Frequently Asked Questions
The following frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers have been prepared to support applicants to the SDO programme.
Applicants are reminded that they should consult the guidance notes (supplied with the application form on the apply now page) to assist completion of the application form. In particular these notes will specify what information is required in each field of the application form. Click here for a glossary of terms.
General Information
1.When is your next call for proposals?
2.How can I contact the commissioning team?
Developing your research proposal
1. Am I eligible to apply to the programme?
2. Are PhDs funded by the programme?
3. Is there a maximum length of time allowed for a research project?
4. Is there a funding cap for proposals?
5. What is the role of a Chief Investigator?
6. I would like to know what research has already been commissioned. Where and when can I obtain information on a research project?
7. Where can I find the link to apply for a call?
8.Can the title, costs or content of the project be amended from the outline to full proposal application?
9. How does the NIHR support researchers in developing their proposals?
10. What issues should I consider to ensure that my application is deemed 'deliverable'?
11.What is the general remit of the SDO programme?
12. I want to do research on only part of what the brief covers (eg; children, older people) - is this allowed?
13. Can I make changes to my application once it has been submitted?
14. Do I need to be registered with the CRD international register for systematic reviews?
Assessment process
1. Can I ask for the deadline for proposal submission to be delayed for me?
2. Will we receive notification of the success of our application?
3. Do you give feedback on proposals?
4. What criteria will be used to assess my proposal?
5. How do you choose referees to assess the proposals?
Financial and contract issues
1. What does the standard contract look like?
2. What should I do about VAT?
3. If a call has a cap on funding, should the proposal include inflation? What if this results in the project costs exceeding the cap?
4. One of the project team is a PhD student. How should this be costed to the project?
5. Will our indirect costs be funded if our application is successful?
6. How accurate do you expect my costs to be?
7. I am one of the applicants on a proposal and am employed full time by a University/NHS Trust. Can my salary be included in the costings?
8. Can you explain how NHS costs are categorised?
Online application form
1. Should I submit an outline or a full proposal?
2. I'm having problems using the online application form - what can I do?
3. What is the word limit for each field within the form?
4. Why am I seeing an error message <--- > when entering text into the form?
5. Why do I get an error message when I use the ≥ or ≤ symbols?
6. Can I include further information if the field I am typing in runs over the character allowance?
7. Can an individual be named as a co-applicant and a researcher on the project?
8. How do I work out my project start date?
9 Do the Chief Investigator's and Co-applicant's CVs need to be uploaded and attached or typed on to the application form?
10. Can there be two joint Chief Investigators?
11. Is there a limit to the number of co-applicants allowed?
12. Can co-applicants complete their own information on the application form?
13. Do SDO applications require signatures or hard copies?
14. What format should we use when producing flow diagrams and what details are needed?
15. Can we produce a PDF version of the application form?
16. What happens after I have submitted my application?
17. If I am successful, how do I get the full proposal application form?
18. Can I upload my details from the outline proposal onto the full proposal?
19. When completing a full application form, can I include all applicants under 'Directly Allocated Costs'?
Public Involvement in proposals
1. I want to involve the public in part of the research team. Where can I find out what kind of public involvement might be suitable and what rates of pay might be appropriate?
Research Avenues
1. I'm interested in a particular research question- can you tell me if you are doing anything on it?
2. How do I make a research suggestion?
3. If you can't fund my project can you tell me who can?/ If my proposal is not eligible for the SDO programme - where else might I go?
4. What does it mean when a proposal is 'transferred'?
5. What happens if my proposal is rejected? Can I resubmit my application?
Unanswered questions
1. I have some questions not answered here - what should I do now?
General Information
1.When is your next call for proposals?
For current and future information on SDO and other NETS programme call dates, please see the NETSCC Funding Timetable. Please note that these dates are subject to change.
If you would like to receive email alerts notifying you of future call release dates, please email sdofund@southampton.ac.uk with your contact details.
2.How can I contact the commissioning team?
SDO Commissioning Team, Alpha House, Enterprise Road, University of Southampton Science Park, Southampton, SO16 7NS. Telephone: 023 8059 5586 Email: mailto:sdofund@southampton.ac.uk
Developing your research proposal
1. Am I eligible to apply to the programme?
The NIHR Service Delivery and Organisation programme is funded by the NIHR, with contributions from NISCHR in Wales. Researchers from Scotland and Northern Ireland should contact NETSCC to discuss their eligibility.
2. Are PhDs funded by the programme?
No, the SDO programme does not fund PhD research.
