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Policy Research Programme - Guidance for Stage 2/Single Stage applications

Contents

Published: 18 June 2019

Version: 5.1 - December 2023

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This document provides guidance on completing a stage 2 or single stage application for the NIHR Policy Research Programme.

Section 1: Application Summary Information

Host Organisation

Provide details of the organisation who will be the contractor if the project is funded. If you have any queries, please contact PRP@nihr.ac.uk before submitting your application.

Research Title

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

Proposed Start Date

Note this should be from 1st of the month regardless of whether this is a working day or not. Please be realistic about your possible start date taking account of the necessary contracting, and staff recruitment prior to starting your project.

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 entered the start date and research duration information.

Total (Stage 2) Research Costs

This will be automatically pulled through from the budget section in Stage 2 applications. It needs to be populated in Single Stage applications.

Section 2: CV - Lead and Co-applicants

Complete your name, contact details and other requested information.

We encourage the inclusion of public co-applicants, where appropriate. Please include a clear description of their role and the reasons why a public co-applicant is joining the team. They are not obliged to complete a standard CV but are required to provide a summary of any knowledge, skills and experience relevant to their role in the application in a separate text box. This appears when a co-applicant selects ‘yes’ to indicate that they are a member of the public.

We recognise and value the varied perspectives that patients / service users and carers bring to a project as applicants. In this section, please provide a summary of any relevant knowledge, skills and experience that you 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 - 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.

The bullet point list above is not exhaustive. Please include anything else that is relevant to the application.

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

Section 3: Research Background - Lead and Co-applicants

Publication record

Provide details of a MAXIMUM of 6 of your most recent / relevant publications (in the last 10 years) relevant to this application (using Vancouver or Harvard citation format). Please use DOI reference numbers if needed.

Research grants held

Please outline the existing award that this Policy award relates to/is building on. For more information about resubmission of a research/trainee funding application, or joint funding please contact the appropriate NIHR research funding programme.

Has this application been previously submitted to this or any other funding body?

To be completed by the lead applicant only.

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop down box to indicate whether this or a similar application has previously been submitted to this or any other funding body. For more information about resubmission of a research/trainee funding application, or joint funding please contact the appropriate NIHR research funding programme.

Please note, if this section has been already completed at Stage 1, the relevant information will be pulled through from the Stage 1 application.

Applications submitted to other NIHR programmes

Where this application or a similar one has been submitted to this or another NIHR programme or elsewhere please provide the necessary information.

We are keen to know if the application has been submitted 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, could harm the reputation of 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 include in this section information on whether this or a similar application has been submitted to any NIHR funding programme previously, or to any other funder. You should name, and provide dates and outcomes of these applications.

Please indicate whether you have ever held an NIHR programme contract which has been terminated prior to completion, and provide the reasons for this termination.

Section 4: The Research Team

Specify your (lead applicant) role in this research 

Explain in addition to your role as Lead Applicant, the role that you will be undertaking in the research, e.g. co-ordination and project management, analysis, methodological input etc.

%FTE Commitment

This refers to the percentage of your time that you will commit to this project. If you are funded as part of other NIHR projects that will be running concurrently, your time must not exceed 100% overall.

Joint Lead Applicant

Where appropriate and justified it is acceptable for the application to be led by joint Lead Applicants. Where this applies, please complete your name, contact details and other requested information.

Justification for Joint Lead Applicant

Justification should be given to demonstrate why more than one person would be required to lead this research and how this brings added value to the application.

Relevant expertise and experience of joint Lead Applicant

Please summarise the proposed Joint Lead Applicant’s relevant expertise and track record in terms of skills and experience, previous publications, grant funding and impact on health or social care service provision.

Specify role in research

Please provide a brief overview of the Joint Lead Applicant’s role in the proposed research. There is an opportunity to elaborate upon this further in the ‘Detailed Research Plan’ section.

%FTE Commitment

This refers to the percentage of your time that you will commit to this project. If you are funded as part of other NIHR projects that will be running concurrently, your time must not exceed 100% overall.

NOTE: For application/contracting purposes, the joint lead applicant will be counted as a co-applicant.

