South West Integrated Clinical Academic (ICA)
Bridging Programme:

Pre-Doctoral Awards (2019/20)
Information and application process

For further information contact:

Christina Doncom – Associate Postgraduate Dean and Interim ICA Lead for the South West.
E. Christina.Doncom@hee.nhs.uk
T. 01454 252 629

Introduction

Health Education England (HEE) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) have established an overarching Integrated Clinical Academic (ICA) programme for non-medical healthcare professionals.

‘Clinical academics are clinically active health researchers. They work in health and social care as clinicians to improve, maintain, or recover health while in parallel researching new ways of delivering better outcomes for the patients they treat and care for’
(Building a Research Career, NIHR 2015)

The ICA programme is intended to increase research capacity in order to improve health and healthcare, by developing people with the potential and aspiration to become leading clinical academics and independent researchers in the future.

This year (2019/2020) we have secured local funding to support a number of transitional awards for non-medical clinical academics between the Masters and Post-Doctoral level. These awards offer the unique opportunity to develop an individualised, structured, six-month development plan. With their clinical academic supervisor, successful individuals will have the opportunity to design a bespoke educational programme tailored to suit their specific clinical academic needs and aspirations. Therefore the ‘transition’ could include the completion of a Masters, preparation for PhD or a transition point within a PhD.

The awards can be completed on a full or part-time basis, as long as all costs remain within the maximum funding envelope of up to £12,000. Proposals should align their organisations research priorities and the HEE Mandate objectives.

Useful link

ICA HEE/NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic Programme for non-medical healthcare professions

Eligibility

The awards are open to Allied Health Professionals, Nurses, Midwives, Pharmacists, Clinical Psychologists, Healthcare Scientists and wider Dental Team Professions. To be eligible for one of these awards you will need to provide evidence that you have the following:

1. Current registration to practice in the UK with the appropriate regulatory and professional bodies
2. Applicants must be employed by a provider of health and/or care services that is providing at least 50% of its services free at the point of delivery. The applicant must also be spending at least 50% of their current role delivering health and/or care services which are free at the point of delivery.
3. Two years post-registration practice experience
4. Support from your line manager to undertake the award
5. A keen interest and clear suitability for a clinical academic career
6. Mentorship from a named clinical academic supervisor (identified by you)
7. Access to a bespoke educational programme related to specific aspects of the research methodology or data analysis. This could include an academic module, a short course or further accredited academic training
8. The opportunity to develop links with an existing clinical research team (identified by you)
9. Ability for your employer to manage the award funding across financial years
10. Ability to complete the award by 31 March 2020 or to manage funds across financial years
11. Unfortunately, individuals already in receipt of a full grant from elsewhere are not eligible for this award

How much is the award and how can the funding be used?

Each successful applicant will be awarded up to £12,000 to cover costs including salary backfill, incidental costs, research and clinical supervision, and formal education costs.

Suggestions on how the budget can be spent are presented below;

1. Clinical backfill - it is recognised that this may form the main budget expenditure. The most appropriate backfill arrangements can be decided by the awardee and their line manager.
2. Research project – this could include expenses related to the applied research objectives e.g. patient and public involvement, digital voice records, reference management systems, dictation services etc.
3. Academic supervision and formal teaching – it is essential to have academic supervision throughout the award. Ideally this support should be from a University within the South West region, however it is recognised that some professional groups may have to find this support from outside of the region. It is recommended that academic supervision costs do not exceed 20% of the overall spending plan. In addition to academic supervision, it may also be appropriate to access further formal teaching.
4. Dissemination costs – an element of the award is to disseminate the findings through publications and/or conference presentations. Therefore the award can be used to fund conference or publication costs. It is also anticipated that each successful applicant will produce a poster for HEE working across the south west.

It is recommended that the spending plans are checked by finance teams prior to submission. The amount awarded will be paid directly to the awardees employer this financial year.

Evaluation

A brief progress report will be required at a half way point and an evaluation will be completed at the end of the award.

Application process

Please submit a completed checklist (see Appendix 1) and all corresponding documentation to: Christina.Doncom@hee.nhs.uk by 4:00 pm on 21 May 2019.

Key dates

Closing date for applications:	Tuesday 21 May 2019 by 4:00 pm
Interviews: (Park House, Bristol Parkway North, Newbrick Road, Bristol BS34 8YU)	Tuesday 4 June 2019
Award period:	September 2019- March 2020

Applicants who choose to apply must be available for interview on the above date.