3. Is there a maximum length of time allowed for a research project?
Unless specified within the call brief /specification document, there are no fixed limits on the duration of projects or funding and proposals should be tailored to fully address the problem (including long-term follow-up if necessary). Applicants should consider that there is a pressing need within the NHS for this research, and so the duration of the research must be timely. Applicants should balance the need for the information with the need to follow up participants for long enough to measure important outcomes. Applicants must always justify the proposed duration of a project
4. Is there a funding cap for proposals?
The commissioning brief / specification document will state whether there is a cap in place for that specific call. Please note that applicants must fully justify the costs and consider value for money, regardless of whether a cap has been set.
5. What is the role of a Chief Investigator?
The chief investigator of a SDO study has overall responsibility for:
- the conduct of the study
- managing the research resources in a way that maximises the chances of completion within available funding
- the day-to-day running of the study and for managing the study budget
- ensuring that appropriate systems and procedures, that assure the appropriate quality of every aspect of the study, are in place
- convening the steering group (if relevant) when there are any matters arising from the conduct or management of the study that might require their advice
- supporting the steering group (if relevant)
- ensuring that clear lines of communication are established between investigators
- preparing and approving reports to the SDO programme as required
- notifying the SDO programme of changes to the study
- on completion of the study: analysing, writing up, reporting and disseminating the results
- ensuring that the study is conducted in accordance with research governance requirements
- ensuring that all data and documentation associated with the research are readily accessible for independent inspection and validation
The chief investigator is expected to ensure that their research team is of a suitable composition to assist in the delivery of these requirements.
6. I would like to know what research has already been commissioned. Where and when can I obtain information on a research project?
Details of SDO projects are published at various stages. We do not publish details of current projects on our website until all contracting has been completed.
If you know the details of a particular proposal, you can use the search box at the top of the website pages or you can access a short summary of the project via the SDO Research Project pages. When a project has finished, we will publish information on the final report once the editorial process has been completed.
7. Where can I find the link to apply for a call?
The link to the application form can be found on the specific call for proposal pages. You are also able to directly access the application form on the apply now page.
8. Can the title, costs or content of the project be amended from the outline to full proposal application?
The SDO programme would not expect to see any significant changes. With regards to costings, applicants should note that it is in their interests to undertake a thorough, realistic and accurate costing of their proposal. Any changes made (including those requested by the relevant SDO Panel or Board) should be fully explained and justified.
9. How does the NIHR support researchers in developing their proposals?
The NIHR provides specific support to help researchers develop and design high quality research proposals through the NIHR Research Design Service and through the involvement of Clinical Trials Units in your research. For further information visit: http://www.netscc.ac.uk/funding/developing_your_proposal.asp?src=dpsdofq
10. What issues should I consider to ensure that my application is deemed 'deliverable'?
NETSCC is working closely with the NIHR Clinical Research Networks to ensure that the studies which it funds can be successfully delivered in the NHS, securing maximum benefits to patients and value-for-money of the NETS programmes. The Medicines for Children Research Network and the Association of Medical Research Charities have produced a guide on ‘Points to consider when assessing the feasibility of research'. Many of the points discussed in the document apply to all types of clinical research, not just paediatrics. The document can be accessed here.
11. What is the general remit of the SDO programme?
When completing an application for the SDO programme or other NETSCC programmes, in addition to the specific remit of the call you are responding to, please also ensure that your proposal fits the general remit of the programme. For further information regarding the SDO remit, please see http://www.sdo.nihr.ac.uk/aboutthesdoprogramme.html
12. I want to do research on only part of what the brief covers (eg; children, older people) - is this allowed?
You must fully justify your position in your proposal. However, you should consider that a common reason for unsuccessful applications is the failure of the proposal to be within remit of the call and failing to fully address the commissioning brief.
13. Can I make changes to my application once it has been submitted?
No; once an application has been sent to the SDO programme you cannot ask for changes to be made to it.
14. Do I need to be registered with the CRD international register for systematic reviews?
Applicants undertaking systematic reviews should note the commitment of NIHR to publication in the PROSPERO database. PROSPERO was developed by the NIHR's Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD), and is the first online facility to register systematic reviews for research about health and social care from all around the world. Access is completely free and open to the public. PROSPERO registration is a condition of NIHR funding for systematic reviews that are within the scope for inclusion. For more details visit the CRD website (http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/).
Assessment process
1. Can I ask for the deadline for proposal submission to be delayed for me?
No, unfortunately we cannot grant any requests for extensions of time. For outline proposals we must receive your electronic application form by the stated deadline. For full proposals we must receive both your electronic application form and two signed hard copies within a week of the stated deadline.
2. Will we receive notification of the success of our application?
Chief Investigators will be notified of the outcome of their application after the relevant Panel/Board meeting.
