Doctoral Fellowships in Health Services and Health of the Public Research
Guidance for applicants seeking awards made by the Chief Scientist Office of the
Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates.
The Guidance has the following sections:
1) Background
2) Financial Support
3) Completing the Application Form
4) Making an Application
5) Assessment of Applications
all of which should be read thoroughly by all potential applicants to ensure that the
form is completed correctly.
1. BACKGROUND
The Doctoral Fellowships in Health Services and Health of the Public Research are part of
CSO’s portfolio of capacity building intiatives. These awards are intended to give graduates
in relevant disciplines the opportunity to work towards a PhD and provide research training in
an area of research relevant to the needs of the NHSScotland. Please note that
application for support in obtaining a Professional/Clinical Doctorate will not be
accepted. The awards are tenable in Health Services Research, Health Economics, Public
Health, Health Technology Assessment, Health Psychology etc but are not available for
laboratory based research. The research undertaken via the Fellowship should have a
translational focus (see the CSO Strategy Investing in Research|Improving Health, Aim 1)
Eligibility
It is likely that candidates for these awards will either be graduates in disciplines relevant to
health services and/or medical research, for example psychology, sciences, statistics, social
sciences, information technology etc or graduate qualified nurses or members of the allied
health professions. In addition, candidates must fulfil the eligibility criteria outlined in
Appendix A.
Duration
The Fellowships are available for 3 years full time (or part time pro-rata) and it is expected
that they will commence within 6 months of any offer of award. If an applicant’s full-time
salary at time of application exceeds the salary limit it is possible to undertake the Fellowship
on part-time basis to come within the limit, but in these cases the award will not extend
beyond 3 years.
Keywords
1 primary and up to 5 secondary keywords must be provided. The CSO Keywords List can
be found on the CSO website. The primary keyword should identify the area within which the
proposed research falls. If it does not fall within any of these areas then please insert N/A.
2. FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Funding will normally cover:
a)
Reimbursement of the basic salary of the award holder, with increments, based on an
appropriate point for the individual on the relevant pay scale up a maximum of
£28,000. Employer’s superannuation and national insurance contributions will also
be paid. Requests for salaries should be based on actual costs at the time of
application; increases for inflation should not be included. Salary requests should
take account of expected increments in future years. The salary requested for the
award holder should be at the level appropriate to the research experience and
responsibilities of the individual and must be in accordance with the salary scales and
terms and conditions of service applying at the employing institution.
b)
Research costs up to £10,000 - these are the costs required for the research to be
undertaken eg fieldwork, research related travel, software licences etc and these
should be detailed individually. Equipment costing less than £1,000 may be funded
under this heading, however funding will not be provided for a computer, as there
is the expectation that such equipment will be available in the grantholding institution.
Only in very exceptional circumstances a lap-top may be funded if this is absolutely
necessary for data collection in the field and is fully justified. Any NHS Service
Support Costs* will also need to be estimated separately and stated within the
application.
c)
Fees for registration for a PhD at appropriate home fee rates
d)
Additional research training costs and associated travel up to £2000. Costs for
attending conferences should not be applied for under this heading as these
should be applied for by successful Fellows and will be considered on a case-bycase basis
CSO is not responsible for the PhD fees of Fellows who interrupt their studies before their
CSO award expires. Grantholding institutions, normally via the Head of Department, must
inform CSO immediately if a Fellow withdraws. If these fees have been paid to the institution
in advance, CSO will reclaim them. Institutions will normally be required to reimburse CSO
for any avoidable overpayments arising from a delay in notifying CSO of the withdrawal of a
Fellow. It is also the responsibility of the institution to inform CSO immediately of any
interruption to studies, or research misconduct, on the part of the Fellow or supervisor in
relation to the award.
* NHSScotland service support costs (if any) should be clearly indicated, and the
application form will then require the signature of the appropriate NHS R&D Lead Officer to
indicate that he/she is aware of the potential for support costs. These are the additional
patient care costs that can be attributed to particular R&D activities (see the AcoRD
Guidance
at
http://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/nrs/nrs-funding-2/attributing-costs-forresearch-and-development/ . Such costs are covered by NHS Research Scotland (NRS)
funding awarded separately to the NHS Organisation.
3. COMPLETING THE APPLICATION FORM
Font Size and Format
Your application should be typed throughout, using a Verdana 10 point font Any
applications which contain typewritten material smaller than this will be returned to
you unprocessed.
Please bear in mind that some cases boxes on the form will expand to fit the text, however
you must stay within any specified word or page limits. It is essential that you check your
application very carefully before submitting it to us to make sure that all text you have
entered is visible on the printed version.
Research Experience (Section 5)
Applicants for a Doctoral award must hold an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline
including nursing, allied health professions, psychology, sciences, statistics, social sciences,
information technology.
a. Research experience - Briefly describe any research you have undertaken to date.
