A National Institute for Health and Care Research (NHIR) funding opportunity aimed at engaging and supporting very early career researchers is open for applications.

Round two of the Pre-Application Support Fund is open, with a deadline of Wednesday 27th March 2024 at 1pm.

The Fund provides extra support to those who need it, to enhance their chances of making a successful application to an NIHR career development scheme in the future and is open to all career stages. Through providing additional funding, the Pre-Application Support Fund aims to enhance the opportunities available to those that otherwise would not have sufficient support to apply for NIHR career development funding.

Through the scheme they aim to make a positive impact on groups and professions identified as underrepresented within NIHR.

Applicants can request:

• a contribution to the salary of the applicant to buy out the necessary time to prepare an application
• relevant training and development, mentorship or supervisory costs specifically associated with developing an application
• other costs where the additional support required to submit an application extends beyond the categories outlined above

You can find more information about the scheme on the NIHR funding page. There are also applicant guidance notes and extra supporting information on the same pages.

Pictured is Physiotherapist, Tash Maher. She said: "I was so pleased that I applied for the NIHR Pre-Doctoral fellowship back in 2022. It has opened so many doors for me over the last 18 months and helped enormously with my own research studies but has also allowed me to support other early researchers within the Trust to get the foot on the research ladder!'