3. Do you give feedback on proposals?
Yes. Feedback will be provided on shortlisted outline proposals and all full proposals.
4. What criteria will be used to assess my proposal?
All proposals received will undergo a two stage process of assessment. Firstly, proposals will be assessed by a panel to evaluate the need for this research to patients and the NHS. The panel will assess against the following criteria:
- The importance of the problem to patients and the NHS;
- The outcomes chosen matter to patients and the NHS and the participants are representative of the case mix treated in the NHS;
- There is a clear case for the proposed research with reference to the current evidence base.
Proposals will then be considered as to their suitability for shortlisting and then commissioning against the following criteria:
- Scientific quality of the proposal;
- There is a clear demonstration of the necessary skill mix, experience, and project management and infrastructure for success;
- Explanation and justification for estimated recruitment rates;
- Ethical, legal and social implications of the research proposed have been considered;
- Reasonable costs.
5. How do you choose referees to assess the proposals?
Referees are chosen from our bank of experts and public reviewers based on their areas of expertise, background and/or interest in the subject matter of the proposal.
Financial and contract issues
1. What does the standard contract look like?
The contracts issued by the SDO programme are standard Department of Health research contracts, which will not be modified. There are four different contract types according to the type of institution the contract is awarded to, and these can be accessed below:
University contract (pdf, 118kb)Commercial or charity contract (pdf, 120kb)
NHS contract (pdf, 115kb)
Research council or Government Department contract (pdf, 116kb)
2. What should I do about VAT?
If your organisation is an 'eligible body' under HM Customs & Excise Notice 701/30 (VAT: Education and Vocational Training), e.g. you are a university or NHS Trust, the cost of any equipment should include any VAT you have to pay on purchase.
3. If a call has a cap on funding, should the proposal include inflation? What if this results in the project costs exceeding the cap?
The specified cap indicates the maximum grant likely to be awarded for that topic area. You should take account of all costs (including inflation) when drafting your proposal and fully justify them.
4. One of the project team is a PhD student. How should this be costed to the project?
The SDO programme does not fund PhDs and therefore PhD students cannot be costed as part of the application. However if the student is to be part of the research team, and is not an employee of the HEI, you need to include these costs as non-HEI costs in the application form. However, if a PhD student has a contract to undertake work on the project (ie they are an employee) then you can include them in the HEI costs as you would the costs associated with other project team members.
5. Will our indirect costs be funded if our application is successful?
The SDO programme will fund indirect costs/ overheads for HEIs only.
6. How accurate do you expect my costs to be?
Applicants should note that it is in their interests to undertake a thorough, realistic and accurate costing of their proposal. The SDO programme would not expect to see any significant changes. However any made (including those requested by the relevant SDO Panel or Board) should be fully explained and justified
The Board will pay close attention to any increases.
7. I am one of the applicants on a proposal and am employed full time by a University/NHS Trust. Can my salary be included in the costings?
Yes, the SDO programme will reimburse your employer for the proportion of your salary relating to the time you will spend working on the project
8. Can you explain how NHS costs are categorised?
There are three types of costs associated with NHS Research and Development:
- Research Costs - These cover the costs of R&D activity itself and include: data collection; analysis; other activities needed to answer the research questions; trial registration; dissemination; and the salary and indirect costs of staff employed to carry out the research.
- Service Support Costs - These cover any additional patient-related costs, associated with the research, that end once the research activity has stopped. These may include: extra diagnostic tests; extra I/P or O/P activity; extra nursing care; and obtaining informed consent from participants.
- Treatment Costs - These cover patient care costs, which will continue if the patient care service continues after the R&D activity stops. Treatment Costs cover all types of patient care including: diagnostic; preventive; continuing-care services; rehabilitative-care services; and health promotion. Where patient care is being provided which differs from the normal, standard, treatment for that condition (either an experimental treatment or a service in a different location from where it would normally be given) the difference between the total Treatment Costs and the costs of the 'standard alternative' (if any) is termed the Excess Treatment Costs, but it is nonetheless part of the Treatment Cost, not a Service Support or R&D cost.
More detail is available in the DH guide Attributing revenue costs of externally funded non-commercial research in the NHS (ARCO) which gives examples of what kind of costs should be allocated in the full proposal details as research, NHS support or NHS treatment costs.
Online application form
1. Should I submit an outline or a full proposal?
Each specific call for research will specify the type of application that is required and no exceptions will be allowed. For two stage applications, outline forms will be requested and those successfull at shortlisting stage will be asked to complete a full application. For one stage calls, applicants will be asked to submit full applications only.
