NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme round 2 guidance notes

Introduction

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is launching the 2nd Round of the NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme (UIP), funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

This document provides full details of the competition and describes how applications should be submitted and details how they will be assessed. Applicants must ensure that they have read this application before submitting an application.

Background

The NIHR works in partnership to fund, enable and deliver world-leading health and social care research through partnership with patients, service users, carers, and other stakeholders in different communities.

Across the NIHR we are passionate about people and developing careers in research. NIHR develops and coordinates academic training, career development and research capacity development through the NIHR Academy’s awards and programmes.

We play a pivotal role in attracting, training, and supporting the best researchers to tackle the complex health and care challenges of the future and complement additional NIHR investment in world-class research facilities and a skilled research workforce capable of advancing the best research which improves health and care, and benefits society and the economy.

Following the Methodology Internship Pilot which ran in 2021, the NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme builds on this successful initiative by targeting a wider range of relevant undergraduate students to showcase and expose those early on in their studies the many types of research career opportunities available through health and care research. This expansion comes off the back of the NIHR Academy’s expanded portfolio of career support for health and social care professionals and looks to initially target areas with current limited research capacity.

NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme

The NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme (UIP) is a scheme designed to engage and attract students from underrepresented professions in the early stages of their academic studies to consider a career in health and social care research.

Up to three early to mid-career researchers (the lead applicant, and if applicable, co-applicant(s)) will have the opportunity to apply to host a maximum of 3 NIHR interns who will gain hands-on experience through a fully funded and flexible placement in the area or discipline they are interested in pursuing. In Round 2, the NIHR will continue to prioritise funding internships within the following disciplines or professions of strategic importance:

• Health Care Professionals
  
  • Nurses
  • Midwives
  • Allied Health Professionals (AHPs)
  • Healthcare Scientists
  • Pharmacists
• Social Care
• Research Methodology
• Public Health
• Data Science

The NIHR is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, as outlined in our EDI strategy 2022-2027, ensuring everyone has the ability to realise their full potential and make a positive contribution. Whilst we encourage all interested and eligible researchers and interns to apply, we would particularly welcome applications from those who are from an ethnic minority background, and those within less research intensive institutions, universities, and hospitals as increasing diversity and geographical spread within these groups/areas are a top priority for NIHR. 

If successful, early/mid-career researchers will recruit interns via their host organisation’s specified recruitment processes.

By giving undergraduate students the opportunity to undertake an internship experience over a flexible 2-4-, 4-6- or 6–8-week duration, it is hoped that interns will consider pursuing a career or involvement in research within one of the target areas after their degree level studies. Long term, it is hoped that research capacity is built within these underrepresented professions and groups. Successful interns will also have access to a small training and development fund to attend any associated courses/training/conferences that will complement their internship experience. At every stage of the internship, the applicant(s) will ensure that the intern(s) receives institutional support through dedicated supervision and mentorship within the host institution.

This programme will also help the development of the applicants, the early to mid-career health researchers. It will allow them a valuable introduction or reaffirmation of what it takes to supervise a more junior member of staff, and how to successfully craft a competitive application for funding (an opportunity they may not have had up until this point in their career). A contribution towards supervision costs will also be available as acknowledgement of the time invested in supervising the intern(s).

Towards the end of the funding period, NIHR will organise and host an in person cross-institutional event with the supervisors (lead and co-applicants) and the recruited interns to share knowledge and network with other award holders at a similar career stage. Applicants and interns will have the offer of ongoing support and contact from NIHR post award if required.

Applicants and co-applicants (if applicable) are encouraged to explore the wide range of facilities, expertise, networks, and opportunities available to them to develop an exciting and worthwhile internship proposal. This should include designing internships that equip interns with the skills and experiences to encourage them to consider working in research within their chosen profession/research area post degree level studies. This could include activities such as an independent research project, assigning a discrete part of a larger research project, working on publications, data analysis, observing researcher sessions, public involvement, or other suitable related research-based activities that are deemed appropriate to the discipline/profession of the internship.

Following completion of the internship, the awardee and interns will be expected to show evidence of:

• The completion of the internship as per the proposal in the application.
• How the intern has developed new research or technical skills throughout the internship period.
• How this opportunity has increased professional/supervisory skills for the lead/co-applicants.
• Any outputs developed throughout the internship period (publications/presentations/posters/infographics; if applicable).
• How the interns have been involved in collaborative relationships and expanding their networks across the host organisation and beyond.