Add all co-applicants supporting your research

Add details of all co-applicants and their specific role in the programme. Do not include collaborators, who should be mentioned (if necessary) in the Detailed Research Plan section of the form.

Co-applicants are those individuals with responsibility for the day to day management and delivery of the project. Co-applicants, including public co-applicants are considered part of the project team and are expected to share responsibility for its successful delivery. In contrast, 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.

Allow sufficient time for your co-applicants to complete their sections of the online form before the application deadline. A maximum of 15 co-applicants is permitted.

Section 5: Scientific Abstract (approx 500 words)

The scientific abstract should be a clear and concise scientific summary of the Detailed Research Plan / Methods.

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 evidence synthesis. It will be for researchers to decide the appropriate elements to be included in the scientific abstract and could include elements outside this list. Alternatively, you may find the EQUATOR Network website useful.

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

Section 6: Plain English Summary (approx 450 words)

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:

  1. those carrying out the review (reviewers and board and panel members) to have a better understanding of your research proposal
  2. inform others about your research such as members of the public, health and social care professionals, policy makers and the media
  3. 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:

  1. aim(s) of the research
  2. background to the research
  3. design and methods used
  4. patient and public involvement
  5. 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 in plain English is available online at NIHR Plain English summaries.

For further support and advice on writing a plain English summary, please contact the Research Support Service (where applicable).

Section 7: Changes from First stage - Responses to Committee Feedback (Max 3,700 words)

Please list the feedback received at first stage and against each comment indicate what has changed as a result. Also consider concerns or comments raised by reviewers in your response (where these reviews have been shared with you).

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.

Section 8: Detailed research plan (approx 7,000 words)

Using all of the headings (in the order presented) and guidance below, clearly explain your proposed research. Schematics, tables, illustrations, graphs, and other types of graphics can be embedded to clarify the research plan but they should not clutter the central narrative. Images do not count towards the overall word count but inclusion of them to overcome word limits is not permitted. Images may only be included within the 'Research Plan.' Images included in other sections will be removed from the application and not seen by reviewers.

As this is the main part of your application which will be considered by the reviewing committee you should ensure that the information is accurate, succinct, clearly laid out and provides adequate methodological detail.

Applicants should therefore aim to reserve a significant proportion of the word limit for the research plan to ensure methodological approaches are fully specified.

Background and Rationale

This should include a brief literature review of previous work and relevant ongoing research. Applicants should consider what this study would add to the body of existing knowledge/evidence.

NOTE: Any reference citations should be included in the Supporting Documentation section of this application. If a key citation is not freely available, a copy should also be included. Please detail the nature and importance of the research question(s) to be addressed.

Aims and objectives

Outline how the research proposed in this application will address the question(s) posed in the research specification and, where appropriate, state the main hypothesis.

Projects funded by the NIHR Policy Research Programme (PRP) will vary considerably in their design, however this section of the application should be used to indicate the main aims and objectives of the proposed research.

Research plan/Methods

Detailed information on the research design should include (where appropriate) descriptions of the following:

  • Target population
  • Justification of sample size
  • Power calculation
  • Inclusion and exclusion criteria
  • Method of allocation
  • Planned interventions and who will deliver them.

NOTE: If any questionnaires have been prepared for use in the proposed research, please include a copy in the Supporting Documentation section of this application.

Please provide up to 10 keywords that best summarise the proposed research and then describe the overall research design, including strong justification for the proposed sampling strategies, methods of data collection and analysis. In some cases, it will be appropriate to include discussion of dissemination and implementation here in addition to your response to a specific question on this in part 3 of the Case for Support. The key is that the reasoning underlying all stages of the proposed research should be transparent.

Guidance for applicants on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for study participants

Whenever possible, research should take account of age, disability, sex, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, culture, religion and the other protected characteristics listed below in its design, undertaking and reporting. The body of research evidence available to policy makers should reflect the diversity of the population. Applicants are advised to indicate how they have considered the relevance of diversity in their proposed research, if appropriate.

