Research and fellowship funding perspectives: A collective NIHR experience of a community of pre- and post-doctoral radiographers

Abstract

Objectives

This paper harnesses a comprehensive overview and the collective experience of a community of pre- and post-doctoral Radiographers in successfully securing grants to demonstrate what is required as part of an NIHR fellowship application.

Key findings

Developing a research fellowship application requires individuals to expose themselves to critique to improve the content, design and structure of the proposed piece of work. The scale of the project should be carefully considered when developing applications, with the research plan accurately and realistically proposing a suitable amount of work to be undertaken within the timeframe.

All fellowship applications comprise several key elements which must be meticulously crafted to address the requirements of the specific call. This is critical because every section of the application undergoes scrutiny by review panels to ensure the funding achieves its maximum impact.

The key elements requiring detailed information are themed around Project, Person, Place, Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE), the surrounding People, and a training plan. However, a golden thread highlighting inclusive research that is people-centred is required to run through the entire application.

Conclusion

NIHR fellowships are an important pathway to enable dedicated clinically relevant research projects for patient/family benefit to be combined with the advancement of an individual's clinical and academic skills. These dedicated funding streams are tailor-made to enable a wide range of healthcare professionals, including Radiographers, to develop into research leaders of the future.

Implications for practice

Maximising research training opportunities, including research fellowships for the Radiography profession, will offer the completion of clinically relevant research projects alongside the development of the research leaders of the future.