Applications are now open for the Centre of Translational Medicine PPIE support fund, to support the true partnership of patients and the public in the development of translational research grants across King’s Health Partners (KHP). 

PPIE stands for patient and public involvement/engagement and aims to incorporate public perspectives within healthcare research. The importance of meaningful inclusion of the public and patients in the full research process is being recognised by Researchers, health care professionals, funding bodies and of course patients and public members themselves. 

The involvement of the public at the early development stage of research is key to ensure the relevancy of the research and ensures PPIE inclusion at every step of the research process. Grant applications are increasingly requiring public involvement in the research plan and encourage public member co-applicants. 

Before successful grant funding is acquired, it can be a challenge to incorporate public members into the planning of a research project due to lack of time, funding, and access to resources. Public involvement portions of grant applications are therefore often lacking or not able to be fully developed at this early stage of the research process. 

Aims

We have created this funding opportunity as a resource to support staff conducting translational medicine research to incorporate patients and public members within the early development stages of research, prior to grant funding. This funding aims to:

  • Provide opportunities for PPIE to be incorporated into early translational research ideas to ensure relevance of future funded research;
  • Provide opportunities to develop PPIE involvement to submit a high-quality grant funding application for further research.

Eligibility

Colleagues involved in translational medicine research are eligible to apply for funding for PPIE related activities at the pre-grant stage. The principal applicant must be a staff member at any of the KHP organisations (King’s College London, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust). 

Any staff member at a post-doctoral level and above is eligible to apply for this funding. A certain number of applications will be reserved for early career researchers and NMAHP’s, and experience will be considered when reviewing applications. It is also encouraged to include the names of any public members you will be working with on the grant funding application.

Funding Available

The funding call will be open all year and reviewed monthly. Awards will be made within one month of being reviewed. It is expected that all funds will be spent within a six-month period leading up to a specific grant application (externally funded). Up to £350 can be applied for to allow PPIE related work to support the submission of a grant application. 

Funding scope

What is in scope of this funding opportunity?

  • Reimbursements for time and travel costs for patients or public members collaborating on research;
  • Running an event in which patients or public members are collaborating (including catering, resources for accessibility, reasonable adjustments, etc.);
  • Co-developing documents, applications, and other resources.

What is not in scope of this funding opportunity?

  • Funding to cover salaries of members of the team;
  • Funding for health care resources such as medical supplies;
  • Funding for research consumables. 

If you have any questions about eligibility or scope of the application, please contact Patient and Public Involvement/Engagement Coordinator: translationalmedicine@kcl.ac.uk. 

Assessment of applications

Applications will be assessed by a representative panel including members of the public and research staff.

Assessment criteria

  • How will this preliminary PPIE work lead to further grant funding? 
  • How does your PPIE work and future research aim to improve health inequalities?
  • How does your application encourage cross-partner working ensuring both clinical and research sites are engaged?
  • How will your PPIE work encourage high-quality outcomes for patients and impactful translational biomedical research? 

If you are successful in receiving funding, a report of your activities will be requested. 

How to apply?

All applications must be submitted online via the online application form. The application form questions are also available in a word document.

Applications are reviewed on a monthly rolling basis until funding runs out. 

For any queries, please contact translationalmedicine@kcl.ac.uk.