Every person eligible to take part in research should be offered the same opportunity of taking part in that research regardless of:

  • Geographical location
  • Age
  • Disability
  • Gender reassignment
  • Marriage and civil partnership
  • Pregnancy and maternity
  • Ethnicity - for example:
  • Religion or belief
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation
  • Socioeconomic status
  • Access to health or social care

Nine of the twelve characteristics listed above are protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010. The additional three characteristics (bold) are defined by the NIHR and mentioned in Best Research for Best Health: The Next Chapter.

All NIHR applications are expected to include information about how this data 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:

Helpful links:

In particular and where appropriate, if involving patients/service users, carers as research participants, please also provide key details about how they will be supported, managed and involved (see below)

Summary of 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.

Researchers may find the SPIRIT 2013 statement a useful resource when preparing their protocol.

Health Inequalities

As detailed in the standard information for applicants, our goal is to collect information on health inequalities in research and relevant data relating to the main outcome(s) of the proposed research. Please clearly identify in the research plan section whether or not your application has a health inequalities component, or relevance to health inequalities, and detail the core set of health inequalities breakdowns that will be reported. All funded research will be expected to submit health inequality breakdown data at the end of the project regardless of whether there is a health inequality component, if it is appropriate for the research design.

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 whom, and how the research may lead to short and longer-term impacts. The 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. The NIHR also recognises it may be difficult to provide definitive answers or guarantees on longer term impacts. However, applicants are invited 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 investments are likely to be needed beyond the project, what barriers are likely to be encountered and what impacts the research is seeking to achieve. Relevant questions you may want to consider include:

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 diagnostics; 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 drugs or health and/or social care interventions.

How will you inform and engage policy makers, patients/service users, 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.Evidence of or plans for achieving early policy buy-in would be welcome.

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?

Consider what investment or support may be needed at the end of this project to maximise impact (e.g. from NIHR, other Government departments, charity or industry). Not all projects will require this but if so, plans should be linked to the responses in questions 2 and 3 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)

  1. 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).
  2. 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?
  3. 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 and carer benefit; health and/or social care staff benefits; changes in NHS or care services (including efficiency savings); commercial return (which could contribute to economic growth); public wellbeing. Please consider a potential impact/influence on the relevant policy field, users and wider stakeholders.

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 Publication and dissemination of research findings guidance provides advice on the information participants of trials should receive at the end of the study.

Project/Research timetable

Describe the progression of the research plan, including key milestones. This should be completed with reference to the Gantt chart uploaded with the application. Time required to gain favourable ethical opinion (if appropriate) must be included as a milestone, noting that work requiring such approval may not receive payment until such time as notification of this approval is acquired and a copy forwarded to the NIHR PRP secretariat. If work can start without ethical approval, with approval required before starting a later phase of the research, please indicate clearly where this point is.

Note: If this application were to be funded, the milestones discussed here and included in the Gantt chart will form the basis on which progress reports are assessed.

Project management

Please outline the practical arrangements for managing the research and its constituent components.

Identify the project management processes that will ensure that the milestones are reached in a timely manner.

This should include the roles and responsibilities of those individuals undertaking the proposed research and set out reporting lines, steering committee involvement, and the schedule of meetings of the proposed research group to permit coordination, evaluation of progress and dissemination of findings.

NOTE: This section should also highlight the role of any advisory or reference groups associated with the proposed research.

Ethics / Regulatory approvals

Outline any ethical issues associated with this research and the arrangements for handling them. If there are no plans to obtain ethical review, this must be clearly justified. Note that work outlined in your application/protocol must adhere to the UK Framework for Health and Social Care Research.

Project/Research expertise

Explain how each applicant will contribute to delivering the research described in this application. For example, outline why each of the applicants are well qualified to carry out the proposed research, briefly describing the track record of the research team, including publication outputs, grant income and impact on health and/or care policy in England. Include details of any related (completed, planned or active) awards held by members of the research team in the area (or similar area) to that set out in the research specification.

Also, explain how the applicants work together (or propose to work together if they have not done so previously), and identify other major collaborations important for the research.

If the salary costs of members of the research team are not being sought via this application, you should explain how their contribution will be supported within the Finances section.

