National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia (NIAA) research grants: analysis of awardee characteristics and preliminary grant outputs.

Abstract

Background: The National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia (NIAA) is a major UK-based funder of academic anaesthesia and perioperative medicine. It holds two grant rounds per year. Since 2019, research outputs have been collected via a widely used online platform, enabling assessment of grant impact. The aim of our study was to report the characteristics of funding awards and awardees, including equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) data.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of NIAA grant data submitted by award holders (2019-2023) and assessed EDI characteristics for all applicants and recipients, collected since 2022. The primary objective was to assess grants by geographical distribution, type of institutions and research category. Secondary objectives included preliminary grant outputs and EDI characteristics of applicants and awardees.

Results: Between 2019 and 2023, 63 grants totalling £2,488,857 were awarded. Grants were well-distributed across the UK and Ireland, with London-based research groups receiving the most (n = 16, 25%) and securing £825,591 (33% of total funding). University-affiliated institutions received 38 grants (60%), while 25 grants (40%) were awarded to teaching and non-teaching hospitals. By research type, pre-clinical studies received 41% of funding (n = 26), followed by clinical observational (24%, n = 15), clinical interventional (14%, n = 9), and epidemiological studies (13%, n = 8). Fifty-one publications have been reported by 20 principal investigators across 30 journals, with a total of 1723 citations and a median of 17 citations per paper. More than half (n = 28, 55%) were published in journals with an impact factor of 7 or higher. Most applicants were white, heterosexual males, but no EDI characteristic was significantly associated with application success.

Conclusion: NIAA grants were geographically diverse and supported a broad range of research types. Most funded research was published in high-impact journals. However, a notable lack of diversity was observed among applicants, both successful and unsuccessful. Future NIAA strategies should focus on increasing diversity and representation among grant applicants.