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NIHR Global Health Research Short Placement Award for Research Collaboration (GHR SPARC) Round 2 (2022) Guidance Notes

Published

25 January 2022

Version

1.0 - January 2022

Contents

Introduction

The National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) is pleased to announce the launch of the second round of the NIHR Global Health Research Short Placement Award for Research Collaboration (GHR SPARC) scheme.

This document provides full details of the scheme, describes the means by which applications to the scheme should be submitted and details how they will be assessed.

Background

The NIHR Academy is responsible for the development and coordination of NIHR academic training, career development and research capacity development. It plays an important role in strengthening capacity in global health research, providing opportunities and funding initiatives to develop and advance global health research career pathways and supporting the next generation of future leaders.

The NIHR is committed to supporting world-class global health research through its Global Health Research (GHR) Programmes that aim to deliver direct and primary benefits to patients and the public in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), including:

  • NIHR Global Health Research Units (GHR Units)
  • NIHR Global Health Research Groups (GHR Groups)
  • NIHR Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation (RIGHT) Programme
  • NIHR Global Health Policy and Systems Research Programme (Global HPSR) Programme

In addition, the NIHR Global Research Professorship personal awards fund research leaders to promote effective translation of research and to strengthen research leadership at the highest academic levels.

Significant investment in training and academic research capacity strengthening is being delivered through the NIHR GHR Programme awards and NIHR Global Research Professorship awards. The aim of the NIHR Academy and the associated NIHR GHR Training Programme is to build on this investment, supporting individuals who are actively pursuing academic research careers within the GHR Programme awards and NIHR Global Research Professorship awards, and to enable them to benefit from being part of something larger than their own local environment.

The NIHR GHR Short Placement Award for Research Collaboration (NIHR GHR SPARC) Scheme

The NIHR GHR SPARC scheme offers NIHR GHR Academy members (currently undertaking a Masters, PhD or Post-doctoral fellowship or being supported to apply for a formal training/career development award) who are receiving financial (direct) or in kind (indirect) support from their NIHR GHR Programme award and NIHR Global Research Professorship award (doctoral and post-doctoral researcher support posts funded as part of the NIHR Global Research Professorship award); an opportunity to spend time within the NIHR GHR Programmes or other parts of the UK NIHR Infrastructure/’Wider NIHR’, to network, train in a specific skill/ technique or collaborate with other relevant researchers/specialists.

The scheme is designed to optimise and enhance the individuals’ research training experience as well as their networks, CVs and career opportunities. For the individual, this scheme will enhance their research training experience, by opening a gateway for individuals to network and connect with leading experts and other organisations, as well as increasing their understanding of what different parts of the NIHR offer.

At the programme level, the scheme aims to help the GHR Units, Groups, HPSR and RIGHT programmes to work with, collaborate and generate synergies with other parts of the NIHR GHR portfolio and wider UK NIHR Infrastructure (non-ODA funded). Finally, it is expected that the scheme will contribute to enhancing the NIHR GHR Programmes outcomes in achieving direct and primary benefit for patients and populations in LMICs.

Individuals can apply to the GHR SPARC scheme for up to £10,000 to undertake a bespoke short placement. Applications are light-touch and will be assessed in open competition.

Funding could include; travel, visa, accommodation and subsistence costs in order to travel and undertake the placement. This funding can also be used to fund any specific short training courses to support the applicant’s personal and professional academic career development, as well as any relevant placement outputs (e.g. production costs of an infographic, informative video etc.); see finance section for more details.

Following completion of a GHR SPARC award/placement, the awardee is expected to be able to show evidence of:

  • Completion of the placement and activities proposed in the application
  • Development of new research or technical skills/technique
  • Increased professional skills
  • Publications/presentations/posters/infographics arising from the GHR SPARC placement/award
  • Involvement in collaborative relationships and increased networks.

Evidence of the above will be sought by the NIHR Academy through the GHR SPARC final report and associated questionnaires.

These guidance notes are intended to help completion of an application for the NIHR GHR SPARC, Round 2 (2022). We would encourage applicants to consider a virtual experience when planning a GHR SPARC application; but if travel is planned for the future then the most up to date UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice should be consulted. The NIHR Academy office can be contacted with any eligibility queries.

Definitions:

NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead - The term NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead refers to the NIHR Global Health Research Training Leads from the NIHR GHR Units and Groups, and includes training leads and people responsible for coordinating training under the NIHR RIGHT and HPSR Programmes.

NIHR GHR Academy Members - all those who are receiving financial (direct) or in kind (indirect) support from their NIHR GHR Programme award and NIHR Global Research Professorship award to actively pursue an academic research career.

By ‘in kind’ we mean non-monetary support, for example where NIHR funds are not paying the fees/salary but rather GHR Programme support in terms of time is being invested in an individual's academic career development.

The ‘NIHR GHR Programme’ awards include official collaborating institutions. An official collaborating institution (‘Partner’ or ‘Collaborator’) is an organisation which holds a current collaboration agreement with the holder of the NIHR GHR Programme research contract to participate in global health research work, and which may or may not be in receipt of NIHR funds.

NIHR GHR Programmes - The term NIHR GHR Programmes refers to the NIHR Global Health Research Units, the NIHR Global Health Research Groups, the Global Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR) Programme and the NIHR Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation (RIGHT) Programme.

NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution - The contractor and accountable body for the award will be the Institution contracted to lead (‘the GHR Programme Lead Institution’) the NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award that the applicant is from. The NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution is the Institution that holds the NIHR research contract with the Department of Health and Social Care ‘Authority’.

Official Collaborating Institution - An official collaborating institution (‘Partner’ or ‘Collaborator’) is an organisation which holds a current collaboration agreement with the holder of the NIHR research contract to participate in global health research work, and which may or may not be in receipt of NIHR funds.

Eligibility

The eligibility criteria for the NIHR GHR SPARC is:

The NIHR GHR SPARC award is open to individuals who are receiving financial (direct) or in kind (indirect) support from their NIHR GHR Programme award and NIHR Global Research Professorship award (doctoral and post-doctoral researcher support posts funded as part of the NIHR Global Research Professorship) to actively pursue an academic research career, and who meet the following criteria:

Criteria related to the individual

  • Currently undertaking a Pre-doctoral fellowship/Masters, PhD or Post-doctoral fellowship or being supported to apply for a formal training/career development award, and
    • Have been competitively awarded their career development award or their current position
    • Have a formal training plan in place (a detailed personalised formal training and career development plan supporting their academic development)
    • Have a defined end point (such as an application for further funding)
  • Hold a minimum level of qualification at Masters level if not already undertaking a Masters/Pre-doctoral, Doctoral or Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Criteria related to the supportive environment

  • Applicants will remain registered/employed at their ‘Employing Organisation’ (substantive employer) who will continue to support their salary/stipend/fees for the duration of the NIHR GHR SPARC award/placement
  • The applicants ‘Employing Organisation’ (substantive employer) must be listed as an ‘Official Collaborating Institution’ and a named party in their NIHR GHR Programme award current collaboration agreement or NIHR Global Research Professorship award.
  • The applicant's proposed ‘Placement Host Institution’ (where they wish to undertake the placement) must be an NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution, or an ‘Official Collaborating Institution’ (overseas partner) that is listed as an ‘Official Collaborating Institution’ and a named party in the NIHR GHR Programme awards current collaboration agreement, or a part of the UK NIHR Infrastructure (non-ODA funded).
  • Applicants must be in a position to complete the award/placement before the 28 February 2023 and at least 2 months before the end of the overarching NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award research contract (whichever is the soonest)
  • Hosted in a setting with a remit for research capacity development (this refers to the NIHR GHR Programme awards (the NIHR GHR Units and Groups, HPSR and RIGHT Programmes) and NIHR Global Research Professorship awards).

