification and priority setting.

PPI lead

  • The role of the PPI lead can be undertaken by any of the co-applicants within the research team (or a named member of the team), who has the relevant skills, experience and authority to be accountable, represent, manage and embed patient and public involvement in all aspects of the research study/programme. This role should be a budgeted and resourced research team member. View examples of activities a PPI lead might undertake.

A summary of PPI activities

  • Please provide a summary of the proposed PPI activities embedded throughout the research project lifecycle. Please clearly signpost to other sections of the 'Detailed Research Plan' where the PPI is described further in relation to the relevant project stage e.g. dissemination, intervention design, data collection, analysis.

In rare cases where proposals do not involve patients/service users, carers and the public, clear justification must be provided. (limit 3,500 characters)

Complete / justify as necessary

Management and governance

Is Clinical Trials Authorisation required?

Select Yes / No as appropriate

Does your project require ethics approval?

Select Yes / No as appropriate

If yes, has ethics approval already been obtained?

Select Yes / No as appropriate

Detailed budget

Organisations for budget

Use the ‘Add Organisations’ and ‘+’ button to select and add the organisations who will be responsible for budget items and add them to your application.

Application budget

For Application Development Awards, please consult the funding call specification document for the funding limit and time limit for the project.

This section should provide a breakdown of costs associated with undertaking the research as described in the proposal.

The information entered in this section should provide an analysis of the total funds requested to undertake the research proposed and should be based on current prices. These costs will be used to assess value for money.

  • It is in the best interest to undertake a thorough, realistic and accurate costing. Where an outline/stage 1 application has been produced and this is the full stage (2) application, the Committee/Panel will pay close attention to any material increase in costs. You must provide a clear and full justification for all costs including NHS costs. You must also ensure that you include all costs including those required to secure good research management.
  • 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.
  • Years should be calculated starting from the anticipated start date of the proposed research. For example, if your research is expected to start on 01 June 2020 then its second year starts 01 June 2021.
  • When costs have been entered for year 1, it is possible to copy these costs to subsequent years, and they can then be edited if needed.
  • 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).
  • Payments are not able to made in advance of need and, if funded, your payments will be made in accordance with your application budget. Please therefore ensure that your planned costs are included in the budget year in which they are most likely to be incurred.
  • Appropriate sub-contracts must be put in place for any element of the research which is to be paid to another organisation.
  • NHS Support Costs, including costs for Social Care research are funded via Clinical Research Networks. Researchers should contact their local NHS Research Support Department initially and, if they are unable to help directly or if there is no local NHS Research Support Service Department, contact the Local Clinical Research Network (LCRN) Senior Manager for advice on NHS Support Costs.
    Further details about LCRN contacts is available.
  • All applications are expected to have appropriate NHS, higher education institutions (HEIs), commercial and other partner organisation input into the finance section of the application form.
  • Please note that whilst the applicable percentages will be used to calculate the maximum grant payable, the programme reserves the right to award a grant for less than this maximum where it is considered appropriate.

Costs for un-named co-applicants

If you need to provide costs for more than one unnamed individual it is important to name them as ‘TBA 1’, ‘TBA 2’ etc. not just ‘TBA’, otherwise their costs will not appear in the PDF version of the form.

Contributions and joint funding

Contributions from other organisations and proposals for joint funding with another organisation can be recorded as such in the ‘Contributions’ tab. If you are considering applying for a joint funding arrangement please get in touch to discuss this.

Information on different types of organisations

Higher education institutions (HEIs)

Higher education institutions (HEIs) should determine the full economic cost (FEC) of their research using the transparent approach to costing (TRAC) methodology. For HEIs, up to 80% of FEC will be paid, provided that TRAC methodology has been used.

NHS bodies and other providers of NHS services in England

For applications where the contractor is an NHS body or provider of NHS services in England, up to 100% of direct costs will be paid.

Other partner organisations

  • If you are a commercial organisation/consultancy, please fill in direct costs and commercial indirect costs. Indirect costs should be charged in proportion to the amount of research staff effort requested on the funding application form. Up to 100% of costs will be paid.
  • If you are an ‘other partner’ organisation (e.g. charity or NGO), please fill in direct costs and other partner organisations indirect costs. Indirect costs should be charged in proportion to the amount of research staff effort requested on the funding application form. Up to 100% of costs will be paid.

Direct costs

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

Posts and salaries

This section presents an overview of salary and associated on-costs for the applicant(s) contributing to the research, including normal salary increments broken down individually.

Please include all members of staff working on the research by clicking ‘add a new staff member’ salaries’ or editing a current one. If there are any applicant(s) whose costs are not being claimed you should still include their details within this section, but don’t include any actual costs. Where applicants are already in receipt of NIHR funding for any part of their salaries (e.g. NIHR Fellowships), these should not be additionally charged to the project. Where applicants are already receiving salaries funded by NIHR, these should be declared in the application by selecting ‘Yes’ in the ‘Other NIHR Salary’ drop-down list - please note that the NIHR will not fund more than 100% of an applicant’s time across multiple NIHR projects/awards and this fact will be checked prior to contracting. If you are unsure about this requirement or have any questions please contact the appropriate NIHR research funding programme.

