Internet Explorer is no longer supported by Microsoft. To browse the NIHR site please use a modern, secure browser like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge.

NIHR’s Research for Social Care call to run twice per year, with expanded remit to include children and young people’s social care

Published: 25 May 2022

NIHR’s Research for Social Care (RfSC) call will now run twice per year instead of once, thanks to increased NIHR investment into social care research. The programme also has a new commitment to fund research in the area of social care for children and young people, working in partnership with the Department for Education.

Alongside the announcement of NIHR’s recent change in name to the National Institute for Health and Care Research to reflect its increased focus on social care research, RfSC has launched an additional call for research proposals. The call will now be bi-annual, with rounds five and six opening in 2022. Call 5 opens on 25 May, with the deadline for applications on 14 September. Call 6 will open in autumn 2022.

An increase in NIHR spending of £5m a year has been dedicated to social care research, with £3m going towards funding this additional RfSC call. RfSC funds research which generates evidence to improve, expand and strengthen the way social care is delivered for people who use care services, carers, and the public.

The RfSC call will move forward with an expanded remit, to fund research into social care policy and practice relating to children and young people, working in partnership with the Department for Education. The extra investment will help to improve policy and practice in a variety of areas identified by the Department of Health and Social Care.

RfSC is particularly interested in social care research that involves underserved communities and their social care needs, and research funded through the call is expected to have a high degree of involvement from people who use social care and social care practitioners.

Previous RfSC calls have funded diverse projects across the spectrum of social care research, including projects focused on helping adults with learning disabilities learn to read , helping people with dementia to live in their own homes, supporting young fathers in prison, and helping social care staff to identify and support people with gambling problems.

Find out more about RfSC:

Latest news