NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) 2024 Guidance for Applicants

Introduction 

The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. NIHR delivers against this mission through six core workstreams set out in Best Research for Best Health - the next chapter. 

The NIHR invests significantly in centres of excellence, collaborations, services and facilities to support research in England, collectively known as NIHR research infrastructure. The NIHR is launching a new open competition for infrastructure in applied health and care to designate and fund NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) in England. 

Eligible NHS organisations may submit one application for funding up to £16.3m over five years from 1 April 2026.

This document sets out the process for the competition. Eligible organisations are invited to submit an application which will be reviewed against the selection criteria by an independent funding committee. Applications which meet all the selection criteria will be provided with feedback and invited to submit an amended application and points of clarification. The revised application will be considered by the independent funding committee alongside applicant interviews. The funding committee will make recommendations to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on designation and level of funding.

Role of NIHR ARCs

The purpose of the NIHR ARCs is to undertake high-quality applied health, public health and social care research with a focus on generalisable learning at a regional and national level. Working closely with stakeholders including the Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), the Health Innovation Networks (HINs) and other NIHR infrastructure, the ARCs will also support knowledge mobilisation and implementation of research-based evidence to ensure effective interventions and models of care can be scaled nationally thereby maximising the impact of research.     

The NIHR ARC scheme will provide designation and funding to:

• create an environment to develop and conduct high quality, generalisable applied health, public health and social care research that responds to and meets the priority research needs of the health and care system and the population;
• use knowledge mobilisation approaches to support an increase in the rate at which research findings are implemented into practice at scale to deliver improvements in health and social care services and the delivery and efficiency of health and care, and increase sustainability of the health and care system both nationally and regionally;
• address health inequalities by embedding inclusive approaches across all projects and programmes to ensure that research is relevant to the end-user, results are generalisable to a broad and diverse population, and any resulting intervention can be successfully delivered to the people who need it most;
• increase the country’s capacity and capability, including in under-represented specialties and professions, to conduct and translate high quality applied health, public health and social care research, including further development of robust real-world methodology and evidence generation;  
• collaborate to respond to national health and care challenges, including emerging needs, and support effective interventions and models of care into practice, responding to DHSC and NHS England priorities; and 
• contribute to broader economic gain, including through collaborations with life sciences and other commercial companies, focussing on meeting the needs of the population and the health and social care system.

Priority areas for NIHR ARCs

NIHR ARCs will work collaboratively across NIHR infrastructure and the wider health and social care system to generate high-quality research, including knowledge mobilisation, which has a clear implementation pathway to generalisable findings that can be scaled and adopted nationally, particularly in areas of high disease burden and service demands. While being responsive at a regional level is important, it is anticipated that many of the challenges in one part of the country are relevant to others so progression towards nationally generalisable evidence is emphasised in future work programmes. This can include themes which relate to specific regions, such as coastal and rural health and social care needs, or certain populations, such as ethnic minority groups. 

Eligible organisations in England will need to demonstrate a cadre of expertise in applied health, public health and social care research, the ability to respond to broad system needs, and proven experience of working with others to translate and implement research findings into practice. NIHR wishes to designate and fund a portfolio of ARCs that have excellence in a range of themes, including but not limited to the following priority areas: 

• Supporting delivery of health services in community and primary care and at home
• Prevention 
• Supporting people living with long-term conditions into work and to remain in work
• Supporting the recovery of the health and care systems, including the health and wellbeing of the workforce 
• Social care, including supporting people to live safely at home for longer 
• Core20PLUS5 (NHSE inequalities) priorities 
• Major conditions such as dementia, diabetes, and risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cancer such as smoking, obesity 
• Mental health, including better integration between mental and physical health services
• Children and young people’s health
• Multiple long-term conditions
• Women’s health

Individual ARCs are not expected to have in-depth expertise in all these areas. Applicants will need to demonstrate partnership working or existing critical mass across multidisciplinary teams, combined with a core of professions that can respond to wider applied health, public health and social care research and implementation of change such as health and care services researchers, health economists, implementation and knowledge mobilisation experts, patient involvement and engagement professional and those with expertise in health inequalities and research inclusion.

Scope

The NIHR ARC scheme funds infrastructure to generate applied health, public health and social care research with a focus on generalisable learning at regional and national level. ARCs will build upon support for the generation and evaluation of research, knowledge mobilisation and implementation in a number of priority areas for DHSC, NHS England and the Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in addition to the strategic research priorities as set out in NIHR Best Research for Best Health: The next chapter document.

ARCs will respond to the needs of the health and social care system, including scale up and spread of research arising from the needs of Integrated Care Systems (ICS), carry out research in the areas where people are living with the greatest burden of disease/care needs, and develop inclusive research with under-served communities. ARCs will be expected to contribute to the delivery of the new NIHR Commitments for Public Partnerships.

Research will be expected to deliver improved outcomes for patients, service users, carers and the public, improved efficiencies and safety in the delivery of health and social care services, and increased sustainability of the health and care system, including support for workforce development and retention. ARCs will work across the health and social care system to increase capacity and capability to get research and evidence into practice facilitating the dissemination, knowledge mobilisation and implementation of research findings. Successful approaches to these areas will be underpinned by appropriate resourcing for the development and maintenance of relationships with key regional and national partners including, but not limited to, other NIHR Infrastructure, the HINs, ICSs, local authorities, Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations, health and social care providers and community groups.

ARCs will have a remit to build research capacity and develop academic careers. This remit will be expanded to increase capacity and capability for knowledge mobilisation and carry out implementation research to scale effective interventions and models of care into practice working with a wider range of practitioners from across local authorities, primary care, community and social care settings and providers as well as end users.

Since the last NIHR ARC funding was awarded in 2019, the health and social care landscape has changed significantly. ARCs will be expected to build and retain relationships across the health and care system regionally and nationally. This will include working closely with NIHRCC, ICSs and the research and health and care system partners across hospital, primary, community and social care settings and providers, focussing on addressing national challenges. This does not preclude ARCs from addressing regional and local needs but learning should be generalisable and contribute to solutions for national challenges to maximise the scope and scale of likely impact.

A key emphasis underpinning the ARC programme continues to be embedding health equity through inclusive research across all projects and programmes to ensure that research is relevant to the end-users, results are generalisable to a broad and diverse population, and any resulting intervention can be successfully delivered to the people who need it most.