Please note that a different version of both the outline and full forms are created for each new call and previous versions of the form cannot be used or submitted.
2. I'm having problems using the online application form - what can I do?
If you are experiencing difficulties completing the form, please read the Guidance Notes for the relevant call carefully as these do provide detailed instructions and guidance. If after reading these you are experiencing problems accessing the online application form then contact your IT support in the first instance to ensure that you have the appropriate access rights on your machine. If having done this you are still experiencing problems then contact us
SDO Commissioning Team email: mailto:sdo@southampton.ac.uk
3. What is the word limit for each field within the form?
Applicants should be aware that there are limits set for each text box within the application form; this is to ensure that the form can print out correctly and the limits depend on the amount of text inserted into each box.
4. Why am I seeing an error message <--- > when entering text into the form?
If you cut and paste text into the form from an exisiting document and exceed the character limit, an error message will appear, indicating how much text needs to be removed. A symbol '< ----- >' will appear within the body of the text to indicate where the limit is for the box.
The form counts all blank space as part of the content of each box, so if you are short of space it may help if you delete extra carriage returns and place any bulleted lists into paragraph format. Please take particular care when removing excess text below the ‘,< ----- >' symbol that you also remove the carriage returns, otherwise the application alert will still note that you have too much text in the field.
Many applicants have found it helpful to initially copy and paste a block of text into the field to get an idea of the amount of space allocated.
We do understand that you may experience difficulties with the current limitation to the form in producing a character limit and welcome any feedback that may help us to improve the online application facility.
5. Why do I get an error message when I use the ≥ or ≤ symbols?
We are currently experiencing a technical difficulty that affects the use of two symbols: ≥ ≤ in our application form software. If you use either of these symbols you will get an error message. If you need to use either ≤ ≥ then please replace these symbols with words (ie less than or equal to or greater than or equal to).
6. Can I include further information if the field I am typing in runs over the character allowance?
Outline proposal: All information should be included in the relevant sections. Due to limitation of text field sizes, we encourage you to be concise in your description.
Full proposal: We would anticipate that your proposal information will fit within the space available in the application form. However, if you require some extra space to complete a field, please use the box titled ‘Additional Information'. You must make it clear in both the original field and the additional information field, what this extra information corresponds to.
Full proposal applicants should also consider that they are required to submit a detailed project description as part of their application. This is a more detailed account of the research proposed than can be provided in the application form.
7. Can an individual be named as a co-applicant and a researcher on the project?
Yes. You should clearly note on the application form when entering a co-applicant's details that this person will also be acting as a ‘researcher' in the ‘contribution' field
8. How do I work out my project start date?
The application form asks you for your proposed project start date. We expect that successful projects will start within a reasonable time following a decision to fund (usually about six months). Please be aware that if your project requires ethical approval we are unable to release payments until these approvals have been obtained.
Your intended start date should therefore allow time for obtaining these approvals and submitting appropriate documents to the SDO programme prior to the official start of the project. (It is worth noting that the start date we are referring to is the SDO formal start date for when we start releasing money and the main research begins. We acknowledge that the project team will have actually started working on the project prior to this date).
9. Do the Chief Investigator's and Co-applicant's CVs need to be uploaded and attached or typed on to the application form?
CV information is not required for outline applications. However, for full applications, information must be entered into each individual field. CVs cannot be uploaded as separate attachments.
10. Can there be two joint Chief Investigators?
No. Unfortunately, the online application form only allows for there to be one Chief Investigator, although it does allow for other co-applicants to be included.
11. Is there a limit to the number of co-applicants allowed?
The outline online application form will allow you to submit up to 12 applicants (including the Chief Investigator).
The full online application form for those shortlisted will allow up to 30 applicants (including the Chief Investigator).
12. Can co-applicants complete their own information on the application form?
Yes. It is possible to save a working copy of your application form, and you will be issued with a unique code that enables you to access the form again. You can distribute this code amongst your fellow applicants and request that they complete the relevant sections. Applicants should note that the form can only be opened by one person at a time.
13. Do SDO applications require signatures or hard copies?
Outline proposals: do not require a signed version or hard copies.
Full proposals: Should you be shortlisted and requested to submit a full proposal, two paper copies should be sent to the SDO programme within one week of the electronic deadline, with all relevant singatures included on one hard copy.
For assistance regarding flow diagrams please refer to http://www.consort-statement.org/
The flow diagram can best be described as a visual outline of the processes/stages that lead you through your proposal. This can therefore include a timeline as well as touching upon the logic of your project.