Evidence of the above will be sought by the NIHR Academy through the UIP final report at the end of the funding period.

Lead Applicant/Co-applicant Eligibility Criteria

Below lists the eligibility criteria for the lead applicant and co-applicant(s) (if applicable) (i.e., the early to mid-career researcher(s)) who wish to host up to three interns. Up to two co-applicants can be listed on each application. 

Lead Applicant/Co-applicant Eligibility:

• Early to mid-career researcher(s) with a PhD or equivalent demonstrable years of research experience, working directly within one of the target disciplines or professions (as listed above).
• Proposed host and partner organisation (if applicable) must be an English Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS body, social care organisation or other provider of health and/or care services.
• Desire and passion to supervise and develop the next generation of health and care researchers.

Whilst it is acknowledged that the definition of ‘early-mid career researcher’ is very broad, we do not expect those who are starting to establish or have established independence, or those who have previously supervised PhD students to completion to be eligible for this scheme. The expectation is that early-mid career researchers will utilise the opportunity to have more exposure to supervision either as their first experience of supervising a junior researcher or building on little previous experience. Example academic titles for those who might be eligible include Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Senior Research Associates, Lecturer and Senior Lecturer. Example clinical/NHS titles may include, but not be limited to Clinical Research Nurses/Midwives/AHP’s and Senior Clinical Practitioners.

Please note: Applicants do NOT have to be existing NIHR Academy Members to apply to this scheme.

Co- applicant Information (if applicable)

The NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme offers the opportunity for co-applicants to contribute to the application. The default expectations are that the lead and co-applicants will host and supervise up to one intern each in either the same or different disciplines/research areas. Requests from the lead/co-applicants to host more than one intern individually will be considered, however this should be strongly justified within the application. Details should include how they will manage more than one intern concurrently whilst ensuring that there is enough resource and time to ensure the interns still maintain adequate support and supervision throughout the internship.

It is possible that co-applicants may be based in separate research groups, thereby promoting more collaborative working between individuals which could in turn enrich the internship experience for recruited interns, however, please note that the same individual can only appear once as a co-applicant in any one round. i.e. co-applicants cannot be listed on more than one application 

The lead and co-applicants will be expected to work together to submit a competitive application for funding. Access to the application form will be provided to co-applicants once the lead applicant has added them as a ‘Participant’ (see details below). Should individuals within the same host organisation/department wish to apply, please ensure that applications are original in structure and content. If lead applicants plan to work with other lead/co- applicants within the same host organisation/department to host a ‘cohort’ of internships, please explicitly reference any other related applications that may be submitted within the same round so that the assessors are aware.  

Mentorship

Given the developmental nature of the award, supervisors may want to add a mentor within their application to help guide and share knowledge around the supervisory process. Therefore, for Round 2, if justified, a more experienced researcher (i.e. somebody who is too senior to apply to the scheme as a lead applicant) can be added as a mentor if it can be clearly demonstrated how their knowledge/experience will benefit and support the lead/co-applicants in supervising the intern(s). 

Intern/Student Eligibility Criteria

If an application is successful, the internship opportunities will be advertised via the host organisation’s normal recruitment processes. NIHR now lists  all internship opportunities after the Funding Recommendation Meeting has taken place on the NIHR website so interns who are interested in applying can navigate easily to the respective host organisations. To be eligible, interns must meet the following criteria:

• Be in their second or third year of their degree level study in either a specific discipline listed above, or a subject related to one of these areas (e.g., biomedical science, psychology, mathematics etc.).
• Have a willingness and/or commitment to explore a future research career in the chosen discipline.
• Interns who are based in  devolved nations are eligible to apply to advertised internships so long as they meet the rest of the eligibility criteria (please note below in the 'location' section of the guidance that lead/co applicants must be based within England). 

Degree level study may include taught undergraduate degrees or degree apprenticeships. If you are unsure about any aspects of the eligibility criteria, please do not hesitate to contact us via academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The NIHR is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, as outlined in our EDI strategy 2022-2027. We want everyone to realise their full potential and make a positive contribution. We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and communities. We are committed to having leadership and teams that are made up of diverse skills and experiences. To find out more, visit our equality, diversity and inclusion page.

Location

Applicants to the NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme, and all associated Host/Partner Organisations (if applicable) must be based in England for the duration of the internship.

