Introduction
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is pleased to announce the first round of the Global Advanced Fellowships postdoctoral award which will meet the aims and ambitions set out in the following call guidance notes.
- Award funding: Up to £750,000 over 2 to 5 years
- Applicant: postdoctoral researcher working in applied global health
- Contractor: UK Higher Education Institution (HEI) or Low and Middle Income Country (LMIC) HEI or Research Institution
The NIHR Global Advanced Fellowship awards support postdoctoral researchers in LMICs and the UK working in applied global health research. Round one of the Global Advanced Fellowships will launch on 16th April 2024. This is an annual scheme that is anticipated to launch around the same time each year.
This document provides full details of the NIHR Global Advanced Fellowship scheme, the means by which applications should be submitted, and how they will be assessed. You must ensure you have read this guidance before submitting an application. Further guidance will be made available to support completion of each section of the application form when the scheme launches in April 2024.
You may wish to refer to the NIHR Global Health Research Programmes Core Guidance for Applicants alongside the scheme specific guidance outlined in this document.
Expression of interest
In order to assist with the planning and management of the application process for the first round of the NIHR Global Advanced Fellowships, we have launched an Expression of Interest form. Please complete a form if you intend to submit an application when the scheme opens in April 2024. The form is not a prerequisite to submitting an application form and the information provided will not be linked to future applications. The information provided in the form will be used for the purposes of planning for the management of the application process and funding committee as well as to conduct analysis on the geographical origin and thematic areas of the applications that are expected, to inform our communications strategy for this and future competitions.
About the Global Advanced Fellowships
Recognising a gap in the global health funding landscape for mid-career researchers, particularly for researchers employed in LMICs, the NIHR is launching a new Global Advanced Fellowship scheme. The scheme aims to address this gap by creating a sustainable pathway to research leadership for global health researchers at the postdoctoral level.
The NIHR Global Advanced Fellowships are postdoctoral awards that provide funding and support to individuals with the potential to become future leaders in global health research within the NIHR’s remit in LMICs and the UK. The Global Advanced Fellowship scheme will support any field of applied global health research for the direct and primary benefit of people living in one or more ODA-eligible country/ies.
The strategic aims of the NIHR Global Advanced Fellowship scheme are to:
- Develop a pathway to research leadership for postdoctoral global health researchers
- Support postdoctoral researchers to conduct a research project in a strategic area of applied global health and receive a bespoke training and development programme relevant to their needs
- Strengthen institutional capacity for research in LMIC
The Global Advanced Fellowship is aimed at anyone working in global health with a PhD who hasn’t yet been awarded a Professorship/Chair. This call is open to applicants from both LMICs and the UK. Up to 10 NIHR Global Advanced Fellowships will be available in this first round. The Global Advanced Fellowship includes funding up to £750,000 over 2 to 5 years to support a research project in applied global health, salary costs, a personal training and development plan and wider institutional capacity strengthening.
You are eligible to apply for a Global Advanced Fellowship if you are someone who has recently been or about to be awarded a PhD, or someone with several years of postdoctoral experience. You are asked to indicate which of the following uses of a Global Advanced Fellowship best describes your application:
- You have recently completed or soon to be awarded a PhD but are not established as an independent researcher.
- You are either starting to establish yourself as an independent researcher, or are already established as an independent researcher but are not yet recognised as an international leader in your field.
- You are looking to transition into applied health or social care research from a basic science or non-health/care research background.
- You are seeking to re-establish a research career following a significant career break.
If you don’t fit with one of these descriptions, please contact the NIHR who will be happy to discuss your proposed application with you.
Your application will be assessed individually based on your experience and the opportunities that will have been available to you based on your professional background and circumstance. We recognise that career pathways and structures may vary in different countries. Please contact the NIHR if you have any queries surrounding your circumstances on academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk.
The NIHR strongly encourages applications from researchers employed by LMIC institutions and these applications will be given strategic priority. Applications received under this strategic priority will have to meet the same quality threshold required for funding, but will be given priority if the number of fundable applications exceeds the maximum that can be funded in this round.
Application Timetable
- Competition opens April 2024
- Submission of online applications closes July 2024
- Interviews held virtually January 2025
- Awards start between April and October 2025
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ON HOW TO APPLY
