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Our hub is a collaboration of four world-leading research universities: Imperial College London, University College London, Queen Mary University of London and King's College London.  We can help applicants from across England.   
We provide methodological and research support from an expert, interdisciplinary team. We can support you at all stages of your journey, whatever your research area. 

Our team can support you to navigate complex research funding processes. Our expert advisors have been where you are now, have wide-ranging expertise, and know what funders and panels are looking for.   

Collaborations 
Is your team equipped to successfully carry out your research? Are you seeking to expand and complement your team's expertise? Our hub provides opportunities to collaborate with world-leading researchers and methodologists. We offer connections to broader expert networks, supporting innovative and interdisciplinary research. 

Contact us 

  1. Fill in the online Research Support Service request form 
  2. Your request will be reviewed, and you will be contacted within two weeks 
  3. If your request is within the hub's remit, you will be matched with an expert adviser who will tailor their support to your needs 

We strongly recommend submitting requests at least four working weeks before your funding application deadline. Requests made with less notice will receive limited support based on our capacity and the nature of your request. Sufficient lead time ensures our expert advisers can thoroughly review your documents and provide comprehensive tailored advice. 

 

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Areas of expertise and specialisms 

As well as the methodological support that all RSS hubs offer, our hub has special expertise in inspiring innovation in health and social care research, including: 

  • Supporting and advancing innovation in trial design and delivery including digital health studies, stepped wedge trials, use of routine data, patient recorded outcome measurement (PROMS), and longitudinal data. 
  • Statistics and epidemiology including causal inference, target trial emulation, mediation analysis and Markov modelling. 
  • Participatory research methods such as Photovoice, community based participatory research and experience-based co-design. 
  • Qualitative methodologies such as Biographical Narrative Interpretative Method, rapid research and evaluation, and linguistic-orientated methodologies, such as linguistic ethnography and discourse analysis. 
  • Artificial intelligence including development of predictive models for patient outcomes, integration of AI tools in health data analytics, application of AI in clinical decision support systems, ethical considerations and governance of AI in healthcare research, support for researchers in AI methodologies and tools, implementation of AI algorithms for optimising clinical trial designs, collaboration with interdisciplinary teams to innovate AI applications in healthcare, and enhancing patient monitoring and management through AI-powered systems. 
  • Health psychology, behaviour change and complex behavioural or psychosocial interventions in primary care and community settings, culturally relevant complex interventions, championing equality, diversity and inclusion in applied health research. 
  • Implementation science including integration of mental and physical healthcare, adoption of virtual health care, health management information systems, improvement science and patient safety. 
  • Health economics including outcome assessment, economic evaluation and health technology assessment, health policy evaluation, evidence synthesis and translation, access to health care and health care financing, disease modelling, cost-effectiveness analysis and health inequities. 

 

Our partners

Imperial College London: School of Public Health hosts the RSS alongside Imperial Clinical Trials Unit, Primary Care and Public Health, Ageing and Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Environmental Research Group and The George Institute.   

QMUL: Centre for Evaluation and Methods  in the Wolfson Institute of Population Health. 

UCL: Department of Primary Care and Population Health, alongside PRIMENT CTU, Centres for Ageing, e-Health, Health Informatics, Qualitative Health Research, within the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care.  

KCL: Research Management and Innovation Directorate (RMID), which provides cross-school research support collaborating with King's CTU. 

 

How we can support you

We provide expert interdisciplinary support from the start of your research journey. We will match you with our expert advisors to provide tailored support.    

We welcome early career researchers developing projects or fellowships, experienced investigators and under-represented disciplines. We offer specialist activities such as mock interviews and grant reviews from specialist advisors with panel experience.  

You can get in touch before you've even written your proposal.   

We deliver support through online advice sessions, workshops and resources. We are developing new, innovative, online ways for you to engage with our service. So, you can receive support in the best way for you. 

We can help: 

  • researchers at all career stages 
  • health and care professionals of all disciplines 
  • SMEs, private and commercial applicants for research funding 

 We are keen to help those at an early stage of their research career, new to the research funding world or with less established research networks.  

Innovative health and care research support 

Our hub's team unites expert and senior health and social care researchers, methodologists and staff from world-leading institutions with outstanding track records in designing and delivering impactful and innovative research.  

We also provide opportunities for collaboration with our interdisciplinary team, including signposting to connect to wider expertise networks to support innovative research. Our partnerships include expertise across a range of health and social care topics.  

Working with people and communities and research inclusion 

The hub is passionate about supporting research that is: 

  • Inclusive: embedding equality, diversity and inclusion 
  • Shaped by diverse public involvement: incorporating the voices of patients, service users and carers and members of the public 

General Enquiries

For general enquiries please email: nihrrss@imperial.ac.uk