Scope of Funding

Applications to the NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme are written and submitted directly by the lead applicant and co-applicants (if applicable). The NIHR cannot, however, contract with the award holder directly and, therefore, all personal award applications must be supported by a suitable Host Organisation. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will enter a contract with the Host Organisation who will administer all funding.

The UIP will support the following costs for the proposed applicant/co-applicants:

• Supervision costs for the lead/co applicant(s) of up to a maximum of £750 per application. Requests for supervision costs should be appropriate and proportional to the number of interns and the duration of the internships proposed. Please note: If you are already in receipt of NIHR Personal Award funding, this will not be an allowable cost.

The scheme will also support the following costs for the intern:

• Stipend/salary/bursary for the full duration of the internship for the intern(s).
• Anticipated costs for travel and accommodation expenses for interns to undertake the internship up to £1000 for each intern (if known and where fully justified i.e., if applicants have the capabilities to recruit interns who live away from their home/current institution).
• A training and development fund up to £200 per intern to attend any associated training activities.

At the time of submission, the applicant(s) may be unsure whether further costs for the intern's travel/accommodation will be required; this will largely be dependent on the capabilities of the host institution to support an intern from outside the host organisation. If it is anticipated during the application stage that the host WILL be able to support this, there is the opportunity to request up to £1000 towards travel and accommodation for each intern. Please note: that we cannot support travel expenses for individuals undertaking an internship at their normal place of work.

All costs will be funded at 100%, therefore Full Economic Costing does not apply. The costs requested in the finance section of the application form will form the basis of the funding should the application be successful.

The NIHR reserves the right to reject any costs that it considers unreasonable or not fully justified.

Assessment Criteria

Following the submission deadline, the NIHR will check applications for completeness and eligibility, and distribute eligible applications to the members of the Selection Committee.

The Selection Committee will assess all eligible applications using the Assessment Criteria below.

• The quality and appropriateness of the internship proposal, and the extent to which it will provide a high-quality, stimulating, and valuable experience for the intern to consider a future career in research.
• If more than one intern is requested, applications will also be assessed on the justification for requesting more than one intern and how they will benefit as being part of a ‘cohort’.
• Suitability of supervisory arrangements proposed by the early-mid career researcher(s) to supervise the intern and the impact this will have on the applicant(s) professional development in a supervisory capacity.
• Suitability of the research group(s)/setting in which the intern(s) will be based to provide opportunities for the intern(s) to experience life working as a health and care researcher.
• The robustness of the plan for advertising the internship opportunities.
• How the applicants and host organisation will ensure that research culture and EDI principles are upheld and maintained.

Start Dates and Award Duration

Internship start and end dates will be determined by the host institution, applicant, and intern as per local arrangements. The structure of the undergraduate courses in the selected/relevant disciplines may influence how the internship is structured and on a more practical level, when they are able to start and finish. As a result, to ensure full flexibility is maintained, the funding requested in the application will be available for one year, starting on a fixed date of 1st April 2025. All internships should be completed by 31st March 2026 as funding cannot be extended beyond this point.

The applicant can choose internship durations from the following:

• 2-4 weeks
• 4-6 weeks
• 6-8 weeks

The flexibility afforded by the scheme again takes into consideration the variable course structures of the disciplines/professions that we are targeting. Some professions/disciplines may be able to be more flexible with this than others.

Contractual Arrangements and Management

Contractual Arrangements

Financial support for the NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme is subject to a contract between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Lead Organisation listed on the application form.

Government procurement transparency regulations require publication of details of all contracts made with the DHSC on their website. Confidential information including detailed finance information, bank details, and departmental staff names (other than the Lead Applicant’s name) will be removed from the published versions.

Annual Reporting

There will be an annual narrative report requested at the end of the funding period. We will also ask for an annual finance report that outlines how the funds have been spent and data on the students that have been recruited.

For the narrative report and student data collection, templates will be provided by the NIHR. The templates will request information on:

• Details of the interns recruited (a template sheet outlining what information we require will be shared during the contracting process).

Further information throughout the funding period may be requested as deemed necessary by NIHR.

