Project Initiation Document



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BOPA-PRUK Research Award 2021

GUIDANCE NOTES

GUIDANCE NOTES

The British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA)-Pharmacy Research UK (PRUK) Research Award is aimed at pharmacists wishing to conduct a pharmacy research project in the UK. The focus of this award is to support pharmacy practitioners who wish to develop their research skills and in doing so build relationships with the academic community, attend formal training programmes and seek mentors.

Grants will be awarded, in the 2021 round, up to a value of £20,000 and may be used to support an independent research project or research component of a higher degree. The Research Award will support projects in translational and health service related to oncology and haematology pharmacy, with a focus on patient benefit and provide a platform for novice researchers to engage in research.

Both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are eligible to apply for funds for projects in translational and health service research related to oncology and haematology pharmacy, however the lead applicant must be a BOPA member.

Applications will be assessed and shortlisted through a process of expert peer review. Applications are assessed by the Panel using the following criteria:

When assessing the applicant and their team, if appropriate:

• The quality and relevance of the applicant’s recent and overall clinical experience.

• While the intention of this award is to support novice researchers to develop research capacity and capability, it is important that the applicant has identified appropriate experienced researchers (either as co-lead applicants, co-investigators, collaborators, mentors, advisors, or supervisors) to enhance study design, delivery and dissemination, while supporting the applicant’s research development.

• The evidenced commitment and potential of the applicant to develop their research skills alongside their clinical practice.

• The range of knowledge, skills and expertise on the team to deliver the proposed study.

When assessing the research proposal

• The extent to which the award will support the development of the individual’s research skills.

• The extent to which the award will support the applicant to attend formal training programmes in order to develop research skills.

• The extent to which the award will support the development of partnerships and relationships between clinical practitioners and the academic community.

• The extent to which the award will support a small pilot, feasibility study or systematic review which has the potential to be developed into a larger study for future funding.

• The quality of the proposed study and its potential to benefit patients and/or clinical practice in the longer term.

When assessing the proposed costs

• The appropriateness of resources claimed and whether the total funding requested represents good value for the use of the funds, especially if the amount being requested exceeds £5,000.

To be considered for funding the project must:

□ Have a Lead Applicant who is a current BOPA member

□ Be aligned with the BOPA mission statement and vision (see here: ) and Pharmacy Research UK’s vision and purpose (see here: )

□ Have a clear research question or hypothesis

□ Have robust methodology

□ Have clear, defined and measurable outcomes

□ Be completed within 12 months (unless under exceptional circumstances such as significant delays outside the control of the project team)

□ Be conducted in the UK

□ Request no more than £20,000

If the application is successful the Lead Applicant is required to:

□ Provide regular written progress updates to PRUK and BOPA representatives at quarterly intervals.

□ Submit a written final report at the conclusion of the project (12 months).

□ Report the progress as a poster/oral presentation at the BOPA conference during the lifetime of the project.

□ Submit a précis of the project results to be uploaded to the BOPA and PRUK website on completion of the project.

□ Acknowledge BOPA and PRUK in all presentations and publications related to the funded project.

All applications for funding should be made on this application form by the Lead Applicant. It is in the applicant’s own interest to provide the information requested in the application form in the manner requested and as fully and clearly as possible.

Failure to complete any required section of the application form or to provide any requested accompanying information will result in the application being delayed or rejected.

SUBMISSION AND DEADLINES

Applicants are asked to email the completed application form in a word (.doc) and PDF (.pdf) format (including any supplementary documents), plus the fully signed Declarations page, to the email address below:

Email: applications@.uk

The deadline to submit your application (in word and PDF format) and signed Declarations page electronically is by 1pm on Wednesday 21st April 2021.

Please note: Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. Documents sent via post will not be processed.

SECTION 1: RESEARCH PROPOSAL OUTLINE

Please complete this section for all applicants. Contact details for the lead applicant should be for the location where the lead applicant spends the majority of their time.

“Other applicants” are co-investigators who will provide significant intellectual input into the research and will be responsible for day-to-day running of some aspects of the work, or any individuals who will provide supervisory input and guidance throughout the duration of the proposal. Please note there is a separate section in the application to complete, where we will ask for further details on the supervisors background, relevance and experience.

