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Apply for funding

You can check to see if we are open to applications here, as well as find detailed guidance on how to do so.  Our calls for applications are organised around focused themes so please do check our latest detailed call guidance.

We know that there’s a huge amount to do, so we need to prioritise.  We will be focusing on some key themes for support for our current plan period (2020-2025) and will be making periodic detailed calls for proposals focused on one or more of these themes. We hope that this will provide greater clarity for applicants and improve our ability to apply sufficient resources to make practical impact.  The call information will detail the available funding mechanisms (e.g. project grants, studentships, fellowships).  

Open calls and deadlines

We publish our invitations to apply for funding here.  Please do check our invitations and deadlines carefully.  You can find the answers to frequently asked questions below.

RNID: co-funded post-doctoral fellowship scheme: deadline 12 Jan 2021

What will we fund?

RNID and The Dunhill Medical Trust are pleased to announce a second round of two 2-year Post-doctoral Fellowships.

Applications are invited in any of the following areas:

  • Research to underpin the development of treatments for hearing disorders, including tinnitus. Including, but not limited to, medical devices, pharmacological treatments, genetic or cellular therapies – treatments should aim to prevent hearing loss, restore auditory function or silence tinnitus.
  • Research to improve how new treatments for hearing disorders, including tinnitus, are developed and tested. Including research to improve the measurement of auditory function or tinnitus, or to develop models of human hearing disorders, including tinnitus.

Applications with a focus on understanding the mechanisms of age-related hearing conditions, or how ageing affects the auditory system, are especially encouraged, and will be considered for joint funding.

Projects should bring tangible benefits closer for people who are deaf, have tinnitus or hearing loss.

Who will we fund?

The aim of the this joint Fellowship scheme is to help talented early career researchers make the transition from a post-doctoral scientist to  independent investigator, able to lead their own programme of research, attract funding and build a new research team. 

 

You must be an early career investigator who has the desire and potential to become an independent scientist in the field of hearing research. You must hold a PhD and you can be based at any UK university or research institute, but you must not be a permanent employee. The award should support your progression towards an independent research career. 

How much is available?

The fellowship supports salary and project costs for 2 years, up to a total of £120,000.

Timetable and deadlines

Deadline for applications 12 January 2021.

How to apply

All enquiries and applications should be made to RNID Please do NOT apply via our Grant Management System.

For details

Capability funding for community organisations

What will we fund?

We have a small fund available to existing or recently-completed community grant-holders (award made from 2017 onwards) to support capability development, for example:

  •  if  small amounts of additional funding (up to £5k) could make a big difference to supporting your work with older people during the current COVID crisis then we have the flexibility to award new funding.  This might be, for example, for the purchase of equipment to switch to online services or to extend an existing service more widely.
  • attending finance, strategy, governance or marketing training or engaging expert consultancy to carry out some impact evaluation, say, or research support to assist with future strategy or sustainability.

Who will we fund?

Existing or recently-completed community grant-holders (award made from 2017 onwards) only.

How much is available?

Up to £5k

Timetable and deadlines

The fund is available on a first-come, first-served basis.  Please therefore email your designated Grant Officer in the first instance to arrange a conversation.  You will not find the application form in the Grants Management System.

Coming soon...

We will be making our first themed call for research proposals in the new year (early 2021). The theme will be on the topic of developing and delivering suitable homes and living environments. We will particularly welcome applications in which researchers are collaborating with community organisations as co-applicants.

Funding FAQs

Here, you can find the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about our schemes and programmes but if you can’t find the answer here, do please contact us.

List of FAQs

Where can I find the details of grants for community organisations?

Some of the innovative special initiatives  in which we’ve been privileged to participate recently have taught us a lot about the wider support needed from funders to go alongside the money and about the networks, covening power and access to capabilities our position gives us.

We wish to maintain our dual role in providing funding for both academic and clinical research and high quality community-based initiatives within the scope of or charitable objectives. We are only a small team though (we try to keep our overheads low so that we can distribute as much of our available funding as possible) and this means we need to be practical about how much of this additional support we are realistically able to provide.

We have therefore decided to focus our resources for the next plan period on just two or three programmes which have the potential for demonstrating good practice and contributing to achieving evidence-informed systemic change.