Application Procedure and Selection Process

• Applications must be made using the online NIHR Academy online Award Management System (ARAMIS).
• The NIHR Academy (via academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk) can advise on eligibility, and answer queries applicants may have when completing the application form.
• The main applicant will populate a short, non-intensive application form through the award management system (ARAMIS). Sections of the application with further details can be found below in ‘Completing the Application Form: Guidance’.
• All applications to the NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme undergo an initial screen for eligibility. Following this, applications are reviewed by the Funding Committee in advance of a funding recommendation meeting where the decision on which applications to recommend for funding is made. The Funding Committee membership for this scheme can be found on our website. 
• Funding Committees will make recommendations that will be considered by the Chief Scientific Adviser and the Director for the DHSC Science, Research and Evidence (SRE) Directorate. Once confirmed, the decisions will then be communicated to applicants.
• Applicants are informed of the outcome of their application by email when all required processes are complete.
• All documentation must be submitted in English.

Application Deadline and Competition Timetable

Your application must have been submitted by the deadline and the signatory must have approved your application by this time using the Academy Research Awards Management Information System (ARAMIS) online application system. All components of your application must be submitted by the deadline.

• NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme opens for applications: 10 September 2024
• NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme closes for applications: 7 November 2024 by 13:00 (GMT)
• Funding Committee Shortlisting: November 2024 - January 2025
• Funding Recommendation Meeting: February 2025
• Funding available from: 01 April 2025 until 31 March 2026

Registering, Completing and Submitting the Application

Registering

All Fellowship applications must be completed and submitted via the online application system. Before you can start an application, you will be required to register on the system. You will be asked to supply a valid email address and to complete some basic information. Once this has been submitted you will receive an email confirming your registration and a temporary password. You should follow the instructions in the email to log onto the system.

Once signed into the system you will be able to update various details including your CV (in ‘manage my details’) and apply for any open applications. When registered on the system you can apply for any open applications. To start an application, you will need to go to “My Applications” and select “New Application”. You should then select ‘NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme R2 2024’ from the list provided.

After answering all the eligibility questions, applicants will be able to start completing the online form. Applicants must ensure they have read all the available guidance text including this document as well as any online instructions thoroughly whilst completing the form.

Completing and Submitting the Form

Please see Annex A for flow diagrams of the application submission process.

Applicants

The lead applicant is required to complete all the mandatory sections of the form and to enter under the “Participants and Signatories” section the names and contact details of those individuals fulfilling Participant and Signatory roles (see below).

Once the lead applicant and co-applicant(s) (if applicable) have completed their sections of the form, and the rest of the Participants and Signatories have made their contribution, the lead applicant is required to “Submit” the application to the Signatory for final sign off before the closing date.

The lead applicant can only “Submit” an application for final sign off by the signatory when:

• All mandatory sections of the application form have been completed.
• All Participants and Signatories have agreed to be a part of the application and have completed their relevant sections.
• Applicants have completed the declaration information.

It is highly recommended that applicants complete their application well in advance of the deadline to allow the Participants and Signatories enough time to complete the relevant sections and declarations. Participants and Signatories who are required to complete their parts of the application form can do so at any time once they have agreed to be part of the application.

Participants and Signatories

The lead applicant is required to provide the names and email addresses (if not already registered on ARAMIS) of the individuals who will be undertaking Participant and Signatory roles as part of the application. Participants and Signatories must agree to be part of the application before it is submitted.

Participants and Signatories are required to review the declaration for their role before confirming participation. By confirming participation, Participants and Signatories are acknowledging their involvement and input into an application and agree to be involved in it. Lead applicants must ensure that all Participants and Signatories are happy for their application to be submitted before submitting it on the online system.

Please note it is often the case that one or more of the Participants are also named as Signatories.

Participants

• Co-applicant(s) (if applicable): If co-applicants are included within the application, they must first be added as a ‘Participant’ by the lead applicant and confirm participation before they have access to edit the form. Please note that only the lead applicant who created the application will be able to edit the ‘Detailed Budget Breakdown’ section of the form.
• Host Organisation Administrative Authority or Finance Officer: The Administrative Authority or Finance Officer for the Host Organisation must confirm that they will ensure the accuracy of the financial details of the application and that the Host Organisation is prepared to carry out this award at the stated costs and to administer the award if made. The ‘Detailed Budget Breakdown’ section of the application form will be editable by the finance participant once they have agreed participation.

Signatory

You are required to supply the name and email address (if not already registered on the ARAMIS application system) of the individual who will be ‘signing off’ your application. Once their contact details have been entered, the signatory will be invited to log into the system and confirm their participation. Details of what is required and expected of each of the roles can be found below.

