All Wales RDCS: Preparing to Write a Research Funding Application (2021)

The All Wales Research Design and Conduct Service (RDCS) supports staff working within the National Health Service and social care to develop high quality research funding proposals. The RDCS is funded by Welsh Government through Health and Care Research Wales.

On Thursday 29th April, we kicked off our programme of events for 2021, with an All Wales RDCS workshop on preparing to write a research funding application. It was great to be joined by delegates from across the NHS, including staff in dermatology, midwifery, physiotherapy and pharmacy, as well as social care practitioners from a number of organisations.  Having moved online, we condensed our schedule to 2 hours to provide delegates with the key foundations for starting the grant application process. Consultants from the RDCS discussed ways to find a good research idea, how to develop a research question and where to find funding.

Guest speaker Rosemary Soper from Cardiff & Vale UHB Library Service provided information on accessing support for literature reviews and Rebecca Burns from Health and Care Research Wales highlighted the importance of involving members of the public in research at an early stage. Breakout groups with consultants from RDCS SE and SW Wales provided opportunities for discussion on these topics. Participants commented that they “enjoyed the variety of topics and expert speakers” and found the workshop “very helpful for us starting with research and also those already involved with a research idea”. The overview of funding schemes and information on developing a research question were considered particularly useful. 

The videos of the workshop presentations can be viewed 
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIkEldIyD59cZmXmwLKzVok_A5KpNjSqj