16. What happens after I have submitted my application?
With the exception of rapid commissioning where full applications are requested from the start and unless stated otherwise within the brief, the process of commissioning will be in two stages:
- Applicants should submit outline proposals in response to specific call(s) via the SDO website by the relevant deadline. The Panel will consider the applications within six weeks of this deadline and applicants will be notified as to shortlisting decisions within three weeks of the Panel meeting.
- Successful applicants will usually then be given approximately seven weeks to complete a full application form. Approximately 12 weeks after the submission of the full application, the Commissioning Board will make funding decisions.
The process from outline proposal submission to contracting should take a maximum of 18 months.
These timings are all approximate and subject to a number of variables and should only be used as a guide.17. If I am successful, how do I get the full proposal application form?
When you receive your letter inviting you to submit a full proposal, you will be provided with the web address for a direct link to the relevant application form. This information will not be published on the general access SDO website.
18. Can I upload my details from the outline proposal onto the full proposal?
In most cases, the full application form will have some fields from the outline application populated for your convenience. It is important however that you check that this information is correct before adding further details and submitting your application. Any information that has been automatically inserted into the full form from your outline proposal should be considered in light of the feedback from the Panel and revised as necessary.
19. When completing a full application form, can I include all applicants under 'Directly Allocated Costs'?
The SDO programme fully supports full economic costing, and awards research funds on this basis to research based in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Under the terms of this, all applicants are allowed to charge for the proportion of their time that will be spent working on any funded proposal. However applicants should be aware that although the SDO programme funds on the basis of need and the scientific merit of the research, they will be competing for limited funds. The total cost of any proposal should therefore be carefully considered.
Public Involvement in proposals
1. I want to involve the public in part of the research team. Where can I find out what kind of public involvement might be suitable and what rates of pay might be appropriate? Public involvement is important and will be actively sought across the SDO programme: We look for evidence of public involvement in applications and justification should there not be any public involvement. We also seek comments from public involvement reviewers at full proposal stage.
With this in mind, the SDO programme recognises the increasing active involvement of members of the public in research and would like to support research projects appropriately. Applicants are therefore encouraged to consider how the scientific quality, feasibility or practicality of their proposal might be improved by involving members of the public.
Please see the INVOLVE website where there is a set of FAQs especially for researchers wanting to find out why and how they might involve the public in research.Research Avenues
1. I'm interested in a particular research question- can you tell me if you are doing anything on it?
We suggest you try our ‘search this site' function. Simply type the words you are interested in into the search box which is featured at the top of every page of our website http://www.sdo.nihr.ac.uk//. For a more in depth search of all the programmes managed by NETSCC please visit www.netscc.ac.uk
2. How do I make a research suggestion?
Anyone can suggest a research topic or idea for the SDO programme to consider.
If you would like to make a suggestion please contact us or use the Research Suggestion Form
3. If you can't fund my project can you tell me who can?/ If my proposal is not eligible for the SDO programme - where else might I go?
To help researchers take advantage of the fact that several NIHR programmes are managed by the same coordinating centre (NETSCC), we may on occasion, transfer an application from one programme to another. We will coordinate the transfer of applications between programmes by contacting our colleagues in the relevant programme http://www.netscc.ac.uk/
4. What does it mean when a proposal is 'transferred'?
A transfer between NETSCC-managed programmes takes place where a proposal is deemed to be out of remit by the receiving programme, after discussions between the relevant Programme Directors, and identified as being within remit of another programme. This may take place at any stage between initial remit check and consideration of the outline proposal by the relevant Board.
Transferring a proposal from one programme to another does not imply that it will be funded by the receiving programme - that will be a decision for the relevant funding committee at which the transferred proposal is considered. If your proposal is transferred you will be notified by NETSCC of the next steps.
5. What happens if my proposal is rejected? Can I resubmit my application?
Applicants to the SDO programme can re-submit within 12 months unlike other NETS programmes.
If you intend to resubmit your proposal then please download the latest version of the application form, guidance notes and associated specification document as we update these on a regular basis. If you are intending to resubmit you may be interested to learn the main reasons why applications to SDO programme are not successful:
- Applications are not within the remit of this funding stream (see the specification document in our funding pages)
- Applicants fail to demonstrate a strong case for the importance of the research question and do not reference the current evidence base fully.
- Competition within a strong field of applications.
Unanswered questions
1. I have some questions not answered here - what should I do now?
Take a look at the call specific FAQs on each call for proposal page. If you are still unable to find the answer to your question then please contact us using the following details:
SDO Commissioning Team, Alpha House, Enterprise Road, University of Southampton Science Park, Southampton, SO16 7NS. Email: mailto:sdofund@southampton.ac.uk