Applicants must:

  • Submit a short written report within 2 months of the completion of the placement or before the 28 April 2023 (whichever is soonest) in a form provided by the NIHR Academy, detailing the placement, achievements, impacts and outputs and
  • Have continued support from their ‘Employing Organisation’ (substantive employer) - the institution at which the applicant is employed/registered) for the duration of their placement/award, and
  • Have the support of the ‘Placement Host Institution’ and ‘Placement Host Institution Supervisor’ (the institution where the applicant will undertake their placement and will support the applicants programme of activities, as well as supervision and training in collaboration with the applicants ‘Employing Organisation’) for the duration of the GHR SPARC award/placement, and
  • Have the continued support of the GHR Programme Lead Institution of the NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award applicants are a part of. The NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution (who holds the NIHR Research Contract with the Department of Health and Social Care ‘Authority’) will be the contract and accountable body for the award and will administer the award.

Official Development Assistance (ODA)

The NIHR GHR SPARC is funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA) and as such, an individual applying for this award must be able to demonstrate how the award will directly and primarily benefit patients and the public in countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee List of ODA Recipients (DAC List of ODA Recipients).

In order to be eligible to receive ODA funding, applications must demonstrate how they meet ODA compliance criteria and outline:

  • Which country or countries on the DAC list of ODA-eligible countries will directly benefit
  • How the application is directly and primarily relevant to the development challenges of those countries and
  • How the outcomes of the training activity will benefit the health and welfare of a country or countries on the DAC List of ODA Recipients

Where researchers wish to work with middle-income countries on the OECD DAC list the application should demonstrate how the research will benefit the health and welfare of less advantaged people in those countries and how their findings could have wider applicability to other low-income countries.

The candidate should also demonstrate in the application that the NIHR GHR SPARC award will support training that is not available in their Employing Organisation.

Scope of Award

The NIHR GHR SPARC scheme offers NIHR GHR Academy members (currently undertaking a Masters, PhD or Post-doctoral fellowship or being supported to apply for a formal training/career development award) who are receiving financial (direct) or in kind (indirect) support from their NIHR GHR Programme award and NIHR Global Research Professorship award (doctoral or post-doctoral researchers support posts funded as part of the NIHR Global Research Professorship award) an opportunity to spend time within the NIHR GHR Programmes or other parts of the UK NIHR Infrastructure (non-ODA funded), to network, train in a specific skill/ technique or collaborate with other relevant researchers/specialists.

The scheme is designed to optimise and enhance the individuals’ research training experience as well as their networks, CVs and academic career opportunities.

Awardees will remain registered/employed at their ‘Employing Organisation’ (substantive employer) who will continue to support their salary/stipend/fees for the duration of the NIHR GHR SPARC award/placement and the ‘Placement Host’ (where individuals will undertake their placement location) will provide supervision and training in collaboration with the Employing Organisation for the duration of the GHR SPARC award/placement.

The length of the placement is flexible but needs to be justified in relation to the impact and benefit to the applicant’s training. The placement period can be broken up (e.g. two two-month placements) where beneficial to the applicant. Awards must start on the 1st of the month, starting from 1 July 2022 to 1 February 2023, but must be completed before the 28 February 2023 and at least two months before the end of the overarching NIHR GHR Programme research contract to which the applicant is based (whichever is soonest).

Identification of Potential Placement Host and Supervisor

There are lots of different parts of the NIHR that potential applicants may wish to undertake a placement in, some of which are listed below. Each of these parts has a specific area of focus, with a wide range of facilities, expertise, and hosts a number of academics.

1a) Identification of Potential Placement Host/Location

Potential applicants might want to explore spending a short period of time with a particular researcher or research team in one of the following:

One of the NIHR GHR Programmes

Individuals may wish to undertake a placement with a researcher or research team in one of the NIHR GHR Programmes, including the NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution and any of the associated ‘Official Collaborating Institutions’ within the:

  • NIHR Global Health Research Units (GHR Units)
  • NIHR Global Health Research Groups (GHR Groups)
    NIHR Global Health Policy and Systems Research (Global HPSR) Programme
  • NIHR Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation (RIGHT) Programme

A part of the UK NIHR Infrastructure or ‘Wider NIHR (non-ODA funded)’

Individuals may also wish to undertake a placement with a researcher or research team in a part of the UK NIHR Infrastructure or ‘wider NIHR’ (non-ODA funded) that has a specific remit and focus; for example:

1b) Helpful Resources/Documents Available to Potential Applicants

NIHR GHR SPARC – Where Can I Go? This guide details some of the different NIHR GHR Programmes (Units, Groups, HPSR and RIGHT Programmes) that potential applicants may wish to undertake their placements in and provides more information on the research they are involved in, their facilities and expertise.

NIHR SPARC - Where can I go? Guide. This guide details some of the different centres and sites across the UK NIHR Infrastructure/’Wider NIHR’ (non-ODA funded) that potential applicants may wish to undertake their placements in and provides more information on the research they are involved in, their facilities and expertise.

Find your NIHR Global Health Research Training Lead. This document provides contact details of the Training Leads for some of the NIHR GHR Programme awards.

NIHR GHR SPARC Case Study. This document provides examples of some of the types of placements previous award holders have undertaken and the impacts the placement has had on their personal and professional development. Please note; this is not an exhaustive list and information/contact details of NIHR GHR Programme award Training Leads will be updated on a regular basis.

NIHR GHR SPARC Round 1 Pilot Chairs Report (insert link). This document provides a useful overview of the GHR SPARC Round 1 Pilot (2019). The report includes reflections from the Chair of the Selection Committee; highlighting any common themes and observations they want to highlight that future applicants should consider when applying.