Please ensure that the proposed start date of your study is realistic. For example, you may need to factor in time for research contract negotiation, research staff recruitment and obtaining ethical approval. Ensure that you have accounted for any unexpected issues or delays that may arise and that you have thought about possible contingencies.

SECTION 2: PLAIN ENGLISH SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSAL

Please provide a clear summary, in plain English, of the proposed research under the following headings:

1. Background

2. Aims and objectives

3. Methods

4. How the results of the research will be used

Please note, if your application is successful this summary will be published on the BOPA and PRUK websites and will be used for public information.

The NIHR INVOLVE organisation provides useful guidelines on what makes a good Plain English Summary, which we strongly advise you follow: .

Maximum 500 words.

SECTION 3: DETAILS OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Please fully complete this section. Suggested maximum word counts are provided.

A Aims and objectives (Maximum 350 words)

Please describe what you hope to find out from the research.

B Benefits of the proposed research (Maximum 500 words)

Please describe here how the project will benefit patients/public, pharmacy practice, policy and future research.

C Background (Maximum 1000 words)

This should address the following points:

1. What is the problem to be addressed (supported with figures to indicate scope of the problem nationally)?

2. What are the principal research questions to be addressed?

3. Why is a study needed now (supported with published evidence, professional and consumer consensus and pilot studies, where available)?

4. Describe how the research will differ from or complement any relevant planned, ongoing or recently completed research elsewhere in the UK or internationally.

5. How will the results of this study be used?

D Plan of investigation (Maximum 2000 words)

Please cover the following, where relevant:

1. Study design and delivery (including designs you have rejected during the development stages, if appropriate)

2. Sample size, if appropriate

3. Statistical design, if appropriate

4. Consideration of health economics evaluation

5. Justification of chosen methods

We strongly advise study teams to contact their local Research Design Service in the development of their application.

E Patient and Public Involvement (Maximum 500 words)

Please cover the following points, where relevant:

1. Were patients or public (PPI) representatives involved in selecting the research area?

2. How have you involved PPI representatives in the design of your proposal?

3. Have you considered the different dissemination routes you can explore in order to maximise PPI impact and benefit? Have any PPI representatives been involved in that decision making?

PPI representation and input on the proposal is vital in order to ensure the research is as grounded and relevant as possible. If there are no PPI elements in the application, please explain why.

F List of outcomes/outputs and plans for dissemination (Maximum 500 words)

Please provide details of planned outputs, for example, full report and executive summary, conference abstracts and journal papers. Please also include any

o Planned dissemination or engagement activity with key stakeholder groups, including patients and the public.

o Measures of success – applicants should describe the possible study outcomes (measurable steps that make use of the research outputs) and potential impact (measurable change – based on output and outcomes).

o Future plans – applicants are encouraged to consider how the study will lead to further developments in the area. For example, if the study is a systematic review of evidence, how will this inform practice or future.

G Development of research skills/experience (Maximum 500 words)

Please provide details of how the award will contribute to the development of the lead applicant’s research skills. Please also give details of any formal or informal research training and mentorship you propose to undertake as part of the award. If possible, please indicate where this will take place and the associated cost.

Please explore your immediate plans once the research has ended and the dissemination activities are underway. Provide an outline of how (if at all) you intend to pursue further research and how this funding will enable you to obtain further funding in the future. Please also provide a brief summary of your career aspirations and how research fits into that.

H Project Timetable (Maximum 500 words)

Please provide an estimated timeline for project deliverables, including an estimated start date, and risks of delays such as ethics approval processes and recruitment.

If your application is successful, the progress of the project will be monitored against these stated milestones, and funding may be withheld if progress is not satisfactory (unless under exceptional circumstances such as significant delays outside of the control of the project team, for example, process for ethics approval).

A Gantt chart illustrating the project timetable and dependencies between activities is the preferred presentation format here. Please note, if successful, the performance of research progress will be measured against the milestones indicated in the application.

I Value for money (Maximum 300 words)

Please consider how the proposal represents good value for money. Have you considered where the proposal lies on the trajectory to patient benefit? Are the dissemination activities you have planned relevant to your target audience and have the reach necessary to fulfil the appropriate impact? Please include any other information that will support the value of the proposal.