Success criteria and barriers to proposed work

Please set out the measurements of success you intend to use and also the key risks to delivering this research and what contingencies you will put in place to deal with them.

A risk is defined as any factor which may delay, disrupt or prevent the full achievement of a research objective. All risks should be identified. This section should include an assessment of risks, together with a rating of the risks' likelihood and its impact on the research objective(s), using a high/medium/low classification for both. This section should also identify appropriate actions that would reduce or eliminate each risk, or its impact.

Typical areas of risk might include ethical approval, site variation in data gathering, staffing, resource constraints, technical constraints, data access and quality, timing, management and operational issues; however, please note that this is not an exhaustive list.

Success criteria will be call-specific and dependent on the nature of the research question(s) set out in the research specification. Examples could include reaching particular types of users or economic impact on a provider market.

Note: For full applications, a concise (one page) risk assessment table can be uploaded in the Supporting Documentation section of the application, where appropriate.

Upload a Gantt chart

It is mandatory to attach a Gantt chart indicating a schedule for the completion of work, including the timing of key milestones and deliverables.

Section 9: Patient and Public Involvement (900 words)

Please describe how patients/service users, carers and the public have been involved in developing this proposal (350 words). You should describe who has been involved and why this is appropriate, what role(s) they have 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 in the proposed research, including any training and support provided (350 words).

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. More resources to support the design of your PPI are available in our guidance on the NIHR website.

PPI Lead

There should be a named person with appropriate skills and experience who is responsible for leading the PPI element within the project. This role should be an adequately costed and resourced research team member who is able to manage the PPI plans and related activities. More information and examples of the activities a PPI lead might undertake can be found in our guidance on the NIHR website.

A summary of PPI activities

Please provide a summary below 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 (200 words).

Complete/justify as necessary. 

Section 10: Detailed Budget

Justification of costs (500 words)

Provide a breakdown of research costs associated with undertaking the research and provide justification for the resources requested, including the following:

  1. staff costs,
  2. travel, subsistence and conference fees
  3. equipment (including lease versus purchase costs)
  4. consumables,
  5. patient and public involvement, engagement and participation,
  6. other direct costs,
  7. dissemination costs,
  8. indirect costs

For help with estimating PPI costs please see the NIHR Payments Guidance for researchers and professionals

You should indicate here how this research will potentially benefit the NHS and/ or public health and social care sector. 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 also provide justification for the NHS Support and Excess Treatment costs detailed in the SoECAT. If there are no NHS Support or Excess Treatment Costs associated with the research you must explain why you think this is the case.

Detailed Budget Breakdown

The finance section should provide a breakdown of costs associated with undertaking the research as described in the proposal. Please refer to the guidance on how to complete the finance section of funding applications for information about how to complete this section of the application form.

Programme specific information

Please note for the NIHR Policy research Programme (PRP), cost items for all organisation types should be listed at 100 percent of the cost value. PRP will provide up to 100% for HEIs Direct and and Indirect cost and up to 100% for NHS direct costs. PRP does not provide payment for NHS indirect research costs.

General information

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 your 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 assessment committee will pay close attention to any material changes to 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.

  • We recognise that the current higher level of inflation is increasing costs in research. NIHR aims to ensure that the cost of research is properly recompensed, therefore we will fund appropriate, evidenced inflationary price increases, including pay deals, within current contracts. Researchers should present evidence justifying any additional inflationary costs at contract close, with any pre-close pressures managed through normal contract management.
  • 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.
  • Further itemisation of costs and methods of calculation may be requested to support the application at a later date.
  • Payments will be made to the contracted organisation only and the contracted organisation will be responsible for passing on any money due to their partner organisation(s).
  • Appropriate sub-contracts must be put in place for any element of the research which is to be paid to another organisation.
  • NHS support costs, including costs for Social Care research are funded via Clinical Research Networks. 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 (LCRN) senior manager for advice on NHS support costs. Further details about LCRN contacts are available on the NIHR LCRN website.
  • All applications are expected to have appropriate NHS, HEI, commercial and other partner organisation input into the finance section of the application form.
  • Non commercial led Awards (e.g. NHS, HEI etc.) will be paid via BACS transfer payment schedules. The NIHR will release funds net of VAT as Research and Development is considered VAT exempt. There are some cost items within an application which may incur VAT, such as equipment or subcontractors. If the applying organisation is unable to claim back the VAT on these items (e.g., maybe they are not VAT registered) then applicants can charge the gross value to the application.
  • Commercial led awards will be paid via invoicing. It is up to the company to decide if it is appropriate to apply VAT on the invoice. If the company decides to apply VAT, then DHSC will pay the invoice and claim back the VAT. We recommend that applicants seek advice from VAT experts within their organisation before applying.

