RfPB Under-represented disciplines and specialisms highlight notice: Methodologists - Call Specification

Summary

• The Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) programme will launch a series of highlight notices in support of the NIHR strategy to strengthen the careers of under-represented disciplines and specialisms. 
• The second highlight notice of this initiative is inviting applications led by methodologists. This call will be followed by a further call focusing on allied health professionals. 
• All applications to this call should be led by a research methodologist.  We will specifically consider the following disciplines: medical statistics, health economics, clinical trial design, operational research, modelling, bioinformatics, qualitative research, mixed methods and epidemiology.
• Where appropriate and justified it is acceptable for the application to be led by a lead together with a joint lead applicant.  Lead/joint lead applicants who are early career researchers will be considered favourably by the committee.  RfPB encourages the involvement of early career researchers as lead/joint lead applicant when supported by an appropriate senior lead/joint lead applicant and wider team (as appropriate).
• The call offers researchers considerable flexibility to focus on any subject area or topic provided the application is within RfPB remit, including but not limited to methods research.
• While there is flexibility on application design and topic area, and it is down to the research team to make the case for their proposal,  we anticipate applications will broadly fall within the following types:

1. Methods research applications submitted by a methodologist lead applicant plus wider team (as appropriate)
2. Health research, public health research, and social care research applications submitted by a methodologist lead/joint lead.  In some cases a medically qualified lead/joint lead may be considered for these applications where appropriately justified, for example to fulfil any governance requirements.  However, the focus of this call remains on providing opportunities for methodologists to lead research and therefore clear justification will be needed for medically qualified lead/joint lead applicants.

• The call is for proposals up to £500,000 for a period of up to three years. This call will also follow the RfPB tiered approach to funding limits based on the trajectory to patient benefit. In line with this, applications concerning standalone methods research are expected to fall within the Tier 2 or Tier 3 funding limits. 
• Our funding decisions are based on several criteria including quality, timeliness, potential impact and value for money. 
• This call launched on 17 May 2023 and applicants had to submit their expression of interest by 16 August 2023 at 5pm, ahead of submission of the full application. The submission deadline for applications was on 13 September 2023 at 1pm. Applications should be submitted using the online form on the Research Management System (RMS), available when calls are open. Applicants are strongly encouraged to start completing the online form on RMS as soon as possible.

• Do you have a research idea and are not sure how to turn it into a funding application? The Research Design Service (RDS) supports researchers across England on all aspects of developing and writing a funding application. Find out how the RDS can help with your application.
• Please note that the programme is exploring the possibility to continue running highlight notices addressing under-represented disciplines and specialisms with a potential further call addressing non-medical professions.

Background

In a recent review of the RfPB programme’s funded portfolio, we found that the majority of funded applicants include medically qualified professionals and methodologists in either lead or co-applicant roles (Table 1). Those who are medically qualified lead a higher proportion of projects than any other professional category, including methodologists. 

Professional background	Percentage of funded applicants	Role as percentage of funded applicants within a professional background
		Lead	Co-applicant
Allied health professional	5%	23%	77%
Medically qualified	42%	27%	73%
Methodologist	36%	11%	89%
Nurse and midwife	8%	19%	81%
Other registered health and care professional	9%	24%	76%

Total number of applicants in the analysis: 3,660

Table 1. The table shows the professional background of RfPB-funded applicants. Forty-two percent of the funded applicants are medically qualified followed by thirty-six percent methodologists . Other registered health and care professionals constitute nine percent, nurses and midwives eight percent and allied health professionals five percent. The table also shows that while medically qualified professionals lead 27% of the projects they are involved in, methodologists only lead 11% of the projects they contribute to.

Lack of opportunity to demonstrate independent research leadership may limit access to career progression for those who are not medically qualified. To address this, RfPB has announced a series of strategic funding calls aiming at strengthening the careers for research delivery staff and focusing on under-represented disciplines and specialisms. We expect to enrich the breadth of the RfPB portfolio with projects conceptualised from the diverse perspective these professions will bring.

The RfPB programme is now launching a call for methodologists. For the purpose of this highlight notice we aligned with the NIHR Methodology Incubator definition of methodologists as:

“People who develop and apply procedures, tools and techniques for gathering, accessing, analysing and interpreting data in health, public health and social care research.”

