Yorkshire and Humber research support service receives major award

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has renewed its funding of £5.25m to the University of Sheffield to manage the Yorkshire and Humber Research Design Service (RDSYH) for a further five years. NIHR RDS are part of the NIHR Programmes and aim to deliver a high quality, responsive service that supports researchers to develop and submit high quality applications to NIHR and other national peer-reviewed funding programmes.

RDSYH is a White Rose academic collaboration. The White Rose University Consortium is a strategic partnership between three world class Yorkshire universities at Sheffield, Leeds and York. The funding will allow the NIHR RDSYH set up in 2008 to continue to deliver high quality support for research proposals for applied health and social care.

Professor Dame Sally C. Davies, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health, said:

"The NIHR is transforming research in the NHS to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. It is very important that researchers applying for NIHR funding can access the services provided by the RDS so that they can submit their best applications to the NIHR and others for funding.”

The RDS provides access to a range of expertise in research design and offers a referral service directing enquiries to other sources of expert advice on the applied health and social care research system. RDSYH has an exceptionally strong advisory team with a wealth of experience and a wide range of expertise. We believe that advisors should be active researchers in their own right, to ensure that they remain grounded in the research community and up to date with the current landscape of research funding and governance.

Dr Wendy Baird, RDSYH Director said: “The RDS has an important role in supporting researchers across Yorkshire and Humber (YH) making applications for NIHR and other funding. We look forward to continuing the provision of this high quality service and developing further collaborations across Yorkshire and Humber working across NIHR infrastructures and programmes to provide a seamless service for YH researchers during the period of change within the NHS.”

“Over the current RDSYH contract, the team has an excellent track record in supporting others in securing NIHR funding. From the 700 consultations we have had over the last four years, there have been 460 submissions to funding bodies, resulting in 136 successful outcomes, which has brought over £53 million to the region.”

RDSYH advisors are based at the three hosting universities and are either based in, or have close relationships with, Health Services Research Departments, with each site including an UKCRC Registered Clinical Trials Unit. RDSYH facilitates joint workings across the three hosting institutions via a hub and spoke model, with regional activity coordinated through the hub to ensure a consistent service across the region.