The Apprenticeship Levy can be included in the salary costs where relevant.

The annual costs of each applicant contributing to the research needs to be calculated by specifying the %FTE and number of months. Use current rates of pay and build in any known annual increments (again at current rates). You will not be able to claim for pay awards retrospectively, once your research is underway.

Please ensure that you check that the ‘Cost Type’ box reflects the organisation which correctly describes the employing organisation for a member of staff (e.g. HEI, NHS, Commercial, Other), as this impacts on the level of funding provided. Staff employed by a Higher Education Institution (HEI) are funded at 80% of cost and staff employed by NHS, commercial or other partner organisation at up to 100% of cost.

Travel, subsistence and dissemination costs

This section includes journey costs, subsistence and dissemination costs, including conference fees. Where applicable, you will need to include the travel and subsistence costs of your Project Advisory Group, Steering Committee and/or Data Monitoring and Ethics Committee. Travel and subsistence costs relating to dissemination should also be included here, as should costs relating to overseas travel.

Journey costs - Enter the total cost of transport for all journeys for destination/purpose. If travel is by car, apply your institution’s mileage rates (however this should not exceed HMRC approved mileage allowance payments, which is 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p thereafter). Travel by the most economic means possible is encouraged. NIHR programmes do not usually fund first class travel.

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

Dissemination costs

  • Conferences - Where national or international conference costs are included, a statement naming the conference or purpose of travel and the benefit to the research must also be made; failure to adequately justify your attendance at a conference, will mean the programme will not fund this cost. For research of up to five years, the programme will usually fund up to a maximum of two individuals to attend one international conference attendance, or one individual to attend two international conferences. For research beyond five years, the programme will usually fund up to a maximum of two international conference attendances per five year or part of five-year research period.

  • Open Access Costs - Applicants should no longer include open access costs as part of their stage 2 application estimated Research Costs. From the 1st of June 2022 all eligible awards contracts issued across NIHR ProgrammesNIHR Personal Awards and NIHR Global Health Research Portfolio will have an Open Access Envelope allocated to them on top of the award value, which is ring-fenced for open access costs of peer reviewed research articles that arise directly from the research funded by the award in question.

Link to Open Access Funding Guidance 

  • Other Dissemination Costs -Any large costs should be further detailed with a breakdown of constituent parts or a timescale profile of the costs. Meetings to share best practice, training events and events to disseminate research findings must be run at the lowest possible cost with minimal catering. ‘Conferences’ which are described as such are not eligible for funding.

Equipment

Essential items of equipment plus maintenance and related costs not included as part of estates should be input in this section. These can be lease or purchase costs. The purchase cost of pieces of equipment, valued up to £5,000 excluding VAT, will be considered.

Pieces of equipment costing more than £5,000 to purchase will usually need to be leased. Where applicants are leasing equipment with a purchase price of more than £5,000, a comparison of leasing versus purchasing costs must be provided in the ‘Justification of Costs’ section.

Items of equipment valued at £250 or more must be itemised separately; however, grouping same type equipment is permitted. Costs of computers are normally restricted to a maximum of £1,000 each to include VAT and any associated software. If the purchasing organisation is unable to reclaim/ recover the VAT on any piece of equipment, then it should be included in the stated cost. A statement of justification must be included, in the relevant ‘Justification of Costs’ section for any purchase above this limit.

Consumables

This section includes non-reusable items specific to the research. Please itemise and describe the requirements fully (e.g. postage, stationery, photocopying). These items should be research specific, not just general office costs which should be covered by indirect costs.

Patient and public involvement

Please itemise and describe fully the costs associated with Patient and Public Involvement. These are likely to include individual travel, out of pocket expenses, payment for time and any relevant training and support costs. Costs related to study participants should not be itemised here.

If voluntary, charity or community groups are supporting the research via activities such as facilitating contact with potential participants, contracting research activities or providing advice, an adequate budget must be included to compensate for their time and resources.

For more information on budgeting for involvement, please read the NIHR Payments Guidance for researchers and professionals.

Other direct costs

These are costs, not identified elsewhere, that are specifically attributed to the research. For example, costs associated with the use of research facilities, external consultancy costs, costs associated with inclusivity (which may include, but are not limited to justified translation of research participant material into other relevant languages), computer licensing, recruitment and advertising costs. Please note that for organisations claiming indirect/overhead costs, costs such as recruitment of staff, and general training (e.g. in common IT packages) are costs that should be covered by the indirect costs element of the award being sought and should not appear in this section.

