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Programme Development Grants - Guidance for applicants for developing a PGfAR

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Published: 17 November 2021

Version: October 2021

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Programme Development Grants (PDG) are available to carry out preparatory work to develop a future Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) application. They can also be obtained to further develop an existing/ongoing programme of research.

This document provides guidance on completing a PDG application for funding to develop a future programme grant. Please see also the supporting information for applicants.

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 programme.grants@nihr.ac.uk before submitting your application.

Development work 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. If the majority of the development work will be devoted to conveying the research findings to practitioners, policy-makers, commissioners and providers of NHS and social care services, select 'Knowledge mobilisation.’

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.

Development work duration (months)

Ensure that you have sufficient time to complete all aspects of the development work including applications for regulatory approvals where required and writing the final report.

NOTE: Development grant applications can be for up to 24 months

End date

This field will automatically populate once you have entered the start date and research duration information.

Total development work costs

This will be automatically pulled through from the budget section.

NOTE: Funding is available up to £150,000 for a development grant application

Scope of development work

Please select an option from the drop down below to confirm whether your application is

  • for development work prior to programme grant submission or
  • to further develop, analyse or disseminate your programme grant or its outcomes.

Estimated date of submission of future programme grant application

Please indicate the anticipated date of submission in a DD/MM/YYYY format.

Please indicate the anticipated submission date of your Programme Grant for Applied Research Stage 1 or Stage 2 application, once the preparatory work funded via any Programme Development Grant award has been completed (future Programme Grants for Applied Research competition dates are available on the NIHR website).

CV - Lead and Co-applicants

Complete your name, contact details and other requested information.

Public co-applicants

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 their input to  the application in a separate text box. This appears when ‘yes’ is selected to indicate if co-applicants 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, 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, user, carer 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.

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 select research grants held (as a named applicant) CURRENTLY or IN THE LAST 5 YEARS – as well as any additional previous grants, relevant to this application, stating who the grant is with and the amount of each grant. 

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.

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 complete 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, 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.

The Development Work Team

Specify your (lead applicant) role in the PDG development work

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

%FTE commitment on the PDG development work

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 applied health or social care research, in terms of skills and experience, previous publications, influencing key stakeholders, grant funding and impact on health service or social care provision.

Specify your (joint lead applicant) role in the PDG development work

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

%FTE commitment on PDG development work

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.

Co-Applicants

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

Up to a maximum of 15 co-applicants will be allowed. Please note that any joint lead applicant will be counted as a co-applicant. If you have listed a joint lead applicant, then only a further 14 co-applicants can be included.

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. If submitting with a joint lead applicant, please indicate which co-applicant will assume this role.

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

Scientific Abstract 

The scientific abstract should be a clear and concise scientific summary of the Detailed Development Work 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.

  • Development work question
  • Background
  • Aims and objectives
  • Development work plan
  • Timelines for delivery
  • Anticipated impact and dissemination

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 NIHR advice on planning for impact and guidance on the EQUATOR Network website useful.

Plain English Summary

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 committee 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 / service users / cares / 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 development work
  2. background to the development work, including for follow on projects, how this links to the current PGfAR award
  3. development work plan
  4. patient, user, carer and public involvement
  5. dissemination and anticipated outcomes

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). 

Detailed Development Work Plan  

Using all of the headings (in the order presented) and guidance below, clearly explain the development work needed prior to submission of a programme grant application.

Schematics, tables, illustrations, graphs, and other types of graphics can be embedded to clarify the development work 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 'Development Work 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 development work plan to ensure its appropriateness and rigour can be judged. (Limit: 6,000 words)

Background and Rationale

Briefly describe the background and rationale of the development work and future programme, providing a clear explanation of:

Remember that the application will be reviewed by assessors who may not have a detailed understanding of the particular clinical, public health or social care area that your application relates to. It is vitally important that you clearly tell the story of why this research is important.

  • the health or social care problem to be addressed, and how this research would fill a demonstrable evidence gap, addressing patient/service user, carer or public needs and DHSC priorities (at national or local levels)
  • the importance of the proposed research and its relevance to the priorities and needs of the NHS, public health or social care (including a statement of the significance of the research area, e.g. burden of disease or unmet care need)
  • need for research in this area, drawing particularly from systematic reviews (including NHS, public health or social care context and relevant literature), and the rationale for the particular lines of research you plan to pursue
  • past and current research that justifies the proposed research and shows that it will add distinct value to what is already known, or in progress
  • the barriers to undertaking the proposed future programme that will be addressed through the development work that would be supported by the PDG

References should be provided as part of the ‘Supporting Documentation’ section of the application.

