Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Teams (PHIRST) – Suggestions for local government intervention evaluations

Summary

NIHR PHIRST invite local government, and equivalent organisations, in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland to submit an application to the NIHR Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Teams (PHIRST) scheme.

The PHIRST scheme was established to support the evaluation of non-NHS public health interventions that are commissioned or delivered by local government across the UK. The scheme provides local government with access to academic expertise to generate high-quality, policy-relevant evidence on interventions that aim to improve population health and reduce health inequalities.

The purpose of this opportunity is to find and select public-health-relevant interventions commissioned by local government (and equivalent organisations in the devolved administrations) that are in need of robust evaluation.

Information about this opportunity is being made available prior to the application window opening, to enable advance planning by local government teams.

Eligibility 
To be eligible for the PHIRST scheme, the intervention must be commissioned by a local government organisation in England, or equivalent bodies in Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland. The intervention should not be NHS-commissioned or NHS-funded. A co-commissioned or co-funded intervention may be eligible, provided the relative financial contribution and participation in the commissioning process from local government is significant.

The intervention should currently be active or due to start. If not yet started, to be eligible for this round the intervention must be guaranteed to start by April 2026.

If you are unsure regarding eligibility, please contact [email protected], with a brief description of your intervention.

Key changes and considerations for this round
Recent rounds have been highly competitive, with high numbers of applications. As a result, it has been necessary to introduce additional eligibility/prioritisation criteria for this round, as follows:

Only 1 application per local government (or equivalent) organisation will be permitted in this round.

Where organisations feel they have multiple interventions to put forward to PHIRST for evaluation, they should internally prioritise and submit no more than 1. Applications must be approved by the Director of Public Health (DPH), or equivalent senior decision-maker with relevant oversight.

Only organisations that do not currently have an intervention being evaluated as part of the PHIRST scheme are eligible to apply in this round.

Find out more here.

Information Webinar

A webinar about the PHIRST scheme and application process will take place on Tuesday 13 January 2026, 10-11AM, online.
To register your interest please send an email with your name and organisation, along with any questions you may have to [email protected].