If external consultancy costs are included in this section they must be fully justified in the ‘Justification of Costs’ section. Please specify the hourly rate and the number of hours and note that consultants must not be people who are already employed by the applicant’s institution. If they are, any costs should be entered as direct costs in ‘Posts and Salaries’ section.

Indirect costs/overheads

Indirect costs will be charged in proportion to the amount of research staff effort requested on the award. Commercial/Other Partner Organisations should calculate them, using their own cost rates.
They comprise:

  • General office and basic laboratory consumables
  • Premises costs
  • Library services/learning resources
  • Typing/secretarial
  • Finance, personnel, public relations and departmental services
  • Usage costs of major research facilities
  • Central and distributed computing
  • Charge out rates for shared equipment
  • Cost of capital employed

NHS bodies or other providers of NHS services indirect costs

NHS indirect costs cannot be claimed through NIHR/DHSC programme funding. NHS Bodies or other providers of NHS services have been allocated NIHR Research Capability Funding (RCF) to contribute to the cost of hosting NIHR/DHSC-supported research.

HEI indirect costs

Total higher education institution (HEI) indirect costs must be fully justified. HEIs are permitted to claim estate and other indirect costs. These costs are calculated on the basis of transparent approach to costing (TRAC) methodology. Proposals from other types of institutions/organisations should leave this section blank.

HEI indirect costs are based on the number of full-time equivalent research staff working on the research and the indirect/estates charges set by an institution. Please note HEI indirect costs cannot be claimed on shared staff costs. Where staff from more than one HEI are working on the research there may be different indirect/estates charges for each one. Please list each institution on a separate line. The applicant(s) should consult their HEI Finance Departments for the appropriate figures to include in the estate charges and other indirect cost sections

Other partner organisation indirect costs

Other Partner Organisations can claim indirect costs which are the costs of resources used by the research that are shared by other activities. Please seek advice from your finance department about the appropriate cost for this section.

Other Partner Organisation indirect costs must be fully justified.

NHS support and treatment costs (incl. excess treatment costs/savings)

The finance section includes a section that asks researchers to provide an estimate of the patient care costs associated with the research (if applicable). An explanation of why these costs are being incurred and the basis on which the estimations have been made should be fully detailed under the relevant ‘Justification of Costs’ section.

The committee/panel will take NHS support and treatment costs into account when considering the value for money of the research. It is important that you consider these costs and discuss them with the NHS bodies or providers of NHS services involved in order to avoid any delay in commencing the research.

Please be aware that the research award does not include NHS support and/or treatment Costs.

Please note that as part of the work to address the issues surrounding the way in which excess treatment costs are funded, new arrangements have now been implemented. To underpin the new arrangements, a cost attribution tool has been created by the Health Research Authority (HRA) in partnership with charity funders and research sponsors.

This tool provides a standardised approach across England, ensuring that the attribution of study activities complies with the Department of Health and Social Care Guidance on Attributing the Costs of Health and Social Care Research and Development (AcoRD). As part of their funding applications, researchers are required to complete this new tool, known as a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT) for clinical research, which has been developed from the current HRA Schedule of Events. This tool is designed to capture the different costs associated with clinical research and attribute them accordingly. The totals for excess treatment costs and NHS support costs calculated by using the SoECAT can be entered directly into the application form.

Researchers and/ or their study teams and Research Sponsor/ Lead NHS Provider (e.g. R&D office/ Clinical Trial Unit) are supported by AcoRD Specialists in the Local CRN to verify the accuracy of the SoECAT. For more information please see the NIHR CRN Routemap.

Under the new arrangements, sign off via the LCRN AcoRD Specialist is required to confirm the study attribution complies with the Department of Health and Social Care AcoRD guidance. This early attribution support will underpin the excess treatment cost management process by providing formal sign off, supporting the role of the research sponsor and lead R&D office or Clinical Trial Unit. Completion of the Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool will be required for studies eligible for the NIHR portfolio and the support this provides, which will include access to excess treatment cost payments under the new arrangements. This ETC value, alongside recruitment activity in the NIHR Central Portfolio Management System, will then be utilised to inform the payments to NHS providers.

Please note: Social care studies are eligible for Clinical Research Network (CRN) support, it does not just apply to NHS based research, and researchers should speak to the CRN and include support costs where relevant. For the purposes of social care studies ‘treatment costs’ should be interpreted as ‘intervention costs’ and should be included in the proposal when needed.

If a project is to be registered with the NIHR portfolio, a completed Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT) is required to be uploaded and submitted as part of the application submission. Please note most evidence synthesis projects will not be required to submit a SoECAT.

Please be aware that if your planned project includes the recruitment of participants, your stage 2 application should be accompanied with the ‘Funder Export’ from the online SoECAT, obtainable via NIHR’s Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS) 

Guidance for the use of the SoECAT is embedded within the tool itself but general guidance around locating the application within CPMS is available in this video. 

