PHRADA Public Involvement Fund (PIF) – Research Design Service Yorkshire and Humber

PHRADA Public Involvement Fund (PIF)

It is good practice to involve members of the public and people with lived experience as early as possible in the research design process.  Funding public involvement at the application stage can be challenging.  To bridge this gap PHRADA offers a Public Involvement Fund (PIF).

Investigators can apply for funding of up to £600 to help facilitate public involvement in the development of research ideas and research applications to the NIHR Public Health Programme for commissioned calls that PHRADA is supporting.

When is the application deadline?

The deadline for the current PHRADA PIF call is 30/06/2022.

What can the PIF be used for?

Funding provided by the PIF can be used to support a variety of public involvement activities in the design and development of applications. To enable meaningful involvement to take place you must allow sufficient time to undertake the proposed PPI activities that the PIF will support before your intended funding application deadline.  

Examples of appropriate use of PIF funding include:

• Reimburse out-of-pocket expenses for members of the public (e.g. travel, subsistence, carer costs). This should be paid in line with the local policy of the organisation receiving the PIF. 
• Reimburse members of the public for their time. This should be paid in line with the local policy of the organisation receiving the PIF. 
• Pay for refreshments at meetings or events.
• Hire a venue external to the researcher’s organisation if this is fully justified (e.g. where an accessible room is not available for free). 
• Pay for materials which the research team would not normally have access to within their organisation (e.g. play materials for a session with children). 

How much should we apply for?

When trying to estimate the costs of remuneration for public members’ time in your budget please use the Centre for Engagement and Dissemination guidance.  This guidance provides example honorarium payments for different activities along with guidance on expense payments. 

How do I apply for to the PHRADA PIF? 

There is a short application form to complete that asks you to provide details on how you plan to use the funding to support public involvement in the development of your research. The PIF application will be reviewed by two members of PHRADA and one public member.