NOTE: We will only fund primary research where the proposed research is informed by a review of the existing evidence.

Applicants should be aware of ongoing research in this area and comment on any other research which might be deemed to overlap with the contents of the proposal. In particular, applicants are advised to use both PubMed Central and Europe PubMed Central for recent material on the topic area they are applying for. All applicants must also include reference to relevant on-going studies, e.g. from trial registries.

Any applications that include primary research should include reference to the existing evidence and explain how this evidence has informed the proposed research. Where a systematic review already exists that summarises the available evidence this should be referenced, as well as including reference to any relevant literature published subsequent to that systematic review. Where no such systematic review exists, it is expected that the applicants will undertake an appropriate scoping review of the currently available and relevant evidence and then summarise this in their proposal. The application may then include a more detailed review in early work packages.

Further information can be found on NIHR adding value in research webpage.

Please indicate under this question if you are responding to the NIHR highlight notices on Brain Tumours.

Aims and objectives

Please indicate the overarching aims/objectives of the development work, outlining how it will inform the future programme and, where appropriate, any main hypothesis.

Programme Development Grant work plan

Give details of the development work to be undertaken. In particular, specify the key deliverables to be generated by the development work and how these outcomes will help develop and inform the future application to the PGfAR funding scheme.

List clear objectives and provide brief descriptions, including the methodological approaches proposed.

Applicants are reminded that NIHR strategy encourages research which follows patient/service user, carer or public need. Researchers should clearly articulate how their research meets this objective, and how this contributes to the scientific rigour of their programme. Programmes should recruit participants from geographical areas where patient/service user or carer need is greatest including for example the rural and semi-rural areas where many older people live, and represent areas of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic diversity.    

Equality, inclusion and diversity should also be properly considered when planning and describing the research, and evidenced in the application (see below).

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:

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:

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 to include considerations around access for different groups as appropriate
  • 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.

Future work plans

Briefly outline the proposed future programme, including:

  • the aims and objectives
  • a description of the individual studies comprising the programme and anticipated methodological approaches
  • an explanation of how the studies comprising the programme link together/inform one another
  • the anticipated patient/service user, carer or public benefits and impacts arising from the component studies and the programme as a whole

the anticipated patient/service user, carer or public benefits and impacts arising from the component studies and the programme as a whole

Project/Research timetable

Describe the progression of the development work plan, including the timetable, key milestones and deliverables.

Project management

Explain the practical arrangements for managing the development work. This should include specification of the roles and responsibilities of the individual team members who will undertake the development work, the management structure (i.e., reporting lines), the programme manager, frequency of meetings, financial management etc., and highlight the role of any Advisory or Reference Groups associated with the development work.

Ethics / Regulatory Approvals

Outline any potential ethical issues associated with this development work and the arrangements for handling them. If there are no plans to obtain ethical review, this must be clearly justified.

NOTE: the work outlined in your application/protocol must adhere to the UK Framework for Health and Social Care Research

Project / Research expertise

Explain why the group is well qualified to undertake the development work – describing the track record of the research team in applied health or social care research (including innovation and, where appropriate, evidence synthesis and assembly for dissemination at national level), including publication outputs, grant income and impact on health service or social service practice and policy.

Explain how the applicant's work together (or propose to work together if they have not done so previously), and identify other major collaborations important for the development work. State clearly the particular contribution that each of the applicants will make towards the development work and the particular contribution that any collaborators intend to make.

Where the PDG funding will be used to strengthen or formulate a team and build collaborations, explain how this will be achieved. Clearly describe if and how the PDG funding, and/or the proposed programme, will contribute to capacity building/career development of applicants and of researchers employed on the grant.

PPI (Patient, user, carer, public) Lead

There should be a named person with appropriate skills and experience who is responsible for leading the PPI (Patient, user, carer, public) 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 on the NIHR website.

If submitting with a joint lead applicant, justify why more than one person is needed to lead the proposal and why they are qualified to do so.

