Applications Open for THIS Institute Post-Doctoral Fellowships

Launched in January 2018, the Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute (THIS Institute) was co-created by the University of Cambridge and the Health Foundation to strengthen the evidence-base for improving the quality and safety of healthcare. It also works to create a new generation of highly trained, multidisciplinary experts with skills in researching healthcare improvement.

As part of its ambition to grow capacity and capability in healthcare improvement, THIS Institute offers a fellowship programme that builds on the improvement science programmes previously run by The Health Foundation.

Post-doctoral fellowships are an opportunity for exceptional early-career individuals to lead an extended period of research and contribute to the development of the field of improvement studies. The fellowships, which may be held at any UK university, offer talented researchers the opportunity to lead high-quality studies that will advance the field, join a supported community of improvement researchers, and develop their research leadership skills.

Fellows will lead on a significant piece of original research during their fellowship. The university department and the candidate fellow will need to demonstrate how the proposal builds on the individual’s research to date and how it will synergise with other research in the department. By supporting promising early career researchers, this programme will help to build critical mass for future research and improvement leadership.

THIS Institute is looking for individuals who can demonstrate that they can deliver the highest standards of research excellence and are driven to apply their skills to studying improvement in healthcare quality and safety. Alongside disciplines already active in this area, fresh thinking and contributions from fields within and beyond healthcare, including, for example, law, business studies, philosophy, engineering and many more, are welcomed.

Post-doctoral fellowships are intended to be held full-time for three years. Part-time applications (at a minimum of 0.6FTE for a maximum of five years) will be considered where applicable.

Any UK university may apply to the scheme. An individual wishing to apply for a fellowship will need to identify their desired host institution for the fellowship and approach the head of school/department (or equivalent) to gain departmental sponsorship for their application. More than one application per university can be submitted, and applications to host a fellow between two or more departments/disciplines are welcome.

Nominated individuals should have received their PhD between two and six years prior to the application. Their PhD should be in a discipline that is relevant to scientific efforts to improve healthcare. Applications are welcomed from clinical and non-clinical professional backgrounds and from a wide range of disciplines, but they must be able to demonstrate how their research will add to the evidence-base and be of relevance to the UK health system.

The award has a maximum value of £225,000 over the period of funding, regardless of length or clinical/non-clinical status of fellows. It is expected, at a minimum, that a university will use the funding to pay for:

Salary costs for the fellow including all on-costs (superannuation and NI).

Research costs (eg conference attendance, items of small equipment, transcription costs, meeting costs, and expenses for service-user participants).

Dissemination and publication costs, including at least two open-access publications.

The cost of travelling to London/Cambridge for fellowship events.

Membership of THIS Institute’s Community of Scholars and access to a mentoring scheme is available at no cost to fellows.

All applications must be submitted via the Fellowship Management System. All applications should be submitted by an administrative authority/finance office in the applying university.

The deadline for applications is 14 May 2019.

More information about this research funding opportunity and the application process is available on the RESEARCHconnect funding information platform. RESEARCHconnect provides up-to-the minute content, insight and analysis on research funding news and policy. To find out more about how RESEARCHconnect can keep you in the know, and subscription fees, contact us today.