Deadline: 12-Jan-23
Applications are now invited to apply for Programme Development Grant (PDG) funding.
Programme Development Grants are available for researchers to undertake preparatory work to develop a future programme of research (Stream A). PDGs are also available for researchers to develop and enhance the quality and value of an ongoing or recently completed Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) award (Stream B).
PDG are pleased to announce that Stream B now has an expanded scope by introducing the opportunity for existing award holders, to apply for funding whilst the research is on going to conduct additional linked research of strategic importance to NIHR (e.g., methodological research, public/community engagement, issues related to EDI, linked social care perspectives etc). To aid capacity building, they will particularly welcome this type of Stream B applications led by early or mid-career researchers.
Streams
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Stream A – Pre-Programme Grant
- For researchers to undertake preparatory work to develop a future programme of research. Broad ranging development work is permitted, with less detail required about the future programme of research.
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Stream B – Post-award Programme Grant
- Stream B has been expanded. Funding is available for researchers to develop and enhance the quality and value of an ongoing or recently completed Programme Grant for Applied Research (PGfAR) award. This can be either:
- At any time whilst the research is ongoing, to conduct additional linked research of strategic importance to NIHR (e.g., methodological research, public/community engagement, issues related to EDI, linked social care perspectives etc). Successful completion of the additional development work should provide added value and significantly augment the programme of work. However, it should not interfere with or in any way jeopardise the current programme as funded, OR
- In the latter phases of the ongoing award and up to 18 months after the award has completed, conduct research to develop, analyse or disseminate the programme or its outcomes further, in order to enable significant additional benefit to be realised for the NHS, public health, social care, patients, service users, carers or the wider public, (eg enhanced dissemination, endeavours to facilitate implementation, secondary data analysis to address new questions, additional IP exploitation or commercialisation activities etc).
Scope
- PGfAR funds programmes of applied research that generally comprise a number of high quality interrelated projects, usually described in separate work packages, that form a coherent theme, where added value is gained from the combination of the various strands of research.
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The research programme should:
- Address stated local and/or national priorities in health, public health or social care
- Be conducted in and/or recruit from geographical locations of high health and care need, where possible
- Clearly demonstrate how patients, service users and/or carers have been involved and engaged with the programme
- Use a range of multidisciplinary and methodological approaches
- Demonstrate the value of a treatment, package of care or service improvement on clinically relevant outcomes for those programmes addressing health issues. Intermediate outcome measures will only be acceptable where there is convincing evidence that these have strong relationship with clinical outcomes. Similar criteria should be applied to public health and social care studies, where the outcomes should be justified in terms of demonstrating benefits linked to population health, or to service users and carers
- Make a stepped change to practice and/or outcomes. Proposals that comprise application of existing interventions to new patient, service user or carer groups, or the wider public; that are only an incremental development on current practice; or are unlikely to have general application or uptake, are unlikely to be competitive
- Address the integration of aspects of health and social care to improve patient, service user or carer outcomes
- Include clear plans for implementation, knowledge mobilisation and dissemination.
Funding Information
- Individual awards are for a maximum of £150k over a period of 12 – 24 months.
What they fund
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Stream A Programme Development Grants (PDGs) will support preparatory work for a future programme of research, including but not limited to:
- Team strengthening and collaboration building
- Selection of outcome measures
- Methodological work or method development (e.g. development of new scales or outcome measures)
- Observational or epidemiological work to obtain information that would place the future programme on firmer foundations
- Evidence synthesis
- Development of arrangements for patient, service user, carer and public involvement
- Stakeholder engagement.
- Stream B PDGs will also support further development of an ongoing or recently completed programme of research, including but not limited to:
- Significant augmentation to add value to a current programme (e.g. methodological research, public/community engagement, issues related to EDI, linked social care perspectives)
- Enhanced dissemination (e.g. knowledge mobilisation activities, engagement etc)
- Additional IP exploitation or commercialisation activities
- Additional secondary data analyses to answer new research questions (i.e. not questions included in the initial programme)
- Follow on work to explore other perspectives (e.g. social care) arising from the programme endeavours to facilitate implementation.
- It is important that, where relevant, all primary analyses are completed and made available in PDG applications requesting funding for dissemination or implementation activities.
Ineligible
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The programme will not support:
- Basic science work underpinning a future programme of exploratory research
- Stand alone projects of any type. All constituent projects must be solely designed to develop and inform a future full PGfAR application, or further develop an existing programme.
For more information, visit PDG.
For more information, visit https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/programme-development-grants-competition-35/31656








































