PhD studentship to study at Centre for Health Innovation, Leadership and Learning

NIHR CLAHRC East Midlands funded PhD studentship to study at the Centre for Health Innovation, Leadership and Learning (CHILL) 

Are you interested in healthcare improvement, and want to learn how to apply social science learning to make a difference in health/social care? CHILL seeks to:

• Establish a multi-disciplinary approach to knowledge around improving quality in healthcare, drawing on learning from a range of social scientific disciplines and the ‘know how’ of improvement practice.
• Build new social sciences knowledge and evidence approaches that are effective in improving the quality of care and methods that can evaluate whether quality has improved.
• Build strong links between researchers specialising in quality improvement methodologies and expert practitioners in the field, to deepen knowledge of what works and to accelerate spread of that knowledge in the NHS.

We are looking for an enthusiastic PhD student who will carry out research exploring the strategic de/implementation of health and social care services. The PhD will examine the interplay between implementation and de-implementation, where the uptake of new evidence-based services involves de-commissioning or stopping existing services. Resulting knowledge will be utilised to determine the evidence needs and thresholds of de-implementation for regional decision-makers. The successful candidate will need to work closely with the CLAHRC’s Implementation Hub team.

The PhD will be part of the Business and Management programme at Nottingham University Business School. The studentship must focus on debates, theories, concepts and methods relevant to the discipline. 

This funded PhD will commence in Autumn 2019. A yearly stipend at current UKR&I rates (£15,009), plus UK/EU student tuition fees (£4,327), is available to the successful applicant. 

How to apply

Applicants should have:

• A 2.1 or higher honours degree in a social science, and
• A Masters degree which includes a substantial research element, with an average score of over 65% in the taught modules and 65% or above in the dissertation.

The successful applicant will be expected to visit research sites on a regular basis and should be able to travel across the East Midlands.

Your application must include a research proposal, which should explore the key issues that you want to examine in more detail, and what methodological approaches you would employ.

In addition, please also enclose the following with your application form:

• Transcripts of all your academic qualifications. If you have not completed your Masters degree yet, you should include a transcript of the marks received to date. Any offer is conditional upon achieving the required standard.
• Two academic references.
• English language test result, if English is not your first language.

Entry onto Nottingham University Business School PhD programme is very competitive. If you fulfil all of the admissions requirements it does not guarantee that you will be offered a place. We also consider:

• The quality of your research proposal. 
• References.
• Your personal statement.

Please quote ref: CLAHRC-CHILL PhD 2019 in all correspondence.

Closing date: 23.59pm (BST) on 2ndJune 2019. Applications submitted after this time will not be considered.

Applications should be emailed to Alice.Phillips@nottingham.ac.uk by 23.59pm on 2ndJune 2019. Applications received after this will not be accepted.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview on 23rd July 2019 (to be held in Nottingham). The successful candidate will be notified as soon as possible after interview.

For further information, please refer to the application form, and then email Emma.Rowley@nottingham.ac.uk. For academic / topic-related enquiries, please email: Stephen.Timmons@nottingham.ac.uk.