The research award does NOT include NHS support and/or treatment Costs. These costs, including costs for Social Care research, are funded via NIHR Local Clinical Research Networks. 

More information on the SoECAT is available on the NIHR website, including: 

In order to create a SoECAT, you will need to create an account in CPMS. After creating the account, you will need to access CPMS when logged in in order for this account to be activated. If any assistance is required in creating the account, please refer to our user guide which can be found on NIHR LearnOnce your account has been created and is active, you can proceed. 

If you have any queries around registering or logging into your account, please contact supportmystudy@nihr.ac.uk 

NHS support costs

These are the additional patient care costs associated with the research, which would end once the R&D activity in question has stopped, even if the patient care service involved continues to be provided. These might cover items such as extra patient tests, extra in-patient days and extra nursing attention. Researchers should contact their local NHS R&D Department initially and, if they are unable to help directly or if there is no local NHS R&D Department, contact the Local Clinical Research Network Senior Manager for advice on NHS Support Costs. Further details about LCRN contacts is available.

Excess treatment costs

Please read the following guidance on the funding of excess treatment costs prior to completing your application.

These are the patient care costs that would continue to be incurred if the patient care service in question continued to be provided after the R&D activity has stopped. In determining excess Treatment costs, you must assume that the patient care service being assessed will continue even though there may be no plans for it to do so. Where patient care is being provided which differs from the normal, standard, treatment for that condition (either an experimental treatment or a service in a different location from where it would normally be given), the difference between the total Treatment Costs and the costs of the “usual standard care" (if any) constitutes Excess Treatment Cost/Saving, but is nonetheless part of the Treatment Cost, not an NHS Support or Research Cost. These costs should be determined in conjunction with your NHS body or provider of NHS services and their commissioners.

Please note that if the patient care intervention under investigation incurs either a higher or lower cost compared to usual care, the excess cost needs to be entered as an 'Excess Treatment Cost'. The excess cost (or saving) is the difference between the total cost of treating the participants outside of the trial via usual care and the total cost of treating all participants during the trial. The value to be entered here should be taken from your completed Schedule of Events Costing Attribution Tool (SoECAT) and can be either a cost or a saving. Please enter savings as a negative value.

For further information, please see:

Attributing the costs of health and social care research and development (AcoRD)

Justification of costs (Limit: 8,000 characters)

  • Please provide a breakdown of research costs associated with undertaking the research and provide justification for the resources requested. This should include the following costs: staff costs, travel and subsistence, dissemination costs, equipment (including lease versus purchase costs), consumables, patient and public involvement (PPI) and any other direct costs. For help with estimating PPI costs please see the NIHR Payments Guidance for researchers and professionals.
  • 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.
  • You should indicate here how this research will potentially benefit the NHS and/ or public health. For example, where appropriate, describe the likely cost savings or benefits in terms of numbers of patients treated, treatment times, service users or carers supported etc.
  • You should describe the value for money of the conduct of the proposed research.
  • Please provide a breakdown of the NHS costs associated with undertaking the research and provide justification for the resources required. If there are no NHS Support or Excess Treatment Costs associated with the research, you must explain why you think this is the case.
  • Please provide a breakdown of any non-NHS intervention excess treatment costs and provide justification for the resources required. Non-NHS intervention excess treatment costs should include costs incurred in delivering the intervention which would continue to be incurred after the trial, should the intervention become standard care. Please note that NIHR have no provision to cover non-NHS intervention excess treatment costs, and it is the responsibility of the applicant to secure these costs if they are needed.

Uploads

Any additional, non-requested, documents will not be considered by the funding committee during its review. However, there may be other requested documents e.g. cover letter, collaborative documents, dictated by the specification of the call.

To upload a document click on the icon next to the relevant upload type. All required uploads must be added for you to be able to submit your application.

Only the following document types can be uploaded: .doc, .docx and .pdf. If you upload a Word document the system will create a PDF version of it and both versions will be displayed below. Any other document types will need to be converted to PDF format before uploading. If you wish to remove or replace any specific documents all versions of that document will need to be deleted

Attachment 1: detailed research plan

It is mandatory to upload and submit a detailed research plan (DRP), which is a full account of the proposed project. Broadly, the detailed research plan should follow the following format:

  • Use Arial font size 11
  • Not exceed 5 A4 pages
  • Have a header containing your allocated project reference number if known
  • Have a footer showing your page numbers
  • Be converted to a .PDF version before uploading it

Headings/guidance

Full title of project

This section should clearly state what the proposed research is and any abbreviations should be defined. You may like to present this in a PICOST format (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome/s, Setting and Timing).

Background and rationale

This section should include a brief literature review of published evidence as well as a review of ongoing research, outlining what is already known and research that is currently underway. Applicants should outline the methods that they have used to do this review and list databases searched and search terms used.

