Our approach to research

Learn about the different ways we approach supporting and funding research.

Bliss works in collaboration with organisations to support neonatal research in different ways. As Bliss is a charity which relies on voluntary donations to fund our work, we can only support research where funding is made available for Bliss.

We can support a research project by:

• Reviewing parent/patient information leaflets
• Supporting parent advisory/patient and public involvement groups
• Participating in the project’s steering group
• Helping communication around the project through the Bliss website and social media, including dissemination of results
• Reviewing application materials
• Writing letters of support for projects
• Being a co-applicant on projects

As a charity, our capacity to provide research support is limited, therefore we have developed a framework to guide researchers in their applications to us, in sharing our broad priorities which inform where we are most likely to be able to agree to a research support request.

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How to request Bliss' support

Please read our Framework for Research Support before submitting a form.

We have two different processes through which to request research support, based on the level of support required:

Requests for one-off, limited support should fill out this request form; this covers:

• Request for research involvement opportunities to be advertised / shared via Bliss’ social media channels, with all contact going directly to the researcher
• Letter of support from Bliss

Requests for ongoing support and/or more active involvement should fill out this request form; this covers:

• Reviewing application materials / parent information leaflets or similar
• Supporting parent advisory groups / PPI groups
• Participating in the project’s steering group
• Being a co-applicant on the project
• Actively supporting parent/patient involvement, e.g. through recruiting and facilitating focus groups
• Please note that as Bliss is a charity which relies on voluntary donations to fund our work, we can only provide research support of this kind where funding is made available for Bliss and/or included in the research funding application.

How to submit your request

In order to manage our workload and capacity effectively, relevant staff at Bliss meet monthly – typically on the second Monday of the month – to review requests received; please therefore ensure that you submit your request a minimum of 4 weeks before you need a response, by emailing a completed copy of the relevant form to research@bliss.org.uk.

We can also support research by finding people with lived experience to be involved in a project.

We are able to post opportunities to our Insight and Involvement group, made up of parents and relatives of babies born premature or sick and ex-neonatal patients. We can contact this group directly and post opportunities on the Insight and Involvement Facebook group.

Members of the group may be able help researchers in a number of ways, for example:

• Helping to design and shape a research project so that it is family-friendly and reflects their experience
• Participating in the research through sharing insight based on their own lived experience.
• Helping make sure research summaries and parent information sheets are easy for parents to understand

If you would like us to consider posting an opportunity to this group, please contact research@bliss.org.uk

Use our Public Involvement Role Description Template to inform members of the public about involvement opportunities.

We want to make sure that the projects we fund are achievable, will contribute something new to improve the care and development of babies who are born premature or sick, and are run by a team which is able to carry out the work they have proposed.

In order to achieve this, we have worked with a panel of healthcare professionals, research experts, parents and with someone who was born premature, to identify our key priority areas.

Our research panel help us to make sure that the research projects we award funding to will address the key areas highlighted in our research strategy.

For more information, please send your query to research@bliss.org.uk

If you are interested in posting on our social media pages, or to the Insight and Involvement Group, please complete our Social Media Request Form.

Please note that we are not currently accepting applications for funding.

Find out how the National Neonatal Research Database (NNRD) can be used for research, audit or quality improvement by visiting the website or downloading this leaflet.