ARCs will be expected to be responsive to support emerging national health and social care priorities, which may require the need to draw in research expertise and resources at short notice. We also require ARCs to support the NHS England Data for R&D Programme, working with the NHS Research Secure Data Environment (SDE) Network where is is appropriate and feasible to do so.

NIHR ARC Key Features

Embedding Inclusion in Research

In line with NIHR’s mission to reduce health inequalities and become a more inclusive funder of research, NIHR ARCs are formally required to detail how their research contributes towards this commitment. They should evidence their commitment to improving research culture and equality, diversity and inclusion in the research workforce. ARCs should detail how they will ensure that research is inclusive and that it is shaped by, and reaches the people, communities and regions which have the greatest health and social care needs. ARCs will be expected to demonstrate how inclusion will be factored into all stages of the research lifecycle including, but not limited to, the research design, participant recruitment and retention, the research methods and the communication of findings and plans for scaling models of care into practice. ARCs should ensure that the needs and benefits to groups and communities contributing to and benefitting from their research are fully considered, so that the findings can be applied, and will positively impact the groups with the highest health and social care needs. ARCs should clearly state the expected contribution their inclusion approach will have on inequalities in health and social care, and the ways in which the ARC will ensure that relationships developed with partners are maintained beyond the term of individual projects. 

ARCs should ensure that sufficient resources, staff time and senior leadership are provided to support the full development and integration of inclusive research and joined up approaches to community engagement for the duration of the NIHR ARC funding and should include costing for a research inclusion lead. 

ARCs should consider how their plans will respond to current challenges and opportunities in equality, diversity and inclusion in health and social care research, and how they can align their plans with local, regional and national agendas and collaborators, as well as the NIHR Research Inclusion strategy. 

Patient, public involvement, engagement and participation (Public Partnerships)

NIHR ARCs will be expected to incorporate patient, public and involvement, engagement and participation in the development of their proposals and in both governance and individual research activities.

The ARCs should work with relevant communities and individuals to embed patient, public involvement, engagement and participation (PPIE) and consider how their plans will contribute to high-quality generalisable applied health, public health and social care research which responds to regional and national health and care research needs. ARCs should consider how their plans will respond to current challenges and opportunities for involvement, engagement and participation while contributing to the delivery of NIHR’s Public Partnership Commitments 2025-2030 including: reflecting the diversity of the population (particularly those from underserved communities), fostering community-led approaches to research (sharing best practice), developing new methods and approaches, and demonstrating the impact of this agenda on improving health and care research. ARCs are also encouraged to align their plans, as well as work collaboratively with other patient/public and involvement, engagement and participation efforts in their region (and where appropriate nationally) as well as with the health and social care system and ensure that sufficient resources, staff time and senior leadership are provided to support these activities and duplication is minimised. Applicants are encouraged to consider how they will support early career researchers to integrate PPIE as part of their doctoral training research delivered within the ARC award. Each ARC will be expected to appoint a PPIE lead.

ARCs should consider how their plans will address the UK Standards for Public Involvement in research. Please note that patient and public involvement, engagement and participation in research are distinct but often interrelated activities. Please use NIHR definitions of ‘involvement’, ‘engagement’ and ‘participation’ to differentiate between these areas.

Knowledge Mobilisation and Implementation

Knowledge mobilisation approaches should be a fully embedded and integrated as part of NIHR ARC proposals. Sufficient resources, staff time and senior leadership should be provided to support knowledge mobilisation and implementation related activities. The proposed ARC programme should include research at different stages of development, including research evidence that is ready for implementation and scaling.

Research Capacity Development

NIHR ARCs will have a remit for research capacity development and training across the full career spectrum, that supports equity of opportunities for all. While the focus should be on developing early and mid-career researchers, consideration should be given to all stages of the academic career pathway. Training and support should be in line with the principles and best practice set out within the Researcher Development Concordat.

ARCs are expected to appoint a named academic career development (ACD) lead in their applications who will contribute to the NIHR Academic Career Development Forum. They will work in partnership with NIHR Academy to share best practice and encourage excellence in career development and training. Individuals whose academic career development is being supported through ARC funding will also benefit from NIHR Academy membership. Individuals on fellowships or studentships funded by the ARCs will be expected to be awarded an NIHR Infrastructure-branded Fellowship or Studentship. ARCs are encouraged, where appropriate, to secure additional contributions from partners of the collaboration which can be used to support academic career development/capacity building activity. Applicants should include a brief outline of their proposed ACD strategy and plan, which includes a training budget for capacity building fellows.

Future funding opportunities for designated NIHR ARCs

NIHR ARC Network

Following this competition, NIHR will establish a network for designated NIHR ARCs. The purpose of this Network is to provide strategic and operational coordination, act as a focal point between designated ARCs to optimise synergies across the infrastructure and to facilitate national links with key partners. It is anticipated that the ARC Network will be commissioned to:

• provide strategic and operational coordination and a focal point for collaboration between the designated ARCs; 
• facilitate national links between the ARCs and their key partners, including ICSs, HINs, charities, industry and other NIHR-funded research infrastructure;  
• act as a leader across NIHR translational infrastructure to support work across regions and by theme/populations is pulled through into translation working with the BRCs, HRCs and PSRCs to strengthen their thinking on how translational pathways are embedded across their themes, taking a ‘concierge’ approach to taking a piece of research into practice; 
• optimise synergies across lead activities (research capacity development, PPIE, research inclusion, knowledge mobilisation and impact), improve visibility and provide increased opportunities for learning to be shared between ARCs and with key stakeholders in the health and care system; and
• provide an offer to commercial companies seeking advice on how best to consider implementation in their research to support evidenced treatments or assistive technology, for example, into practice.

Further details on the establishment of the NIHR ARC Network will be provided following confirmation of the outcome of the NIHR ARC competition. Additional funding for fast-track projects to support rapid evaluations and collaborative projects to meet Ministerial and national priority needs is being considered and may be launched following the designation and funding of the ARCs.