We will specifically consider the following disciplines: medical statistics, health economics, clinical trial design, operational research, modelling, bioinformatics, qualitative research, mixed methods and epidemiology. Please note that this highlight notice is not open to medically qualified professionals as lead applicants, unless required as a lead/joint lead when conducting a clinically based study e.g. an RCT.  Medically qualified professionals are welcome to apply to the regular RfPB calls and other relevant NIHR opportunities. 

We expect this call will provide an opportunity to researchers to develop and lead their own proposals. Given the methodologists’ insights as to where the applied methodological challenges lie, we expect some of the proposals to explore and address them. Where methods research is proposed, this should have a clear and direct potential to improve research efficiency and/or to ensure that health and care research produces robust evidence to improve people’s health and care. In this way, we expect this call to also strengthen research methods in practice.

Scope

There are two ways for methodologists to apply under this highlight:

1. As the lead applicant for an application proposing a study to innovate or advance methods used in the conduct of research and approaches improving knowledge mobilisation in health and social care. Please note that given the trajectory to patient and public benefit, we would expect this research to fall within the Tier 2 and Tier 3 funding limits. The results should be generalisable to other settings and contexts and be of value to other researchers and thereby lead to a wider patient and/or public benefit beyond the scope of a single study. For example: 
   • Proposals may focus on the development of new methods or the improvement of methods currently used in health or social care research.
   • Proposals may consider and evaluate alternative ways of delivering or organising clinical trials or other research, with the aim of improving the successful completion of studies, e.g. participant inclusion, recruitment and retention, intervention compliance, data collection, evidence synthesis methodology, public involvement. 
   • Proposals may consider models, theories and frameworks that underpin the approaches to knowledge mobilisation, the rapid uptake of research findings into routine practice or the rapid dissemination of research outputs. These studies can address a known barrier to uptake of optimal research methods.
2. As the lead applicant of any type of application which would usually fall within RfPB scope. Applications can be made to any of the three funding tiers, considering  the proposal’s trajectory to patient and/or public benefit as described in the Guidance to funding limits.  In some cases a medically qualified lead/joint lead may be considered for these applications where appropriately justified, for example to fulfil any governance requirements.  However, the focus of this call remains on providing opportunities for methodologists to lead research and therefore clear justification will be needed for medically qualified lead/joint lead applicants.

The potential trajectory to patient and/or public benefit is a key selection criteria, so applicants should consider and describe how this will arise from the work proposed. Alongside rigorous research designs and methodologies, we also look for dissemination strategies that will enhance the likelihood of the results being used by health and care sectors or, in the case of methods research, research communities.

Applications proposing a study falling under standard RfPB scope (see point 2 above) are expected to be co-produced with service commissioners, providers and service users, and other stakeholder groups wherever appropriate to better ensure findings are of immediate utility in policy and practice. Applicants may wish to consult the Briefing notes for researchers - public involvement in NHS, health and social care research. Similarly, applications proposing a study to innovate or advance methods used in the conduct of research or improve knowledge mobilisation in health and social care are expected to be co-produced with PPI members and service users who would potentially be impacted by the process being explored.

Call details

Requirements for applications submitted under the highlight notice:

• Standard eligibility rules will apply as detailed in the Applicant guidance. 
• Host eligibility: For this highlight notice applications can be made through universities, local authorities, NHS bodies or other providers of NHS services in England, which will act as the contracting organisation, be the recipient of the funds, and will be responsible for the delivery of the research. The sponsor of the research (that is the organisation directly responsible for securing the arrangements to initiate, manage and finance the study) can be either the contracting organisation or a collaborating partner, as long as that organisation is capable of fulfilling the role of a research sponsor as set out in the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research.
• Lead applicants will have a professional background in research methodology in any of the following disciplines: medical statistics, health economists, clinical trial design, operational research, modelling, bioinformatics, qualitative research, mixed methods research, epidemiology. Please note that this highlight notice is not open to medically qualified professionals as lead applicants, unless, for example, to fulfil any governance requirements.  Medically qualified professionals are instead welcome to apply to the regular RfPB calls and other relevant NIHR opportunities. 
• To encourage early career researchers (ECR) to lead on RfPB awards, applications that include an ECR as either the lead or joint lead applicant will receive a strategic uplift.  ECRs who will lead the proposed research are encouraged to apply as lead applicants, with a more senior colleague fulfilling the role of mentor and joint lead applicant. For this highlight notice we consider any researcher who has not yet been the lead investigator for a project award to be an early career researcher. This excludes personal awards and fellowships. 
• We are keen to encourage innovative ideas from methodologists and appropriate applications are welcomed from those with limited experience of leading research when supported by a strong, experienced team with the required expertise for the delivery of the specific proposal.