(If, for any reason, salary costs of members of the team are not going to be sought via this application, it should be made clear how their contribution will be supported in the ‘Detailed Budget Finances’ section).

Success criteria and barriers to proposed work

Please set out the measurements of success you intend to use and the key risks to delivering the development work. Also describe what contingencies you will put in place to reduce or eliminate each risk or its impact.

NOTE: A risk is defined as any factor which may delay, disrupt or prevent the full achievement of a research objective. Typical areas of risk for a research application might include staffing, resource constraints, technical constraints, data access, timing, management and operational issues (please note that this list is not exhaustive).

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.

Patient and Public Involvement

Please describe how patients/service users, carers and the public have been involved in developing this proposal.

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 in the proposed research, including any training and support provided.  

PPI approach, management and support

  • Explain why your approach to patient, user, carer 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, user, carer 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, user, carer 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 on the NIHR website.

PPI (Patient, user, carer, public) 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 on the NIHR website.

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, social care users, carers and the public, clear justification must be provided.

Detailed Budget

NOTE: For applications involving the recruitment, consenting and/or treatment of patient or service user participants, you are now required to submit a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Template (SoECAT) with your PDG application.

You are not required to add costs on this form under the NHS Support Costs or NHS Treatment Costs sections as these are now entered on the SoECAT form. Please do complete all other questions on the budget form. The SoECAT must be signed off by an AcoRD specialist.

It is not necessary to submit a SoECAT if the development work does not involve the recruitment, consenting and/or treatment of patient or service user participants.

Justification of costs

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

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

For help with estimating PPI costs please see the NIHR payment 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 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.

Also 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.

Provide a breakdown of any non-NHS intervention costs and provide justification for the resources required. Non-NHS intervention costs should include costs incurred in delivering the intervention which would continue to be incurred after the trial, should the intervention become standard care.

Detailed Budget Breakdown

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

Programme specific information

Programme Development Grants does not pay FEC. Therefore, indirect costs cannot be claimed for HEIs. However, Programme Grants and Programme Development Grants will fund 100% of HEI staff costs.

Awards can be for up to £150k over 12 – 24 months. The amount of funding awarded, however, is determined by the scale and nature of the research activity to be conducted.

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. As this is the full application, the committee 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. 

  • 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 Comprehensive 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.

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)

Please see the Programme Specific Information above. Programme Development Grants does not pay FEC. Therefore, indirect costs cannot be claimed for HEIs. However, it will fund 100% of HEI staff costs.

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:

Details of posts and salaries (posts and salaries summary)

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 Staff Details’ 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.
  • The Apprenticeship Levy can be included in the salary costs from 1 April 2017 where relevant.

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.

  • Please note the ‘Total’ and ‘Overall’ column figures need to be calculated using the current annual costs, %FTE and number of months. If the research lasts for several years and an individual’s involvement varies over the course, it may be necessary to explain fully in the justification of costs section the % FTE and months per year for an individual staff member.
  • It is important to double check that the % FTE, total months and yearly costs information are consistent with the information presented in ‘Details of Posts and Salaries’ (‘Details of Posts and Salaries’ should show the full current staff costs independent of % FTE etc., whereas the yearly costs in ‘Annual Costs of Posts’ depend on % FTE etc.)

This section also includes ‘Shared Staff Costs’ which are located under directly allocated costs in some other funders’ applications. These are costs of an institution’s research resources which can be charged to the research on the basis of estimated use, rather than actual costs. These may include: IT technicians, laboratory staff, and costs of pooled staff efforts. HEI indirect costs cannot be claimed on these shared costs. 

Please note, as this programme does not fund HEI indirect and estate costs, HEI shared staff costs charge out rates should exclude HEI indirect costs and estate costs when being calculated.

Travel, subsistence and conference dissemination 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 programme 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 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 £650 each excluding VAT and a statement of justification must be included, in the relevant ‘Justification of Costs’ section for any purchase above this limit.
  • Equipment must exclude VAT, but if your organisation is unable to reclaim/recover the VAT on a piece of equipment, you should check the box ‘VAT cannot be reclaimed’.
  • You will need to seek expert advice from the organisation purchasing the equipment regarding its VAT status. If you check the ‘VAT cannot be reclaimed’ column, VAT at 20% will automatically be calculated into the overall cost of that item.