Fast-track and collaboration funding

Additional funding of up to £75 million over the lifetime of the ARC programme will be available for collaborative projects to support a range of Ministerial, DHSC and NHS England research priorities. This might include rapid evaluations; collaboration studies bringing together clusters of ARCs who demonstrate excellence in particular themes or methodologies to respond to national challenges; collaboration between ARCs and other NIHR infrastructure, for example supporting hospital at home through technology working with the HealthTech Research Centres or responding to inequalities in maternity outcomes for people from minority ethnic groups with the Maternity Inequalities Challenge Consortium and the Patient Safety Research Collaborations; and research to support the implementation, scaling and adoption of effective interventions and models of care. Fast-track and collaboration funding will be commissioned through existing NIHR programmes with priorities/ specific highlight notices set by DHSC and NHS England. 

Eligibility and key requirements 

Eligibility Criteria 

All NHS organisations or providers of NHS services in England are eligible to apply on behalf of a proposed Collaboration. 

Applications are invited from any NHS organisation that can demonstrate a significant portfolio and expertise within applied health and care research. NIHR ARC designation will be awarded to a single NHS organisation on behalf of a collaboration. The NHS organisation may identify a primary university partner who would form part of the designated ARC. 

The ARCs are encouraged to identify and work with partners that bring additional strength and depth to their proposed programme of work, particularly to support implementation of research evidence into practice and build research capacity and expertise across the country. These could include other NHS organisations, university partners, ICSs, the Health Innovation Network, and other  organisations (local authorities, public health and social care organisations, health and care service providers, or voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations) who would form part of the designated NIHR ARC. Additional named partners in a collaboration will have specified roles which should be fully justified in the application and provide letters of support. ARCs can pass funding to named partners via an appropriate mechanism, such as a subcontract.

RDN portfolio requirement

Please note that NHS Trusts and their primary university partner, with a minimum of 20 open, sponsored studies on their LCRN portfolio, will have to demonstrate that their portfolio of sponsored CRN/RDN studies are delivering to time and target. All open, sponsored studies are included within this policy. As the target is a snapshot in time, quarterly data both for the baseline (FY 2023/24 Q2) and an average of the last three quarters in the run up to the competition launch (FY 2023/24 Q3 to FY 2024-25 Q1 inclusive) for the current measure are included. NHS trusts not meeting the 80% threshold, but having made progress towards this, defined as an increase of at least 10% from baseline will be considered as meeting the threshold. Applications from NHS trusts or with a primary HEI who don’t meet the 80% threshold will only be able to apply for up to 90% of the funding envelope (£14.7m). 

Succession Planning

Applicants will need to provide a clear process for succession planning describing how they will support the development of a highly skilled research workforce and provide mentorship and opportunities for emerging leaders to have leadership roles within and across the scheme. Consideration should be given to providing support across the career development pathway for staff at all levels, from early training into continuous professional development, to build capacity and expertise within the ARC.

The NIHR expectations in relation to succession planning and resourcing for the NIHR ARCs’ proposed research teams are outlined below:

Directors and Co-directors

Directors 

• The proposed NIHR ARC Director will have their tenure capped at a maximum of two terms of funding. The first term starts within the period that covers the current NIHR ARC contract (2019-2026); consequently, current Directors would not be eligible to apply should there be a subsequent ARC or similar funding call starting from April 2031. 

Co-Director

• NIHR strongly encourages the appointment of a co-Director and in instances where the proposed Director has already served one full term as ARC Director, for contract 2019-2026, the appointment of a co-Director is mandatory. 
• The appointment of a co-Director is to ensure succession planning, knowledge retention and the development of workforce leadership; this post can share leadership responsibilities with the ARC Director.
• The total FTE for the Director and co-Director posts should be no less than 0.4 FTE/week in total, noting the funding committee will consider value for money if the FTE is deemed excessive. 

Theme Leads

• Each theme should have a lead and a mid-career researcher identified as co-lead, to ensure succession planning. 
• Theme leads will also have their tenure capped i.e. in situations where the proposed Theme Lead has already served one full term as NIHR ARC theme lead for the contract between 2019-2026 they would not be eligible as theme lead should there be a subsequent ARC or similar funding call starting from April 2031. 

Specific lead activities:  

Knowledge Mobilisation 

• A knowledge mobilisation lead must be included in the core team. This role should be no less than 0.8 FTE but may be split across two posts.

Patient and Public Involvement Engagement and Participation (PPIE) /Research Inclusion / Implementation and Academic Career Development (ACD) Leads

• Leads for PPIE, research inclusion, implementation and ACD should be included in the core team. 
• Each must have the appropriate expertise and experience to do these roles and should be adequately resourced and costed as part of the core team to enable the management of the strategic plans and any specific related activities. 

Programme of Work

NIHR ARCs will be expected to adapt and respond to broad research needs as well as emerging national and regional needs through a programme of work with a maximum number of seven themes (excluding core) with a minimum of three which address the priority areas, as set out above in the Priority Areas for NIHR ARCs. Those seven themes should include cross-cutting themes which will bring additional strength and depth, including but not limited to, health economics or data informatics. ARCs will need to incorporate multidisciplinary teams that can respond to wider applied health, public health and social care research, including health and care services researchers, behavioural scientists, economists, implementation science and knowledge mobilisation experts. Collaboration between ARCs and with HINs and other stakeholders who support adoption of research evidence into practice, is a central feature of the ARC scheme. Core teams should be adequately resourced to develop and maintain these relationships. Applications should set out how they will work with their system partners; this may involve flowing funding to support this endeavour. Applications should also set out how designated ARCs intend to work in partnership with other ARCs, which have similar themes or shared methodological or cross cutting work programmes.

Funding and Financial Information 

NHS trusts applying to host may submit one application. The number of awards and the amount of funding allocated to each NIHR ARC has not been predetermined; however, applicants may apply for funding of up to £16.3 million per collaboration over five years. DHSC is reviewing the scope and length of infrastructure funding and it is possible that funding for ARCs with sustained evidence of meeting the success criteria for the programme may be offered a further two years of funding.

The number and geographical location of ARCs has also not been pre-determined. However, it is anticipated that the ARCs will provide coverage across all regions in England and align with one or more of the 15 HIN regions to support close collaboration. There is no assumption that the NIHR will fund one ARC per HIN region. Funding will be informed by the scale, nature and quality of the research activity to be conducted by the collaborations.

In this phase of the ARC scheme, we are focussing on research with the potential for generalisable learning through large-scale projects. ARCs will be expected to fund a range of core staff with the relevant expertise to deliver such large-scale projects. While a small amount of core funding may fund initial small-scale feasibility or pump-priming work, this is not expected to represent a substantial proportion of the ARC’s planned work.

