Deadline: 04-Aug-21
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Programme Development Grants (PDGs) programme will shortly launch a call inviting proposals for research to address the challenge of mental health.
The scope of the call is limited to diagnosable mental health conditions within the Health Research Classification System (HRCS) mental health category, including depression, schizophrenia, psychosis and personality disorders, addiction, suicide, anxiety, eating disorders, learning disabilities, bipolar disorder, autistic spectrum disorders and studies of normal psychology, cognitive function and behaviour. Research addressing an alternate HRCS code (such as the HRCS neurological category, which includes dementia) are out of scope for this call.
Whilst the call is open to any research within the scope above, PDG would particularly welcome applications which:
- Demonstrate innovative and creative approaches or methodologies, with outcomes that can capture the range and breadth of individuals’ experiences within mental health. Applicants are encouraged to incorporate a less risk-averse approach than is traditionally stipulated for this funding stream.
- Provide opportunities for building teams across health, social care and charitable sectors, alongside high-quality collaborations between multiple agencies. Particular interest is placed on proposals involving practitioners that are currently under-represented in the programmes, including (but not limited to) nurses, pharmacists, and social workers.
- Include evidence of strong patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) themes and approaches to engagement, leading to novel and implementable ways of delivering care that is of direct relevance to patients, service users and carers.
To support this aim, the PDG programme is inviting proposals aimed at strengthening mental health research across England, with an emphasis on communities or regions with a high burden of common mental health conditions relative to ongoing research activity. The call encourages proposals addressing a range of mental health conditions, including but not limited to, work on the priorities identified by the Mental Health Research Goals 2020-2030.
Proposals should be designed for, and engage with under-served communities within mental health research, and aspire to reduce the demonstrated mismatch between mental health research need and the provision of evidence-based capacity for response. Proposals should provide a clear rationale for the selected region or population their research will be undertaken in, including how it is in particular need of mental health research relative to the rest of England, and the potential impact of the proposed activities for patients, care users, carers, the NHS, and social care.
- Addresses populations with high mental health and care needs
- Builds on existing evidence or practices within mental health
- Addresses stated regional or national priorities in mental health, and validate how they are of particular research need
- Clearly demonstrates how patients, service users and/or carers are involved and engaged in the research, and how the proposed research is relevant to them
- Includes clear plans for implementation, knowledge mobilisation and dissemination.
- Up to £500,000 will be available for this call.
- Individual grants can be up to £150,000 for 6 to 12 months. Projects must be prepared to start in October 2021. The amount of funding awarded, however, is determined by the scale and nature of the research or development activity to be conducted.
Eligibility Criteria
- preparatory work for a future programme of mental health research eligible for funding by Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR)
- develop and enhance the quality and value of an existing or ongoing PGfAR award.
For the latter, applications are only permitted from applicants whose PGfAR contracts are finishing before 1 October 2021, or have finished in the past 18 months.
For more information, visit https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/programme-development-grants-mental-health-call/27995