On 29 June 2023 the National Institute for Health and Care Research announced that the Research Design Service will close on 30 September 2023.
A new service, the NIHR Research Support Service will commence from 1 October 2023. Any research support request made on or after 1 October 2023 should be directed to the Research Support Service.
RDS London clients who have approached us with a specific project request prior to 30 September 2023 will be able to continue working with our London advisory team until 30 March 2023. However, where we feel your project will be better matched to receiving support from the new Research Support Service, we will refer you to that service.
We have updated our Charter below to reflect these changes. For more specifics about ways of working with us, please see our updated FAQs.
Working with the Research Design Service
The NIHR Research Design Service (RDS) is a national network comprising 10 regional services across England. Each RDS helps local researchers develop competitive funding applications for health, global health, public health, and social care research.
The following charter describes what you can expect from us and what we need from you to be able to provide the best possible service.
Research Design Service Charter
The RDS will:
- offer free advice on developing research funding and fellowship applications
- allocate advisers to coordinate support and guidance
- provide timely feedback on draft applications
- where appropriate, consult with our public contributors* as part of the support we provide
- treat all discussions and information provided in confidence
- signpost to other helpful people, services, and resources.
The RDS can:
- identify suitable funding streams for your research
- find any gaps in your research team and suggesting collaborators
- recommend appropriate methods and designs
- advise on and support public involvement in your research
- help you demonstrate the potential value and impact of your research
- review application drafts and suggest improvements.
The RDS cannot:
- support applications not intended for national peer-reviewed funding bodies
- provide supervision or informal support for students
- draft sections of funding applications
- carry out any of the research proposed
- promote or endorse any application or intervention.
What we need from you:
To get the best service from us, we ask that you:
- approach us well in advance of your funding application deadline (and no later than four working weeks beforehand)**
- where possible, familiarise yourselves with the scope and eligibility of your intended funder
- inform us of the outcome of your application
- provide feedback through our post-advice surveys.
From time-to-time we may wish to contact you for the purposes of:
- following up on the outcome of your application
- requesting a case study
- asking you to speak at our events.
*‘Public contributors’ are lay people who work with us to support research teams. They have an interest in health research and can provide public involvement advice.
**Our final deadline for requests is 30 September 2023. If you approach us after this date, we will not be able to provide you with one-to-one support.