The overarching NIHR principles of transparency and contestability relating to NIHR funding competitions will be applied. The financial information required for this full application is provided in Annex 2.

Selection Criteria 

A funding committee will review applications and make recommendations for designation and funding of NIHR ARCs to DHSC based on the following selection criteria: 

• The strength of the strategic plan including the leadership and governance arrangements;  ability and flexibility to meet national and regional priorities working with DHSC, NHS England and regional ICSs; demonstration of patient and public involvement and engagement; plans to embed health equity and  research inclusion; and embedded knowledge mobilisation and implementation, including partnership working with a wide range of practitioners from across the HINs, ICSs, local authorities, primary care, community and social care settings to deliver changes in practice.
• The contribution of the research portfolio to reduce health inequalities and deliver inclusive research to ensure research responds to the full range of communities living with high health and care needs and the greatest burden of disease. 
• Track record of, and future plans to support translation of effective interventions and models of care into health and social care practice that meet the needs of the population and the health and care system.
• The strength of the strategic partnerships/collaborations and evidence of a commitment to collaborative working across the NIHR infrastructure and health and care system to support evaluation, implementation and scaling of effective interventions and models of care into practice, responding to regional and national needs; this includes plans to be a good citizen within the ARC Network.
• Clear plans to enhance capacity and capability to conduct high quality applied health, public health and social care research, including through provision of training which supports diverse career paths and promotes inclusion.
• Value for money.

Process and Timetable

Full initial applications, including full financial justification for resources, should be submitted via the RMS (see outline Application Form Annex 1). Full initial applications, including full financial justification for resources, should be submitted via the Research Management System (RMS). All applicants will be provided with feedback. Successful applications which meet all the selection criteria will be provided with feedback and invited to submit a revised application articulating how they have addressed the feedback, which will be further considered by the funding committee. Up to six key representatives from the proposed NIHR ARC team will be invited to an in-person interview with the funding committee at a London venue (details will be provided in feedback letters). The funding committee will then make recommendations to DHSC on designation and level of funding.

Timetable

Annex 1: Outline of the Full Application Form

Plain English should be used throughout the application.

Summary Information

1. Details of the proposed NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC)

1.1 Name of the proposed NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC)

1.2 Details of the proposed NIHR ARC Director

1.3 Details of the proposed NIHR ARC Co-Director (Optional)

1.4 Details of the proposed host NHS organisation

Please select the name of the host NHS organisation from the drop-down menu. 

1.5 Details of the proposed University partner organisation

Please select the name of the partner university from the drop-down menu.

1.6 Details of any other partners

Please list any additional partners that will form the Collaboration noting that any named partner(s) will have specified roles which should be fully justified in the application alongside letters of support.

1.7 Letters of Support

Letters of support should be obtained from formal partners in the NIHR ARC.  All letters of support must be collated into a single document and then uploaded as a single PDF file.

1.8 Total funding requested

2. Plain English Summary (500 words)

Please provide a Plain English Summary describing the specific overarching aims of the proposed NIHR ARC. It should explain:

• the nature of the proposed NIHR ARC; and,
• the health and social care questions it aims to address and the potential outcomes it is seeking to achieve from the programme of work.

This should be aimed at members of the public and be written clearly and simply without jargon.

3. Leadership, Management and Governance

3.1 Please describe the leadership and expertise demonstrated by the proposed Director (750 words) and Co-Director (750 words) and their contribution to the NIHR ARC, this should include:  

• evidence of a track record of leadership within the applied health and care research environment, particularly within the priority areas set out in the guidance and NIHR strategic research priorities; 
• evidence of experience with health and care professionals, providers, patient/public groups and other relevant organisations within the health and care system, to support and influence approaches to the practice of health and/or care delivery;
• evidence of experience of effective involvement and engagement of communities to realise benefits for patients, public, research end-users and/or the health and care system;  
• evidence of a commitment to, and experience of, improving research culture and research inclusion in the research workforce and developing an inclusive research portfolio that addresses health and care inequalities;
• evidence of experience in approaches to support implementation of research findings through meaningful engagement with patients, health care professionals and service end users and commitment to, and experience of, successful research knowledge mobilisation and impact;
• evidence of commitment to developing research capacity and capability within the health and care system, including supporting early career researchers to become future leaders; and
• the percentage full-time equivalent (FTE) they will commit to the ARC.

3.2 Please describe the management and governance arrangements for the proposed NIHR ARC (1000 words). 

The management arrangements for the proposed NIHR ARC, including the arrangements for joint working between the host organisation and the other partners forming the Collaboration

Please explain:

• the oversight arrangements for joint working between the NHS organisation, any additional health and care organisations or universities and other partners that will form the NIHR ARC;
• how the Director(s), theme leads, and key role leads will manage and monitor the progress of the programme of work including how responsibilities will be determined for joint appointments and specify the succession planning and resourcing for each of those roles; 
• how the NIHR ARC proposes to prioritise and deprioritise research within the theme(s) to deliver a programme of work with the highest potential to benefit patients and the public and/or the health and care system and respond to emerging national needs;  
• the proposed NIHR ARC’s governance arrangements, including how the ARC will engage at the trust level;
• the processes for managing activities related to implementation and scaling of effective interventions and models of care into practice;      
• the leadership mechanisms that ensure progress in delivering the knowledge mobilisation plans feed into the management and governance processes of the proposed NIHR ARC; and
• the collaborations’ arrangements for overseeing capacity building; patient and public involvement and engagement; research inclusion; and knowledge mobilisation and dissemination if impact from NIHR ARC activities.

3.3 Please upload an organogram showing the proposed strategic and operational  governance arrangements (including any external governance body(ies)) for the proposed NIHR ARC including where the Director/co-Director (if applicable), theme leads and key role leads will fit. 

3.4 Please indicate whether the host NHS organisation is currently a member of the UK Health Data Research Alliance (UKHDRA). 

 (YES/NO) 

3.5 Please confirm that the proposed Director/co-Director of the NIHR ARC will have responsibility for, and authority over, the NIHR funding if awarded. 

 (YES/NO) 

4. Strategic Plan  

4.1 Please detail the proposed NIHR ARC’s overall strategy for responding to the research needs of the health and care system, with an emphasis on ensuring research is needs led, learning is captured in a way to scale nationally and there is sufficient support for knowledge mobilisation and the implementation of research evidence. 

