PIHR Researcher support services

Information and resources for Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research researchers

The Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research (PIHR) exists in part to support its member researchers and ensure they have the help they need to excel in their research careers. We do this by working with our partners across the University (including the Faculty of Health Research Support service, Research and Innovation, the Library and Doctoral College) and through a range of activities, including training workshops, resource development and signposting. Whilst these activities will be of particular benefit to our postgraduate research and early career researchers, we recognise that researchers may require support at very different stages of their career. 

Below you can find links to specific institute, faculty and university level support services, as well as resources for addressing specific research support questions. 

For further information on Institute activities please contact: PIHRSupport@plymouth.ac.uk 

If you are interested in collaboration opportunities or have a question around the work we do contact us on: PIHRSupport@plymouth.ac.uk

Find funding using Research Professional 

Research Professional is an online database of research funding opportunities and a source of international research policy and practice news, with an email alert service. It provides a summary of significant recent research funding opportunities and approaching deadlines. 
PIHR has created its own Research Professional page with key search lists that you can use to find health and care research funding. To access it you will need to enter your University log-in details and create a Research Professional account if you do not have one already. 
*Research Professional

Useful researcher resources

Selected research funding sources

Useful links to help you discover potential funding opportunities.

Apply for research funding

Support and guidance to help you through the application process.

Internally allocated funding
PIHR has been working with other parts of the University to offer specific small-scale funding for seed-corn projects to University of Plymouth academics. These initiatives include:

  • Health Pump Priming Fund: this provides seed-corn funding for small research projects with the aim that they will subsequently be scaled-up and attract additional external funding. The 2020/21 fund supported 17 such projects and a further 8 projects are currently being funded in the 2022/3 round. The fund has also been supported by the Faculty of Health.

  • SHAP(E)ing Health Collaboration Fund: jointly funded with the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business, this fund supports collaborative research between academics from health and social care backgrounds and those from the arts, humanities and business. Further details can be found here.

  • QR Policy Support Fund: funding from Research England has been used to support a number of projects to help academics better engage with policy-makers. Details of the projects funded in the 2021 can be found here.

In addition, PIHR members have also collaborated with local businesses to receive support from the University's Research and Development Solutions Fund. This fund was established by the University to support businesses through the pandemic providing grants of up to £20,000. Details of the previous round can be found here.

If you have any questions about future internal research funding opportunities please contact PIHRSupport@plymouth.ac.uk

Managing research and managing research data

Links and downloadable guides to guide you towards effective research and data management.

Applying for ethical approval

All research by staff, research students and taught masters students which involves human subjects and/or human tissue will always require ethical approval by a properly constituted ethics committee.

Public & Patient Involvement (PPI)

It‘s considered good practice to involve members of the public as early as possible in the research design process. Funding public involvement at the grant application stage can be challenging. The NIHR Research Design Services' ‘Public Involvement Funds’ aim to bridge that gap. Funds are available to help facilitate public involvement in the development of research ideas and research grant applications. You can contact the RDS directly to find out more about the funding here. 

Below are links to various external resources which could help you with public and patient involvement, either as part of the planning and/or dissemination of research. This includes a repository of PPI training and resources developed by NIHR, as well as guidance from MRC about how to feedback findings to study participants. 

Preparing a systematic review (incl. meta-analysis)
Help, advice and support in undertaking a systematic review, including resources on meta-analysis. Please note the meta-analysis resources require a UoP login. 

Publication preparation guidance

Your guide to the essential considerations when preparing journal publications and handling editorial feedback.

Achieving Research Impact

Ensuring our research findings make a positive impact on people and communities, not least through influencing policy-makers, can be as challenging as it is critical. In early 2021 PIHR funded the ECR Forum for Health-related researchers to organise a series of workshops for both early career and other researchers on engaging policy-makers. Below are links to some of the workshop resources together with other useful impact-related links. These additional links include a policy engagement toolkit developed by our colleagues in the University's Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business. Please note: you will need a UoP login to access some of this content. 

Mentoring for Junior Researchers

The Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research (PIHR) runs a mentoring programme to support junior researchers in the University of Plymouth's Faculty of Health in the development of their research careers. The benefits for mentees include enhanced confidence, career direction, an expanded network, and a supportive environment to discuss ideas. If you are a junior health researcher within the University's Faculty of Health and would like to find out more please email: fohstaffmentoring@plymouth.ac.uk

PIHR has also set-up some guidance and training resources for mentors and mentees. University of Plymouth staff members can access these using the links below.

Health biomedical Getty

Researcher Reflections

Researchers associated with PIHR reflect on different aspects of their research experience citing key lessons and learning points:

Laptop on table at home (cropped so you can actually see it). Picture by Eli Sommer, Pexels  Researcher in Residence under Covid: when the residence is home
 Debra Westlake describes her experiences as an embedded researcher working from home

Healthcare Taking the long view on Research Funding
Professor Jonathan Pinkney reflects on the lessons learned through a successful multi-million pound funding bid to NIHR

Professor Eduardo Miranda - Photography by Somewhere up north Overcoming Disciplinary Barriers: An Interview with a Highly Successful Inter-disciplinary Researcher
 Professor Eduardo Miranda talks about the joys and challenges of inter-disciplinary research

University support services

Postgraduate research opportunities

The University of Plymouth offers a range of postgraduate research degrees across all areas of health research.

The Doctoral College is the hub for all research degree processes – from enquiries and application processes to the award of degrees.

Find out more about the areas in which we supervise postgraduate research at both doctoral and masters levels. Here we offer a flavour of potential topics for your own research project and who to contact to discuss your options.

Postgraduate Research Coordinators

Faculty of Health

Continuing Professional Development Opportunities

The University offers a range of CPD opportunities to gain new knowledge, skills and behaviours and remain up to date in all areas of your practice.