All proposals recommended for funding which involve a clinical trial will be double-checked for potential overlaps using World Health Organization (WHO) trials before the communication of any funding decision. Consequently, a funding recommendation may not be taken forward if a major overlap is identified at this stage. It is therefore important that applicants highlight any potential overlaps prior to consideration by the funding committee.

Applicants should then explain how they expect that the research proposed will add to the body of knowledge with reference to current NHS policy and practice.

Research questions

Please provide the precise research questions your project will seek to answer. You may like to present this in a PICOST format (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome/s, Setting and Timing).

Research plan/methods

Please consult the Application Development Award (ADA) funding opportunity for details of what activities are expected and in scope for the call before writing your research plan. Depending on the ADA you are applying to different sections of the below guidance will be appropriate. Please note that detailing planned and already undertaken public involvement is essential to include.

Outline the design of your research ensuring your methods and fieldwork are clearly connected to the aims and objectives and research questions you outlined earlier. In this section you need to ensure that the cost of each stage of your research is understood and that these are clearly indicated. Justification of these costs is required elsewhere, please do not set these out in this section.

  • Search strategy (in the case of projects involving evidence synthesis): Provide details of preliminary searches, the body of existing evidence that will be covered, access arrangements (e.g. use of databases, hand-searching, communication with authors, etc.) and the search and review strategy. The databases you wish to use need to be specified and the team’s ability to access them commented on.
  • Strategy for reviewing literature (in the case of projects involving evidence synthesis): Explain the criteria to be applied to assess the quality and relevance of studies identified by the search strategy. Provide an explanation of how these will be decided if they are not yet known. Describe your methods for combining, aggregating or synthesising research findings and different forms of evidence.
  • Design and theoretical/conceptual framework: please provide a clear summary of the study design, including all of its components (e.g. primary and secondary outcomes, process and economic evaluations) and relevant time points for baseline and followup data collection for each component. Reference should be made to established research techniques and any adaptations of these for the purposes of the research proposed should be fully explained and justified. Where randomisation of participants is proposed please describe and justify the chosen method of randomisation.
  • Control/comparator group: please state what appropriate comparator will be used in an evaluation and how they will be selected. Changes to control conditions or ‘treatment as usual’ during the conduct of the trial should be documented.
  • Progression criteria: All applications to the PHR Programme which propose to carry out feasibility and/or pilot studies should include clear and challenging criteria to judge whether progression to the definitive study is justified. There are no fixed universally applicable thresholds for progression criteria but they should aim to address whether the uncertainties that were set out to be resolved in the preliminary studies have been determined.

Q: Did you resolve the uncertainties you set out to resolve? Examples of progression criteria could include (but not limited to):

  • Did you recruit people/centres within a reasonable time-span and to the numbers anticipated?
  • Could you deliver the intervention with reasonable fidelity?
  • Could you assess the outcome measures?
  • Was the intervention sufficiently acceptable and feasible to implement?
  • Do you have commitment to fund the intervention for the duration of the study?
  • Is the underlying question still the same/has the context changed?
  • Do you have reasonable estimates of effect size and variability to inform a sample size calculation?
  • Have you established whether there is contamination between the arms of a cluster study and any strategies to mitigate this?
  • Does the initial evaluation suggest that the intervention could be effective?
  • Has the study led to refinement of the logic model?

Please note that the criteria listed above should be used as a guide only and do not represent a comprehensive list of all the progression criteria that should be included within an application.

  • Planned intervention: you should include details of the planned intervention(s) and components, and their frequency and intensity, theoretical basis, specific techniques used, modes of delivery, and who will deliver the intervention. You may like to refer to the TiDIER guidance on reporting interventions. A logic model (or similar) should be provided as an additional upload to help explain the underlying context, theory and mechanisms of the intervention being evaluated.
  • Setting/context: Please describe the setting or context in which the study will take place and intervention be delivered.
  • Study population: which population(s) will be the target for the intervention and the subject of the research? How will the population(s) be recruited and retained?

Patients/service users/carers/public as research participants

The successful recruitment and retention of study participants is strategically important for the NIHR. If your proposed study involves patients/service users/carers/public as research participants please use the following bullet points to summarise their characteristics and what would be expected of them throughout the research project lifecycle. The potential burden on study participants can then be understood as well as whether or not the proposed strategies are practical, inclusive and feasible. Please also signpost to where further information on these points can be found in the detailed research plan and application.

