Analysis 2022 – Qualitative submissions

Proposal for a narrative/qualitative submission

As the UK Health Research Analysis series has expanded, approaching a much larger range of funders many of whom do not fund research in the traditional sense, we have found that many support research by means that cannot be easily quantified or incorporated into our analysis. While a quantitative analysis of health research funding remains the core aim of our report series, we are keen to acknowledge this broader contribution by other funding organisations.

Therefore we offer the option of an alternative, narrative / qualitative submission. The aim of this is to still capture how the organisation fits into the wider health research environment, even if the organisation does not fund research in the traditional sense and/or that its research contribution and/or its relevancy to health is not quantifiable.

Essentially we’re seeking a few short paragraphs (ideally <500 words) using the rough structure below:

• Who you are / what you do – a one or two sentence introduction to your organisation and its main aims/purpose. Your website’s homepage probably has this already.
• How the organisation funds, conducts or supports research – this is essentially some background explaining how and why you fund, conduct or support research (e.g.  if there are dedicated budgets, on an ‘as needed’ basis, in house / commissioned externally).
• Comment on how this relates to health – an explanation of your organisation’s broader contribution to the health research environment, such as key topics that your organisation needs further insight on. Try to avoid lengthy case studies, but 1-2 exemplars might be helpful.
• Facts and Figures – If there are any figures or approximations you can make (on the research you support in general but the greater focus on the health-relevant aspects is better), that would be fantastic… but we appreciate this may be difficult. Even a simple total research budget or count of research projects may help put your work in some context. Note this would still need to be relevant to the timescale for the report, i.e. funded or active in calendar year 2022.
• Data notes – if you are submitting data for the analysis, please include any notes on methodology or caveats you wish made clear.

This ‘Qualitative Submission’ was introduced in 2018 and examples can be found in our that report’s Appendix 1. Prior to this, we included an ‘approach to coding’ explanatory text which performed a similar function but focused more on contextualising each funders’ data submission (e.g. our 2014 report, Appendix 1).

Please note that this proposal represents the recommended framework for a qualitative submission but the precise content itself is up to you and your organisation. If you have any further queries, please contact the project management team.