The signatory will be required to agree to the role being asked of them in the application before the application is submitted by the applicant. The signatory must then approve the final version of the application after it has been submitted via ARAMIS. i.e., the signatory must have agreed to participate and have completed their sections before the applicant is able to press the SUBMIT button and send the application for signatory approval.

Signatories must approve the application after the applicant has selected the SUBMIT option but BEFORE the application submission deadline.

Please see the 'Application Submission Process Flow Diagram’ (Annex A) for further information. The final signatory approval will result in the application being fully submitted to the NIHR. All parties (applicant, participants, and signatories) will be notified of this via an automated system generated email.

NIHR will not accept any applications unless fully approved by your signatories prior to the 1pm deadline, no exceptions will be made.

• Head of Department: In agreeing to participate in this application, the Head of Department of the host organisation in which this award will be based must confirm that they support the application and that, if funded, agree to the continuing support of the applicant and intern(s). This should be detailed under the ‘Host Organisation Support Statement’.

Please note that all the steps described here need to take place before the deadline of 1:00 pm on 7 November 2024. No exceptions will be made. Should you require assistance in completing the online form, please contact the NIHR at 0113 532 8410 or by emailing academy-awards@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 by DHSC. It can take up to 4 weeks following the Funding Recommendation Meeting for application outcomes to be issued. Any available feedback will be sent to applicants after the funding decisions have been made.

Further guidance for submitting the application on the online application system is available below.

Completing the Application Form: Guidance

1. Lead Applicant CV

Please note some of the responses to these questions are automatically pulled through from information you have entered in the ’Manage My Details’ or ‘Research Outputs’ page. The ‘Publication Record’ section of the form is automatically populated from publications added into the “My Research Outputs” page of your ARAMIS account.

Professional Bodies

Please use this section to provide details of your current registration to the professional bodies (if applicable)

Degrees and professional qualifications

Please give the full details of any completed higher degree(s) and, where relevant, the full details of any higher degree(s) you are currently undertaking 

Present and previous positions

When entering details of your current and previous positions please indicate at what percentage (WTE) in each post you were undertaking research. For example, if you were a Clinical Lecturer and undertook research for 2.5 days a week and clinical/practice work for 2.5 days per week; please enter 50% for that position. If you have worked part time at 60%, and undertook research for half of that time, please enter 30% for that position.

Research grants held

Details of all relevant grants obtained in the last five years should be provided, including personal research training awards or Fellowships, plus any additional previous grants relevant to this application. Please clearly indicate any co-applicants and provide brief details of the nature and full extent of your involvement (e.g., project design, project management, day to day running, data collection, data analysis, writing papers for publication, etc.).

Please also include in the ‘Role in Research Grant’ box for each entry: registration number and name of registry and the DOI of the main related publication. Where the study is still ongoing or final results have not yet been published, please provide an estimated publication date. This is in line with the NIHR policy on clinical trial registration and disclosure of results.

It is recognised that the outputs in terms of grants and publications will vary depending on your experience, profession and level of award being applied for. Linking to and using the response to the Applicant Research Background section you should highlight the impact of outputs listed under research grants and make the case for why your experience and outputs make you suitable for the fellowship being applied for.

Please note that your research grant record must be completed within the application form and not via the CV section on ARAMIS.

Publication record

The publication record is automatically populated from the information added to the “Research Outputs” section of your ARAMIS account. To update, please “save and close” your application, return to the “home” screen and select “Research Outputs” from the left-hand menu.

To ensure publications display correctly, with all of the required information, applicants are strongly advised to use the “import” function and import their publications from Europe PMC. This is done as follows:

1. Log in to ARAMIS Portal and click 'My Research Outputs'.
2. Click 'Import' and ensure 'Source' is 'Europe PMC'. Proceed to click 'Select Records >>'
3. Use the search fields to find the publication and click 'Search'
4. Select the publications from the list and click ‘Complete Import >>'
5. Click 'Import' and after the import process has completed, these publications will appear in 'My Research Outputs'.

Should applicants wish/need to manually insert publications into their ARAMIS account, this can be done as follows:

1. Log in to ARAMIS Portal and click 'My Research Outputs'.
2. On the 'Search' page click 'New'.
3. Enter the title and date of the publication and click 'Save'.
4. Next, you must proceed to add the author(s) and journal information of the publication at the very minimum. Please proceed to do this by clicking the ‘People’ and ‘Journal’ option on the left hand side. Add in the required information.
5. When the authors have been added, we advise that the Lead Applicant’s name is edited to show in bold within the application forms by using the “Assign Grant Contacts” option.
6. This publication will now appear in 'My Research Outputs’.