Points to cover:

  • Inclusion and exclusion criteria to help ensure that certain groups were not being excluded without justification
  • Recruitment method and consent process to ensure it is practical and fair
  • Type and content of participant information materials
  • Overview of research methods to capture data from participants and their frequency e.g. questionnaires/tests/intervention/focus groups/ interviews
  • Study participant support to consider how drop-out and issues of participation would be handled/helplines/ other access arrangements required
  • Methods for sharing study progress and findings with study participants
  • Payments, rewards and recognition for study participants.
  • Sampling: please justify the proposed sampling frame and sample size for each element of the study. A justification for the assumptions underlying the sample size calculations must be provided. Please provide the source or some sensitivity analysis around assumed values.
  • Outcome measures: please state and justify the primary and secondary outcome measures. Validated surrogate markers are acceptable where appropriate. Details should include justification of the use of outcome measures where a legitimate choice exists between alternatives, the proposed duration of the intervention and frequency and duration of follow up.
  • Methods for data collection: for each outcome, process or economic measure proposed, please state the method of data collection, including qualitative methods where appropriate.
  • Data and statistical analysis: please provide details of how each study data set will be analysed. Clearly state the purpose of any statistical analysis. The proposed type and frequency of analyses must be stated including the selection of participants to be included in the analyses. Describe any planned interim and sub-group analyses, sensitivity analysis and how missing data will be handled.
  • Health economic evaluation: to inform affordability and return on investment a health economic evaluation should be included in your study. If you do not intend to include a health economic evaluation, justification for why this is not appropriate should be provided.
  • Assessment and follow up: A period of follow up should be considered and undertaken which is sufficient to ensure that a wider range of effects are identified other than those which are evident immediately after the intervention. Please provide details of how / when outcomes will be assessed including:
  • Assessment of efficacy/effectiveness: Please describe the methods and timing for assessing, recording, and analysing of efficacy/effectiveness parameters.
  • Assessment of unanticipated outcomes: Please describe the:
    • Methods and timing for assessing, recording, and analyzing parameters of harm.
    • Procedures for eliciting reports of and for recording and reporting adverse events and other harms.
    • The type and duration of the follow-up of subjects after adverse events.
  • Scalability and translation: A summary of any issues regarding the scalability and translation of the intervention into wider contexts if proven to be effective should be provided. This could be reflected in the study logic model. Applicants may like to consider following consulting published frameworks for scalability or intervention contextualisation (examples include; WHO, PHRP, CICI Framework.)
  • Socioeconomic position and inequalities: A summary of how your proposal will take into account the socioeconomic position of the research participants and potential participants should be included, as well as a description of how the research will attempt to address inequalities. Please detail if and how the study will measure the distributional impacts of the intervention (You may like to refer to PROGRESS-Plus characteristics).

Guidance for applicants on equality, diversity and inclusion for study participants

Every person eligible to take part in research should be offered the same opportunity of taking part in that research regardless of any protected characteristics.

All NIHR applications are expected to include information about how data on the protected characteristics will be collected. In addition applicants should demonstrate how these factors have been considered and addressed in their proposal, including steps taken to ensure the research sample is representative of the population the study is targeted at. Applicants need to explain who they are planning to recruit to ensure inclusivity of study participants and justify and explain any exclusions, for example by completing an Equality Impact Assessment. Costs associated with inclusivity, which may include, but are not limited to justified translation of research participant material into other relevant languages, would be expected and where appropriate should be included in the detailed budget section under ‘Other Direct Costs’. Additionally, applicants should demonstrate that all potential recruiting locations have been considered and the research is deliverable to those areas.

Please see the NIHR INCLUDE Guidance for more information about how to include under-served groups effectively: NIHR INCLUDE Guidance (General) and NIHR INCLUDE Guidance (COVID-19 specific)

The NIHR supports the Researcher Development Concordat which recognises the critical role of research and innovation in delivering the UK’s ambitious economic and industrial strategies, and aims to set the gold standard in researcher development and use it as a competitive advantage. NIHR research applicants should understand the concordat and consider this when completing their application.

Helpful links: 

Applicants should demonstrate how these factors have been considered and addressed in their proposal, including steps taken to ensure the research sample is representative of the population the study is targeted at.

Dissemination, outputs and anticipated impact

The purpose of this section is for the applicant to describe the planned outputs of the research, how these will be communicated and to who, and how the research may lead to short and longer- term impacts. NIHR understands that the impact of any research may take time to be realised and will likely involve other funders, institutions and sustained efforts in practice. NIHR also recognises it may be difficult to provide definitive answers or guarantees on longer term impacts. However, applicants are invited below to consider various aspects of pathways below and how the likelihood of impact can be maximised. This includes considering what outputs are produced, how these can be best connected to the health and/or social care environment, what efforts and investment are likely to be needed beyond the project, what barriers are likely to be encountered and what impacts the research is seeking to achieve.

What do you intend to produce from your research?

Please provide brief details of each anticipated output. NB the term ‘outputs’ refers to any tangible product of the research, not just academic publications. Outputs can include but are not limited to:

  • Conference presentation or other workshop events
  • Publications (academic or otherwise)
  • Guidelines (clinical, service or otherwise)
  • Other copyright (e.g. questionnaires, training aids, toolkits, manuals, software, etc.)
  • New or improved design of medical devices or instrumentation
  • New or improved diagnostic
  • Trial data that could be used to support a CE mark, market authorisation or equivalent
  • Trial data that could be used to shape or influence a healthcare market or government
  • Potential new public health or social care intervention.

