Working with the Research Programme

Researchers who have a proven track record in high-quality research are eligible to undertake IOSH research. Applicants should also be able to demonstrate that they have the research and project management skills to lead a successful proposal to completion. 

From time to time, we open calls for research. Details of research calls are published on our website. If you would like to receive an alert, please email rfunding@iosh.com and ask to be notified. 

We are interested in proposals that address the topic area in the ‘call for research project funding’ statement. Applications must be aligned to the proposed topic area to be considered. 

Unfortunately, proposals are currently accepted in English only. 

Collaborating with another organisation is something that we welcome. However, it is not compulsory. If you have gained financial or ‘in-kind’ support from other organisations this should be secured at the time of your application – please confirm this in your proposal. 

When we are open to receiving research funding applications, please check the call for bids statement to see if there is a funding limit for the call.

Please note that applications are considered case-by-case and on merit, so your project activity must be commensurate with the costs involved. It is therefore essential that you provide a clear breakdown of costs. We welcome ambitious projects and encourage proposals that have secured partial costs already from like-minded organisations.

Typically, successful applications funded through the annual research competition have ranged between £50,000 and £150,000. The highest project sum awarded so far is around £260,000.

In common with other charities, IOSH does not generally pay overhead costs. However, each project will be considered on the quality of the proposal and the value of its outputs.

You must be able to substantiate all your costs and demonstrate value for money, so please make sure that you clearly provide all relevant costing information on the application form to help us make a decision. This may include direct costs for academics and research assistants for the actual hours deployed on the project, as well as printing, postage, telephone, travel and subsistence costs.

Please refer to the application form guidance for more information on the breakdown of costs.

Unfortunately, we can only make payments in GBP. Please submit your proposed project costs in GBP and note that charges for currency conversion and associated costs will be borne by the Lead Research Organisation.

Yes, you should still submit an application but include a proposed start and end date in the “Programme of work” section of the application form. 

We can receive submissions until 23.59 GMT on the closing date provided, unless we’ve noted otherwise in the submission details. 

No late applications will be considered.  

When you submit your application form you should get an email to confirm this. If you still haven’t received a confirmation after three working days, contact the Advice and Practice Department by emailing rfunding@iosh.com to check if your form has been received. 

In line with our call for research proposals process (PDF 539KB), decisions will be made at several time-points during the process, so you’ll hear the outcome of your application within approximately seven months the close of the call. The length of the process is also determined by the IOSH governance process, with more substantial project costs taking longer to approve.

Once we receive your application, it will be assessed. Following this process, we will either:  

• decline your application, 
• ask you to revise and resubmit your proposal, or 
• accept your proposal. 

If your application is shortlisted, we may invite you to meet with IOSH staff and/or external advisers as part of the process. If so, we’ll give you plenty of notice and the meeting can be held virtually via video conferencing.

We will try to give some brief feedback, but due to the number of applications we receive this will not always be possible. 

We’ll deal with project outputs on a case-by-case basis. However, we’d expect IOSH to have ownership of intellectual property rights. As a researcher, you would be able to use the research outputs for the purposes of non-commercial research and academic activities; further details will be provided if your application is successful.

Yes. The process is always competitive and applications will be considered on their individual merits. 

There is no restriction on the number of proposals an applicant can be involved in. The applicant should clearly demonstrate sufficient capacity and resources to deliver the proposed projects in the respective applications.

We expect you to develop plans for communicating and sharing the findings of your research project. We will also develop an IOSH communication and dissemination plan to which you may be expected to contribute. 

When your project’s completed, we’ll publish full peer-reviewed reports and summary reports and will work with you to do this. However, we would strongly encourage you to publish in other sources (e.g., open access publications) and keep us informed about it. After approximately a year we’ll evaluate how your project has performed and how the research outputs have contributed to academia (e.g., published in peer-reviewed journals), supported practitioners and employers in practice (e.g., through articles and guidance) and how it’s influenced policy, whether at a local or national level. 

Currently, we don’t consider research studentship applications. However, as part of the research team, members can involve post-doctoral research assistants or be involved in supervised work that’s part of a larger study and leads to a higher degree e.g., PhD. 

Any questions, queries or requests for clarification in relation to a submitted research proposal should be sent by email to rfunding@iosh.com. Applicants should be aware that while every effort will be made to respond to enquiries in a timely fashion.