Funder Overview – National Institute of Health Research (NIHR)

About the NIHR

Vision

To improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.

Mission

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 public.

Aims

  • Establish the NHS as an internationally recognised centre of research excellence
  • Attract, develop and retain the best research professionals to conduct people-based research
  • Commission research focused on improving health and social care
  • Strengthen and streamline systems for research management and governance
  • Increase the opportunities for patients and the public to participatein, and benefit from, research
  • Promote and protect the interests of patients and the public in health research
  • Drive faster translation of scientific discoveries into tangible benefitsfor patients
  • Maximise the research potential of the NHS to contribute to the economic growth of the country through the life sciences industry
  • Act as sound custodians of public money for the public good

Types of calls

Commissioned research to address specific topic areas

Researcher-led research to fund questions proposed directly by researchers

Themed calls to meet an identified health challenge or government priority

NIHR Research Programmes

Research Programme
/
Remit
Health Technology Assessment
(HTA) / Delivers research information about the effectiveness, costs and broader impact of healthcare treatments and tests for those who plan, provide and receive care in the NHS.
The term 'health technology' covers a range of methods used to promote health, prevent and treat disease and improve rehabilitation and long term care including drugs, devices, procedures, settings of care and screening.
Health Service and Delivery Research
(HS&DR) / Research to produce rigorous and relevant evidence on the quality, accessibility and organisation of health services, including costs and outcomes. This includes evaluations of how the NHS might improve delivery of services.
The HS&DR Programme aims to support a range of types of research including evidence synthesis and primary research.
Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluationpartnership with MRC (EME) / The remit of the EME Programme includes clinical trials and evaluative studies of novel and repurposed interventions. The term intervention is meant in the broadest sense and includes any method used to promote health, prevent and treat disease and improve rehabilitation or long-term care.
Clinical studies are funded to test interventions where proof of concept has already been demonstrated, allowing their progress through early clinical trials and on to larger, later clinical trials.
Public Health Research (PHR) / Funds research that evaluates public health interventions, specifically to provide new knowledge of non-NHS interventions intended to improve the health of the public and reduce inequalities in health.
Proposed primary outcome measures should always be health related, unless otherwise specified in a commissioning brief.
Invention for Innovation(i4i) Challenge and Product Development Awards / Supports collaborative research and development projects that have demonstrated proof-of-principle and have a clear pathway towards adoption and commercialisation. The expected output is an advanced or clinically validated prototype medical device, technology or intervention.
The aim is to de-risk projects and make them attractive to follow-on funders and investors. The ultimate aim is to get products or services to a position where they can enter and be used within the NHS.
Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) / Its main purpose is to realise, through evidence, the huge potential for improving, expanding and strengthening the way that healthcare is delivered for patients, the public and the NHS.Encourage proposals for projects covering a wide range of health service issues and challenges.
They particularly welcome proposals that have benefited from interaction with patients and the public, which relate to patient and service user experience and/or have been drawn up in association with relevant service users.
Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) / Provide evidence to improve health outcomes in England through promotion of health, prevention of ill health, and optimal disease management (including safety and quality), with particular emphasis on conditions causing significant disease burden.
Programme Development Grants
(PDG) / Programme Development Grants are a complementary scheme toallow investigators to undertake preparatory research that will position them to submit a competitive Programme Grant application

The following research funding streams have BOTH researcher-led opportunities and commissioned opportunities

  • i4i – challenge awards
  • PHR
  • EME
  • HS&DR
  • HTA.

All other funding programmes are researcher-led or themed calls only.

All programmes, except Programme Development Grants have an outline stage as well as full application stage.

Funding for training and career development

Ranging from undergraduate level through to opportunities for established investigators and research leaders, including fellowships. They are open to a wide range of professions and designed to suit different working arrangements and career pathways.<Link>

Research Schools

Three national research schools:

  • theSchool for Primary Care Research(SPCR)
  • theSchool for Public Health Research(SPHR)
  • theSchool for Social Care Research(SSCR)

These schools may have funding opportunities for external institutions.

Funding

The funding available to Higher Education Institutes varies depending on the programme but will either be 80% of Full Economic Costs or 100% of directly incurred and directly allocated staff costs.

Deadlines

Calls are released at least twice per year; deadlines vary from call to call.