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.

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 100% 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.

Commercial/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 another 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:

Staff Costs

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.

Salary costs (apply to years)

This section specifies the annual costs of each applicant contributing to the research. You should now allocate the individual staff member costs to each year of the research, allowing for increments. Use current rates of pay, and build in any known annual increments (again at current rates). You will not be able to claim for pay awards retrospectively, once your research is underway.

Travel, subsistence and conference costs.

This section includes journey costs, subsistence and 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 & 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.

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 NIHR/DHSC will not fund this cost.

For research projects of three years or more, the programme will usually fund up to a maximum of two international conference attendances (two people attending one conference or one person attending two conferences). There are no limits on the number of UK conference attendances.

Equipment

Essential items of equipment plus maintenance and related costs as part of estates should be put 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 £1000 and 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 all patient/service user, carer and public involvement and engagement costs. 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, hosting research activities or providing advice, an adequate budget must be included to compensate for their time and resources.
For further 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, external consultancy costs, computer licensing, costs associated with inclusivity (which may include, but are not limited to, justified translation of research participant material into other relevant languages), recruitment and advertising costs, and training specifically for the research team.

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 the ‘Staff Costs’ and ‘Salary Costs’ sections.

Dissemination Costs

Open access costs

Applicants should no longer include open access costs as part of their stage 2 detailed budget Research Costs.

From the 1st of June 2022 all eligible awards contracts issued across NIHR Programmes, NIHR 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.

Further information can be found by reading the Open Access Funding Guidance.

Other dissemination costs

Any large costs should be further detailed. Meetings to share best practice, training events and events to disseminate research findings must be run at the lowest possible cost. ‘Conferences’ which are described as such are not eligible for funding.

Indirect costs/overheads

Indirect costs will be charged in proportion to the amount of research staff effort requested on the award.

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. For more information please visit the RCF web page.

HEI indirect costs

Please see the Programme Specific Information above.

Commercial/other partner organisation indirect costs

Commercial/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.

Total Commercial/other partner organisation indirect costs must be fully justified.

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

Please be aware that the research award does NOT include NHS support and/or treatment Costs. These costs, including costs for Social Care research, are funded via Clinical Research Networks and should be detailed in the Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT) (see below for further details).

However, the committee will take NHS support and/or 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.

Applicants 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 their Local Clinical Research Network (LCRN) for advice on NHS Support Costs. Further details about LCRN contacts are available online at Clinical Research Network webpage.

When considered necessary by theLCRNAcoRD specialist, a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT), detailing NHS support and/or Treatment Costs, needs to be completed and uploaded as part of the application. 

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 Comprehensive Research Network (LCRN) senior manager for advice on NHS support costs. NOTE: Further details about LCRN contacts are available on the LCRN website.

NHS treatment costs

Please read the guidance on the excess treatment costs webpage 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 NHS 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: 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. Further guidance on support and ‘treatment’ costs can be found on the excess treatment costs webpage.

For further information on cost attribution, please see the attributing the costs of health and social care research and development (AcoRD) guidance.

Uploading a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Template (SoECAT) form


Please be aware that if your planned project includes the recruitment of participants, your application should be accompanied with the Funder Export from the online SoECAT, obtainable via the NIHR Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS). This online version replaces the previous Excel version of the SoECAT, which will no longer be available for applications.