It is important to ensure that the publications entered as per the above are formatted correctly within the main application form under ‘Applicant CV’. Applicants are also advised to check the PDF version of their application prior to submission.

Do not include abstracts, conference proceedings or articles in preparation. If relevant, details of these may be included in the ‘Applicant Research Background’ section. Details of articles which are in press and have been accepted as final by the publisher may be included. Depending on professional background and expertise, applicants are not necessarily expected to have an extensive list of publications.

Only publications relevant to your application should be included.

Relevant prizes, awards, and other academic distinctions

Please provide details of any awards or distinctions that would be relevant to your application including details of what the award was for.

OrCiD

The NIHR is an ORCID member and encourages all researchers to obtain this persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher. You must include an ORCID ID in your application. Without it, your application will not be validated and you will not be able to submit.

2. Application summary information

Scope of Internship host organisations

All personal award applications must be supported by a suitable Host Organisation. Suitable Host Organisations include:

• a recognised HEI based in England.
• an NHS body based in England.
• an English provider of publicly funded health and/or social care services.
• a provider of third sector publicly funded health and/or social care services (for example, a commissioned social enterprise, local authority, or hospice

Lead/Host Organisation

Please detail how the internship opportunities will be advertised by the applicants at the host organisation or externally should the application be successful i.e., internal vs external promotion and how this will be achieved.

Partner Organisation (if applicable)

Please give details of the partner organisation who will be supporting this application should the internship/placement be held outside of the main host organisation.

For example, a nursing undergraduate may be contracted directly by a HEI, however the day-to-day internship could be planned to be undertaken within an NHS organisation. The NHS organisation in this instance would need to be listed as the Partner Organisation.

Please proceed to tick the box to confirm that the Partner Organisation is happy to act in this capacity.

Please note: You must have discussed and sought agreement/permission from the Internship Partner Institution before you submit an application.

Lead Applicant Professional Background

Lead applicant only. Please select the one option which best describes your professional group. This will determine the options that appear below for your professional background.

If the application includes co-applicants, they will be asked to list their professional background in the ‘Co-applicant Details’ section below.

Co-applicant details (if applicable)

The NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme allows up to two co-applicants to contribute to the application. In this section, please list the following details of the co-applicants, including:

• Title
• First name
• Surname
• Organisation
• Professional Background
• Position
• Email
• ORCiD

Please tick to confirm that all co-applicants are happy to be included in the application.

Funding commencement date 

This is a fixed date of 01 April 2025. As described, the funding requested will be available for one year until 31 March 2026. The Internship must start and finish within this timeframe; no extensions will be permitted. 

3. Research Background

Lead applicant/co-applicant research background (max 1500 words)

Please use this section to describe the applicant’s and co-applicant’s (if applicable) research career(s) to date, describing your suitability for this award in line with the eligibility criteria. If co-applicants are contributing to the application, please use the formatting options within the form to describe the research background for each individual within the same section i.e., use bold/underline to highlight the respective applicants name as per the below:

• Applicant 1 (Lead Applicant) - My research career spans 3 years….
• Applicant 2 (Co-applicant) - For 2 years I have worked in…

Mentors (max 500 words)

Please use this section to describe whether any mentors will be supporting the supervisors in hosting the internships.

4. Host organisation details

Department within Lead and Partner Organisation (if applicable) where the internship will be hosted (max 1000 words)

Please provide further details of the department(s)/institute(s) in which the internship(s) will be hosted. If the interns are planned to be hosted across different departments/institutes/research groups, please proceed to describe each of them involved. i.e., use bold/underline to highlight the respective departments name as per the below:

• School of Nursing and Midwifery - The School of Nursing and Midwifery has a variety of nursing programmes…
• School of Pharmacy - The School of Pharmacy has had a substantial impact over the last 10 years…

It is important to describe how the group/environment will contribute to the enrichment of the internship, and if more than one intern is requested, and how this will benefit the internship cohort.

Advertising the internships (max 500 words)

Please detail how the internship opportunities will be advertised by the applicants at the host organisation or externally should the application be successful i.e., internal vs external promotion and how this will be achieved.

Research inclusion (max 300 words)

NIHR are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), developing researchers from multiple disciplines, specialisms, geographies, and backgrounds, whilst working to address barriers to career progression.

