NIHR Doctoral Research Training Camp 2025: A lesson in how to PREVAIL. by Amy Chinner

Posted by ma403

11 July 2025

From 7^th-9^th July, I attended the 3-day National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Doctoral Research Training Camp in Hinckley. I wasn’t too sure what I was letting myself in for in advance, I mean how “intensive” could training on grant writing and applying for further funding be? As it turns out, very! As one previous attendee described it, it’s like being on the Apprentice but for healthcare research.

The task is to work in teams to design, write and submit a (fictitious) research grant proposal for up to £500k in less than 24 hours, and then pitch and defend your proposal to an expert review panel in front of 100+ delegates – easy right? Did I mention that you’ve never met your team before, your proposal will be on a totally different area of healthcare to your usual area of work, and that you might have a surprise policy pitch halfway through the day? Stressed doesn’t cut it, but being fictional at least we weren’t going to get fired!

However, as scary as this may sound, it was one of the best trainings I’ve been to – a seamlessly organised whirlwind that got the balance just right between pushing us out of our comfort zones, while supporting us to build on our collective strengths and achieve what (at the start of the event) seemed improbable at best. Our PREVAIL study – looking at RSV vaccine uptake in pregnant refugees – may have been fictional, but how fitting the name turned out to be!

So what did I learn?

Although the ~24hr deadline imposed on us is (thankfully) not the case when developing a funding application in real life, it taught me a great deal about what is fundamental to good grant writing when all else is stripped away. Here are 7 areas that I will consider when next writing a grant application:

Read the guidance – understand the funder and scheme that you are applying to and make sure that your priorities and scope align.
Whose gap/whose problem? – make sure that your proposal aims to answer a question that is actually important to patients and the public (not just what you as a researcher think is important) and clearly demonstrate this. Be specific!
Always go back to the question – don’t get bogged down in the detail before you have the basics clear and always check that what you’re doing is in line with your overarching aim.
Don’t assume knowledge – explain your arguments and expectations clearly and be specific (grant review panels are often multidisciplinary and may not have an in-depth knowledge of your specific area).
Make the value explicit – make sure that you provide clear (and accurate!) information on the current impact of the problem you want to solve, as well as the realistic benefit expected from your proposed work. Think about building in risk mitigation stop/go criteria.
Fit for purpose – make sure that every element of the proposal is clear, consistent (don’t forget to update the costings or GANTT chart when making changes!), and justifiable. Consider using logic models to demonstrate your arguments.
Find support – writing a successful grant application is a team effort. Trust in your teams’ abilities, listen to alternative ideas and make friends with people outside of your direct research team e.g. health economists, local research finance teams, the NIHR Research Support Service, local Research and Development (R&D) teams and the NIHR Research Delivery Network.

So, to wrap up, if you’re an early career researcher thinking about attending this training in the future I would say without a doubt, do it! You’ll leave exhausted but having worked with some amazingly talented people. Oh, and don’t over-plan beforehand – the proposal never ends up where you think it will anyway!

Finally, I would just like to say a huge thank you to my PREVAIL study teammates, our mentors and Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement advisors (who were invaluable), the camp organisers and to NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR), APEx and my supervisors for supporting me to attend.

By Amy Chinner (1st year NIHR SCPR funded PhD candidate)