(2500 words, table excluded from word count)

This should include:  

• the vision and aims of the NIHR ARC and the relevance of these to patients, public, research end-users and the health and care system; and the contribution made to reducing health inequalities. This should include:
  • a brief outline of the themes, to show how they will be brought together into a coherent collaboration both within and across ARCs; 
  • a rationale for how the NIHR ARC’s  research areas will identify and reflect the needs of the health and care system and that of patients and the public; alongside how the outcomes of the research will contribute to the health and wellbeing of service users, result in efficiencies in the system and their potential for scaling up. The rationale should also address how research inclusion has been considered within the research areas, the potential impact on health and care inequalities on underserved groups as well as taking into account the diversity and representation of the population on the research; and          
  • the NIHR ARC’s approach to knowledge mobilisation in applied health and care research including the NIHR ARCs strategic aims for knowledge mobilisation and how this will be built into the work across the whole research cycle as well as the processes for assessing and evidencing the impact of the proposed NIHR ARCs knowledge mobilisation approach - and for capturing and sharing the wider learning that is generated - across the full spectrum of research delivery/dissemination.
• the proposed operational plan, including mechanisms for tracking and monitoring progress against the objectives of the NIHR ARC as well as the progression of the portfolio of applied health and care research;  
  • the leadership mechanisms that ensure progress in delivering the plans feed into the management and governance processes of the proposed NIHR ARC, and an outline of the resources that the NIHR ARC intends to commit to delivering the programme of activities, highlighting the role(s) and FTE that will be committed to enable delivery of the knowledge mobilisation strategy.                              
• indicate how each theme enhances the proposed NIHR ARC, and how each links to the overall objectives (one supporting diagram may be uploaded);
• how the expertise and experience of any additional partners will strengthen the delivery of the NIHR ARCs overall objectives;
• how the NHS organisation’s current strategic partnerships with the health and care system including ICSs, HINs, research charities, commercial companies and other NIHR-funded infrastructure will support the delivery of the NIHR ARC’s strategy;
• how the NIHR ARC programme will build capacity and capability to conduct and translate high quality applied health and care research, and contribute  to increasing the scale of research into practice, ensuring sustainability and impact over time; and
• how the NIHR ARC programme will respond and adapt to the emerging needs of the local and national health and care system and the contribution to reducing health inequalities, including relevant expertise and capacity to respond to the fast-track collaboration funding.

4.2 Use the table to set out specific (SMART) objectives that will be used to track the progress of the proposed NIHR ARC. Please include details of how the proposed NIHR ARC will monitor and determine successful completion of each objective. Objectives should be specific enough to provide an overview of the NIHR ARC’s activities but should not be a granular description of each milestone.

• short term (1-2 years); 
• medium term (2-3 years); and 
• long term (4-5 years). 

4.3 Case studies: Please provide up to three case studies, from the last three years, which highlight previous successes where research evidence has led to a meaningful difference to people’s lives, and/or a difference to wider society through meaningful change i.e. an effect or benefit. This can be through improved patient or service user outcomes, changes in service delivery, policy influence, capacity, skills or workforce development, system influence, developing and delivering operational excellence or economic impact. . The information presented should be understandable to lay members of the funding committee. Text should be written in plain English without use of jargon and any technical terms should be explained. (300 words per case study)

5. NIHR ARC Theme Details & Financial plan

NIHR ARCs will be expected to respond to broad research needs as well as regional and national needs through themes which will deliver the NIHR ARC applied health and care programme of work. Applicants will be asked to choose up to a maximum number of seven themes (excluding core) of which a minimum of at least three themes aligned with the priority areas for NIHR ARCs.

For each theme:  

5.1 Please provide details of the specific programme of work to be conducted, including: 

• the name of the theme
• the type of theme (i.e. core, priority area or theme [not addressing a particular Priority Area])
• the proposed theme lead (and co-theme lead) and the FTE commitment
• key researchers contributing to the proposed theme [name, expertise/experience and organisation] (200 words) 

5.2 Please highlight:  

• the strategic rationale for the theme and the specific areas the theme will address. This should demonstrate how the research will follow patient need and reflect the diversity of the population (including support for research activities being conducted in areas or groups with the greatest disease burden, or those underserved by research in collaboration with other ARCs, ICSs, HINs, local authorities and any other relevant member organisations); and
• demonstrate how the approaches to applied health and care research will drive implementation of generalisable learnings that will address regional population and national health and care system needs. (800 words) 

5.3 Please complete the table to set out specific theme-level (SMART) objectives that will be used to demonstrate, and manage, the progress of the theme. Objectives should be specific enough to provide an overview of the theme activities but should not be a granular description of each milestone:       

• short term (1-2 years); 
• medium term (2-3 years); and 
• long term (4-5 years). 

(TABLE - excluded from word count) 

5.4 Partnerships required to support the theme

Where relevant, please provide details of how any proposed additional partners (Universities, NHS organisations and/or other organisations) will contribute to the theme. This should include a description of: 

• the role they will contribute and the additional expertise they will bring; and     
• examples of any previous successful research collaborations between the additional partner(s) and the organisation. 

(300 words) 

NOTE:   Costs relating to knowledge mobilisation and research capacity development should be added within the Core Theme as Other Direct Costs.

6. Financial Plan and Justification of Resources 

6.1 Financial plan: The plan provides the financial summary for the full NIHR ARC. This will require: 

• detailed breakdowns of costs for staff posts and salaries, travel, subsistence, conference, equipment, consumables, PPIE, research inclusion, research capacity development, knowledge mobilisation, dissemination, other direct costs, and indirect costs. 

Costs should be separated into theme and core costs:

• theme costs should include all costs associated with delivering the work programme of the theme.
• core costs should only include costs for the overall management and operation of the NIHR ARC rather than for the delivery of a specific theme. For example, this might include staff costs for roles such as the ARC Director and co-Director, manager, PPIE, research inclusion, research capacity development (RCD), implementation, knowledge mobilisation (KM) leadership, etc.

6.2 Justification of Resources Requested 

Please provide a description of how these resources will be deployed to support the work of the proposed NIHR ARC, including:

• justification for the total resource requested;
• how the funding provided through will build on DHSC/NIHR investment through other funding schemes (including other NIHR infrastructure) to deliver value for money;      
• a brief overview of the proposed ARC leadership’s track record of leveraging funding to conduct applied health and care research and support for implementation research;     and
• an outline of the resources that the NIHR ARC intends to commit to delivering the programme of activities, highlighting the role(s) and FTE that will be committed to enable delivery of the knowledge mobilisation strategy.