Please describe how you plan to ensure that the internships you offer meet our commitments to EDI. It is encouraged that the recruitment and promotion of the available internships are accessible to a broad demographic/geographical range (especially in areas that are under-represented in research), wherever possible.

Host organisation support (max 1000 words)

The statement is completed by the Head of Department and should detail how the organisation(s) are going to support the applicant and interns.

NIHR sees the responsibility for training the next generation of research leaders as a joint enterprise with host organisations. Therefore, information should also be provided on the organisation’s track record of supporting early career researchers, such as evidence of bridging or other support provided to fellows upon completion of an award.

In addition, the statement should evidence the host organisation(s) approach and commitment to creating and maintaining an inclusive and supportive research culture for all. The statement should include evidence of the organisational values and how this supports equality, diversity and inclusion as well as acknowledging the organisation’s responsibilities with respect to research integrity.

Statements may wish to refer to the principles and best practice outlined within relevant Charters and Concordats in these areas, such as the Researcher Development Concordat and Advance HE’s Equality Charters. It should be noted that being a signatory to Concordats or holding bronze/silver status from the Equality Charters isn’t a requirement of funding and evidence can be provided through other means.

NIHR expects that all commitments made to the applicant within this statement will be honoured for the lifetime of the award.

5. Intern 1/2/3 information

The ‘Intern 1 Information’ section should be populated by the lead applicant who created the application. This is a mandatory section of the form and must be completed prior to submission.

If more than one intern is being requested, please proceed to populate the ’Intern 2 and 3 Information’ pages:

• If the lead applicant wants to host more than one intern themself, there is no requirement to populate the ‘Supervisory Arrangement’ box on the Intern 2/3 pages. Please proceed to put ‘N/A - Refer to Intern 1’ to ensure this information is picked up by the reviewers.
• If the role of the co-applicant(s) is to host one of the interns, they should proceed to populate all sections of the ’Intern 2 or 3 Information’ pages respectively.
• If the role of the co-applicant(s) is to assist with the supervision of the intern(s) alongside the lead applicant, please make this explicitly clear.

Duration of the internship

Please select from the dropdown the duration of the internship you wish to apply to have:

• 2-4 weeks
• 4-6 weeks
• 6-8 weeks

Discipline/profession you wish to host the intern in

Please select from the drop down the discipline/profession in which the internship will be held:

• Nursing
• Midwifery
• Allied Health Professionals
• Pharmacy
• Healthcare Science
• Data Science
• Public Health
• Social Scare
• Research Methodology

Date Internship to Start (if known):

If approximate start dates of the internship(s) are known, please populate this section i.e., you may be planning the internship to be undertaken over the summer, therefore an indicative start date of 1st July may be appropriate.
This information will help with NIHR’s financial monitoring. If you are unsure, or this information is unknown, please leave this box blank.

Date Internship to End (if known):

If approximate end dates of the internship(s) are known, please populate this section i.e., you may be planning the internship to be undertaken over the summer, therefore an indicative end date of 31st Aug may be appropriate.

This information will help with NIHR’s financial monitoring. If you are unsure, or this information is unknown, please leave this box blank.

Supervisory Arrangements (max 750 words):

Please detail the supervisory arrangements for the intern(s) throughout the internship, how this will benefit the intern and what this opportunity will have on the applicant’s/co-applicants personal and professional development in a supervisory capacity.

If the co-applicant is acting in a joint supervisory capacity (as described above), please name each of the individuals who will be hosting the intern. You may wish to use headings within the ‘Supervisory Arrangement’ box to describe in detail what the supervisory arrangements are between the supervisors for the duration of the internship(s) and how this will work in practice.

Internship Details (max 750 words):

This section should detail the internship proposal within the discipline selected. Please provide as much detail as possible. The internship proposal must be focused around early translational (experimental medicine), clinical and applied research that pertains to health, public health and/or social care, and that would meet the NIHR remit for personal awards.