How will you inform and engage patients/service users, carers, NHS, social care organisations and the wider population about your work?

Describe who you need to communicate with within this research, and your plans for engaging relevant audiences. For impact, it is unlikely that simply making outputs available will be sufficient. Please consider and outline the active approach you will take to engaging key parties or identify the process you will use to identify them and formulate an engagement plan. NIHR Dissemination guidance: How to disseminate your research: Getting your message heard - and used.

How will your outputs enter our health and care system or society as a whole?

Describe the process by which the research will enter the health and/or social care environment, including how your outputs will be acknowledged, selected and introduced for use in the health and care service or wider society. Where possible consider how the work will be able to be adopted and implemented longer term. Please describe the proposed route to market (commercial or non-commercial) for your outputs. Describe who is needed to take it forward and the relationship you currently (or propose to) have with these parties. If your outputs are likely to be commercially exploitable, please include details on how you plan to develop this.

What further funding or support will be required if this research is successful (e.g. From NIHR, other Government departments, charity or industry)?

Consider what investment or support may be needed at the end of this project to maximise impact. Not all projects will require this but if so, plans should be linked to the responses in points above.

What are the possible barriers for further research, development, adoption and implementation?

Describe the difficulties which may be faced in generating impact from your research. These may be difficulties you will face yourself, or challenges faced by those in the implementing context (e.g. clinicians).

  • Will the proposed research use data, technology, materials or other inventions that are subject to any form of intellectual property protection (e.g. copyright, design rights, patents) or rights owned by another organisation(s)? If yes, provide brief details including how such third-party IP will be accessed (e.g. collaboration agreement, drug supply agreement).
  • What are the key current and future barriers to uptake of any likely output or innovation directly in the health and care service, through commercial exploitation or other means, e.g. potential regulatory hurdles?
  • What are the challenges for getting your research implemented in terms of acceptability, accessibility and feasibility? How will you address these?

What do you think the impact of your research will be and for whom?

Describe the impacts you aim to achieve as a direct result of the project and those which are anticipated longer term. Please consider how any smaller, more immediate effects may mature over time into larger scale or more significant effects, and the steps by which this may be achieved. As far as possible, indicate anticipated timescales for these benefits and a quantitative estimate of their scale. Impacts may include but are not restricted to:

  • patient/service user/carer benefit
  • healthcare/social care staff benefits
  • changes in NHS or care services (including efficiency savings)
  • changes to public health services
  • change to public health policy or policies in other sectors
  • commercial return (which could contribute to economic growth)
  • public wellbeing.

How will you share with study participants the progress and findings of your research?

What strategies will you use to keep your research participants informed of the progress of your project and the findings? Consider the ethical implications of informing study participants and also what the most accessible methods could be, such as newsletters, leaflets, webpages, social media and where relevant different languages and formats. The Health Research Authority provide guidance on the information participants of trials should receive at the end of the study.

Project/research timetable

Please provide a concise summary here of the project plan of investigation, preferably in the form of a monthly project timetable showing the scheduling of all key stages in the project, their expected durations, and the timing of key milestones throughout the project including the production of outputs.

Please ensure your timings (e.g. time allowed for securing ethics/governance approval, for undertaking data collection and analysis, and for reporting and writing up) are realistic.

This timetable will be an important aspect of the monitoring framework during the life of the project.

If your application is successful, you will be required to submit progress reports, usually every six months. Where appropriate, these progress reports will be based on the project timetable and milestones. If you are late producing progress reports or a single draft final report of the expected standard for the programme, we may withhold payments, in accordance with our retention policy.

Project management

All project proposals should include details of how the project will be managed. For projects involving a number of institutions or component parts, effective project management is essential to ensure the work is completed within the planned time-frame. You should set out how joint applicants in different institutions will communicate and monitor progress of the project.

It is expected that all primary studies have a study steering committee (SSC). Please state in this section if you are going to have an SSC or, if not, you must explain your reasons for not doing so. Please note that if an SSC is not proposed, that decision will be reviewed by referees and the Research Funding Board and it is possible the programme may require that an SSC is established.

Depending on the study design and questions being asked a separate Data Management Executive Committee (DMEC) may be required. Applicants should indicate if they require a DEMEC. Where a DMEC is established it should be independent of the applicants and of the Study Steering Committee (SSC), while reporting to the SSC and (via the SSC) to the Programme. Detailed arrangements may need to vary according to the nature of the study and the contacting institution(s) involved. The Programme is keen that the arrangements for each proposed study are proportionate to the type, size and duration of the study involved. We do not require proposed SSC/DMEC membership lists at this stage, but an indication of members who are likely to be proposed (including overseas members) should be included.

