Am I eligible for the public involvement fund (PIF)?

To be considered for the PIF, you must be planning to submit a health or social care research proposal to a peer-reviewed fund in England. You must also be receiving support from an RDS London General Adviser.

How much is awarded?

The maximum amount that we award is £350.

What can the PIF be used for?

PIF-funded activities are intended to inform the development of at least one national, peer reviewed research application. Funds should be used to involve the public in the development of your research idea and/or funding application, for example, you may wish to use the funds to hold a meeting where you discuss your research proposal with a group of patients.

Funds can be used to:

  • Reimburse out-of-pocket expenses for members of the public (e.g. travel, subsistence, carer costs)
  • Reimburse members of the public for their time
  • Pay for refreshments at meetings or events
  • Hire a venue external to your organisation, if this is fully justified (e.g. where an accessible room is not available for free)
  • Pay for materials which you would not normally have access to free of charge within your organisation (e.g. play materials for a session with children).
  • If you request basic supplies (e.g. stationary, postage etc.) you need to fully justify why you cannot access these materials within your organisation.

Funds cannot be used to:

  • Pay for public involvement activities in studies that have already been funded
  • Pay for public involvement activities that are in progress or have been completed
  • Pay for the time, expenses and/or training of someone who is contributing as part of and during their paid employment (e.g. health or care professionals or practitioners)
  • Pay for time, expenses and/or training of a professional member of the research team
  • Undertake research
  • Hire a venue within your own organisation
  • Pay for materials which you can reasonably obtain within your organisation (e.g. printing costs or postage).

Take a look at the RDS London public involvement handbook (PDF download) for more ideas on involving public contributors in the development of research ideas and funding applications.

You can find out more about payments in the NIHR payment guidance for researchers and professionals and in the NIHR guidance for easier payment of public contributors to research.

Application rules

Please submit your application at least eight weeks in advance of your funding application deadline.

We may still consider an application at a later stage, but you should email us to check if your proposal is eligible.

For research funding applications that consist of two stages, we recommend that you submit a completed application form (and carry out funded activities) in advance of the first stage submission deadline.

We may still consider applications post-stage 1 submission, but you should get in touch to find out if your proposal is eligible.

Ready to apply?

Please fill in our PIF application form.

You can expect a decision on your application within three weeks of submitting a fully-completed form.

How will my application be assessed?

Our team of lay reviewers will review your application and their decision will be based on:

What we need from you

If you are awarded the PIF, to evaluate its impact we will require you to complete a short feedback questionnaire. We may also collect views from the public involvement groups that provided input into your study.

If you have any questions, please email us.

Ready to apply?

Please fill in our PIF application form.