1c) Identification of Potential Placement Supervisor

Potential applicants looking to undertake a short placement in a part of the NIHR GHR Programmes or UK NIHR Infrastructure (non-ODA funded) will need to:-

  1. Get in touch with their ‘Primary Supervisor’ and NIHR GHR Training Lead at their earliest opportunity to discuss their individual research/training/career development needs and potential placement ideas (including potential duration/length of the placement) and seek their permission and support.
  2. Look over the guide and explore parts of NIHR that they might like to undertake a placement in. Potential applicants can undertake a placement anywhere across the NIHR; as long as there is mutual support and agreement between the applicants ‘Employing Organisation’ and ‘Placement Host Institution’ and if wishing to undertake a placement in one of the NIHR GHR Programmes, the institution they wish to undertake the placement in, is listed as an ‘Official Collaborating Institution’ and a named party in the NIHR GHR Programme award current collaboration agreement.
  3. Once applicants have identified a potential ‘Placement Host’; they will need to get in touch (with support from their ‘Primary Supervisor and/or NIHR GHR Training Lead) with the Training Lead at the Placement Host Institution  or relevant colleagues detailed in the Guide to discuss potential placement ideas, potential activities/training they may wish to undertake and the potential placement length/duration of the award.
  4. Applicants will also need to identify a ‘Placement Host Institution Supervisor’ at the organisation they wish to undertake their placement with and work together with this individual to develop and agree a placement that meets their individual training needs and career development and think about how they might want to work together in the future.

Please note; you must have discussed and sought agreement/permission from the Placement Host Institution before you submit an application. You will be responsible for liaising with your NIHR GHR Training Lead and Placement Host Institution Supervisor and agreeing the scope of the placement prior to submitting an application.

Types of placements and activities that could be supported by an NIHR GHR SPARC award

It is important to note that applicants are encouraged to explore the wide range of facilities, expertise and opportunities available to them across the NIHR GHR Programme portfolio, as well as UK NIHR Infrastructure (non-ODA funded) for their personal and professional development, and develop a placement that is bespoke to their individual research training needs, background, skills/experiences, and academic career trajectory.

For example individuals may wish to consider:

  • Seeking placements in a NIHR GHR Programme (the Lead Institution or one of the ‘Official Collaborating Institutions’) with similar specialisms to the NIHR GHR Programme award where you are based/working
  • Seeking placements in an NIHR GHR Programme award (the Lead Institution or one of the ‘Official Collaborating Institution’) that offers research training experiences not available at the NIHR GHR Programme award you are based/working in (including cross-discipline training, clinical trials, community engagement and involvement etc.)
  • Seeking placements within a part of the non-ODA funded UK NIHR Infrastructure/‘Wider NIHR’ (e.g an NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, NIHR School for Public Health Research, NIHR Policy Research Unit etc.)

The placement should provide training/research/mentoring or other research training experiences that are not currently available in the applicants ‘Employing Organisation’ current training environment. This may include being part of a research study that enhances your own work, collaborating with a new team of researchers who specialise in your field or working in a different field where you have academic career aspirations. The placement, however, is not limited to these types of activities.

Applicants could undertake their placement LMIC to LMIC, LMIC to UK and UK to LMIC, providing that the proposed Placement Host Institution is part of an NIHR GHR Programme award or a part of the UK NIHR Infrastructure/Wider NIHR (non-ODA funded). Applicants must clearly demonstrate how this opportunity would enhance their studies, their CV and academic career development opportunities and how it meets ODA compliance requirements.

Award Length/Duration

We recognise the need to adopt a flexible approach to placements. There is no minimum or maximum duration for the placement/taster opportunity; placements may range from 2/3 weeks up to 6 months and this period can be broken up to allow flexibility for both the individual undertaking the placement and the organisation where the placement will be ‘hosted’/based with a supervisor. For example, applicants might want to do a 4 month placement, which is broken up into 2 month blocks. It’s up to the applicant/individual, their NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead and ‘Placement Host’ (where the individual will be undertaking their placement) to agree the best fit for everyone.

Please note; applicants undertaking pre-doctoral training awards and Masters students must ensure that whatever duration/length of placement is proposed adds to their current Masters and future career prospects, and doesn’t detract from their current studies.

Start Dates

NIHR GHR SPARC awards/placements must start on the first of the month between 1 July 2022 and 1 February 2023, but must be completed before the 28 February 2023 and at least two months before the end of the overarching NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award research contract to which the applicant is based.

Scope of Funding

Applicants can apply for awards of up to £10,000 per individual.

Funding can include:

  • Funding to cover; travel, visa, accommodation and subsistence in order to undertake the short placement
  • Funding for any specific formal training courses (e.g qualitative research methods course, implementation science training, PPI training etc.)
  • Funding for the production of relevant placement outputs (e.g. an infographic, informative video etc.).

Costs which will not be covered by an NIHR GHR SPARC award; include research costs, supervisory fees, open access fees and conference fees. It is expected these costs would be funded by the applicants NIHR GHR Programme award or Employing Organisation if required. No support for salary/stipend/fees will be provided by NIHR under this award.

Applicants must remain registered/employed at their ‘Employing Organisation’ (substantive employer) who will continue to support their salary/stipend/fees for the duration of the NIHR GHR SPARC award/placement. No support for salary/stipend/fees will be provided by NIHR under this award.

All costs provided should be ‘value for money’ and will be assessed by the NIHR and members of the NIHR GHR Training Programme Selection Committee. The NIHR reserves the right to reject any costs that it considers unreasonable or insufficiently justified.
Costs should be based on current UK Pounds Sterling (GBP) prices. Please refer to the Financial Guidance for NIHR Global Health Research Programme Contract Holders – Exchange Rates for further information.

All costs should be entered in UK Pounds Sterling and should be in accordance with the applicants NIHR contracted Lead Institution for the GHR Programme award’s Institutional ‘Travel and Expenses Policy’ approved rates. Further itemisation of costs and methods of calculation (including the GHR Programme Lead Institutions Travel and Expenses Policy used to calculate the GHR SPARC budget, may be requested to support the application at a later date). It is expected that the finance section of a NIHR GHR SPARC application form has received appropriate input from the NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution Finance/Accounts Department.

The NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution (who holds the NIHR GHR Research Programme award or NIHR Global Professorship award research contract) will be the contract and accountable body for the award and will administer the award. Payments will be made to the applicants NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution only.

The NIHR contracted Lead Institution for the GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award may need to transfer funds up front to the applicant’s Employing Organisation (substantive employer) to enable the placement to take place and this cost will be reimbursed by NIHR upon receipt of a suitable invoice based on receipts up to the limit of the amount awarded.

All NIHR GHR SPARC expenditure must be identifiable, verifiable and recorded in accounts with applicable accounting standards. In addition, the NIHR Academy only accept and reimburse actual receipted expenditure and the NIHR Academy reserves the right to request copies of supporting documentation (i.e. receipts) at any time.

The NIHR contracted Lead Institution for the GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award that the funds are reimbursed to after satisfying the criteria above will take responsibility for ensuring the institution that has borne the cost will be repaid and will inform NIHR Academy as to how much of the funding is disbursed to LMICs.