Ethics

Outline any ethical and/or other regulatory issues, and arrangements for handling them. The Programme expects applicants to follow ethical guidelines appropriate to the study and setting proposed. We will scrutinise ethics arrangements as part of the assessment of applications. Applicants must either comply with the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) research ethics framework or obtain approval via the National Research Ethics Service.

(Note that work outlined in your application/protocol must adhere to the UK Framework for Health and Social Care research).

Patient and Public Involvement

Note that your description of how patients and the public have been involved in developing this proposal, and how they will be involved in the proposed research, should be captured in the three specific Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) questions asked elsewhere in the application form. Although you are encouraged to include information about PPI activities within the Detailed Research Plan upload, there is no requirement to repeat or duplicate the responses to the three specific PPI questions. In rare cases where proposals do not involve patients or the public, clear justification must be provided, in response to the third PPI question.

You can find further resources to support the design of your PPI on the NIHR website.

Project/research expertise

Outline the particular contribution each member of the team will make to the project and the particular contribution that collaborators are intended to make. In addition, please give details of supervision arrangements for junior staff involved.

You should outline staff numbers and grades, timescales, equipment purchases, etc. that you are requesting funding for. If you propose to purchase expensive medical or other equipment, justify fully why you are not proposing to lease it, since this is the DH preferred option.

Please also provide details of collaborators and how they have aided the development of the proposal. Letters of support from collaborators should be provided as uploads. Where appropriate this should include a letter from the provider of the intervention costs.

If applicable you must also provide an explanation and justification of the NHS Support Costs and Excess Treatment Costs, or non-NHS support costs associated with this proposal including, if applicable, an explanation of the basis on which these costs have been estimated.

Success criteria and barriers to proposed work

Please set out the measurements of success you intend to use, the risks to the proposed research and how you intend to mitigate against them.

Attachment 2: CTU support letter (if required / appropriate to the study) Not a mandatory upload

If appropriate to the study, please supply and upload a Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) letter of support.

Attachment 3: flow diagram

In order to submit a Stage 2 application to the programme you must upload a diagram (single-side of A4), as a separate .PDF file, for submission with your application form. This diagram may be projected at the funding committee meeting to provide funding committee members with a visual summary of the study proposed.

The diagram should illustrate the study design and the flow of participants (if appropriate). If the project consists of more than one work package, consider a diagram that conveys the sequence and timing of research packages as well as how the work packages are linked.

Please ensure diagrams are large and clear enough for them to be projected as a slide at the funding committee meeting.

If proposing an RCT, we advise you refer to the CONSORT statement for guidance. If the commissioning brief requests a pilot or feasibility trial please refer to the CONSORT extension for pilot and feasibility trials. Alternatively, you may also find the EQUATOR Network website useful.

Attachment 4: logic model

Where appropriate please supply a logic model or equivalent.

Attachment 5: references (maximum 3 pages of A4)

List all references cited in the full project description, using either the Vancouver or Harvard referencing conventions, and include the DOI of the main related publication.

Attachment 6: Letters of support

Please upload any letters of support from study collaborators or partners. Where applicable a letter from the provider of the intervention costs for the purposes of the study should be provided.

Attachment 7: Papers in press

Supporting research papers not yet published or publicly available should be provided.

Attachment 8: Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT)

A completed Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT) is now required to be uploaded and submitted for projects that are to be registered with the NIHR portfolio.

Acknowledgements and conflicts

Potential conflicts

Please declare any conflicts or potential conflicts of interest that you or your co-applicants may have in undertaking this research, including any relevant, non-personal & commercial interest that could be perceived as a conflict of interest. The ICMJE criteria for conflict management can be used as a guide. If in doubt, you should err on the side of disclosure.

Agreement to terms and conditions

I have read and understood the terms on which I have been nominated as lead applicant for this proposal along with the associated documentation and accept this role.

A list of terms and conditions can be found here: terms and conditions.

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 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.

Checklist of information to include when submitting a NIHR stage 2 research application

As a guide, applicants should ensure they have included the necessary information prior to submitting their application.

  • Appropriate and relevant involvement of patients/service user, carers and the public
  • A good quality plain English summary
  • A clear description of team member roles and contribution
  • A clear scientific abstract
  • A clear description of the changes from first stage (if applicable)
  • A flow diagram illustrating the study design / flow of participants (document upload)
  • A full and accurate detailed budget breakdown
  • A clear justification of costs / value for money
  • References (maximum 3 pages of A4 - document upload)
  • A clear Detailed Research Plan outlining the study design, methods, dissemination etc. (document upload)
  • A CTU letter of support if required (document upload)
  • Logic model or equivalent (document upload)
  • Letters of support (document upload)
  • Papers in press (document upload)
  • The support and agreement from the necessary supporting roles / signatories
  • A completed and approved SoECAT (document upload – where relevant)