Funding 

The call is for applications up to £500,000 (100% direct costs for NHS and 80% full Economic Cost (fEC) for HEI) for a period of up to three years. Detailed information on eligible costs can be found in the RfPB’s Finance guidance.  Each application will need to provide a robust case for value for money.

RfPB operates a tiered funding system, which reflects the likelihood and trajectory to achieving patient benefit. If the proposed study has a higher risk of failing to achieve patient benefit, or is likely to require further research beyond the end of the award to achieve patient benefit, then a lower cost would be expected if it is to offer value for money. Taking into account the longer trajectory to patient benefit we would expect applications concerned with methods research to fall under the Tier 2 or Tier 3 funding limit.

How to apply  

Application process and assessment criteria

• The applications submitted under the highlight notice will undergo routine scrutiny and will be assessed on their quality and individual merits. Reviewers will also be asked to assess if applications are in scope of the highlight notice.
• Applications will be considered by a cross-disciplinary expert assessment Committee weighted towards the particular disciplines the call focuses on.  Committee members will be drawn from existing RfPB Committees with the additions of other experts as appropriate. 
• The standard RfPB two stage application process will apply to applications submitted under this notice. Applicants must submit an online application via the RMS. Templates of Stage 1 and Stage 2 application forms are available. To assist the funders in preparing for peer review, research teams must submit an expression of interest form by 16 August 2023 at 5pm. Please note that the expression of interest will not form part of the assessment of the application and the form does not need  to summarise the fully developed application.

Call timetable 

Activity	Time
Launch webinar	23 May 2023
Call launch	17 May 2023
Expression of interest	16 August 2023
Stage 1 call close	13 September 2023 at 1pm
Invited to Stage 2 decision	December 2023 (Stage 1 meeting)
Stage 2 call close	Late February 2024
Funding decisions	April 2024 (Stage 2 meeting)

Please contact rfpb@nihr.ac.uk for further queries.

Webinar

The recording from the event is now available to watch. The slides shown during the webinar are now available as well. We responded individually to all the questions submitted during the webinar and updated the FAQ document accordingly.

Do you have a research idea and not sure how to turn it into a funding application? The Research Design Service (RDS) supports health and social care researchers across England on all aspects of developing and writing a funding application. Find out how the RDS can help with your application. 

Background documents

Best Research for Best Health: The Next Chapter

Stage 1 Applicant Guidance

Stage 2 Applicant Guidance

Frequently Asked Questions 

Dr Chris Gale and Professor Christina Jones are the Chairs of the Methodologists Regional Advisory Committee (A and B) for NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Under-represented Disciplines and Specialisms. 