Please include a statement which indicates your exact role in the research effort.
b. Publications - List any publications in which you are a named contributor or author using
Vancouver format. It is not necessarily expected that applicants will have extensive
publications at this stage in their career. Mark with an asterisk the publication you consider
to be your best.
c. Additional Information - You may include other research training and/or experience to
date. For example - if you have a Master’s degree, give details of the training completed,
e.g. topics covered, whether a dissertation was completed and, if so, the topic and methods
used. Details of any grants obtained. Please indicate clearly any co-applicants and provide
brief details of the nature and full extent of your involvement (e.g. project design, project
management, day to day running, data collection, data analysis, writing papers for
publication, etc.)
Project Proposal (Section 6c)
This should be separated into the following sections and sections i to vii must not exceed 4
pages. Please use sub-headings within this section.
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
vii
viii
Introduction (citing key references (see vii))
Results of any pilot studies
Aims
Research questions
Plan, method
Timetable
Relevance/benefit of the research to the NHS/patients/public health*
Key references
* Relevance/benefit to the NHS/patients/public health will be a key criterion in appraising
proposals. Issues to be considered when determining relevance include whether the
findings would lead to better health, better services or better value for money; whether there
is currently genuine uncertainty about best practice; and whether findings are generalisable
and transferable outside the setting in which the research is carried out. The translational
aspect of the research into practice will also be considered.
Training (Section 7)
Applicants are encouraged to seek out relevant courses in research methods training
appropriate both to the proposed research project and wider development. Courses are
available at most Scottish institutions in the form of MScs from which modules can be taken,
and a wealth of courses are also on offer in England. Relevant courses might include
training in systematic reviewing, statistics, in-depth interviewing, clinical trials etc. The
website RD Learning (http://www.rdlearning.org.uk/) contains a comprehensive list of
research methods courses and the Clinical Research Training Scotland website is also
useful (http://www.crts.org.uk ). The panel will consider whether the proposed training is
suitable and sufficient for the applicant.
Supervision (Section 9)
Details for each proposed supervisor must be given including contact details, current and
past research experience (please note that this should focus on research skills, not grants
held), number of students currently being supervised and number supervised to completion.
Supervision arrangements and environment
The relevance of each supervisor to the studentship and details of how the team will share
the supervisory duties should be listed.This section should describe the support that will be
available for the student, training and skills they will achieve. It should refer to the
environment within the specific research group and also any wider departmental/divisional
systems.
Completing the Form
You are required to provide all the necessary information within the space provided. All
questions should be completed or marked "not applicable".
Applications should be signed by the appropriate administrative officials of the proposed
institutions to confirm that all of the financial details shown on the application form, including
the salaries, are correct.
All fellowship applications should be signed by the appropriate administrative authority (e.g.
the institution's finance officer) and the Head of Department of the prospective host
institution. In signing the form officials are indicating their formal approval of the application,
their willingness to offer an appointment to the individual (if successful) for the tenure of the
award subject to their normal employment practices, their approval of the salaries sought,
and the acceptance of the terms and conditions associated with a Doctoral Fellowship.
Declarations (Personal Data)
All personal and other data on applications, whether funded or not, will be stored on the
CSO Applicant monitoring database. As well as aiding the internal processing of
applications the funders may make public in any form summary information about the
application and any subsequent award including the title and abstract of research as it sees
fit. By signing the applicants are confirming that CSO may hold and process, by computer or
otherwise, all personal information supplied with the application.
4. MAKING AN APPLICATION
Annex A - R&D Project Details Proforma
Please complete in full.
Annex B – Nominated Reviewers
Please give the details of three researchers of national or international standing, not
personally known to you, whom you consider able to offer unbiased peer review comments
on your application. These must not be people with whom you currently work, or have
worked closely with in the past (e.g. previous supervisors, Heads of Department). CSO
makes no commitment to include these nominations when selecting reviewers if they are
considered unsuitable.
Annex C – Equal Opportunities Monitoring
A form should be completed by the applicant and each supervisor. These will be separated
from the rest of the application and used only for monitoring purposes.
Procedure for Application
Applications which do not comply with the guidance will not be accepted.
The signed original and (8) copies of completed applications should be sent to the following
address by no later than Friday 4th April 2014.
Mrs Karen Ford, Administrator
Chief Scientist Office
Room GE.14
St Andrew’s House, Regent Road
EDINBURGH, EH1 3DG
A copy should also be emailed to Karen.Ford@scotland.gsi.gov.uk. Please note that
Annexes B and C should not be included in the electronic form. Late applications will not be
considered and extensions will not be granted therefore you must ensure you allow sufficient
time to obtain all of the relevant signatures to meet the deadline.
5. ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATIONS
All applications are assessed by a process of peer review, whereby experts from the
research and user communities assess the quality of the proposed training and environment;
the potential of the applicant; and the scientific excellence of the proposal. Comments from
the expert referees assist the Panel in reaching a decision.
Short-listed candidates will be invited to interview. Interviews will take place at St Andrews
House, Edinburgh on a date (likely to be late June or early July) which will be advised when
your application is acknowledged.
Outcome of the Assessment
Applicants will be informed as soon as a final decision has been taken on their application.
Candidates who are interviewed will usually be notified of the decision as soon as possible
after funding arrangements have been confirmed. The decision of the Panel is final.
Re-application
Applicants who are unsuccessful may re-apply once. If you re-apply a cover letter stating
how the previous proposal has been modified must be enclosed with the new application.
The selection panel will use the following assessment criteria when reviewing your
application:
The Applicant
The Panel will look for evidence of commitment to a research career, and a recognition of
training requirements. Supporting evidence will include productivity, e.g. any publications
from previous research and proof of skill e.g. prizes. The Panel will also look for evidence
that the applicant has the potential in the future to become a leader in their field and to lead
a research team.
The Project
The Panel will seek to judge the scientific merit of the research taking into account its
originality and importance and judging the extent to which it will increase knowledge relevant
to improving health and/or the potential for translation into practice.. Applicants must ensure
the introduction describes the current evidence base in the field. The methodology will
require to be convincing and appropriate. While recognising that the applicant may require
significant input from the Supervisor(s) in developing the research proposal, the Panel will
take into account the extent to which the project has been initiated by the individual rather
than their supervisor(s). It is likely that the project will undergo further development if and
when the applicant commences the award and so a fully described protocol is not required.
However, the Panel will look for evidence at this early stage that the work is achievable,
feasible and deliverable within the timeframe and that it can be pursued alongside any
training and/or clinical commitments and the information provided should include such
evidence.
Supervision
The panel will look for confirmation that the supervision for the candidate and the research is
of high quality and is able to cover all aspects of the training and supervisory requirements of
the individual.
Appendix A – Eligibility
These criteria were adapted from those used by the Medical Research Council
To be eligible for a full CSO funded PhD Fellowship (salary and fees) candidates must be
able to demonstrate a “relevant connection1” to the United Kingdom



UK nationals who have lived most of their lives in the UK will have demonstrated a
relevant connection.
Individuals who were not born in the UK but have been granted UK citizenship or have
come to settle in the UK (eg immigrant status, refugee or an individual granted
humanitarian protection) need to demonstrate that they have a relevant connection
through “ordinary residence”. 2
European Economic Area3 citizens who are migrant workers4 (or their spouse or
children) and can demonstrate ordinary residence in the EEA are eligible.
Visa/Work Permits
Candidates who are resident in the UK on a student visa, work permit or dependent visa
have restrictions on the time they may stay in the UK, and cannot demonstrate a relevant
connection or settled status. They will therefore not be eligible on residence grounds.
Nationals of European Economic Area (EEA) Member States
A migrant worker, or the child of a migrant worker, is eligible for a full award (maintenance
stipend plus fees) if they are employed in the UK at the time the application is made, and is
either:
(a) an EU national and would have a relevant connection to the European Union; or,
(b) a national of a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA) not in the EU eg.Iceland, Norway, Switzerland or Liechtenstein - and would have a relevant connection in the
EEA.
Nationals of the European Union
Individuals from an EU country, who do not have ‘migrant worker’ status in the UK, may be
eligible for a studentship for tuition fees, but not for a maintenance stipend. To be eligible for
studentship funding for tuition fees, the individual must have been living in the EEA for the
three years immediately prior to applying for the studentship.
1.
A relevant connection can be established if an individual has been ordinarily resident in the UK
throughout the 3 years preceding the date of application and has not been resident for the sole
purposes of full-time education.
Lord Scarman defined ordinary residence as ‘habitual and normal……from choice and for a settled
purpose throughout the prescribed period, apart from temporary or occasional absence’ ‘…voluntarily
adopted…..’ ‘there must be some degree of settled purpose (and) a
sufficient degree of continuity to be properly described as settled’. Ordinary residence is
proven if a candidate would have been in the UK (or EEA) if it were not for the fact that s/he,
his/her spouse, parent or guardian is/was temporarily employed outside of the area.
2.
3.
European Economic Area means the areas comprised by the member states of the European
Community and by the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway, Switzerland and the Principality
of Liechtenstein.
4.
An EEA migrant worker can be defined (for these purposes) as a citizen of a member state of the
EEA who is employed in the UK and who should be treated as a national of the UK. The employment
of an EEA migrant worker can be full-time or part-time but must be of a significant duration and will
normally be relevant to the candidate’s previous or future training. Candidates employed in part-time
or short-term casual employment or who are effectively unemployed cannot be considered to hold
migrant worker status.