The first of these is an exciting £1M England-wide programme to promote young people’s engagement with care homes for older people through My Home Life’s Care Home Friends & Neighbours framework and we will be administering grants on behalf of the #iwill Fund.  We have become a "match funder" with the National Lottery Community Fund (enabling us to double our community support budget) to enable us to do this.

The programme was formally launched in early 2020 and two grants have been awarded to the pilot areas – The Linking Network in Bradford and Alive Activities in Bristol.  In October the programme will extend the grant funding to 10 other areas.

Why the #iwill programme?

Firstly, the #iwill Campaign aims to form a habit for life in young people to volunteer and become involved in community action.  There has been a lot of emphasis of late in the research on the benefits to older people of volunteering. Impact on the physical health of older people receives particular attention, as it does in research into the effects on mental health and wellbeing. Several studies suggest that volunteering can help protect against cognitive ageing, all of which are entirely consistent with our objectives.  So by supporting today’s young people to develop such a habit, we aim to give them the tools to give them a better chance of a healthier later life.

Secondly, it provides the opportunity to support a fantastic organisation called My Home Life, which promotes quality of life and delivers positive change in care homes for older people, to make available the successfully piloted Care Home Friends and Neighbours scheme more widely across England.  This aims to make it easier for care homes to open their doors and develop relationships with their local communities and help residents to feel that they belong.

We will also continue to support the Impact Agewell programme in Northern Ireland as it transitions to becoming fully commissioned and funded by the local health board.

We’ll be announcing our other programmes as they come on stream.  We will be providing opportunities for community organisations to apply in partnership with universities to some of our themed research programmes. Please check register for updates or check the Apply for Funding section for open calls.

For the moment, any of our successful community-based project or building grants award recipients whose grant was approved after 31 March, 2017, may be able to access small grants of up to £5k from our remaining Capability Grants budget on a first come, first served basis, assuming eligibility and a fundable proposal.  Please email your named grants officer directly if you wish to discuss this.

Where can I find funding for my community project now ?

You may wish to take a look at GrantNav from 360 Giving, which collects data from over 100 charitable funders, as a starting place to research potential alternative supporters for your community project.

What are the Trust’s priority areas for support?

The Trust's charitable objectives are in the broad area of understanding the mechanisms of ageing and improving health and social care for older people.  For each plan period, however, we publish a more focused set of priorities and detailed call documents which provide more detail.  Please check the Apply for Funding section for open calls.

Is there anything that the Trust definitely will not fund?

We won’t fund:

 

  • Sponsorship of individuals
  • Organizations based outside the UK, or whose work primarily benefits people outside the UK
  • Research via a third party (such as a fundraising charity supporting research for which the funds have not yet been raised/committed.

 

We always aim to be clear in our call documentation the topics we are seeking to address so please always firstly check we are open to applications and secondly, read the call description carefully.

What costs will you cover?

The following is general advice only.  You should check the call documentation for the scheme for which you are applying carefully as it will set out eligible costs.

Where the application process is in two stages, please note that costs can only increase by up to 10% from outline stage to full application.

Our guidelines reflect the AMRC's position statement on supporting research in universities.UK Universities receive funding through the Charities element of the Quality-Related (“QR”) Funding distributed by the Higher Education Funding Council (or equivalent body in the devolved nations) as a contribution towards the full economic costs of their grant-funded projects.  You should not therefore include costs which the Research Councils generally refer to as Indirect or Directly Allocated costs (more detailed guidance is given below). A grant awarded by the Dunhill Medical Trust will qualify for support in this way.

Proposals for funding should detail carefully all of the relevant directly incurred costs, with reference to the following guidance.

 Eligible staff costs 

  • We will meet directly incurred salary costs, such as salaries of research assistants, whose time can be supported by a full audit trail. The level of salary requested should be fully justified in the case for support. Salary costs should include any increments to which an individual is entitled. Any anticipated future pay awards should not exceed 1.5% p.a. and should be fully justified.
  • We will not meet any portion of the directly allocated salary costs of PIs
  • We will not meet any portion of the directly allocated salary costs of CoIs, except where:
    •  They are spending 50% or more of their time directly working on the research project
    • They are staff who are clearly providing institution-wide services and are organised in an appropriate manner (for example, the provision of statistical advice from a statistical services department by staff who are dependent on generating income to cover their salaries).
  • We will not meet any portion of the salary costs of any other academic (lecturer or equivalent), clinical or allied health professional (of equivalent status) or other equivalent employees, unless there is a clear and direct research-related contribution to the project (see first bullet point).
  • We will not contribute towards the Apprenticeship levy.
  • Clinical Trial Unit (CTU) Staff: we may provide a reasonable contribution towards CTU staff participating in the research, providing appropriate justification is given. Please see the section below for more details.