Application Procedure and Selection Process

  • Applicants are responsible for liaising with their NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead or Programme Director (to ensure that they are eligible to apply for an NIHR GHR SPARC award prior to submitting an application. The NIHR Academy (via e-mail: icbs@nihr.ac.uk) can advise on eligibility and remit enquiries, and answer queries any party has when completing the application form.
  • The NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead should liaise with the Programme Director (or Principal Investigator for the RIGHT/HPSR Programme) of the NIHR GHR Programme award that will administer the contract to ensure their support.
  • Applicants are responsible for liaising with their NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead/Programme Director as well as their agreed ‘Placement Host Institution’ (where they will be undertaking the placement) and agreeing the scope of the placement prior to submitting an application.
  • To start the application process, prospective applicants are required to register on the NIHR Academy Research Awards Management Information System ARAMIS in order to receive a copy of the NIHR GHR SPARC Round 2 Application Form. Once applicants have registered and requested an application form via ARAMIS, a copy of the application form (Word document) will be e-mailed to you directly via icbs@nihr.ac.uk.
  • Please note, if the applicants ‘Employing Organisation’ (substantive employer) is not listed in ARAMIS, then applicants should email icbs@nihr.ac.uk with the employer details (institution name), and the name of the GHR Programme award this institution is an official collaborating partner of. The institution can then be added them to the system.
  • To submit a GHR SPARC application, the NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead representing the Global Health Research Unit, Group, HPSR or RIGHT programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award holder must email a completed application form, signed off by the Director of the NIHR GHR Unit or Group, or the HPSR, RIGHT Programme award Principal Investigator/NIHR Global Research Professorship award holder, and the applicant's CV (and optional placement Gantt chart) to icbs@nihr.ac.uk. Both documents should be suitably protected to meet UK personal data protection standards.
  • The applicant’s CV should detail their qualifications, awards, publications and experience (3 pages max).
  • Any changes to the formatting of text within the application form may impact the rest of the form and what is visible to the NIHR GHR Training Programme Selection Committee when reviewing the application. Such issues usually resolve when the form is saved and re-opened, but the applicant needs to ensure that all required text is visible in an electronic and printed copy of this application form prior to submission.
  • All documents must be submitted in English.
  • Incomplete, faxed, posted or late applications will not be accepted under any circumstances.
  • The deadline for submission is 1pm (GMT) on Thursday 17 March 2022
  • All applications will undergo an initial screen for eligibility and remit. The NIHR Academy may contact the applicant, along with contacting the NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead directly and cross check NIHR GHR Programme ‘Official Collaborating Institutions’ with colleagues who manage the NIHR GHR Programme or NIHR Global Research Professorship research contracts.
  • Following this, applications are reviewed by the Selection Committee in advance of a Selection Committee meeting where decisions on which applications to recommend for funding are made.
  • The Selection Committee will make recommendations for funding that will be considered by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Science, Research and Evidence (SRE) Directorate.
  • Once confirmed, the funding decisions will then be communicated to applicants via email when all required processes are complete.
  • The selection process and subsequent management of the NIHR GHR SPARC awards will be managed by the NIHR Academy.

Acknowledgement

We will acknowledge receipt of your application within 2 working days of it being received. Applicants should not phone or email the NIHR Academy with enquiries prior to receiving this email.

Assessment of Applications

Following the submission deadline, the NIHR will check applications for completeness and eligibility, and distribute eligible applications to the members of the NIHR GHR Training Programme Selection Committee.
The selection committee will assess all eligible applications using the Assessment Criteria below; all of which will have equal weighting:

NIHR GHR SPARC Assessment Criteria

  • The extent to which the placement will provide a high-quality and stimulating research training experience
  • The potential for the applicant to enhance their current research studies
  • The provision of academic supervision and support at both their ‘Employing Organisation’ and the ‘Placement Host Institution’
  • The impact the placement will have on the applicant’s personal and professional development and academic career trajectory
  • The extent to which the proposed training is not available in their ‘Employing Organisation’ training environment
  • The extent to which the placement starts to shape meaningful collaborations/partnerships with other NIHR GHR Programme awards or UK NIHR Infrastructure/’Wider NIHR’ (non ODA-funded)
  • The ‘value for money’ of the training/placement

In addition; the Placement Host Institution Supervisor ‘Statement of Support’ (please see the ‘Completing the Application Form’ section of the Guidance Notes for further details) will also be used by the NIHR GHR Training Programme Selection Committee to support their overall assessment of the application and the support available to the applicant during their placement.

Applications must also demonstrate how they meet ODA compliance criteria for direct and primary benefit of people in low and middle income countries and outline:

  • Which country or countries on the DAC list of ODA-eligible countries will directly benefit, and
  • How the application is directly and primarily relevant to the development challenges of those countries, and
  • How the outcomes will promote the health and welfare of a country or countries on the DAC List of ODA Recipients
  • Where researchers wish to work with middle-income countries on the OECD DAC list the application should demonstrate how the research will benefit the health and welfare of less advantaged people in those countries and how their findings could have wider applicability to other low-income countries

Application Deadlines and Competition Timetable

All components of your application form and associated CV must be submitted by the deadline. No additional supporting documents will be accepted after the deadline.

Please give yourself sufficient time to obtain your signatory’s approval before the deadline. No exceptions will be made.

See the below timetable for dates of the selection process.

Competition Stage

Key dates

NIHR GHR SPARC Round 2 Competition launch

Wednesday 26 January 2022, 1pm GMT

Deadline for applications

Thursday 17 March 2022 

NIHR GHR Training Programme Selection Committee Funding Recommendation Meeting 

May 2022

Inform applicants of outcome and contracting commences

End of June 2022

NIHR GHR SPARC awards/placements to take place

Between 1 July 2022 – 28 February 2023 (noting all placements must be completed at least two months before the end of the overarching NIHR GHR programme    research contract where the applicant is based                                                                  

Financial Statement

Due two months after the placement is complete or before the 28 April 2023, whichever is soonest (noting a financial statement must be sent at least two months before the end of the overarching NIHR GHR Programme research contract where the applicant is based)

Final GHR SPARC Report

Due two months after the placement is complete or before the 28 April 2023, whichever is soonest

Award Management

A short NIHR GHR SPARC ‘Award Contract Letter’ will be put in place with the Lead Institution contracted to lead (‘the GHR Programme Lead Institution’) the NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award that the applicants’ Employing Organisation (substantive employer) is partnered with (for some applicants the ‘Employing Organisation’ and ‘NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution’ may be the same institution), and the Department for Health and Social Care (the ‘Authority’). The contract will outline that NIHR will reimburse the Lead Institution contracted to lead (‘the NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution’) the NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award that the applicants’ Employing Organisation (substantive employer) is partnered with up to the awarded amount after the placement is complete.

