Development and Skills Enhancement (DSE) award

The Development and Skills Enhancement (DSE) award is a postdoctoral level funding opportunity. It  supports early to mid-career researchers who want to gain specific skills and experience to underpin the next phase of their research career.

A DSE award must help you to develop the relevant and required skills to make a competitive NIHR personal award or NIHR research grant application. Applications to develop skills that are suited to research outside NIHR’s remit are not in scope for a DSE award. Visit our NIHR’s remit page for more information.

What can a DSE Award offer?

The DSE provides funding for:

• the salary of the award holder for up to 2 years
• training and development costs up to £5,000 per year
• conference costs up to £1,000 per year
• mentorship costs up to £3,000

Although you can use a DSE award to fund development and leadership skills within a clinical setting, we will not support practice time. Visit our DSE award page for more information on practice time.

How much can you apply for?

You will be able to choose a 12, 18 or 24-month duration. The limits on what you can apply for are regardless of extensions in duration due to a lower WTE%. The limits are:

• 12 months

• £5,000 training costs
• £1,000 for a conference or meeting
• Up to £3,000 towards the costs of mentorship

• 18 months

• £7,500 training costs
• £1,500 for a conference or meeting
• Up to £3,000 towards the costs of mentorship

• 24 months

• £10,000 training costs
• £2,000 for a conference or meeting
• Up to £3,000 towards the costs of mentorship

DSE award costs will be funded at 100% and Full Economic Costings (FEC) are not covered by this award. Visit our finance guidance for more information.

Eligibility

To apply, you must:

• have completed any relevant pre-registration training (if you are applying as a clinical academic)
• have a proposed English Contracting Organisation that is an HEI, NHS body, or other provider of health and/or care services
• hold a relevant PhD or MD, or have submitted your thesis for examination at the time of application; you must have been awarded your PhD or MD by the time you start the award
• have not submitted a DSE application in the previous submission window

Visit the DSE award page for full eligibility information.

Duration

You can hold a DSE award Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) for:

• 12 months
• 18 months
• 24 months

You can undertake a DSE award on a part-time basis of between 50% and 100% WTE.

Visit our award duration page for more information.

Partnership Award

This funding opportunity is not offered through a Partnership Award.

Funding applications must be submitted via our Awards Management System. Click the link below to log in to the system and start your application.