SECTION 4: ETHICAL APPROVAL AND RESEARCH GOVERNANCE

Research normally requires review by a Research Ethics Committee (REC), whereas audit and service evaluations are expected as part of quality assurance and, as such, they are exempt from formal REC approval. They should, however, still be conducted following the same principles of informing participants and obtaining consent when appropriate.

All studies involving patients require ethical approval, which is monitored by the Health Research Authority.

Applicants should to seek guidance as to whether formal REC approval is needed.

Please identify potential ethical issues which may arise throughout the whole process of the project, and explain how the design of the project takes them into account.

Please state whether this project will be submitted for ethical approval (for example, to NHS NRES or a University research ethics committee). If not, please fully justify the reasons.

Researchers wishing to conduct research in the NHS (or Health and Social Care (HSC) in Northern Ireland) must obtain NHS or HSC management permission (also referred to as R&D approval) for each NHS/HSC research site. If your research involves undertaking the research on the premises of a NHS organisation, with NHS patients or with NHS staff, then the local NHS R&D office should be consulted. Relevant contact information can be found on the Health Research Authority website.

SECTION 5: FINANCE

Please outline the resources that are required for your proposed project, under the appropriate headings (or state if not applicable).

Staff costs

If appropriate, please justify the cost of each individual involved in the project, and outline how their costed time is related to their grade and salary. Please also outline how much (as a percentage) of their time is required.

Please ensure that all staff costs include any salary increments due throughout the project duration. Please do not include estimated increases for cost of living pay rises or ‘additional’ or ‘discretionary’ increment points above one salary increment per annum.

Full Economic Costing/overheads

PRUK is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities and therefore only funds direct clinical research costs, with infrastructure funded by the Department of Health under AcoRD.

The BOPA and PRUK are NIHR non-commercial partners. This means that the research we fund can be adopted onto the NIHR portfolio and is entitled to NIHR Clinical Research Network support. Therefore, we encourage applicants to involve the Clinical Research Networks (and the local Research Design Service) in the development of their study, including the realistic costing of the project.

PRUK will only provide direct research costs. For support with indirect costs associated with the research taking place, a Charity Research Support Fund is administered from the Research Councils in England. Equivalent funding is available, through the Scotting Funding Council in Scotland, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland.

Conference attendance

In addition to any other conferences you intend to attend, you must include here the costs of attending the BOPA conference during the lifetime of the project.

Formal and informal training and support

Please include the costs of any formal training programmes, meetings with mentors and/or organisations such as PRUK and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society for advice and support throughout the project.

SECTION 6: SUPERVISION AND SUPPORT

In this section, we would like you to expand upon the details given for the supervisors involved in the project. Depending on the methodology that you will be using to investigate the research proposal, it is expected that you consult with the experts in the particular design that you will be using. For example, it would be advisable to consult with a statistician when calculating your sample size, or receive input from a health economist if you are including an evaluative component to the research.

As the funding is intended for novice researchers, we would expect that you arrange for the appropriate supervisory input to be an integral part of the application process. We would also expect that you have regular meetings with your supervisors to ensure your proposal remains on track and you receive the appropriate support throughout the duration of the research. Furthermore, we will be asking ther supervisors to review any progress reports before they are submitted to PRUK and BOPA.

SECTION 7: DECLARATIONS

We require that the Lead Applicant provides a declaration from their department or organisation confirming that the work can be accommodated in the department or organisation.

Please also ensure that signatures are received from the administering organisation’s finance department and Head of Department, as well as the first supervisor listed. All applicants named on the proposal must also complete this section.

GENERAL POINTS FOR COMPLETING THE FORM

1. Please ensure that all the pages are clearly numbered, this is especially important to check if you have added in additional pages.

2. Please retain an electronic copy of the form that you submit.

3. All text (minimum font 10 points) must appear within the tables.

4. Please ensure that your proposal complies with the Research Governance Framework, which can be found on the Department of Health’s website here:

5. Please allow sufficient time to obtain the necessary signatures and leave yourself plenty of time to complete your application.

6. As we will not accept late applications or any submissions by post, it is important that you make appropriate arrangements with your supervisors and institutional representatives to ensure all information is completed and submitted to us before the deadline.

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