The Research Scholars Programme is aimed at research-interested individuals who may or may not have NIHR clinical research experience already. We are encouraging applications from the whole cross section of clinical staffing roles including doctors, nurse’s pharmacists, radiographers, occupational therapists, physiologists, physiotherapists, radiotherapists and biomedical scientists. The Programme is an interactive developmental programme aimed at equipping tomorrow's clinical research leaders with the skills, knowledge and experience needed to become the Principal and Chief Investigators of the future. Successful candidates receive funding (half funded by the CRN NWC award and the other half 'match' funded by the applicants employer) to cover one full day per week as dedicated time for research. Scholars commit to attending a day per month at the CRN NWC offices in Liverpool for an exciting programme of face-to-face sessions.
The Research Scholars Programme offers the following benefits:
· Protected & funded time to enable you to support and deliver NIHR Funded research within your service
· A development pathway towards becoming a Principal or Chief investigator
· Full support from CRN NWC & your employer
· Support & guidance from being matched with a mentor who is an experienced Principal or Chief Investigator
Am I eligible to apply?
The Research Scholars Programme is an initiative to develop early career researchers. In order to be eligible for the Programme you should be:
· New Consultants or General Practitioners within the last 5 years of taking up their post
· Nurses (usually Band 7 or above)
· Allied Health Professionals (usually Band 7 or above)
To apply to be part of the programme, please email rspadmin@nihr.ac.uk for an application form. Applications will be accepted until Monday 27th January 2020 and interviews will be held on Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th February 2020.
Course
Lead: Professor Enitan
Carrol, MBChB, MRCP, FRCPCH, MD, FHEA, PG Cert (Higher Education)
Course Co-Lead: Dr Chris Smith, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, CRN North West Coast
Course
administrator: Mrs Clare Donnelly,
Research Administrator, CRN North West Coast
The Research Scholars Programme
The NWC region has a diverse range of research leaders,
but it is recognised to increase its outputs this leadership community requires
investment and support to further flourish. Without this medium and longer-term
support the region’s ability to attract and participate in a larger proportion
of the national NIHR research portfolio would be limited. This is already
evidenced by the fact that the NWC region has a proportionately lower number of
Chief Investigators leading studies on the NIHR portfolio than other Local
Clinical Research Networks (LCRNs) across the country. Given the size of CRN
NWC and the inherent health challenges across the local population, it is key
this is addressed if the region is to ensure it remains competitive in the
future.
The Research Scholars Programme (RSP) is designed to
develop ‘research-interested’ individuals in the earlier phase of their clinical
research careers. Such individuals may not have previously been involved in
NIHR portfolio research or they may have had some involvement in delivery of
NIHR trials but not in a significant leadership role. The RSP is open to
medical consultants and General Practitioners in the first five years (career
breaks excluded) of their careers as well as established colleagues from across
other clinical professions such as Allied Health Professionals and Nursing,
Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy, Radiography and Pharmacy.
The aim of
the programme is to provide successful applicants with remunerated time to
enable recruitment into NIHR research studies and establish themselves as
Principal Investigators / future Chief Investigators. The RSP award will provide protected time to support
the generation of research outputs including trial delivery and the development
of research collaborations / future NIHR grant submissions. Successful scholars
will be allocated a two-year award to support research career development and
NIHR research delivery from NIHR CRN NWC.
The RSP is a collaborative initiative that is being
offered in partnership with NHS stakeholders across the CRN NWC region. CRN NWC
will provide SPA funding (or equivalent value in other professions) of 1.0 SPA per
week (equivalent for AHP’s and nurses), which will be matched by NHS
partners/employers supporting the scheme. It is the intention that after the
initial two year period, sufficient experience will have been generated for the
scholar to sustain the sessional time for research within their employing
organisation and may become eligible to apply for further developmental funding
from NIHR.
The course content is based
on the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF). The RDF is a new approach to researcher development, to enhance research
capacity in the UK workforce, develop world-class researchers and build the UK research base. It is a professional development
framework for planning, promoting and supporting the personal, professional and career development
of researchers in higher education. It articulates the knowledge, behaviours and attributes of successful
researchers and encourages them to realise their potential. The four
domains are; Engagement, influence and impact, Knowledge and intellectual
abilities, Research governance and organisation and Personal effectiveness. https://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers-professional-development/about-the-vitae-researcher-development-framework
Time commitment
The
scholars have protected time of one day a week to conduct research, which
includes time to fulfil their Principal Investigator roles at their respective
NHS Trusts (industry or NIHR studies developed by others), and to develop
proposals for grant funding. In addition, there is a mandatory monthly
face-to-face teaching day at the CRN Liverpool office, the delivery of which
includes lectures, workshops, and action learning sets. 80 % attendance is
mandatory, dates provided in advance.
Assessment
Year1: Promotional video of research profile, Dragon’s Den
presentation in front of external panel, Summative Year 1 review presentation
(review of achievements in year 1 and goals for year 2).
Year
2: Submission of a 4-page research
proposal to include: background and rationale, aims and objectives, research
plan, dissemination and impact, research timetable, ethics, patient and public
involvement and lay summary, Summative Year 2 review presentation (review of
achievements in year 2), Co-development of an NIHR application as co-applicant,
lead applicant, co-Chief Investigator or deputy Chief Investigator, to be
submitted within 6 months of course completion.
Feedback
Scholars
are required to sign in and out of each face-to face session and complete
course feedback after each face-to-face session.