It is expected that Research Assistants and other staff directly employed on a project:

  • Will normally be employees of the organisation hosting the project (i.e. the organisation employing the PI and/or CoIs).
  • May be employed by other eligible organisations, where their involvement is necessary to fulfil a well-defined purpose, such as provision of specialist analytical services.
  • Exceptionally, these staff may work for other organisations, or as independent specialists, where their involvement is necessary to fulfil a well-defined purpose (such as specialist consultancy advice).

PhD Students

Research project grants are intended for postdoctoral level research. We will however consider projects where a PhD student is working within a larger team with postdoctoral researchers (this would not include a project where the Principal Investigator is supervising one PhD student). In such circumstances you may request a stipend for the time they will spend on the project but we will not cover the  other costs of the studentship.  

Eligible non-staff costs

  • We will meet approved directly incurred non-staff costs in full (i.e. costs directly attributable to the project), including:
    • travel and subsistence costs
    • small pieces of equipment costing up to £10,000
    • materials and consumables
  • We will meet justified payments for public involvement at INVOLVE rates
  • We may meet some directly allocated costs with appropriate justification (e.g. the costs of using research facilities such as imaging scanners, infrastructure technician costs etc.)
  • We will not meet overhead costs, typically those identified by Research Councils as Directly Allocated Costs, Indirect Costs and Estates Costs.

Guidance on specific non-staff cost items:

  • Travel and subsistence costs for PIs, CoIs and staff assigned to the project where these are required by the nature of the work. These will normally be met and should be based on the most suitable and economical form of travel.
  • Conference costs: The costs of attendance at conferences by members of the research team to disseminate the findings from the grant may be applied for. All requests will require detailed justification. The costs for attending a conference as a delegate will not be met.
  • Requests for project-specific items of equipment costing up to £10k may be met but should be fully justified. For requests between £10k and £100k, we will expect a detailed case to be provided and at least a 50% contribution towards the total cost of the equipment from the host institution and/or other funders. Suppliers’ quotations will also be required.
  • We would normally expect the host institution to provide access to major equipment, but where specific circumstances require substantial usage and either the purchase of a major item of equipment specifically for the project, or a contribution to the use of major equipment is requested, a detailed case should be provided, with the University contributing at least 50% of the costs.
  • The cost of materials and consumables required to carry out the proposed research will be met but should be justified with special regard to those categories of overhead costs which DMT will not meet. Estimated figures for consumables/materials are not acceptable and must be itemised.
  • Non-UK costs (for e.g. specialist tests or assays) may be met, on condition that full justification is provided. It will however be the responsibility of the host institution to reimburse the non-UK institution for carrying out such tests.
  • Computers and other IT equipment dedicated to the project may be met, on condition that full justification is provided.
  • Data storage and archiving: we will contribute 50% towards these costs, up to a maximum of £500 per grant.
  • Recruitment costs: we will pay a maximum of £500 towards recruitment costs for staff being supported by the grant.
  • Publication costs: may be included in applications but should be fully justified and comply with DMTs open access policy.

Can I request a contribution towards NHS resources?

Applications that include NHS resources will need to adhere to the Department of Health AcoRD guidance. As an AMRC member charity, Trust would expect any research costs identified as ‘Part B’ (e.g. recruitment of participants or data collection) that are carried out by existing staff employed by the NHS, NIHR Clinical Research Network (NIHR CRN) or other clinical organisation to be paid by the Department of Health through local networks or the NHS Trust (Guidance FAQ 6 and 7). Any Part B costs included in an application will be automatically struck out and applicants should therefore pay particular attention to attributing costs appropriately (consulting their local CRN prior to submitting an application where necessary).

Excess Treatment Costs

Studies taking place in England

From 1 October 2018 the way in which Excess treatment Costs (RTCs) are assessed and paid is changing.   The process will now be managed by the NIHR Local Clinical Research Networks (LCRNs) on behalf of their region’s Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). In order to assess applications that include ETCs the Health Regulatory Authority (HRA) have mandated that researchers will be required to complete a new form known as a ‘Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Template (SoECAT)’ for clinical research. This schedule will form part of the IRAS application process and it will not be possible for researchers to apply for ethical approval for studies that include ETCs if it has not been completed.

