NIHR Team Science Award – Applied Health and Social Care Research Methodology

Support to bring together individuals with an interest in applied health and social care research methodology to form new interdisciplinary collaborations and facilitate research in areas of need.

Established in 2006 and primarily funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds health and care research in the UK.

The NIHR Team Science Award – Applied Health and Social Care Research Methodology aims to bring together individuals with an interest in applied health and social care research methodology to form new interdisciplinary collaborations and facilitate research in areas of need.

Applications must be made by interdisciplinary teams and the award will enable them to collaborate on a future application to other research programmes, expand their research network and develop capacity in the relevant field. The scheme is a new initiative under NIHR Academy’s expanded portfolio of career support for health and social care professionals. Examples of how this funding could be used include:

• Supporting pilot research.
• Training and development for the research team.
• Establishing new collaborations.

The aim is to bring together individuals to form teams to address a research challenge from different disciplinary perspectives. The award recognises the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to tackle complex current and emerging challenges for health and social care. The award is designed to be different from traditional ‘investigator-led’ awards and aims to recognise the contribution of every member of the research team. Team science has been a theme that has been around in the sector for a number of years, and the purpose of this initiative is to help encourage the approach and recognise the value of a team approach.

Applied health and social care research methodology in the context of this round refers to the development, improvement or practical application of various research methods, techniques and approaches in health and social care research. In this context, research methodology is relevant and applicable at both the individual patient or person level and the health and social care systems level where the method is used for research. Work should be within both the theme of applied health and social care research methodology and within NIHR’s remit.

The strategic priorities are:

• Methodology for diagnostic test evaluation and prediction modelling eg study design, fairness, use of health and social care systems data, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
• Evaluation methodology eg trials of complex interventions in health and social care methodology, health economic assessment, efficient designs, outcome selection, addressing challenges around study conduct, inclusivity, and understanding lived experiences.
• Methodology for epidemiology eg causality inference and inequalities assessment.

Applicants must highlight within their application if the project aligns with one or more of the strategic priorities. Applications do not have to fit within these strategic priority areas, as long as applications meet the overall theme of applied health and social care methodology research.