(850 words)

6.3 Summary of resource requested for core expertise (300 words), providing the total value of the cost you anticipate will be allocated to:

• delivering PPIE activities (monetary value);
• capacity building activities (monetary value);
• please provide the total value of the cost that you anticipate will be allocated to delivering research inclusion activities (monetary value); and
• delivering knowledge mobilisation and implementation activities (monetary value). 

7. Approach to Collaborative Working 

7.1 Please outline how the NIHR ARC will work collaboratively with the wider landscape to facilitate and increase the rate at which research findings are implemented into practice at scale to deliver improvements in health and care services to improve the outcomes for patients and the public, improve delivery and efficiency of health and care, and increase sustainability of the health and care system both nationally and regionally. 

(1500 words) 

This should include:       

• the strength of the existing strategic partnerships between the host NHS organisation, other partner organisation(s) (NHS, local authorities, public health and care organisations, health and care service providers or organisations from the independent sector providing health and care services) and University(ies) highlighted in the application;     
• the approach and strategy of the proposed NIHR ARC for working with the infrastructure ecosystem including industry, and relevant parts of the health and care system including ICSs, HINs and NHS England. Please provide examples of key strategic partnerships already in place that are directly relevant to the proposed themes; and
• the approach and strategy to support the proposed NIHR ARC’s commitment to collaborative working across NIHR and with other parts of the NIHR infrastructure (e.g. PSRCs, HRCs, BRCs and research delivery infrastructure) as well as how the proposed NIHR ARC will strengthen regional and national partnerships working collaboratively across NIHR and with other parts of the NIHR infrastructure) to ensure NIHR infrastructures are appropriately joined up to maximise opportunities for driving the translation of research into benefits for patients and the public, the health and care system, and for broader economic gain.

8. Patient, Public and Involvement, Engagement and Participation (500 words) 

Please describe the partnership's approach to - and future plans for - Patient, Public and Involvement, Engagement and Participation in research. 

This section should consist of: 

• the NIHR ARCs strategic objectives for PPIE, including the approach that will be taken to achieve diversity and inclusion of public members including those from underserved communities;
• the ARC’s programme(s) of activity to deliver its aims, ensuring inclusive opportunities for involvement and engagement across the research themes and the organisational structure of the institution;
• the relevant strategic and operational partnerships and collaborations at the local, regional and national level;
• the processes for assessing and evidencing the impact of the proposed NIHR ARCs PPIE approach - and for capturing and sharing the wider learning that is generated - across the full spectrum of research delivery/dissemination; 
• the leadership mechanisms that ensure progress in delivering the plans feed into the management and governance processes of the proposed NIHR ARC; and 
• an outline of the resources that the NIHR ARC intends to commit to delivering the programme of activities, highlighting the role(s) and FTE that will be committed to enable delivery of the PPIE strategy. Please consider what resources you will put in place to support novel involvement and engagement mechanisms such as community engagement, digital engagement, training for PPIE representatives or other models that broaden reach. 

Applicants should consider how their plans will respond to current challenges and opportunities for involvement, engagement and participation; including how this will support and promote equality, diversity and inclusion.

9. Research Capacity Development (500 words) 

Please describe the collaborations approach and future plans for research capacity development (RCD). Please provide:

• the proposed strategy and objectives for delivering academic capacity development and capacity building within the ARC. This should include consideration of the whole of the academic career pathway (including post-doctoral training and future career development), pathways to impact of all proposed activities, and personal and professional development opportunities, such as access to training budgets, mentorship and leadership programmes;
• evidence of strengths that the proposed partnership brings to delivering successful research capacity building;
• the proposed organisational oversight and responsibility for the delivery of ARC research capacity development, including the role of academic  career development lead (and/or co-leads if appropriate) and where they will fit within the strategic and operational governance structures of the ARC. Please include an outline of the additional support the ACD Lead will receive to deliver the RCD strategy. At a later stage of the competition we will ask you to name your proposed academic career development lead and co-lead (if appropriate);
• demonstration of how your approach to RCD is complementary to the national offer provided by the NIHR Academy;
• demonstration of how your capacity building plan complements and integrates with existing capacity building plans within your regional NIHR Infrastructure; and     
• the total financial investment over the lifetime of the ARC in training and research capacity development. This will be facilitated by individual ACD Leads within each NIHR ARC; the proportion of budget to be used for this type of work may vary across NIHR ARCs, but applicants should be aware that the academic career development work may require up to a value of 25% of the core contract value.

10. Research Inclusion (500 words) 

Please describe the NIHR ARC’s approach to research inclusion in applied health and care research. 

This section should detail: 

• how you will develop and maintain an inclusive research culture and support equality, diversity and inclusion in the research workforce;
• how inclusion will be factored into the whole research lifecycle including, but not limited to the rationale, research design, participant recruitment and retention, the research methods and the dissemination of findings; 
• how your plans will respond to current challenges and opportunities in research inclusion in health and care research, and reflect regional and national priorities; 
• the expected impact your inclusion approach will have on inequalities in health and social care and those currently underserved in research; and     
• an outline of the resources that the NIHR ARC intend to commit to delivering the programme of activities, highlighting the role(s) and FTE that will be committed to enable delivery of inclusive research, systems and culture.

11. Declaration and Signatures 

Please confirm that the proposed Director (or where relevant, co-Directors) of the NIHR ARC will have responsibility for, and authority over, the NIHR funding if awarded. 

RMS will automatically generate ‘sign off’ emails from the Director and Co-Director (if applicable), and Institutions including Trust Finance and CEO. 

*Letters of support will be required from each partner/co-applicants

Annex 2: Financial Information

1. The purpose of NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARC) funding 

The purpose of the funding is to meet the NHS research infrastructure costs incurred by the NIHR ARC in carrying out an approved programme of applied health, public health and social care research that meets the needs of national priorities and challenges, and regional population and health and care system requirements.

Our expectation is that NIHR ARC funding will fund a team of staff who will enable a range of collaborating partners and stakeholders to be brought together to deliver a programme of work, leading to the generation of high-quality research findings with the potential to be implemented into practice at scale to deliver improvements in health and care services supported by other research funders (e.g., research councils, charities, industry or other NIHR funding streams e.g. HS&DR and PGfAR) but will also directly support a portfolio of original research, which is distinct from that supported by NIHR Research Programmes or other funding bodies.