In order to create a SoECAT, you will need to create an account in CPMS. After creating the account, you will need to login to CPMS to activate this account. If any assistance is required in creating the account, please refer to our user guide. Once your account has been created and is active, you can proceed.

Guidance for the completion of the SoECAT by the applicant is present in the online tool to assist at each page and stage of the application process and further details can be found on the Online SoECAT Guidance page.


There is also an Online SoECAT Guidance Module which includes video tutorials and linked resources (an NIHR Learn account is required to access and enrol onto the module) and a helpful Study Representative - Online SoECAT Top Tips infographic.

Please note that completion of the SoECAT may not be necessary when applying for funding to support: overarching programmes with no specific research study protocol, infrastructure, fellowships, anything where the grant is to be used for direct employment of a member of staff or purchase of an asset, and data or diagnostic reviews where recruitment data is not collected. Such applications should be submitted with an explanation added to the Justification of Costs section.


More information on the SoECAT form is available on the NIHR website:Online SoECAT Guidance

Section 11: Management and Governance

Is Clinical Trials Authorisation required?

Yes / No

Does your project require ethics approval?

Yes / No

If yes, has ethics approval already been obtained?

Yes / No

Section 12: Uploads

Please note that all supporting documentation uploaded should be given concise and clear file name descriptions. These should be headed by a numbered ‘Appendix’ and a brief filename description that clearly describes the file (e.g. Appendix_References).

The following file is mandatory to submission for all applicants, please attach:

  • A list of references cited in the application.
  • A Gantt chart
  • A completed Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT)

If claiming CTU support and or applying following Programme Development Grant, the following files are considered mandatory:

  • CTU letter of support.

The following file(s) are considered non-mandatory to submission; please number your files and attach;

  • Any further supporting documentation (flow diagrams, pictures, logic models, trial protocols etc.)

No more than 5 separate files are permitted. The total file size should not exceed 6Mb. (this includes the SoECAT form uploaded under the Detailed Budget section and the Gantt Chart uploaded under the Detailed Research Plan section). Total file sizes larger than this may not be considered as part of this submission.We strongly recommend that only .doc or .pdf files are uploaded as some file types are not supported by the system (such as .xls and .zip file types which will not render out into the final version of the application form). Should you wish to upload documents of other file types, we encourage you to check that they appear in the PDF of the application form prior to submission as changes cannot be made after the deadline has passed.

Section 13: Administrative contact details

Please provide the details of an administrative lead as a secondary point of contact for any queries relating to the application, should it be supported.

NOTE: This person does not need to be a co-applicant.

Section 14: Research and Development office contact details

Please provide the contact details and job title of a person in the R&D office so that we are able to notify them of the outcome of this application including any associated feedback.

NOTE: Please note this person does not need to be included as a co-applicant.

Section 15: Acknowledgement, review and submit

Conflict checks

Please declare any conflicts or potential conflicts of interest that you or your co-applicants may have, including any facts that, should they come to light at a future date, could lead to a perception of bias. Include any relevant personal, non-personal & commercial interest that could be perceived as a conflict of interest. Examples include (this list is not all encompassing) secondary employment, consultancy, financial or commercial gain (pensions, shareholdings, directorships, voting rights), honoraria, etc. In a case of commercial sector involvement with the application or the study, please state clearly the relationship to ownership of data, access to data, and membership of project oversight groups.

Agreement to terms and conditions

As lead applicant, please tick the box to confirm that the information given on this form is correct and that you will be actively engaged in this research and responsible for its overall management. In addition, you will accept responsibility for ensuring that the host institution and interested parties are kept informed.

Ticking this box constitutes an electronic signature of the lead applicant with regard to this application.

Section 16: Validation summary

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

Applicants should click the checkboxes to indicate that they have included the necessary information prior to submitting their application.

  • Appropriate and relevant involvement of patients/service users, 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
  • A flow diagram illustrating the study design / flow of participants (document upload), if appropriate
  • A full and accurate detailed budget breakdown
  • A clear justification of costs / value for money
  • References (document upload)
  • A clear Detailed Research Plan outlining the study design, methods, dissemination etc.
  • A CTU letter of support if required (document upload)