We are delighted that you are considering hosting a research project within Leeds
Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT). Please contact a member of Business Development and Innovation (BDI) Team if you are considering applying for research grant funding as early as possible to ensure we can support you with your application.
The following guidelines are in place to ensure your application is of the highest quality
and to ensure the correct infrastructure and support is in place to deliver the proposed
project should the application be successful.
First Steps
All applicants must meet with the BDI team well in advance of any application deadlines.
When meeting the team, the following information will be needed:
Lead applicant name
Sponsor
Funding call with web link
LTHT collaborator
Clinical Service Unit
Project title (if applicable)
Estimated start date of project (if applicable)
Estimated duration of project (if applicable)
Timelines
LTHT collaborations not yet established
If you need support with setting up collaborations, please contact the team.
LTHT cannot commit to helping with a research funding application without an
established connection within the organisation. This should be done well in advance of
any application deadlines to ensure the LTHT teams that you wish to work with have
capacity to deliver the study, and if not, alternative connections can be sought.
LTHT collaborations established
A meeting with a member of the BDI team must take place a minimum of 8 weeks before
an application is submitted. This is to ensure thorough understanding of the project, to
advise on the funding opportunities available and to ensure Innovation Pop-Up
Membership is in place if applicable.
We will not partner on any application if the first contact with us about the proposal is
within 4 weeks of the submission deadline.
We aim to complete submission of the application 1 week in advance of the submission
deadline.
Clinical Engagement
We will only partner on grant applications where there is existing clinical engagement
between the company and LTHT, and all projects must align with our strategies:
Our Strategy 2021-2026
Research & Innovation Strategy 2020-2025
We must ensure that the LTHT team you are hoping to collaborate with has capacity to
support and deliver the project. You may be asked for a letter/email of intent/support from the Principal Investigator(s). It is important to think of who will be involved across the project i.e. do you need support from research nurses, if so, does the existing team have capacity to release a research nurse to support your project?
Eligibility to Apply
Please ensure you read the grant submission guidelines in full to check you are eligible
to apply. We will not accept a change to submit to another part of a funding call midway
through the process.
Costing requirements for BD&I & LTHT Support
The Research and Innovation Finance team at LTHT kindly requests that all cost requests
be submitted at least three weeks prior to the grant submission deadline. This timeframe
is designed to allow for a thorough review process, ensuring accuracy and compliance
with funding requirements.
Upon receipt of your cost requests, please allow a period of two weeks for processing and return of the finalised costs. Subsequently, we ask for your cooperation in allocating one additional week for necessary approvals, uploads, and any last-minute adjustments that may be required.
It is crucial that all team members adhere to this timeline to facilitate a smooth and efficient grant submission process.
Please contact Dr Samantha Heal (details above) for facilitation of costing requests.
For salary requests, you should include either the full name of the member of staff whose
salary you wish to include and the CSU they work within.
If the person is to be named after the application is successful, please provide the job role with the predicted Agenda for Change band (or equivalent). These will be costed at the top of the band unless otherwise stated.
If staff are not funded for the full duration of a project, please indicate their estimated start date and the duration of time they will spend on the project. You must also include the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) that they will commit to the project.
Other costs that you may need to consider:
1. Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) PPIE Manager Recognition payments, Travel payment, Refreshments/lunch, Room hire.
2. Project Management Support from the BD&I Team Up to 0.2 FTE (1 day/week)
3. Top of Band 7 for the duration of the project (depending on the nature of the call;
this support is available where required and will require costing in)
4. Data Informatics Team (DIT) involvement i.e. Band 8b Solution Architect for
facilitation of system integration
5. Research Data and Informatics Team (RDIT) i.e. where data is required to be
extracted from LTHT systems
6. Other non-staff costs to consider including (if eligible)
7. Capital costs (equipment)
8. Travel e.g. for conferences (UK and International)
9. Dissemination costs e.g. publication fees
Please note that cost request for members of staff from the University of Leeds must
be submitted to the Faculty Research Office via the member of staff themselves. We
are not able to request costs on their behalf.
Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Template (SoECAT)
Some funding applications may require you to complete a SoECAT. SoECAT is designed to support correct cost attribution at application for research cost funding, to ensure that full site-level research costs are recovered. SoECAT will not normally reflect all activities that are included within an application for research cost funding.
To complete a SoECAT you need access Integrated Research Application System
(IRAS) to generate an IRAS ID number for your project. This ID number is necessary
to access the SoECAT form.
Please be aware that if your planned project includes the recruitment of participants, your application should be accompanied with the Funder Export from the online SoECAT, obtainable via the NIHR Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS).
Please note that completion of the SoECAT may not be necessary when applying for funding to support: programmes with no specific research study protocol, infrastructure, where the grant is to be used for direct employment of a member of staff or purchase of an asset, and data or diagnostic reviews where recruitment data is not collected.
SoECATs need sponsor oversight before being sent to the NIHR Research Delivery
Network (RDN) (was Clinical Research Network) for authorisation. In the instance that
the company is not the sponsor, you may need to allow for 2 weeks for sponsor approval
if LTHT or a university is the sponsor. The RDN will then require a further 10 working
days to authorise the SoECAT for your funding application.
Further information can be found here. For help with your SoECAT, please contact Dr
Samantha Heal (details above).
Letters of Support
A letter of support can be provided for research funding applications where necessary,
and guidance should be provided when the request for a supporting statement is made to us. The funders usually provide this guidance where a letter of support is necessary. A
minimum of 2 weeks is required for the letter of support to be written. Other agreements e.g. Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) are not required at this stage.
Project Plans and GANTT Charts
We will not partner on a grant application without at least a project plan (with workstreams & milestones) and a project GANTT chart being in place.
Sources of advice around submitting an effective grant application
The following organisations are a source of advice and support for companies when applying for grant funding:
NIHR Research Support Service
UKRI Innovation Hub
Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Network – Health Funding Map
PNO Consultants
GrantUp
Grantify