Successful applicants will:

  • Notify the NIHR Academy when the placement/SPARC award has come to an end
  • Submit a written report within 2 months of the completion of the placement or by the 28th April 2023 (whichever is soonest), in a form provided by the NIHR Academy, detailing the placement, achievements, impacts and outputs
  • Complete a pre-award/pre-placement and post-award placement questionnaire; in addition to completing a final questionnaire 1 year after completing the placement/award in order to capture any longer-term impacts of the award

The applicants NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution may need to transfer funds to the applicant’s ‘Employing Organisation’ to enable the activities to take place. NIHR will reimburse the NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution after a final invoice is provided.

The applicants NIHR GHR Programme ‘Lead Institution’ (’contractor’) will:

  • Within 2 months of the completion of the placement or by the 28th of April 2023 and at least 2 months before the end of the overarching NIHR GHR Programme or NIHR Global Research Professorship award research contract (whichever is the soonest) submit an invoice to the NIHR Academy for incidental expenses incurred during the placement, up to the limit of the amount awarded
  • The applicants GHR Programme Lead Institution will confirm sight and approval of all supporting documentation (i.e. receipts) for expenses incurred and that the costs incurred are as described in the NIHR GHR SPARC application form and approved by the Selection Committee. The NIHR Academy reserves the right to request copies of supporting documentation
  • The NIHR contracted Lead Institution for the NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award that the funds are reimbursed to will take responsibility for ensuring the institution that has borne the cost will be repaid and will inform NIHR Academy as to how much of the funding is disbursed to LMICs.


The NIHR GHR SPARC award is a personal award and assessed on the individual’s experience and capacity. Consequently, the award is non-transferrable to another student or NIHR GHR Academy Member.

If the GHR SPARC award holder is unable to undertake the award/placement as planned, they must contact the NIHR Academy as soon as they are aware. On a case-by-case basis, the situation will be evaluated to determine if the award can be deferred to a different agreed date or must be declined/terminated on this occasion.

Completing and submitting the application form

Applicants are required to complete all of the mandatory sections of the application form and to enter the names and contact details of those individuals fulfilling Signatory roles (see below).

Please note: In addition to the above guidance, information to support the completion of each section of the application form is provided at the end of this document (“Completing the Application Form”). Applicants should ensure they are referring to the relevant guidance when completing each question on the form.

Once the applicant has completed their sections of the form and the Signatories have made their contributions, the GHR Programme Training Lead is required to ‘Submit’ a fully signed copy of the word application form and applicant’s CV to the NIHR Academy via e-mail icbs@nihr.ac.uk before the closing date.

Required Signatories

Applicant: the applicant (NIHR GHR Academy member) submitting the application form must sign the declaration.

Primary Supervisor: The individual acting as Primary Supervisor must confirm that they have read the application and the guidance notes and are willing to provide support to the named applicant for the programme of activities as detailed in this application and agree to abide by the conditions under which an award may be granted. In addition, you also confirm that if the applicant is a foreign national undertaking a placement in the UK that the candidate will be eligible, for the duration of the GHR SPARC award, to live and work in the UK.

Placement Host Supervisor: Applicants are required to identify a Placement Host Supervisor. The Placement Host Supervisor must confirm they have read the guidance notes, and that they agree to 'host' and support the applicant for the duration of the placement and support the applicant’s programme of activities as detailed in this application.

NIHR GHR Programme Director/RIGHT or HPSR Project Principal Investigator/NIHR Global Research Professorship award holder: This individual must confirm that their NIHR contracted GHR Programme award (NIHR GHR Units and Groups, RIGHT and HPSR Programme) or NIHR Global Research Professorship award will be the contract and accountable body for the GHR SPARC award and will administer the award. They agree that in line with compliance requirements under the Official Development Assistance Funds, background checks on the applicant have been undertaken that are aligned with their recruitment organisational policy, and that they are a verified person undertaking a formal training programme or are being supported to apply for a formal training/career development award. They agree that they will take all reasonable steps to ensure that they meet the standards set out in the NIHR Safeguarding Guidance (September 2020) and the due diligence obligations under the NIHR contract.

NIHR GHR Training Lead: The individual acting as the applicants NIHR GHR Training Lead must confirm they have read the application and guidance notes and agree that the applicant will benefit from the placement if they meet the objectives described in the placement plan and that the opportunity will complement the research training they are currently undertaking. This individual will e-mail (submit) the completed application form and applicants CV via e-mail to the NIHR Academy icbs@nihr.ac.uk

Application Outcomes

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application via email as soon as the funding decision is finalised. It can take up to 4 weeks following the Funding Recommendation Meeting for application outcomes to be issued. Applicants are advised to take this into account when considering which start date to opt for.

Feedback will be sent to applicants after the funding decisions have been made.

Application Summary

Please ensure that your name, email address, NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead name and email address, Employing Organisation (substantive employer) and Proposed Placement Host are detailed here.

Please also include the NIHR GHR Programme award. This should be the GHR Programme Lead Institution that holds the NIHR GHR Programme research contract and will be the institution that will administer the NIHR GHR SPARC contract. If applicant is a doctoral/post-doctoral researcher who is funded as part of an NIHR Global Research Professorship award, please select this option from the drop-down options provided.

Section A – Applicant Details

Application Summary

Please ensure that your name, email address, NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead (or NIHR Global Research Professorship award holder if applicant is a doctoral or post-doctoral researcher support post funded via the award) name and email address, Employing Organisation (substantive employer) and Proposed Placement Host Institution are detailed here.

Please also include the NIHR GHR Programme award (or state NIHR Global Research Professorship if applicant is a doctoral/post-doctoral researcher support post funded via the award). This should be the NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution that holds the NIHR GHR Programme research contract and will be the institution that will administer the NIHR GHR SPARC contract.

A1. Applicant Details

Please enter your full name, including title, job title, highest level of qualification, current level of study and the start and end dates of your current formal career development award (e.g Masters/PhD/Post-Doc Fellowship start and end date). Please note; if you are currently in-between career development awards, please state in the ‘Current Level of Study’ section of the application form your current career stage (i.e you have completed a Masters and are actively preparing to apply for a PhD at present).

Professional background. Please enter your discipline or professional background from the drop down menu. This is for NIHR data collection purposes, and has no wider use.

A2 and A3. Applicant Employing Organisation Details

Please give details of your Employing Organisation (substantive employer), and include the name and contact details of your Primary Supervisor. Please also provide a correspondence address and contact details if they are different to those you have already provided. Note: your Employing Organisation must be an Official Collaborating Institution of or the Lead Institution of an NIHR GHR Programme award (the NIHR Global Health Research Units, the NIHR Global Health Research Groups and the RIGHT and HPSR Programmes) or an NIHR Global Research Professorship award. Please refer to the ‘Eligibility’ section above for more information.

Applicants must remain registered/employed at their ‘Employing Organisation’ (substantive employer) who will continue to support their salary/stipend/fees for the duration of the NIHR GHR SPARC award/placement.

Section B – Applicant Experience

Overview of applicant research experience to date.

