NIHR Research Design Service South Central awarded 5-year contract

Ten NHS organisations and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been awarded £50m to provide the NIHR Research Design Service (RDS) over five years from 1 October 2018.

The NIHR RDS supports researchers to develop and design high quality research proposals for submission to NIHR funding programmes and other open, national, peer reviewed funding competitions, for health or social care research.

RDS South Central (SC) is part of the national network of the NIHR RDS and will receive £5.3 million from the new contract. This will enable RDS SC to continue offering free and confidential advice, drawing on a unique breadth of experience and established track record in improving funding applications.

RDS South Central comprises a partnership between the Universities of Southampton, Oxford, Oxford Brookes and Portsmouth and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Our multi-disciplinary team of methodologists and advisers will continue to provide tailored research design advice to researchers in the South Central region via face-to-face meetings, peer review of applications and support for patient and public involvement.

Find out more about NIHR RDS South Central here and request support here.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR): improving the health and wealth of the nation through research. Established by the Department of Health and Social Care, the NIHR:

  • funds high quality research to improve health
  • trains and supports health researchers
  • provides world-class research facilities
  • works with the life sciences industry and charities to benefit all
  • involves patients and the public at every step

For further information, visit the NIHR website (www.nihr.ac.uk).