Funding awards will be made to the designated NHS organisation, but it is permissible for funds to flow to other organisations that are formally part of the NIHR ARC, via a suitable mechanism such as a subcontract.

2. The financial plan

The financial plan should provide a breakdown of the NHS Research Infrastructure direct costs and reasonable NHS indirect costs and for which funding is being requested to carry out the proposed work programme.

It is important to undertake a thorough, realistic and accurate costing. You must provide a clear and full justification for all major resources. You must also ensure that you include all costs, including those required to secure good research management and governance. In all cases, the value for money of the proposal will be an important selection criterion.

3. Supporting Information

Prior to completing the finance section of the application it is important applicants have a good understanding of the Attributing costs of health and social care Research and Development (AcoRD) guidance.

The AcoRD guidance clarifies the distinction between research costs, NHS support costs and NHS treatment costs associated with non-commercial research studies/programmes:

We strongly recommend that applicants familiarise themselves with these definitions, and consult AcoRD Annex A (.PDF) and AcoRD Annex B as well as the NIHR webpage on Excess Treatment costs

Please note the following:

• Applicants need to separate eligible direct and indirect research costs. The finance form is formatted to allow applicants to separate these costs. Guidance on how to complete the finance form is provided within the finance section of the application. 
• Further itemisation of costs and explanation of calculation methods may be requested to support the application if required.
• Applications should be costed at current (2024/25) prices.
• We expect standard NHS accounting policy and guidance to be followed (as set out in the NHS Finance Manual) in determining the appropriate costs to be charged to this Research Infrastructure Award.
• Where necessary applications are expected to have appropriate NHS, university, commercial and other partner input into the finance section.
• The NIHR will not support any costs incurred, prior to, or following the completion date of the infrastructure award.
• Years should be calculated starting from the start date of the proposed award i.e. 1 April 2026. Once an award has been made DHSC will require host organisations to provide regular financial statements regarding the use of funds provided under the NIHR funding scheme. DHSC reserves the right to send independent auditors to the NHS organisation to confirm the actual use of funds.
• Payments will only be made to the contracted organisation who will take responsibility for distributing any funds to any Partner(s).
• Appropriate research project agreement and/or sub-contracts must be put in place for any element of the work programme that is to be paid to another organisation.

4. Information for Different Types of Organisations

4.1 NHS organisations

Up to 100% of direct and reasonable indirect costs as well as NHS support costs incurred by NHS organisations will be funded.

4.2 Universities

NIHR ARC funding will fund up to 100% of direct research costs for universities. NIHR ARC funding does not pay indirect costs for universities.

4.3 Commercial organisations

For commercial organisations or consultancies, please provide direct costs and commercial indirect costs. Up to 100% of costs may be paid. 

Commercial organisation indirect costs need to demonstrate value for money. The NIHR reserves the right to set limits on indirect costs charged.

4.4 Collaborating organisations

Up to 100% of direct and indirect research costs will be funded for collaborating organisations (local authorities, charities, non-governmental organisations, etc.). Collaborator’s indirect costs need to demonstrate value for money. The NIHR reserves the right to set limits on indirect costs charged.

5. Eligible Costs

5.1 Direct Costs

5.1.1. Overview of Direct costs

Direct costs are eligible research infrastructure costs that will be incurred by the NHS organisation in carrying out the proposed work programme for the NIHR ARC. These costs should be recorded and supported by an appropriate audit trail.

Eligible direct costs are listed below.

5.1.2 Annual costs of staff posts and salaries

The NIHR ARC award will reimburse the time of staff engaged in the NIHR ARC’s work programme. Salaries may be sought for research, research support or other staff (from all professional groups), and research trainees (e.g. MPhil, MD, PhD students), required to work full or part-time on the research programme.

Newly established posts should be created with an NHS organisation as the employer. It is permissible for staff to be employed by university partners named on the application where justified, but NIHR will not fund the associated indirect costs for these staff.

All staff members working on the NIHR ARC award must be costed at FY24/25 prices, based on current salary scales and increments. Where staff are still to be recruited as part of the award, please provide the average annual salary. Use current rates of pay and build in any known annual increments. Nationally or locally agreed pay increases should be excluded.

Please note that annual increments should be based on the latest Agenda for Change pay arrangements. 

Once your award has started, you will not be able to claim for pay awards retrospectively.

For the research trainees (e.g. MPhil, MD, PhD students) costs include the value of the stipend in the salary. The costs of the tuition fees should be included in the Other Direct Cost section.

5.1.3 Travel, subsistence and conference fees

Travel costs

Enter the total cost of travel for all anticipated journeys. If travel is by car, apply your institution’s mileage rates (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 funding schemes do not usually fund first class travel. 

Only a reasonable level of international travel will be considered.

Subsistence

Subsistence covers accommodation, where necessary, and any meals associated with the travel but excluding alcoholic beverages.

Conference fees

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.

5.1.4 Equipment

There is no DHSC capital funding available through the NIHR ARC funding scheme. Purchase or lease costs for essential items of equipment as well as maintenance and related costs not included as part of estates can be included. Only purchase costs for pieces of equipment up to £5,000, excluding VAT, will be considered. Pieces of equipment costing more than £5,000 to purchase will need to be leased.

Items of equipment valued at £250 or more must be itemised separately; however, grouping the same type of equipment is permitted. Costs of computers are normally restricted to a maximum of £1000 each excluding VAT. 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 the organisation incurring the cost is not VAT registered and cannot claim back VAT on cost items, then it would have to enter the gross value of a cost item (including VAT) on the financial plan. You will need to seek advice from the organisation that the piece of equipment is purchased from regarding its VAT status.

The cost of equipment maintenance contracts should be included in this section.

5.1.5 Consumables

This section includes non-reusable items specific to the NIHR ARC’s work plan. Please itemise and describe the requirements fully. These items should be research specific, not just general office costs which should be covered by indirect costs.

