Research Capability Funding to Replace Flexibility and Sustainability Funding (FSF)

From April 2012, Research Capability Funding will replace Flexibility and Sustainability Funding.

As with Flexibility and Sustainability Funding, Research Capability Funding is allocated to research-active NHS organisations in proportion to the total amount of other NIHR income received by that organisation, and on the number of NIHR Senior Investigators associated with the organisation. Research Capability Funding is also allocated to NIHR Clinical Research Networks for their local research networks, via the NHS organisations that host each local network.

The purpose is to:

• Help research-active NHS organisations to act flexibly and strategically to maintain research capacity and capability.
• Support the appointment, development and retention of key staff undertaking or supporting people and patient-based based research.
• Contribute towards costs of hosting NIHR-funded or ‘adopted’ research that are not currently fully covered across NIHR’s programmes, and that are not met in other ways.

The aim is a quality-driven fund that allows for local discretion and management of people to support and develop patient and people driven research.

NIHR Research Capability Funding will provide for salary costs of NIHR Faculty members in clearly defined circumstances. It will only support salary costs, including direct (i.e. salary) and indirect (e.g. payroll and HR) costs. It will not fund running costs.

Further details on this change can be found on the NIHR Website at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/infrastructure/Pages/research_capability_funding.aspx

Local guidance for applications will be available on the London (South) CLRN Funding page once allocations have been confirmed.