Please use this question to give an overview of your research experience and career to date and how this makes you suitable for this award to date. You may wish to consider highlighting:

  • Research projects that you have led or made a significant contribution to (making clear what your role was)
  • Research experience, area of research interest and the research methods you have experience of
  • The impact and outputs of the research you have been involved in (linking to details given in your CV)
  • Any relevant research, audit, evaluation, or policy experience
  • Any experience of community engagement and involvement
  • Any additional relevant skills and experience
  • Why it is important to undertake a placement at a particular point in your academic career?

(Word Limit: 500)

Section C – Proposed Placement: Placement Host Institution Supervisor Contact Details

Please provide the name, job title and contact details of the person who will supervise you during the placement at the Placement Host Institution (where you will undertake your placement).

Section D – Proposed Placement: Plans

Please provide a brief placement title that clearly and concisely summarises your placement.

Please select a placement start date from the pre-populated options. NIHR GHR SPARC awards/placements must start on the first of the month between 1 July 2022 and 1 February 2023, but must be completed before the 28 February 2023 and at least two months before the end of the overarching NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award contract to which the applicant is based (whichever is soonest). Please detail the placement end date.

D1. Plan

Please provide a clear outline of the plan for your proposed placement, the proposed placement duration/length and the order of activities planned (you may wish to upload a Placement Gantt Chart to highlight the activities and order these will take place during your placement). As this is the main part of your application you should ensure that the information is accurate, succinct and clearly laid out.

Please outline clear and measurable outcomes from the placement and what the indicators of success will be. These outcomes may include academic outputs such as publications and conference presentations, as well as specific skills, training, collaborations and experience gained. Applicants should also clearly outline how the proposed placement plan will support their development in global health research, how it meets and complements their unique training needs, as well as why it is important to undertake this placement at the particular point in an applicant’s academic research career.

It is also important to explain why you have chosen the particular ‘Placement Host Institution’ (i.e. the particular NIHR GHR Programme award or part of the UK NIHR Infrastructure (non-ODA funded) that you wish to work with during the placement. For example this may be because of particular experts, area of interest, facilities, equipment or teams.

Please use this section to detail any specific training and development you will undertake as part of the placement; you may wish to consider the following:

  • Formal training or academic career development courses
  • Training in specialist skills and research methodologies
  • Public involvement and engagement
  • Preparation of an application for a competitive fellowship application

The placement programme should provide training/research/mentoring or other experiences that are not currently available in your Employing Organisation training environment.

Please also explain the relevance of your placement in relation to Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligibility and compliance.

If you are planning to undertake a face-to-face placement that involves travel; please also outline your plan for a virtual alternative, in case travel is not permitted at the time of your /placement.

Some of the types of placement and placement activities that could be supported by an NIHR GHR SPARC award are detailed in the ‘Scope of Award’ section of the Guidance Notes.

Please note the placements are not limited to these types of activities. Applicants are encouraged to fully explore and maximise the opportunities available to them for their personal and professional development, and develop a placement that is bespoke to their individual training needs, background, skills/experiences, as well as their proposed career trajectory.

(Word Limit: 600)

D2. Benefits and Impact

Please outline: a) the likely benefits and impact on your research, training and career and b) how you will know whether it has been a successful placement.
Applicants should use this section to consider how the proposed placement will enhance their chances of achieving their career goals/ambition (i.e. the development of a competitive research fellowship application).

Please also explain how the longer-term outcomes of the placement will contribute to the health and welfare of less advantaged and underprivileged people in the ODA-eligible country or countries that will directly benefit, and explain your pathway to impact, i.e. how the funded activities are expected to directly benefit and contribute to a chain of results that lead to impacts on local health and welfare in the ODA-eligible country or countries.

(Word Limit: 500)

D3. Finance

The Finance Section of the application form must be completed by the applicant in conjunction with the Research Support Office or Finance/Accounts Office at the applicants GHR Programme Lead Institution (the organisation that, in the event of an award being made, will submit an invoice on behalf of the applicant for the expenses incurred during the placement).

The funding requested in the finance section will form the basis of the GHR SPARC award/placement should the application be successful.

This GHR SPARC award does not include, or pay for, any research costs, supervisory fees, open access fees, conference fees or full economic costing (which would be expected to be funded by the applicants NIHR GHR Programme award or Employing Organisation if appropriate).

Justification of costs

Please provide a breakdown of the costs associated with undertaking the NIHR GHR SPARC placement as described in the application and provide a detailed justification for the resources requested. Please note the award is for a maximum of £10,000.

All costs provided should be ‘value for money’ and will be assessed by the NIHR and members of the NIHR GHR Training Programme Selection Committee. The NIHR reserves the right to reject any costs that it considers unreasonable or insufficiently justified.

Travel, Accommodation and Subsistence Costs

Journey Costs

Enter the total cost of transport for all journeys. If travel is by car, apply your institution’s mileage rates (however, 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; please note NIHR GHR SPARC awards do not fund first class travel.

Accommodation

Enter the total cost of accommodation costs (if necessary) to cover any accommodation required to undertake the GHR SPARC placement. Please note; accommodation rates should be in accordance with the applicants NIHR GHR Programme ‘Lead Institution’ ‘Travel and Expenses Policy’ approved rates’. All costs provided should represent value for money.

Subsistence

Enter the total cost of subsistence costs to cover all meals required (if applicable) whilst undertaking the GHR SPARC placement (excluding any alcoholic beverages). Please note; subsistence rates should be in accordance with the applicants NIHR GHR Programme ‘Lead Institution’ ‘Travel and Expenses Policy’ approved rates’. All costs provided should represent value for money.

Training Course Fees

Please itemise the training courses (e.g. qualitative research methods course, etc.) being requested (if applicable) and describe fully the costs associated with training and development and the training provider (i.e. University of Manchester). Please provide estimates if exact costs are not available at the time of application.

Costs of relevant placement outputs (e.g. production of an infographic, informative video etc.).