5.1.6 Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE)

Offering members of the public payment for their time, skill and expertise is considered good practice in structuring and operating the proposed NIHR ARCs. Please itemise and describe fully all costs to support the delivery of the NIHR ARCs patient and public involvement and engagement strategy. This will include:

• Costs to support novel involvement and engagement mechanisms such as community engagement, digital engagement or other models that broaden reach.
• Payments to recognise time, skills and expertise contributed by public members.  
• All out of pocket expenses incurred by public members in supporting the NIHR ARCs PPIE activities. Equal opportunities for involvement are facilitated if expenses are covered. Members of the public should not end up financially worse off for providing a public service. 

NIHR has produced guidance to help staff supporting reach identify and calculate costs of public involvement in their research facing activities.

Note: Costs of staff posts to support the delivery of the PPIE strategy should be included in the Staff Posts and Salaries and Annual Costs of Staff Posts tabs. Costs for PPIE activities should be included in the research themes. Costs for cross cutting PPIE leadership e.g. the PPIE Lead should be included in the Core costs.

5.1.7 Open Access Costs

This includes any associated with Open Access Publishing. Please review the NIHR Open Access Policy and the NIHR Open Access publications funding guidance. 

For NIHR Infrastructure awards, including the NIHR ARCs, Open Access costs should be budgeted and earmarked by applicants at application stage. Costs for Open Access must be entered and reported as a separate item on the finance form. Contractors are expected to manage Open Access funding equitably, transparently, and in accordance with the Open Access policy throughout the duration of the award.

5.1.8 Dissemination Costs 

Any costs associated with presentation or dissemination (excluding Open Access costs, travel and subsistence costs) can be included here. All events must be run at the lowest possible cost, with minimal catering.

5.1.9 Research Inclusion Costs

Any costs related to research inclusion can be included here. This includes: ensuring the project is designed, recruited, delivered, and disseminated inclusively. This may include (but is not limited to) costs associated with:

• Upskilling research teams with additional expertise in equality, diversity, and inclusion, in specific groups relevant to the research, health inequalities, etc.
• Inclusive recruitment materials or strategies to attract and retain diverse participants, and/or those from under-served communities and places.
• Adjustments to research materials, protocols, methods, or events to ensure participation and retention of diverse groups.
• Purchase of specialist software, or services.
• Additional or alternative data collection to ensure data collected from the relevant population is robust, or to ensure that findings can be fully applied to different populations. 
• Additional site selection.
• Inclusive dissemination of findings.

For further examples of inclusive research costs please refer to the RSS EDI toolkit

Staff costs associated with research inclusion should be clearly indicated and included in the staff costs section. NIHR acknowledges that research delivered inclusively may take longer, and this may result in increased staff costs.

5.1.10 Other direct costs

These are costs that have been not identified elsewhere but are specifically attributable to the research infrastructure. For example, external consultancy costs, software licensing, PhD tuition fees and advertising costs.

Please note that external consultants must not be people who are already employed by any NHS organisations, equivalent non-NHS settings, or organisations from the independent sector providing NHS services and other universities, who will be conducting research activities via an appropriately justified subcontract. If they are, any costs should be entered as direct costs in the ‘Staff Posts and Salaries’ and ‘Annual Costs of Staff Posts’ sections.

NOTE:  Please ensure you provide costs relating to Knowledge Mobilisation (KM) and Research Capacity Development (RCD) within the Core Theme as Other Direct Costs. These costs should be entered by clicking on Add Other Direct Costs and entering a description for KM costs and a separate description for RCD costs.

5.2 Indirect Costs

NIHR ARC awards will fund legitimate and reasonable, indirect costs for the NHS, commercial and other partner organisations. This will include the proportion of the costs of accommodation in the NHS used for the NIHR ARC's work, and an appropriate proportion of HR, payroll, and finance costs. Please seek advice from your finance department about the appropriate cost for this section. Total indirect costs must be fully justified, outlining the rate charged.

NIHR will not meet indirect costs incurred by universities involved in delivering the work of the NIHR ARC.

All indirect costs need to demonstrate value for money. The NIHR reserves the right to set limits on indirect costs charged.

5.3 NHS support and treatment costs (incl. excess treatment costs/savings)

Please be aware that the research award does NOT include NHS support and/or treatment costs. These costs are funded via Research Delivery Networks and should be detailed in the Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT) (see below for further details). 

The funding committee will take NHS support and/or 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. 

It is acknowledged that support and treatment costs may not be known at the point of application, and if applicable this should be noted on the application form. All award holders are responsible for completing the SoECAT for each applicable study if and when excess treatment costs become known during the award period. Copies of approved SoECATs should be provided to the Infrastructure team under these circumstances.

Applicants 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 their Research Delivery Network (RDN) for advice on NHS Support Costs. 

When considered necessary by the RDN AcoRD specialist, a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT) detailing NHS support and/or Treatment Costs, needs to be completed and uploaded as part of the application.

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.

If your planned project includes the recruitment of participants, your application should be accompanied with the Funder Export from the online SoECAT, obtainable via the NIHR Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS). This online version replaces the previous Excel version of the SoECAT, which will no longer be available for applications.

In order to create a SoECAT, you will need to create an account in CPMS. After creating the account, you will need to login to CPMS to activate this account. If any assistance is required in creating the account, please refer to our CPMS user guide. Once your account has been created and is active, you can proceed.

Guidance for the completion of the SoECAT is present in the online tool to assist at each page and stage of the application process and further details can be found on the Online SoECAT Guidance page.

There is also an Online SoECAT Guidance Module which includes video tutorials and linked resources (an NIHR Learn account is required to access and enrol onto the module) and a helpful Study Representative - Online SoECAT Top Tips infographic.

Please note that completion of the SoECAT may not be necessary when applying for funding to support: overarching programmes with no specific research study protocol, infrastructure, fellowships, anything where the grant is to be used for direct employment of a member of staff or purchase of an asset, and data or diagnostic reviews where recruitment data is not collected. Such applications should be submitted with an explanation added to the Justification of Costs section.

More information on the SoECAT form is available on the NIHR website: Online SoECAT guidance

6. Ineligible Costs

The funding is not intended to meet NHS Support and Treatment costs associated with the the NIHR ARC award.

Funding will not be provided for university laboratories or infrastructure, or to meet the costs of animal research, or costs of audits of practice and service evaluations. Please refer to the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research for further details.

NIHR ARC awards will not fund indirect costs for universities.

Equipment costing more than £5,000 will not be funded via the NIHR ARC award.

No capital funding is available through this award. Research activities should be undertaken within existing facilities or planned facilities for which there is confirmed funding.