PPIE grant application guidance

This scheme will support PPIE activities in order to generate PPIE data for a research application. The funding available is up to £500 and for up to 6 months. 

Applicants can use this funding for a variety of PPIE-related activities, including focus groups to develop/​refine ideas, undertake surveys, and interviews with people with lived experience.

Applications will be reviewed and assessed by the charity’s research involvement group. The research involvement group is made up of patients, carers, and members of our community. For this grant round, the chair of the charity’s research review panel will be co-opted to the group.

The application should be completed in plain English using non-technical language avoiding scientific and technical jargon and abbreviations (unless they have been explained). This section should be accessible by non-scientists and the public. We may ask you to re-write parts of this section if it is not. 

Applications will be assessed against the following criteria: 

• Importance and need
• Quality of the planned PPIE activities
• Feasibility – realistic project plan within the timescale and budget
• Value for money – reasonable and justifiable costs

All applications must be signed off by the RFL Involvement and Inclusion Manager for Research, Tamsin Callaghan ([email protected]).

Applicants should make contact with Tamsin at least two weeks prior to submitting their application. Applicants based at UCL will also need to cost their projects via Worktribe and submit their costings to the pre-award team for approval.

The lead applicant will need to be employed by one of these organisations:

• Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
• Faculty of Medical Sciences, University College London 

All lead applicants must be based at one of the two organisations above for the duration of the project, which must be primarily undertaken at the above organisations.

The scheme will be open throughout the year with deadlines on 24 July, 13 November and 26 February. Applications will close at 4pm on the deadline date. Any applications received after this point will be assessed after the next deadline date. 

Applications must be sent to [email protected]. The grants team are happy to answer any questions you may have about the application form or the scheme in general. If you have a query or would like to arrange a call with one of the team, please contact [email protected].

Lead applicant: The person with overall responsibility for the management of the grant and the primary contact for the project. The lead applicant will sign the award letter and ensure the grant terms and conditions are adhered to. The lead applicant will also be responsible for reporting to the charity.

Project title: The title should be descriptive while accurately reflecting the project. 

Start date: The start date should be within three months of the notification of outcome. The date should be realistic to allow enough time for any necessary approvals. The start date can be changed if your application is successful, within reason. 

End date: Projects are for up to six months. 

Which organisation will administer this award? This should be RFL or UCL. They will be responsible for signing the grant terms and conditions and for providing the charity with invoices. Please note, the administering organisation will normally be the same as the organisation sponsoring any associated project, unless other specific arrangements have been agreed.

Total amount requested: This will be in GBP and should match the total breakdown of costs in the finance section of the application. Up to £500.

Co-applicant names: List any co-applicants that will be actively involved with the project. Co-applicants will have had input into the design of the project and application and are expected to be involved in the project.

Research project summary: Describe your planned research project in a short, plain English summary that this application will contribute to. You should include brief background information on the health condition or area being researched and its importance. For this question, you should describe the research project you’re working on, not the planned PPIE activities. 

Need for patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE): Explain why you want to involve patients and the public in your research project. Outline the need and importance of PPIE within your project. Explain what you think the impact will be and the specific difference that will be made through their contributions.

PPIE project outline: Describe your PPIE activities. Explain what you are planning to do and the specific activities and mechanisms through which people with lived experience will be involved. Plans should be clearly laid out and explained with sufficient detail for the research involvement group to reach an informed decision on the quality of the project. You should include a brief timeline. 

For this question, you should describe the planned PPIE project that will be funded by this application, not the associated research project or area.

Recruitment: Outline how you will recruit people to your PPIE project, including how you will engage a diverse / representative range of people. Please also detail any support you will offer to enable people to take part. You should explain who you are hoping to recruit and show you have considered how to involve this population. This could include, for example, offering activities outside of working hours for a condition that primarily affects those of working age, or offering online options for groups who may not be well enough to attend in-person. 

Evaluation: Briefly outline how you will evaluate the PPIE project and assess its impact. Explain whether patients be engaged beyond the life of the project and any links to followon work.

Costs should directly relate to the PPIE project. This could include:

• Participant travel expenses
• Payments to participants
• Costs for interpreters / translators where required These are examples and not intended to be a comprehensive list.

Involvement costs and payments to patients or the public that are directly attributable to the research are permitted. NIHR provides guidance on how to cost these activities.

Justification of costs 

Provide a justification for the costs requested clearly outlining how these relate to the planned activities. The justification should be sufficiently detailed to allow the research involvement group to have an informed opinion on the need of the costs requested.

You must ensure you have all the necessary approvals and sign-offs before you submit your application. The completed application including approvals and sign-offs must be submitted by 4pm on the deadline date. Any applications received after this point will be assessed after the next deadline date. 

Applications must be sent to [email protected]. You will receive confirmation of receipt of your application.