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, user, carer 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, 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, costs associated with inclusivity (which may include, but are not limited to justified translation of research participant material into other relevant languages), specialist publications, open access publications, computer licensing, recruitment and advertising costs, and training specifically for the research team.

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 ‘Details of Posts and Salaries’ and ‘Annual Costs of Posts’ sections.

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.

Open access costs

During the course of your project and throughout the review and publishing phase, you may choose to submit an article based on your research to an open access publication. Depending on the publication, you may be subject to an Article Processing Charge (APC). APC rates vary but are usually within the range of £300 and £3000. Open access publications usually list their APC rates on their websites.

Where possible, you should include an estimate for any APC in your funding application, since NIHR expects that APCs will be covered by the funding award. Further information can be found in NIHR's open access policy.

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.

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 webpage.

HEI indirect costs

Please see the Programme Specific Information above. Programme Development Grants does not pay FEC. Therefore, indirect costs cannot be claimed for HEIs.

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)

The finance section includes a section that asks researchers to provide an estimate of the patient or service user 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 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. NHS support costs will be funded via the NIHR Clinical Research Networks. NHS Excess Treatment costs, can be accessed via the Lead LCRN managing the process on behalf of the local sites.

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

NOTE: A Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Template (SoECAT) form is not required if the development work does not involve the recruitment, consenting and/or treatment of patient/service user or carer participants.

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 are calculated by using the SoECAT. Therefore you are not required to add costs to the online application form under the ‘NHS Support Costs’ or ‘NHS Treatment Costs’ sections. However please still complete the question over whether the costs have been discussed and agreed with the Lead Network’

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 LCRN to verify the accuracy of the SoECAT. For more information please see the NIHR CRN Routemap online. 

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 Template 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. Further guidance on support and ‘treatment’ costs can be found on the NIHR website.

When considered necessary by the LCRN AcoRD specialist, a completed Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT) is now required to be uploaded and submitted as part of the application submission for all applications.  If not considered necessary then it is not required/non-mandatory.

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

NHS support costs

These are the additional patient and service user care costs associated with the research, which would end once the R&D activity in question has stopped, even if the patient or user care service involved continues to be provided. These might cover items such as extra patient or user tests, extra in-patient days, extra nursing attention, extra care visits and extra care worker 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 your Local Clinical Research Network (LCRN) for advice on NHS support costs

*Please note: you are not required to add NHS Support Costs on the online form as these are now part of the new SoECAT form. However please still complete the question over whether the costs have been discussed and agreed with the Lead Network’*

NHS treatment costs

Please read the guidance on the excess treatment costs webpage prior to completing your application.

These are the patient or service user care costs that would continue to be incurred if the patient or user care service in question continued to be provided after the R&D activity has stopped. In determining NHS treatment costs (or intervention/treatment costs) you must assume that the patient or user 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 if the care intervention under investigation is in addition to usual care there is no need to complete the ‘Usual Treatment Costs’ section however this will need to be justified in the relevant ‘Justification of Costs’ section. If the care intervention under investigation either wholly or partially replaces usual care, the ‘Usual Treatment Costs’ section must be completed.

*NOTE: you are not required to add NHS Treatment Costs on the online form as these are now part of the new SoECAT form. However please still complete the question over whether the costs have been discussed and agreed with the Lead Network’*

NOTE: In the Usual Treatment Costs part of the detailed Budget section, if no usual treatment are applicable, then £0 should be added to ensure that the application can be submitted.

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

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

Uploads

Mandatory

A list of references cited in the application.

If claiming CTU support

CTU letter of support.

Non-mandatory

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

Supporting documentation, including logic models, flow diagrams, pictures, charts, letters of support, papers in press etc. No more than five separate files are permitted. The total file size of all uploads should not exceed 6Mb (this includes the SoECAT form and Gantt Chart uploaded earlier in the form). Total files sizes larger than this may not be considered as part of the submission. All supporting documentation must be uploaded with a clear and concise filename description, preceded by a numbered ‘Appendix’ reference.

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.

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.

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

Acknowledge, 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

Checklist of information to include when submitting a NIHR PDG research application

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

Action

Checkbox

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 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.

 

Completed Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool if required (SoECAT)