NIHR Programme Development Grants (PDG) have been extended since October 2019 to include research proposals that develop and enhance the quality and value of an existing or ongoing Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) award. Applications for such PDGs are only permitted from applicants whose PGfAR contracts are finishing within 12-months or have finished in the past 18-months.
Funding will only be awarded on the basis of proposals meeting a very high quality standard. It is therefore essential that potential applicants for a PDG award carefully consider the following tips, as well as the application guidance, before submitting a proposal.
Our experience with funding Stream B PDGs, for developing existing PGfAR research, so far shows that successful applications have the following qualities:
Implementation across whole populations
Ambitious projects that aim to test implementation within whole populations, with a focus on national roll-outs and international collaborations are generally viewed positively by the funding committee.
Clarity of findings from PGfAR
Applications should clearly outline the findings from the previous PGfAR work. The value in the development work should be clearly distinguished. If the importance of the development work can be clearly justified a proposal may still be successful, even if the trial results do not demonstrate a positive change in the primary outcome.
Clear methods
The methods proposed to modify interventions for further implementation should be comprehensively described. The context of the implementation work should also be clearly explained. In addition, proposals which clearly outlined what would be accomplished by the further development and implementation work tend to be viewed more positively by the funding committee.