Please note: The NIHR Research Design Service closed on 30 September 2023.

If you requested support from RDS London on or before 30 September 2023, in the majority of cases we will be able to support you until 31 March 2024. However, depending on the stage of your proposal, we may refer you directly to the new NIHR Research Support Service.

For more information about how this will affect you, please see our FAQs.

Who we are

The Research Design Service (RDS) offers a free, confidential service to new and experienced research teams that supports clinicians, health and social care professionals and academics to develop high-quality, competitive funding applications for applied health, public health, and social care research.

We are funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people’s health and wellbeing and promotes economic growth. There are 10 regional Research Design Services in England, and RDS London is part of this network.

Each RDS is made up of teams of skilled advisers who can help you to develop proposals and obtain funding for research of direct benefit to users of NHS and social care services, and the population as a whole.

Your London RDS

RDS London is brought together by four world-leading research-focused universities, led by King’s College London in partnership with: Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London and University College London.

What we offer

We provide tailored support and guidance from initial idea through to final application through:

  • Guidance and expertise on study design and research methods
  • Helping you identify suitable funding streams
  • Supporting you to plan and facilitate your public involvement
  • Helping you get the narrative right
  • Interpreting your feedback and supporting resubmissions.

How to access support

From 1 October 2023 until 31 March 2024 you can still access our:

Public involvement

As part of our service we provide essential advice, support, and funding for researchers to ensure patients, service users, carers and the public are fully-involved in research development, design and delivery – and at the earliest stages of research!

You can watch the videos below to find out more about our London service and our history.

Our specialist areas

At RDS London, our core and partner institutions have teams of experts that can provide specialist advice on:

  • Data science
  • Epidemiology
  • Ethics
  • Health economics
  • Health psychology
  • Patient and public involvement
  • Qualitative research methods
  • Statistics.

We also offer advice on Social Care, Local Authority, and Public Health research, and if we unable to offer a particular service in-house, we will refer you to the right support through the NIHR and other research networks.

Find out more in our Research Leads video series.

You can also find out more about how we work in our RDS Charter.

Our team

Our advisers are well-connected active researchers with specialist methodological expertise and considerable experience of the NIHR funding programmes and preparation of suitable applications. Depending on the research background of our advisers, we may also be able to introduce researchers to potential collaborators.

What clients say

92% of those who completed our client survey in 2020/21 told us that our input led to helpful changes in their proposal, and 96% would contact RDS London again for advice. We encourage client feedback as it helps us to shape our events and service.