General Information

  • The information entered in this section should provide an analysis of the total funds requested to undertake the proposed NIHR GHR SPARC placement and will be used to assess value for money. Funding of up to £10,000 can be applied for to cover the incidental expenses of working from another institution for a short period of time
  • Applicants must remain registered/employed at their ‘Employing Organisation’ (substantive employer) who will continue to support their salary/stipend/fees for the duration of the NIHR GHR SPARC award/placement
  • Costs should be based on current UK Pounds Sterling (GBP) prices. Please refer to the Financial Guidance for NIHR Global Health Research Programme Contract Holders – Exchange Rates for further information
  • It is in your best interest to undertake a thorough, realistic and accurate costing. You must provide a clear and full justification for all costs. You must also ensure that you include all costs required
  • All costs should be entered in UK Pounds Sterling and should be in accordance with the applicants NIHR contracted Lead Institution for the GHR Programme award or NIHR GHR Global Professorship award Institutional ‘Travel and Expenses Policy’ approved rates. Further itemisation of costs and methods of calculation (including the GHR Programme Lead Institution’s Travel and Expenses Policy used to calculate the GHR SPARC budget, may be requested to support the application at a later date). It is expected that the finance section of a NIHR SPARC application form has received appropriate input from the GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award Lead Institution Finance/Accounts Department
  • The NIHR contracted Lead Institution for the GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Professorship award will be the contract and accountable body for the GHR SPARC award and will administer the award. Payments will be made to the NIHR contracted Lead Institution for the GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award only. The NIHR GHR Programme Lead Institution will be responsible for passing on any money due to other parties
  • The NIHR contracted Lead Institution for the GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award may need to transfer funds up front to the applicant’s Employing Organisation (substantive employer) to enable the placement to take place and this cost will be reimbursed by NIHR upon receipt of a suitable invoice based on receipts up to the limit of the amount awarded
  • All NIHR GHR training award expenditure must be identifiable, verifiable and recorded in accounts with applicable accounting standards. In addition, the NIHR Academy only accept and reimburse actual receipted expenditure and the NIHR Academy reserves the right to request copies of supporting documentation (i.e. receipts) at any time
  • The NIHR contracted Lead Institution for the GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award that the funds are reimbursed to after satisfying the criteria above will take responsibility for ensuring the institution that has borne the cost will be repaid and will inform NIHR Academy as to how much of the funding is disbursed to LMICs
  • Suspensions of awards to allow for periods of maternity, paternity, adoption or sickness leave are supported.

(Word Limit: 300)

D4. Placement Host Institution Supervisor Statement of Support; including Official Development Assistance Compliance and Safeguarding

This statement must be written and added by the ‘Placement Host Institution Supervisor’ (the agreed supervisor based at the Placement Host Institution/Organisation the applicant will be hosted and will undertake their placement at) and should detail how the ‘Placement Supervisor’ and ‘Placement Host Institution’ are going to support the applicant to successfully complete their placement, training and activities outlined in the placement plan.

This statement should be tailored specifically to the applicant, their research, training and career development needs; as well as future collaborations/joint working.

Please outline how you as the Placement Host Institution Supervisor and Placement Host Institution:

  • Will support the applicant during this placement (specifically the ‘Placement Host Institutions Supervisor’s’ availability and commitment to the placement, frequency of meetings, level of support that will be provided and opportunities that will be available to the applicant during their placement)
  • What steps you will take to ensure that the placement will stay aligned with the ODA compliance objectives set out in sections D2, D2, and D3
  • How you will ensure that you comply with the following NIHR Safeguarding Guidance (September 2020).

(Word Limit: 300)

Section E – Declarations and Signatures

The following parties must carefully read the declarations and signatures section and insert their name, an electronic signature and date on to the application form:

E1. Applicant

E2. Employing Organisation (substantive employer) – Primary Supervisor

E3. Placement Host Institution – Proposed Placement Host Supervisor

Section F – NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead/NIHR Global Research Professorship award holder - Statement of Support

All applications should be signed by the NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead (or NIHR Global Research Professorship award holder if applicant is a doctoral/post-doctoral researcher who is funded via the award). In signing, they are indicating:

  1. Their approval of the application
  2. That they have liaised with the Director (or Principal Investigator for the RIGHT or HPSR Programme) of the NIHR contracted GHR Programme award that will administer the contract to ensure support
  3. The willingness of the applicants Employing Organisation (substantive employer) to support the applicant (if successful) during the placement
  4. That they will remain in regular contact with the applicant to ensure their welfare as part of their due diligence obligations under the NIHR Safeguarding Guidance (September 2020)
  5. Their commitment to providing the support necessary to make the award a success
  6. Their approval of the costs sought

Section G – Monitoring Information

Please use the drop-down list to state how you became aware of the scheme.

Section H – NIHR GHR Programme Director/RIGHT or HPSR Principal Investigator/NIHR Global Research Professorship award holder Statement of Support

All applications should be signed off by the NIHR GHR Programme Director/RIGHT or HPSR Principal Investigator (or NIHR Global Research Professorship award holder if applicant is a doctoral/post-doctoral researcher who is funded via their award). In signing, they are indicating:

  • That the applicant’s identity has been verified
  • That the placement will benefit the applicant and the overall ODA objectives of their NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Health Professorship award
  • That the NIHR contracted GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award Lead Institution agrees to be the accountable body and the contract holder for the GHR SPARC award, and agree to the financial arrangements to allow the placement to take place
  • Their acceptance of the financial, safeguarding and reporting terms and conditions associated with a NIHR GHR SPARC award

Contacting us

If you have any queries about the NIHR GHR SPARC, please contact us at:
Address: NIHR Academy, 21 Queen Street, Leeds, LS1 2TW
Telephone: 0113 532 8430
Email: icbs@nihr.ac.uk quoting ‘NIHR GHR SPARC’ in the subject heading

Additional Supporting Information

Community Engagement and Involvement 

NIHR is committed to supporting Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI) that empowers communities and fosters co-production of research. Involving communities in LMICs who are affected by the health challenge you are working on will improve the reach, quality and impact of your research. Please read about this commitment on the NIHR community engagement and involvement webpage.

Applicants may find the following information and resources helpful:

MRC Complex Intervention Guidance

Where appropriate applicants are encouraged to read the MRC complex interventions guidance available here:  https://www.mrc.ac.uk/documents/pdf/complex-interventions-guidance/.

Ethics / Regulatory Approvals

Guidance on the application process for ethical and other approvals should be sought from the supporting university in the first instance, but can be found on the HRA website. Please note that if your study is led from England and involves the NHS in England you should apply for HRA approval. 

If you are using service user information from an existing database, you should check whether the service users have given their consent for their data to be included in that database for research purposes, or if not whether the database is exempt under Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006.  Where exemptions are not already in place, approval to use confidential service user information without consent must be requested from the HRA who make decisions with advice from the Confidentiality Advisory Group (CAG).

NOTE: NIHR is interested in taking advantage of the growing utility of routine data (such as HES, GP records etc.), and would like investigators, where appropriate, to ask study participants to consent to long term follow up (e.g. beyond the outcomes to be collected in the funded trial) using routinely collected data, and appropriate linkage to allow this data to be best used.

UK Biobank 

UK Biobank is a major national health resource, and a registered charity in its own right, with the aim of improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses – including cancer, heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, eye disorders, depression and forms of dementia. UK Biobank recruited 500,000 people aged between 40-69 years in 2006-2010 from across the country to take part in this project. They have undergone measures, provided blood, urine and saliva samples for future analysis as well as detailed information about themselves. The health of members of this large cohort will be followed over the coming years and the participants have consented to be approached about health research. http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/

Applicants are encouraged to consider whether Biobank may be able to provide suitable data. We do not want to discourage establishment of new collections of participants and their data where this is necessary to address the research questions under consideration, our aim is to avoid applications for funding to set up Biobank-like cohorts where the use of Biobank would prevent wasteful duplication of Biobank-like activities.

