FAQs

Research is designed to generate new knowledge and might involve testing a new treatment or regimen. 

To check if your project is defined as research, please use the decision tool on the NHS Health Research Authority (HRA) website. A table can be found here:  https://www.hra-decisiontools.org.uk/research/docs/definingresearchtable_oct2017-1.pdf  

High-quality research studies, funded through open and nationally competitive grant calls administered by the NIHR, their non-commercial partners and other areas of central Government are eligible for portfolio adoption (see more here).  Non-commercial studies can request portfolio adoption within the Integrated Research Application System (IRAS) application. 

By gaining portfolio adoption, your study becomes eligible for NHS support costs, which is required by most NHS Trusts and it can be a prerequisite of accessing support from many NIHR infrastructure. 

A key benefit of portfolio adoption is that the chief investigator can request support from relevant NIHR infrastructure. In addition, the Research Delivery Network (RDN):

• Can provide some support with identifying sites, study setup and delivery 

• Leads the SoECAT process which determines excess treatment costs at grant development stage

• Provides a small amount of funding to many sites (each site determines how best to allocate this, but it is intended to support stability in core services needed to delivery research e.g. R&D, support departments and research teams)

A research passport is the mechanism for non-NHS staff to obtain an Honorary Research Contract (HRC) or Letter of Access (LOA).  This allows a researcher who has no employment contract with a particular NHS Trust to gain access to conduct research within that and other NHS organisations to carry out research activities and provides assurance that appropriate pre-engagement checks have been carried out.  Read more here.

The research passport algorithm helps determine whether you need an LOA or HRC. If your study involves contact with patients in a care setting or using identifiable data then it is likely you will need an LOA.  If your study involves providing health care, or is likely to have a direct bearing on the quality of care, an HRC may be required. 

You can find further guidance and the forms here: IRAS Help - Preparing & submitting applications - HR Good Practice Resource Pack.  Please liaise with your R&D or HR department for more information on your local process.

The Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Template (SoECAT) is as a cost attribution tool and should not be used as a study costing tool. Whilst there are costs associated with certain study activities in the SoECAT, this document does not include all site-level costs that are required within an application for research funding. 

For further information about this, please see the NIHR website. Please liaise with your R&D support team for help in accurately costing your study.

Trusts are given a small amount of funding by the Research Delivery Network, this is known as Service Support Costs and might include funding towards research governance, service support departments and research teams, to support the setup and delivery of research. 

This is not assigned on a per-study basis and does not cover the full costs of studies - it is intended to support stability and consistency of service. This does not cover the research costs - studies therefore must be appropriately costed.   

Common funders of clinical research trials include NIHR, UKRI, Wellcome, European Commission and Get Grants might be useful for smaller grants.