National funding
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
At UHBW we encourage all researchers to apply for NIHR funding
where possible. The NIHR are the major funder of our research, and
the funding also comes with additional "Research Capability
Funding" that the Trust can use to re-invest in research (although
not part of the grant itself).
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) was
established in 2006 and its mission is "to maintain a health
research system in which the NHS supports outstanding individuals,
working in world class facilities, conducting leading edge research
focused on the needs of patients and the public": www.nihr.ac.uk
The NIHR directly funds research through a variety of different
funding streams (grants), with calls for both investigator-led and
commissioned research. Information on each grant type, deadlines
and guidance on completing the forms are available from the NIHR
website.
The applications forms are complex and require a lot of detail,
not only about the research project, but about costs, intellectual
property, patient and public involvement. You need to allow enough
time to gather all this information during the development of the
grant (about 4-12 months depending on the type of grant and the
amount of time you and your co-applicants have available to write
it). For advice on developing your application see Developing and Designing
your study SOP.
Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)
There are many charities that support research, and those that
have a peer review system are members of AMRC, and eligible for
adoption to the NIHR portfolio and hence NHS support funding.
For example, British Heart Foundation, Arthritis Research UK,
Cancer Research UK plus AMRC charities funding research: www.amrc.org.uk
Commercial grants or Investigator Initiated Studies (IIS)
Commercial organisations often fund and sponsor their own
research, but additionally will fund collaborative research, which
is led by the NHS or university. These grants should be fully
costed. The costs must include full costs and overheads, but
are not expected to include capacity building - the industry
costing template should not be used. R&I can help to cost
these. They are not generally eligible for support via the Research
Design Service or Trials units, and therefore it is often difficult
to find appropriate methodological expertise. Some of the grants
are, however, eligible for the NIHR portfolio if awarded in
competition. They often arise as a result of informal discussions
between the investigator and company.