We advise that you consider the following:

• What the internship will involve (i.e., an independent research project, a discrete part of a larger research project, working on publications, data analysis, observing researcher session, public involvement, other related research based activities etc) and what key skills/knowledge the intern will learn throughout the duration of the internship.
• Key milestones during the internships including timescales (where applicable) and how the internship will be structured in relation to the proposed discipline/profession the internship will be held.
• Ensuring that the proposal is realistic and achievable within the chosen internship duration.
• How the internship will be a valuable experience for the undergraduate student and what insights they will be exposed to.
• How the interns will benefit as a cohort (should more than one intern be requested)

6. Detailed Budget Breakdown

Justification of Costs

Please provide a detailed breakdown of costs associated with the recruitment of the intern(s). It is recommended that you input the cost of each intern requested on separate budget lines. As per the scope of funding, you can include in this section:

• The amount of funding required to host the intern, the method/process by which the intern will be funded (bursary/hourly rate/fixed stipend/temporary contracts etc.), and how this has been calculated (i.e., hourly standard living wage, institutional bursary etc).
• Up to £1000 per intern for travel and accommodation expenses (please see ‘Scope of Funding’ for more information on what is permitted)
• Contribution for supervisory time (up to £750 per application). Please state how much you are requesting and the justification for this.
• Up to £200 per intern for further training and development

Clear and detailed justifications with workings (as required) should be provided in this section. NIHR reserves the right to reject any costs that it considers unreasonable or not fully justified. We strongly advise that you discuss this with your Host Organisation Administrative Authority or Finance Officer prior to submission.
Please note: This section of the form can only be accessed by the lead applicant.

7. Participants and Signatory

Participants and a signatory are required to be added to your application and, where applicable, to complete or review sections of it as detailed above. Details of the required individuals are provided on the online application form along with details of how they should be added.

If co-applicants are included within the application, they must first be added as a Participant by the lead applicant and confirm participation before they have access to edit their respective sections of the form.

Please note that the co-applicant role may be referred to as ‘co-supervisor’. No action should be taken.

The flow diagram in Annex A goes through the actions required of participants, signatory, and the applicant.

8. Acknowledge, Review and Submit

Conflict checks (max 300 words):

Please declare any conflicts or potential conflicts of interest that you may have, including any relevant, non-personal and commercial interest that could be perceived as a conflict of interest.

Agreement to terms and conditions

Please click the check box to confirm you agree to the Terms and Conditions of submission as detailed on the application form.

Additional Supporting Information

Plagiarism in NIHR funding applications

NIHR expects all content within applications for funding to be original material of the applicant's own work, except for 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’s policy on plagiarism, a copy of which is available on request from academy-awards@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 a grant. 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 Executive is part of the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The contracting agent for the NIHR Academy Executive 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@dh.gsi.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.

Transparency Agenda

In line with the government’s transparency agenda, any contract resulting from this tender may be published in its entirety to the public. 

Contractual Arrangements

Financial support for an NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme Award is subject to a contract between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the host organisation.

Once funding for an internship has been discussed and agreed, NIHR will confirm the financial arrangements with the host organisation. NIHR will provide the host organisation with a contract setting out the details of these arrangements.

Government procurement transparency regulations require publication of details of all contracts made with the DHSC on their Website. Confidential information including research proposals, detailed finance information, bank details, and departmental staff names (other than the award holder’s name) will be removed from the published versions.

Freedom of Information Act

The NIHR manages the NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme 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.

Equality and Diversity Monitoring Information

NIHR is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in research and asks applicants to provide Equality and Diversity Monitoring Information. By answering these Diversity Monitoring 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 you provide, the more effective our monitoring will be. This information will not be used to make decisions about funding.

The NIHR is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, as outlined in our EDI strategy 2022-2027. We want everyone to realise their full potential and make a positive contribution. We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and communities. We are committed to having leadership and teams that are made up of diverse skills and experiences. To find out more, visit our equality, diversity, and inclusion page.

We will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments to remove barriers in the application process. If you have any access needs or require any support throughout the application process, please contact us (Phone: 0113 532 8410, email: academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk).

If appointed, we will also work with you to identify adjustments to carry out the role.

Guidance and Advice

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

Phone: 0113 532 8410
Email: academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk 

Annex A: Application Submission Process Flow Diagram

Outlined are the steps for submitting an application. The applicant starts the application and adds participant and signatory details. The participants and signatories can then log in and confirm their participation and signatories can complete the sections of the form as directed. The applicant can continue entering data and completes all relevant sections of the form (step 3). The applicant then presses the ‘Submit’ button. Once the applicant submits, signatories will receive automated emails to approve the application. However, automated ‘out of office’ replies to these emails will not be relayed to the applicant. Once all signatories have approved the application, it is automatically submitted to NIHR for consideration. Rejection of the application by any individual at this stage will return the application to step 3.