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The Health Education England (HEE) and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Integrated Clinical Academic (ICA) Programme provides research training awards for healthcare professionals, excluding doctors and dentists, who wish to develop careers that combine clinical research and research leadership with continued clinical practice and professional development.
If you have or are thinking about applying to any of our competitions, please check our eligibility criteria and ensure you belong to one of the eligible professions listed.
The programme offers five levels of awards, each requiring the support of a partnership of a clinical and academic host organisation, which together comprise a career pathway for aspiring and developing non-medical clinical academics.
The programme also funds HEE administered ICA Bridging Schemes, which support members of the ICA eligible professions to build on their previous academic training and develop proposals for a pre or post-doctoral award.
Call: 0113 532 8401
Email: Academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk,and detail which programme you are enquiring about in the subject area.
Internships are short duration awards for individuals with little or no research experience. Internships deliver a range of taught and academically supervised components that engage and expose you to a clinical academic research environment. As an intern, you will develop the practical skills required to undertake a research project or to develop a project idea, supported by an expert supervisor.
The award will cover your salary on the days you are undertaking the Internship and away from clinical practice.
ICA Internships are managed by local HEE teams. Further details of the scheme and contact details for your local team are available from the HEE-NIHR Clinical Academic Career web pages.
Pre-doctoral Clinical Academic Fellowships (PCAF) fund personalised programmes of academic training that equip awardees with the skills and experience to access doctoral-level funding, and give dedicated time to prepare an application for a competitive, peer-reviewed doctoral level research training fellowship.
Structure
The PCAF is a two year award (or can be taken up part-time over 30 or 40 months) during which you will split your time equally between your clinical position and the academic training funded through the award.
Alternatively, you can undertake academic training on a full-time basis and complete the award in 12 months.
As an applicant, you can request up to 20% clinical development time paid for through the award (this would constitute part of the academic training time).
Funding
Full Scheme Details
Available from the PCAF Round 2 (2019) Applicant Guidance Notes:
Competitions
Round 3 PCAF call for applications: anticipated February 2020.
The Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship (CDRF) scheme funds registered healthcare professionals to undertake a PhD by research and, concurrently, to undertake further professional development and clinical practice.
Structure
The CDRF is a three year award (up to six years part time), approximately 80% of which you will spend working academically over the course of the fellowship. The remaining 20% of fellowship hours will be spent devoted to clinical practice and professional development.
We require that you have a clinical and academic host, and a contract of employment with one of these for the hours and duration of the fellowship.
Funding
Our personal research training award offers funding to cover your salary costs, PhD tuition fees, the costs of an appropriate research project, and the costs of tailored clinical and academic training programmes.
Full Scheme Details
Available from the CDRF Applicant Guidance Notes:
Please read these guidance notes in full before you start an application or contact the NIHR Academy.
Competitions
Next call for applications: anticipated March 2020.
The HEE/NIHR ICA Lectureships schemes support post-doctoral non-medical healthcare professionals who are:
Clinical Lectureship - in the early stages of their post-doctoral career and wish to establish themselves as independent clinical academic researchers over the course of the award
Or
Senior Clinical Lectureships - established as independent clinical researchers but are not yet recognised as leaders in their field.
Structure
ICA Lecturers undertake a 50/50 clinical academic role during which you have the time and support to develop the specific skill sets required to achieve credibility as an independent researcher, whilst continuing your clinical practice and development.
Funding
Full Scheme Details
Available from the ICA CL and SCL Applicant Guidance Notes:
Competitions
Round 6 CL and SCL call for applications: anticipated March 2020.
Candidates holding Professional Doctorates can be assessed for eligibility by HEE and the NIHR on an individual basis following receipt of evidence from the applicant’s host HEI that they meet the Professional Doctorate Eligibility Criteria and are eligible to be appointed as a Clinical Lecturer (or equivalent role) or above. If you feel that you meet these criteria, please contact academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk for approval before you proceed with an application.
The ICA Bridging schemes support non-medical clinical academics to build on their previous academic training and to develop proposals for a pre or post-doctoral award, and take the next step in their clinical academic career.
ICA Bridging awards are managed by local HEE teams. Further details of the scheme and contact details for your local team are available from the HEE Clinical Academic Career web pages.
The ICA Mentorship Scheme offers individuals holding doctoral or post-doctoral ICA awards the opportunity for free one-to-one clinical academic career mentorship by an appropriate mentor.
The scheme is positively received, and recognised as providing a crucial layer of support to our aspirant clinical academic awardees. As a result, and following agreements between HEE, NIHR and Versus Arthritis (a merger of Arthritis Care and Arthritis Research UK) mentorship through the scheme is also available to approved NIHR Fellowship awardees and nominated Versus Arthritis fellows.
The ICA Mentorship Scheme is administered by Birmingham Health Partners, an overarching partnership organisation that brings together a collaborative network of healthcare and education providers in order to create an ideal environment to stimulate and support the growth of research active clinicians.
Information for prospective mentors and mentees
Mentoring is uniquely valuable to aspiring non-medical clinical academics and is afforded by the scheme through formalised and funded contact time with the most qualified individuals available.
Mentorship goes beyond the guidance afforded by a supervisor and acts to support the awardee through the challenges encountered during the development of a clinical academic career.
The scheme’s mentors are recognised senior healthcare researchers and professional leaders. As such, they bring essential and unique sector knowledge, as well as an understanding of the leadership challenges that face clinical academic researchers from the non-medical healthcare professions.
The scheme administers:
Accessing the scheme
All ICA CDRF, CL and SCL awardees, and ICA eligible professionals in receipt of Doctoral and Post-Doctoral NIHR Fellowship Programme awards are welcome to access mentorship through the scheme. Interested individuals should submit a preliminary matching request to our providers using this form.
Individuals, including current ICA SCLs, interested in joining the scheme as a mentor can register their interest by submitting this online form.
Click here for a list of the current mentors.
Prospective mentors or mentees requiring further information should contact:
All other queries should be directed to:
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Professor Cheng-Hock Toh, highlights how the Royal College of Physicians has launched a project calling for every clinician working in the NHS to be supported to become research active. His blog is part of our Your Path in Research campaign.
Caroline Nicholson explains how her career in research has unfolded and offers top tips to healthcare professionals wishing to take a similar route. Her blog is part of our Your Path in Research campaign.
Dr Damian Roland writes about how he has pursued his path in research and encourages others to follow in his footsteps to further their career. His blog is part of our Your Path in Research campaign.
Jayne Parry is chair of the NIHR Academy Advanced Fellowship Selection Committee. In this blog she gives her insight into what the committee looks for when shortlisting for interview.
Guidance document for the Integrated Academic Training programme
NIHR Advanced Fellowships - Knowledge Mobilisation Research
NIHR Short Placement Award for Research Collaboration (SPARC) Guidance Notes
Selection Committee information
Case study information about Karen Heslop-Marshall, former HEE/NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow and Nursing Times’ Nurse of the Year 2016 nominee.
