NW Research Workforce, Learning & Development

Research Scholars Programme

Post date: 13th October 2022

Call for Applications - Cohort 5 ('23-'25)

The Research Scholars Programme (RSP) provided by LCRNs NWC & GM 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.

Originally conceived by CRN NWC, the Research Scholars Programme is entering it’s fifth cohort; it’s second as a North West collaboration. The programme is designed to develop ‘research-interested’ individuals in the earlier phase of their clinical research leadership.

088 - Scholars Video-3.mp4

Research Scholars Programme - video clip

The aim of the programme is to provide successful applicants with remunerated time and skills 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 fixed two-year award to support research career development and NIHR research delivery from NIHR CRN NWC & GM. Within this award, they will receive funding (half-funded by the CRN NWC/GM award and the other half 'match' funded by the applicant's employer) to cover one full day per week as dedicated time for research.

Scholars commit to attending a day per month in either Liverpool or Manchester 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 and/or Chief Investigator

· Full support from CRN North West Coast or Greater Manchester & 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 those North West based colleagues who are less well-established in leading research and still within the first 5 years of their research career. In order to be eligible for the programme you should be:

New Consultants or qualified GPs within first five years of taking up an NHS consultant post (pro rata, career breaks excluded)
Nurses, Midwives, Allied Health Professionals, Pharmacists, Scientists & Social Workers (likely to be AFC Band 7 and above) who are sponsored by their NHS stakeholder organisation to develop as independent researchers. Please see here for an approved list of regulatory bodies.
Full eligibility criteria can be found in the RSP Cohort 5 Briefing Paper

How do I apply?

The process to apply (including the application pack and key deadlines) is outlined in 4 steps below.

Please note, for steps 2 and 3, once you've clicked the links you will need to click

File --> Download --> Microsoft Word

to download an editable version that you can send back once completed.

General queries - learning.lcrnsnorthwest@nihr.ac.uk