Health Research Board Improving health through research and information

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Health Research Board Improving health through
research and information

• Mairéad ODriscoll

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Overview

• Context and background
• Areas of research
• Research Funding Schemes
• Applying for grants (successfully)

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1. Context and background

• Role of research in health gain, and economic and
  social development
• Public policy (e.g. Est. of HSE, HIQA, PRTLI,
  focus on research strategies)
• More complex environment (more funding agencies)
• Focus on accountability
• Ethical issues and public support
• Research into practice

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Key Points in MKWH

• Two pillars
• Establishing and supporting an RD function
  within the health services (RD for health)
• Supporting investigator driven research in
  health, life and social sciences (science for
  health )

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HRB Income 1997 to 2005
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2. Areas of research

• Basic biomedical research (some!)
• Translational research
• Clinical research
• Population health
• Practice based research (nursing, primary care,
  therapies etc)
• Health services research
• Health and social care research

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3. Research Funding Schemes

• Career development, fellowships and training
  (supporting people)
• Research projects and programmes
• Special initiatives (Programme for Health and
  Wealth)
• Infrastructure (equipment and IT)

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Training and career development

• PhD Scholars Programmes (20th October)
• Clinical research training fellowships
• Postdoctoral fellowships
• Health services research fellowships (13th Oct)
• Nursing and midwifery fellowships (15th Dec)
• Research fellowships for the therapies
  professions
• Research fellowship in rare diseases
• Summer students (next call due in Feb 2007)

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Research projects and programmes

• Programme Grants (5 years max 1.5m)
• Health Services RD Awards (3 years max 1.0m)
• Project Grants (3 years max 270K closing 17th
  Nov)
• Partnership awards (2 yrs max 30K next call
  March 2007)

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Special initiatives (Programme for Health and
Wealth)

• Translational research awards (5 yrs max 1.5
  million)
• Clinician scientist awards (5 yrs max. 1.5
  million 13th Oct)

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Infrastructure

• Infrastructure awards (research equipment)
• Information systems to underpin RD for health

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4. Applying for Grants

• Ingredients of a successful grant application?
• Good ideas
• Good research methodology
• Good application (well put together)

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Good ideas

• The proposal should be
• Driven by a significant hypothesis
• Oriented towards understanding an important
  health problem

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Good research methodology

• Relate specific objectives to each hypothesis.
• Relate specific methods directly to each
  objective of the project.
• Define all assumptions, limitations, and
  alternative approaches.
• Do the sums (stats, power calculations)

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Good application

• Address all possible problems before the
  reviewers do.
• Complete the form properly!
• What do you intend to do
• Why is it important?
• What have you already done?
• How are you going to do it?
• Cite references properly

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Common problems

• Faulty hypothesis lack of new or original ideas
• Research problem unimportant, unlikely to yield
  new information
• Experimental design problem with study group or
  controlstechnical methodology questionable,
  unsuitable data collection problems

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Or.

• Diffuse, superficial or unfocused research plan
• Lack of knowledge of relevant published work
• Poor past performance on a HRB grant or
  unimpressive publications record (relative to
  career stage)
• Resources poor institutional support, inadequate
  facilities or other support, restricted access to
  appropriate patient population

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Reasons for rejection

• Absence of an acceptable scientific rationale
• Uncertainty concerning future directions
• Questionable reasoning in experimental approach
• Lack of experience in the essential methodology
• Unrealistically large amount of work
• Insufficient experimental detail

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Or

• Not eligible
• Inconsistent information
• Incomplete information
• Signature missing
• Past deadline

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Remember

• On average, only 20 of applications are funded,
  so keep trying.

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More information..

• www.hrb.ie
• or call us!