On 29 June 2023 the National Institute for Health and Care Research announced that the Research Design Service will close on 30 September 2023.

The RDS London Public Involvement Fund closed to applications on 30 September 2023. The last claim for reimbursement of PIF funds will be 31 December 2023.

From 1 October 2023 you can access public involvement support for any new projects from the new NIHR Research Support Service.

Why we offered the public involvement fund

It is fundamental to funding success to implement public involvement at all stages of your research – especially in the early phases when studies are being designed.

We know that it is considered good practice to involve members of the public as early as possible in your research design, but funding for public involvement at the application stage can be challenging.

We also recognised that until your research has been funded, you may have very few resources to be able to pay for public involvement. Our Public involvement fund (PIF) aimed to bridge that gap by supporting your development of a research idea and application.

About the PIF

The PIF was a pre-award offering for researchers submitting an application to any peer-reviewed applied health and social care research funding streams based in England. The maximum amount awarded was £350.

We also ran a competitive fund, the PIF plus, for the NIHR RfPB and NIHR RfSC calls in 2021, and the NIHR PDG call for  innovative public partnerships awards in 2022. The maximum amount that we awarded was £750, and applicants had to demonstrate innovative approaches to their public involvement to be awarded the fund.