Applying for research funding

In May 2001 I was fortunate enough to win a £78,000 Research Training Fellowship from the Northern and Yorkshire NHS Regional Executive. Here I describe the three-year trail that led to the award, and look forward to what it means for the future.

Back in September 1998 several colleagues and I went to meet Glenys Parry, R&D Director of Sheffield Community NHS Trust and a well-known name in NHS psychotherapy research. Our team is a specialist psychotherapy service for personality disorder, and each of us had some research questions to firm up. Mine concerned the 6-Part Story Method (6PSM), devised in Israel used by our team in assessing this client group. Prof Parry was very encouraging and suggested that a study to validate the method would be both valuable in itself, and make a good vehicle for a PhD study. So the idea was born.

The very next month a coincidental opportunity presented itself. A leaflet did the rounds of the Trust from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, asking for applicants for Travelling Fellowships. These awards, from 1-3 months, are for international travel to study a wide range of topics annually. The application process promised to be simple and indeed it was; two sides of A4 and no supporting documentation required (or even allowed.) It was bit like a lottery ticket - minimal cost ( an hour's work), a gift of a prize (£5,000 for a month's travel to Israel to meet the originators of the 6PSM) and seemingly minimal chance of success (100 awards from 1,600 applicants.) To my amazement, I got an interview; I think they were just interested in the topic, as the 6PSM was probably a little out of their usual range. I was interviewed by one Baroness and three Knights - one of the latter being Sir Roger Bannister of four-minute mile fame. That was an interesting experience in itself, but imagine my surprise and delight when the lottery ticket came up - in February 1999 they offered me the Fellowship!

This was a turning point. The fact that I could pull this off made me seriously think that other people could take me seriously and that I might have a chance with doing this PhD. I didn't know who was who in R&D in the Trust at that time but I just took out the internal phone book and wrote to everyone I thought might be interested. At the same time I started approaching University departments to see who was around with an interest in the area and a willingness to supervise my study.

Now the search for funds began in earnest. First crack was a modest bid for £7,000 to pay for 6 months part-time work to start the PhD. This came out of a Health Action Zone Fellowship I saw by accident in a Trust newsletter. I went through several shortlisting stages (including the Chief Executive and local Health Authority before a final national interview. Here I was rejected, because as the panel reasonably said I was proposing a piece of research, not a piece of practice development which was the HAZ brief. Nevertheless there were several positives here: senior people in my organisation saw my name again in a positive light, I had made it to a final shortlist on my first attempt and I had rehearsed my presentation style.

In November 1999 I went to Israel for four weeks; a wonderful opportunity to meet people using the 6PSM in a variety of settings and a mind-opening experience in all sorts of ways. On returning I wrote a report of my trip for the WCMT and for my employers - this gave me an opportunity to present it to our Director of Mental Health and Trust Chair, always good people to impress!

By early 2000 I had a Department and a supervisor; the head of the Clinical Psychology Department at Hull University, Prof Mike Wang, was willing to take me on if we could solve the funding problem. Now I started to get ambitious. At the age of (then) 41, I wanted ideally to do the PhD in three years full time. Dragging it out over six or seven years part time was not my idea of fun. So where to find salary costs (at a senior level, with family and mortgage to keep up), tuition fees, travel, conference expenses and so on? The Research Training Fellowships offered by the Regional NHS Executive offered an option. This is for NHS practitioners who want to undertake a piece of research and gain formal research training; the former is seen as the vehicle for the latter. I worked hard and had good support to produce a lengthy application - the sum of money I was asking for seemed ridiculous: nearly £70,000 for two years full time (the scheme is limited to this maximum duration.) I was delighted and encouraged to make the shortlist but crushingly disappointed to be turned down after interview in May 2000. The feedback was that I was a good candidate but the project was overambitious. Back to square one.

By this time the Trust R&D department had been reorganised and my constant writing round the Trust had paid off. Our R&D manager encouraged me to keep preparing funding applications to outside sources, and was confident enough to suggest that I enrol for the PhD part-time. This was in the belief that the funding would come through eventually - but it needed someone else to encourage me to think this way! It was a great day when I enrolled but also the start of a frustrating time; having access to the University library, online journals etc was great - but I only had one day per week to capitalise on it. It was like being let into the sweetshop and told to keep your hands in your pockets.

So the applications continued: one to the Medical Research Council in February 2001, a second try to Region in March and one prepared for a PPP mid-career Fellowship in April. These substantial documents (over 20 pages sometimes) used to take me ages to prepare, but saving applications on disc means you can cut and paste to knock one out in an afternoon, with practice. I didn't make the MRC shortlist; I hardly expected to because I knew my confidence had taken a knock and my application wasn't up to standard. But I did make the Regional shortlist again, with an application very similar to last year's.

It was curious to approach the interview with an objective knowledge that I had a better prepared presentation and a year's work under my belt, but a subjective feeling of flatness and fatalism. I just couldn't get as excited as I had the year before. There were three Professors on the panel, one of whom had interviewed me the year before. I felt I answered their questions well - but I had felt that a year ago. A week later I was out of my misery. "We are delighted to inform you&ldots;." was all I needed to read.

So, £78,000 over two years to pay my salary as a full-time researcher, my tuition fees, conferences, software etc etc&ldots;.. After a year of being good in the sweetshop they've finally relented and said "Oh go on then, have whatever you like!" I hope to use the opportunity not only for myself, but to establish some of the evidence base for the work we are doing in the Specialist Therapies Service. I will also take every opportunity to wave the flag for the Trust and for my professions, and the Fellowship gives me a good platform to do both.

And finally - ten things I wish people had told me three years ago. (Or perhaps they did and I wish I'd listened.)

1. Be persistent. The research process is a frustrating one requiring dogged determination, and so is the process of getting research started.

2. Take every opportunity to gain little bits of research training and experience, and write and publish as much of it as you can. Your CV and your self belief will benefit.

3. Be aware that in the early days you will spend 90% of your energy chasing funds and supporters, and 10% on preparing your study.

4. And 90% of the time you spend chasing funds and supporters will be wasted anyway - you just don't know which 10% will pay off until it does.

5. Be constantly on the alert for funding opportunities. Don't just dump Trust memos and management circulars in the bin; treat each one as a seam which might contain the nugget of an opportunity.

6. Let yourself think big. Push yourself forward, apply for things, ask for things, contact people out of the blue, make requests. They'll probably say no - the first time. But they can't say yes if you don't ask.

7. Thank people for their interest and advice - in person and in writing. You are building a network of supporters and you don't know who else is interconnected and can put in a good word for you.

8. Let senior managers, clinicians and researchers in your organisation and locality know what you're doing. At first they'll wonder who the hell you are, but you will pick up allies and champions just by showing you won't be put off.

9. Use failures as learning opportunities. Work out why you were turned down and make your next approach all the better for it.

10. Be persistent. Did I say that already? It bears repeating. Brick walls will eventually crumble if you bang your head against them long and enough.

Page added 30/5/2001

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