Plagiarism in NIHR funding applications

NIHR expects all content within applications for funding to be original material of the applicant's own work, with the exception of sections that other participants are required to complete. Whilst we anticipate and expect that applicants will get help and advice from various sources when putting together an application, including on occasion input from those previously awarded funding, care must be taken to ensure this does not lead to plagiarism of either published work or other previous applications. If an allegation of plagiarism is raised against an application this will be investigated in accordance with the NIHR Academy’s policy on plagiarism, a copy of which is available on request from icbs@nihr.ac.uk. 

NIHR Privacy Policy

Our purpose for collecting information is to communicate with you about your application and have the necessary information to evaluate you for an NIHR SPARC award. The data we collect here is collected in the public interest. Information provided here may be subject to Freedom of Information requests

The NIHR Academy is part of the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), NIHR. The contracting agent for the NIHR Academy is the Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust (LTHT). The DHSC is the Data Controller and LTHT is the Data Processor under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) EC 2016/679. DHSC NIHR respects the privacy of individuals who share their data and processes it in a manner that meets the requirements of GDPR. The DHSC Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at data_protection@dhsc.gov.uk)

The NIHR privacy policy includes further information including ways we may use your data, our contact details and details on your individual rights regarding how your data is used. Your data may be shared across the NIHR, including with other coordinating centres, to allow the application to be managed and for statistical analysis, and with external grant reviewers as part of the process for managing the allocation of a grant. Information collected from you will not be shared outside the EEA without your consent. 

This notice is under constant review and will be updated and / or revised based on that review as appropriate.  

Requirements for systematic reviews to be registered with PROSPERO

Applicants undertaking systematic reviews should note the commitment of NIHR to publication in the database. PROSPERO was developed by the NIHR’s Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD), and is the first online facility to register systematic reviews for research about health and social care from all around the world. Access is completely free and open to the public. PROSPERO registration is a condition of NIHR funding for eligible systematic reviews. Link to PROSPERO website: http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/.

Existing data resources

The UK Data Service (https://ukdataservice.ac.uk) provides a unified point of access to an extensive range of high quality social and economic data, including UK census data, government funded surveys, longitudinal studies, international macro-data, qualitative data and business micro-data.

NIHR Carbon Reduction Guidelines

Researchers applying for NIHR funding are asked to consider the carbon footprint of their research and take steps to reduce carbon emissions where appropriate. Advice on how to do this can be obtained from the NIHR Carbon Reduction Guidelines https://www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/the-nihr-carbon-reduction-guidelines/21685

Transparency Agenda

In line with the government’s transparency agenda, any contract resulting from this tender may be published in its entirety to the general public. Further information on the transparency agenda is at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-and-contracting-transparency-requirements-guidance

Contractual Arrangements

Financial support under a NIHR GHR SPARC award is subject to a ‘letter of contract’ between the Department of Health and Social Care (the ‘Authority’) and the applicants NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award Lead Institution (the ‘Contractor’).

Once funding for a NIHR GHR SPARC placement has been discussed and agreed, NIHR will confirm the financial arrangements with the applicants NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award Lead Institution.  NIHR will provide the applicants NIHR GHR Programme award or NIHR Global Research Professorship award Lead Institution with a letter of contract setting out the details of these arrangements.

Freedom of Information Act

The NIHR Academy manages the NIHR GHR SPARC scheme on behalf of the DHSC.  As such the findings of researchers funded by the programme are incorporated in to the Department of Health and Social Care Freedom of Information Publication Scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health/about/publication-scheme    

Equal Opportunities and Diversity

NIHR is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in research and asks applicants to provide Equality and Diversity Monitoring Information (age, sex, ethnicity and race, and disability).  By answering these Equality and Diversity Monitoring Information questions, you will help us to better understand the different groups of people that apply to us for funding and their experiences of the funding process – particularly the groups protected by UK equality legislation.  Although it is mandatory to answer these questions, it is possible to select “prefer not to say” as a response.  However, the more information you provide, the more effective our monitoring will be. This information will not be used to make decisions about funding.

Guidance and Advice

Please read these Guidance Notes carefully.  If you require any further information, advice or guidance please contact the NIHR Academy:

Phone: 0113 532 8430 Email: icbs@nihr.ac.uk

Registering and Requesting an NIHR GHR SPARC Application Form via ARAMIS

This section outlines step by step how to register and request an NIHR GHR SPARC application form via the NIHR Academy Research Awards Management Information System (ARAMIS) 

Registering

Before an application form can be requested, prospective applicants are required to register on the online award management system.  Applicants will be asked to supply a valid email address and to complete some basic information.  Once this has been submitted, applicants will receive an email confirming their registration and a temporary password.  Applicants should follow the instructions in the email to log on to the system.

NIHR and DHSC have a duty as a public body to promote equality of opportunity. Once signed into ARAMIS you will be asked to undertake equality monitoring. Equality monitoring ensures that all applicants, reviewers and committee members are treated equally in terms of gender, ethnicity and/or disability. By answering these EDI information questions, you will help us to better understand the different groups of people that we fund and their experiences of being funded – particularly the groups protected by UK equality legislation.  Although it is mandatory to answer these questions, it is possible to select “prefer not to say” as a response.  However, the more information people provide, the more effective our monitoring will be. This information will not be used to make decisions about funding.

The information you share with the monitoring system:

  • will be stored separately from your application
  • only be used for the purpose of monitoring equal opportunities
  • be kept securely and in confidence

Requesting a copy of the GHR SPARC Application Form

Having now registered via ARAMIS and answered the EDI questions, please follow the steps below to request a copy of the application form:-

  • Please go to ‘My Applications’ and select ‘New Application’. You should then select ‘Apply’ for an ‘NIHR GHR SPARC award’ (please note; you are not applying for an NIHR GHR SPARC award; just purely confirming you would like to receive a copy of the GHR SPARC application form). 
  • You will then be asked to ‘tick’ the box to ‘confirm that you would like to receive a copy of the GHR SPARC Application Form via e-mail’, before selecting ‘Save and Close’ and finally scrolling down the page and selecting ‘Submit the application’ in the grey box on the right hand side of the page. Please note; if you do not press the ‘submit the application’ box, the NIHR Academy will not be notified that you have requested to receive a copy of the application form (please ignore the automated message; you are not submitting an NIHR GHR SPARC award; just purely confirming you would like to receive a copy of the GHR SPARC application form).
  • The NIHR Academy (via icbs@nihr.ac.uk) will then e-mail (via the e-mail address you have used to register for an ARAMIS account) a Word Document GHR SPARC Application Form. 
  • As mentioned in the ‘Application Procedure and Assessment Process’ section, the applicants NIHR GHR Programme Training Lead (or NIHR Global Research Professorship award holder if the applicant is a doctoral/post-doctoral researcher support post funded as part of their award)  is required to ‘Submit’ a fully signed copy of the word application form and applicants CV to the NIHR Academy via e-mail (icbs@nihr.ac.uk)  before the closing date.