The Research for Patient Benefit funding stream has just announced that it is dropping the requirement for a Registration of Intention (ROI) from the next funding round (competition 13).

Therefore those researchers planning on submitting to the September deadline (24 September2010) will no longer have to have an ROI in advance.

RfPB is therefore now a one-stage application process, with no outline stage.

Remember however that to have the best chance of being funded you really do need to get support from the RDS as early as possible.

Across the country there is evidence to show that if a researcher takes the advice of their Research Design Service then they are more than twice as likely to have their project funded than if they do not contact the RDS.¹

Since starting in 2009 the Research Design Service South Central has worked with over 195 Researchers from across the South Central Region, including both academics and health professionals from all aspects of healthcare.

We have advised on over 250 research projects, many of which have received funding already and many which are expected to receive funding over the coming months.

The Research Design Service, a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) funded organisation, aims to support health researchers by encouraging the development of high-quality research.  Across the country, ten branches of the service are providing free advice on all aspects of preparing grant applications, including: identifying suitable funding sources; building an appropriate research team; designing a study; identifying the resources required for a successful project; and involving patients and the public.

There is a misconception that the RDS is only aimed at those researchers with less grant writing experience than their colleagues, but this is simply not the case. The RDS has a wide range of skilled research professionals and is able to bring its knowledge and experience to benefit all research funding applications from researchers of all levels.

Contact us now to discuss how to improve your application.

¹ Based upon the most recent RfPB funding data from NIHR

Public involvement improves research, says new report

Public and patient involvement in research can enhance the quality of research and research outcomes, according to a new report published by INVOLVE.

INVOLVE is funded by NIHR to promote public and patient involvement in research.  The new report: Exploring Impact: public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research looks at the impact of public involvement through an in-depth review of published literature.

It draws together examples of how public involvement is conducted, and how it makes a difference. It also raises questions about the quality of evidence showing the impact of such involvement, revealing huge variations in how this is assessed and reported, highlighting difficulties in judging it or drawing general conclusions.

The full report (116 pages) is available to download on the publications section of the INVOLVE website

http://www.invo.org.uk/Publications.asp
http://www.invo.org.uk/pdfs/Involve_Exploring_Impactfinal28.10.09.pdf

a 16 page summary is also available http://www.invo.org.uk/pdfs/InvolveExploringImpactSummary3.11.09final.pdf

Please contact INVOLVE if you need a paper copy of the report admin@invo.org.uk or telephone 02380 651088

INVOLVE shares knowledge and learning on public involvement in research and provides resources for researchers and research commissioners and funders on how to involve members of the public in research.

For further information on INVOLVE please visit their website www.invo.org.uk