Clinical research using NHS resources

You must complete a SoECAT if:

• you’re applying for clinical research funding
• you will carry out your research in the UK
• your research will use NHS resources
• your research requires Health Research Authority approval.

You must complete a SoECAT even if you don't think your clinical research will involve excess treatment costs (ETCs).

These are the steps you need to take when you apply for a Wellcome grant that includes clinical research.

• Complete a SoECAT, which you can download from the NIHR website.
• Get your form signed off by an AcoRD specialist. There are different ways to contact a specialist, depending on where you are in the UK:
  • England: NIHR website
  • Scotland: NHS Research Scotland website
  • Wales: email research.fundingsupport@wales.nhs.uk
  • Northern Ireland: HSC R&D division website.

You should contact an AcoRD specialist as early as possible in the application process. They can advise on how to complete the template.

• Send us the 'study information' and 'summary' pages from your SoECAT form as a single PDF with your completed grant application. We may ask for the full form later in the application process.
• If we award you a grant you must tell your AcoRD specialist. In England, very expensive ETCs may need further assessment by an NHS panel.

The SoECAT makes sure that costs are attributed:

• in line with the AcoRD framework
• consistently across the UK.

In England the tool also supports how ETCs are agreed and paid.

ETCs occur when patient care costs are higher in research than in routine care. In the past, difficulties arranging how ETCs are agreed and paid have delayed research and the health improvements it can bring.

In England, the NHS is responsible for paying ETCs for non-commercial research.

• NIHR: SoECAT form and why you need to complete it
• NIHR: guidance on how to complete the SoECAT
• NIHR: information about ETCs.