The Health Education England (HEE) / NIHR Integrated Clinical and Practitioner Academic (ICA) Programme provides research training awards for health and social care professionals, excluding doctors and dentists, who wish to develop careers that combine research and research leadership with continued practice and professional development.
Managed by NIHR and funded by Health Education England (HEE), the ICA Programme supports health and care professionals (excluding doctors and dentists) to develop careers that combine research with continued practice and professional development (Clinical or Practitioner Academic careers).
The ICA Programme comprises four schemes that each support individuals at different stages of their research career:
In addition, doctoral and post-doctoral award holders can access funded career mentorship through the ICA Programme’s bespoke Mentorship Scheme.
The programme also offers short duration Bridging Awards, which support development of doctoral or post-doctoral award applications.
All awards require the support of an English health or social care provider and a university, which form a partnership to further the career aspirations of the awardee.
Applicants to the HEE/NIHR ICA Programme schemes must hold registration with one of the ICA approved regulatory bodies or have plans in place to hold the required registration by the proposed award start date.
Call: 0113 532 8401
Email: Academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk and please detail which scheme you are enquiring about in the subject area.
Internships are short duration awards for individuals with little or no research experience. They deliver a range of taught and academically supervised components that engage and expose the award holder to a research environment. Interns develop the practical skills required to undertake a research project or to develop a project idea, supported by an expert supervisor.
The award covers salary costs for the days undertaking the Internship and away from their health or care role.
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.
Formerly the Pre-doctoral Clinical Academic Fellowship.
The HEE/NIHR ICA Pre-doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (PCAF) scheme offers salaried time to develop a doctoral fellowship application and to undertake funded academic training that will equip awardees with the skills and experience to access doctoral level funding.
The PCAF is open to early career researchers who are committed to a practitioner academic career; combining research with continued practice and professional development.
Applicants must hold registration with one of the HEE/NIHR ICA Programme approved regulatory bodies, or have plans in place to hold the required registration by the proposed award start date.
The PCAF scheme offers two distinct streams, which allow applicants to choose the level of support most appropriate to their individual requirements.
1. Funding to support the submission of a doctoral fellowship application and to undertake a programme of academic training at Masters level (“standard” PCAF). Awards can be taken up at one of the following options:
2. Funding to support submission of a doctoral fellowship application and to undertake a small amount of academic training at Masters level (PCAF Bridge). Awards can be taken up at one of the following options:
Both funding streams provide:
Applicants can also request up to 20% clinical development / practice skills development time paid for through the award.
Available from the PCAF Applicant Guidance Notes:
Applicants are required to read these guidance notes in full before starting an application or contacting the NIHR Academy with any queries.
Funding competitions open annually in late January each year and notifications of competition dates are available in career development funding opportunities.
Formerly the Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship (CDRF).
The Doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (DCAF) scheme funds registered healthcare professionals to undertake a PhD by research and, concurrently, to undertake further professional development and practice.
The DCAF is a three year award (up to six years part time), approximately 80% of which will be spent working academically over the course of the fellowship. The remaining 20% of fellowship hours will be spent devoted to practice and professional development.
We require that applicants have the support of an English health or social care provider and a university and hold a contract of employment with one of these organisations for the hours and duration of the fellowship.
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.
Available from the DCAF Applicant Guidance Notes:
Please read these guidance notes in full before you start an application or contact the NIHR Academy.
Funding competitions open twice each year in April and October. Competition details are published in career development funding opportunities.
The ACAF has been developed to replace the ICA Clinical Lectureship and Senior Clinical Lectureship schemes and represents increased opportunity for post-doctoral applicants to the ICA Programme.
The HEE/NIHR ICA Advanced Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (ACAF) supports post-doctoral researchers to develop their academic career whilst developing their health or care career.
Applicants may:
Applicants for an ACAF must hold registration with one of the ICA approved regulatory bodies or have plans in place to hold the required registration by the proposed award start date. Full eligibility criteria are available through the Applicant Guidance Notes.
ACAFs can be between 2 and 5 years in duration if taken up full time or can be taken up part-time between 50% and 100% WTE.
Individuals are eligible to be awarded up to two ACAFs sequentially, not normally totalling more than 8 years WTE of funding.
Between 20% and 40% of the award time must be dedicated to development of the awardee’s clinical service or practice role, which will be funded through the Fellowship.
ACAFs offer funding to cover the Lead Applicant’s salary costs, the costs of an appropriate research project, and the costs of a tailored academic and professional development programme.
Available from the ICA ACAF Applicant Guidance Notes:
Applicants are required to read these guidance notes in full before starting an application or contacting the NIHR Academy with any queries.
Funding competitions run twice each year in April and October. Competition details are published through career development funding opportunities.
ICA Bridging schemes support health and care professionals (excluding doctors and dentists) 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 or practitioner academic career.
Applicants to the HEE/NIHR ICA Programme schemes must hold registration with one of the ICA approved regulatory bodies or have plans in place to hold the required registration by the proposed award start date.
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 nominated Versus Arthritis fellows.
The ICA Mentorship Scheme is currently administered by the University of the West of England, Bristol.
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:
All ICA CDRF, CL and SCL awardees are welcome to access mentorship through the scheme.
Individuals, including current ICA SCLs, interested in joining the scheme as a mentor are also very welcome to get in touch
Prospective mentors or mentees requiring further information should contact our mentorship provision service at UWE by email on: icamentor@uwe.ac.uk.
Individuals seeking further information about the ICA Programme's strategy for mentorship provision, or their eligibility for access, should contact:
The Doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (DCAF) scheme funds registered health and social care care professionals to undertake a PhD by research and, concurrently, to undertake further professional development and practice.
The HEE/NIHR ICA Advanced Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (ACAF) supports post-doctoral researchers to develop their academic career whilst developing their health or care career.
All Integrated Clinical Academic funding opportunities
Guidance for recruitment and appointment of NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowships in dentistry.
The ACAF scheme supports post-doctoral researchers to develop their academic career whilst developing their health or care career.
A report from the chair of the PCAF selection committee for round 4 of the scheme.
NIHR Researchfish Update 2021
Guidance notes for the Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship Scheme, which funds healthcare professionals to undertake a PhD by research and further their professional development and clinical practice.
All Integrated Clinical Academic documents