Committee A Members

• Ms Catherine Arundel
  • Research Fellow
• Professor John Campbell
  • Professor of General Practice and Primary Care
• Professor Gary Collins
  • Professor of medical statistics and Director of CSM
• Professor Cindy Cooper
  • Professor of Health Services Research and Clinical Trials, Director of Clinical Trials Research Unit
• Professor David Cromwell
  • Professor of Health Services Research
• Professor Sofia Dias
  • Professor in Health Technology Assessment
• Mr Stephen Edgar
  • Public Reviewer
• Professor Lyn Ellett
  • Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology
• Professor Laura Gray
  • Professor of Medical Statistics
• Professor Richard Grieve
  • Professor of Health Economics Methodology
• Professor William Hamilton
  • Professor of Primary Care Diagnostics
• Professor Simon Heller
  • Professor of Clinical Diabetes
• Dr Lisa Hinton
  • Senior social scientist in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, and Director of Oxford Qualitative Courses
• Associate-Professor Andrew Judge
  • Professor of Translational Statistics at the Musculoskeletal Research Unit
• Dr Anne Killett
  • Associate professor occupational therapy
• Dr Steven Lane
  • Lecturer in Medical Statistics
• Professor Jos Latour
  • Professor in Clinical Nursing
• Professor Borislava Mihaylova
  • Professor of Health Economics & Lead of Health Economics and Policy Research Unit
• Dr Nicola Morant
  • Associate Professor
• Professor Marcus Munafo
  • Professor of Biological Psychology and MRC Investigator
• Ms Stella O'Brien
  • Public Reviewer
• Professor Steve Pilling
  • Professor of Clinical Psychology & Clinical Effectiveness; Head of the UCL Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology department
• Dr Cath Quinn
  • Senior Research Fellow
• Professor Judith Rankin
  • Professor of Maternal and Child Health
• Mr John Roberts
  • Public Reviewer
• Professor Tom Sanders
  • Physiotherapist
• Dr David Stephensen
  • Co Director of the York Trials Unit
• Professor David Torgerson
  • Professor of Clinical Biostatistics
• Professor Andy Vail
  • Professor of Psychology

Committee B Members

• Professor Peter Bower
  • Chair in Health Sciences, Division of Population Health, Health Services Research & Primary Care
• Dr Helen Brooks
  • Senior Lecturer
• Professor Sarah Byford
  • Director of King’s Health Economics. Deputy Head of the Health Service & Population Research Department. Associate Dean for Doctoral Studies at the IoPPN
• Professor Ann-Louise Caress
  • Professor of Health Services Research
• Professor Claude Chelala
  • Co-Director, Centre for Computational Biology, LSI; Professor of Bioinformatics
• Professor Spiros Denaxas
  • Professor of Biomedical Informatics
• Professor Robbie Foy
  • Clinical Professor of Primary Care
• Miss Kristy Garfield
  • Research Fellow in Health Economic Evaluation
• Dr Alys Griffiths
  • Lecturer in Clinical Psychology
• Rosemary Greenwood
  • Medical Statistician
• Dr Karla Hemming
  • Professor of Biostatistics
• Professor Clare Jinks
  • Professor of Health Research
• Professor Christina Jones
  • Professor in Clinical Health Psychology
• Dr Hayley Jones
  • Associate Professor in Medical Statistics
• Professor Jamie Kirkham
  • Professor of Biostatistics
• Professor Susan Mallett
  • Professor in diagnostic and prognostic medical statistics
• Professor Tom Marshall
  • Professor of Public Health and Primary Care
• Professor Fliss Murtagh
  • Professor of Palliative Care at Hull York Medical School, Director of the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre
• Professor Stephen Morris
  • RAND Professor of Health Services Research
• Professor Martin Orrell
  • Director - Institute of Mental Health / Head, Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences
• Professor Katherine Payne
  • Professor of Health Economics
• Dr Rachel Phillips
  • Senior Lecturer in Medical Statistics and Clinical Trials
• Professor Caroline Sanders
  • Professor of Medical Sociology
• Professor Rod Taylor
  • Professor of Population Health Research
• Mr Steve Telford
  • Public Reviewer
• Professor Tom Wainwright
  • Professor Of Orthopaedics Deputy Head Of ORI
• Ms Jane Whitehurst
  • Public Reviewer
• Professor Paula Williamson
  • Professor of Medical Statistics
• Mr Keith Wyncoll
  • Public Reviewer

Latest documents

• Minutes for the Research for Patient Benefit Programme Under-represented disciplines and specialisms highlight notice: Methodologists Research Advisory Committee A Stage 1 meeting
• Minutes for the Research for Patient Benefit Programme Under-represented disciplines and specialisms highlight notice: Methodologists Research Advisory Committee B Stage 1 meeting
• Minutes for the Research for Patient Benefit Programme Under-represented disciplines and specialisms highlight notice: Methodologists Triage Meeting
• Record for the Research for Patient Benefit Programme Under-represented disciplines and specialisms highlight notice: Methodologists post committee meeting triage