The Wellcome Trust

Funding opportunitiesFunding opportunities5 December 2007 5 December 2007

Tracy Halpin and Savita Ayyar

Overview

•The Wellcome Trust

•The application process

•Funding schemes offered by the Wellcome Trust

• an independent research-funding charity

• established 1936

• funded from private endowment

• managed for long-term stability and growth

• interests range from science to history of medicine

The Wellcome Trust

Wellcome Trust mission

“To foster and promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health”

Strategic aims

Strategic Plan 2005-2010

What do we fund?

• Biomedical and veterinary research

• Technology transfer activities

• History of Medicine research

• Biomedical ethics research

• Public engagement

Good idea!

Application submission

Interview Committee

FundReject

Funding Committee

Expert peer review

Your application

www.wellcome.ac.uk

•Check scheme details•Allow plenty of time (between 4-6 months)

Choose appropriate Stream

Immunology andInfectious Disease

Populations and Public Health

Neuroscience and Mental Health

Physiological Sciences

Molecules, Genes and Cells

Meeting Dates and deadlines

Funding Committee

•Meetings take place 4 times a year•Dates available from website

Grant Application - Components

•Research Question : Summary & Details

•CV’s of applicants

•Resources

The research plan

•Clear hypothesis

•Not over/under ambitious

•Convincing preliminary data

•Appropriate co-applicants and collaborators

•Easily read and understood

Resources

•Personal support

•Staff - Research Assistants/Technicians

•Equipment & Access Charges

•Animals

•Materials & Consumables

Justifying resources is as important as the proposal.

Seek advice !!

•From colleagues and/or mentors and Trust staff

•Ask for as many independent views or comments

on the proposal as possible

•Seek opinions from colleagues outside your field

as to readability, focus etc.

Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 6Month 5

Admin

Referee selection

Sent to Funding

Committee

Applications compiled & copied

Your applicationpost-submission

At the Funding Committee meeting..

•The importance of the question

•The approach to the question and feasibility

•Track record/potential of applicant?

•Appropriate equipment and running costs

For fellowships

•Person-Project-Place

•Scientific independence

Peer review – plays an important role but is not the only defining factor

Funding schemes

Types of Support

Grants

•Project Grants

•Programme Grants

•Equipment Grants

•University Awards

-Research Staff

-Research Technologists

Fellowships

•PhD programmes

•Training Fellowships

•Intermediate Fellowships

•Senior Fellowships

•Other

Research Training Fellowships

Senior Research Fellowships

PhD Programmes for Clinicians

Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships

Intermediate Clinical

Fellowships

Research Career Development Fellowships

Senior Research Fellowships

Senior Research Fellowships

BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS CLINICAL SCIENTISTS

University Awards

Flexible Travel

Awards

Research Career

Re-EntryFellowships

Principal Research Fellowships

INTERMEDIATE

SENIOR

BIOMEDICAL & CLINICAL SCIENTISTS

IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Intermediate Fellowships

MSc/PhD Programmes

Research Training Fellowships

4 Year PhD Programmes

Personal Support Schemes

International Senior Research Fellowships(in India, South Africa, Czech Republic, Estonia,

Hungary & Poland )

EARLY CAREER

FlexibleTravel

Awards

Based in the UK or Republic of Ireland

Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships

Research Career Development Fellowships

Senior Research Fellowships

BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTSBased in the UK or Republic of Ireland

Research projects can be based in the lab, the clinic or the field and may involve experimental or theoretical approaches

University Awards

Flexible Travel

Awards

Research Career Re-

EntryFellowships

Principal Research Fellowships

Early career

Intermediate

Senior

4 Year PhD Programmes

Personal Support Schemes

Research Career Development Fellowships• 3-6 years’ post-doctoral research

experience

• Candidates must have made significant intellectual contributions to research and be able to demonstrate their potential to carry out high quality independent research

• Awards now for up to 5 years

• Includes salary, research expenses and research assistance if justified

• Considered twice a year

                         

Senior Research Fellowships in Basic Biomedical Science

• 5-~10 years post-doctoral research experience

• For individuals of outstanding ability to continue their independent programmes of research

• Initial 5 year award funded in full by the Trust

• Renewable for further five year periods, with 50% of the fellow’s salary funded by the host institution

• Annual competition

Principal Research Fellowships

• Candidates with an established track record of research at the highest level

• Basic and clinical

• Seven years’ salary and research support

• Renewable for five year periods with 50% salary support from the host institution

• Must have a guaranteed position at the end of the Fellowship

• Often used to bring top researchers (back) to the UK

Some popular grant schemes

Project Grants

•High-quality, hypothesis-driven research

•Usually up to 3 years’ duration

•Salaries for 1-2 posts, plus equipment, travel and materials

•Awards typically between £180k-£350K

Can be used to support pilot studies and international collaborations

Programme Grants

•Preliminary application required

•Principal Applicant needs proventrack record of research and funding

•Broader aims

•Normally 5 years duration

•Salaries for 3-4 posts, plus equipment, travel and materials

•Awards typically in the region of £750k-£1.5m

Support on project and programme grants

In appropriate circumstances, researchers

can request personal salary support on a

Project or Programme grant application as:

A named Research AssistantA Co-applicantThe Principal Applicant

Equipment Grants

•Applications up to £1 million considered

•Multi-user applications encouraged

•Contribution from University or other source usually expected (10-20%)

Biomedical Resources

•Funds for the establishment or maintenance of community resources

•Evidence of requirement for the resource within the community

•Issues such as management and dissemination need to be considered

University AwardsTo allow universities to attract/retain strategically important staff

• Two categories:

Academic researchers• Salary support for five years and project support for three

years. • Applicant takes up a permanent post at the end of the

award

Career technologists/analysts Trust provides 75% of applicant’s salary for 5 years Applicant then takes up a post which is guaranteed for at

least a further 5 years

The Wellcome Trust’s new Grant System

will be launched in Spring 2008.

•Web-based portal•Fast and simple to use•Enhanced functionality