Researchers who study includes ETCs and who have been invited to submit a full DMT application will need to complete a SoECAT and submit it to the AcoRD Specialist for your region. Once the specialist has authorised your costs, the authorised version must be uploaded to your DMT application using the file upload function.

To help researchers the NIHR have produced a dedicated web page, where researchers can download guidance and the SoECAT. Researchers should also consult the NIHR AcoRD web page for guidance on attributing costs and this page also contains a link to the regional AcoRD specialists

Although the SoECAT is only applicable to full applications, applicants submitting an outline application to DMT which includes ETCs are urged to look at the advice provided by NIHR and to contact their regions AcoRD Specialist to determine the likely turnaround time for their SoECAT, so that they are aware of the timescales involved if invited to submit a full application.

If a researcher is concerned that their SoECAT will not be authorised in time for DMTs submission deadline, they are strongly advised to contact the Trust immediate.

Studies taking place in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales

There is no change in the way in which Excess Treatment Costs (ETCs) are assessed and paid. However, applicants are advised, if they have not already done so, to discuss their project with the relevant body (see below). Where possible, confirmation that the ETCs have been reviewed and considered acceptable, should be uploaded as a supporting document. Check the links below for guidance.

Northern Ireland 

Scotland 

Wales  

How are applications assessed?

Applications will be reviewed against our Grant-making Policy and Research Funding Strategy to assess whether they meet the our eligibility criteria and strategic priorities.  In two-stage processes, the initial outline applications are eligibility checked, scored and ranked by the Trust’s experienced grants team using the following criteria:

  • Demonstration of the project’s alignment with the Trust’s strategic priorities and intent of the call.
  • Whether the project takes a suitably multi-disciplinary approach to problem-solving.
  • The suitability of statements about public and patient involvement.
  • Consideration of methodological risks and contingency plans
  • Credibility and feasibility of the pathways to impact statement
  • Credibility and feasibility of project team’s plans to support or increase research capacity in the Trust’s priority areas.

Having a clear and accessible lay summary is particularly important at this stage.  For help with this, try INVOLVE’s “Make it Clear” advice.

Those which do not meet the criteria for support and/or have a low probability of being funded based on the ranking will be rejected at this stage.  Do please note that we receive many more applications than we can possibly fund so only the highest ranked eligible outline applications will be invited to prepare full applications. Depending on the volume of outline applications received, we may be unable to give individual feedback at this stage.  In these circumstances, we will publish a general report after completion of the assessment of applications which details common areas for improvement.

Outline applications that are successfully shortlisted will be invited to submit a full application.

All full applications for Research Project Grants will be subject to rigorous peer review and the scrutiny of the Research Grants Committee (which includes two suitably qualified Trustees and external advisers with extensive expertise relevant to the Trust’s priority areas). Grants will be awarded on the basis of scoring the following criteria and the submissions of the peer reviewers:

  • academic quality;
  • demonstration of need;
  • novelty;
  • value for money;
  • feasibility of the research plan;
  • competence of the applicant/the research team;
  • suitability of the research environment;
  • credibility and feasibility of the plan to achieve benefit beyond the academic community to improve the health and well-being of older people;
  • credibility and feasibility of the project team’s plans to support the development of professional research careers in the Trust’s priority areas.

You should note that we receive many more applications than we can possibly fund and even if an application meets all of the criteria above, may still fall below the cut-off for funding.  

All decisions of the Research Grants Committee are reported to the Board of Trustees.  The Committee has delegated authority from the Board to make funding decisions within the agreed funding envelope.  On occasion, a decision may be referred back to the Board if it is felt that the project risks compromising the reputation of the Trust.

How are the Trust's external peer reviewers chosen?

We consult very wide range of referees, both from within the UK and internationally. Referees are identified by a number of methods, including suggestions made by academic members of the Research Grants Committee or by the wide range of academics and researchers known to the Trust. In most cases, however, literature searches are carried out using a number of online publications databases including Europe PubMed Central (Europe PMC), MedLine/PubMed (the US National Library of Medicine’s bibliographic database), Elsevier’s SciVal tool and Dimensions from Digital Science to ensure that the most appropriate expert opinion is being sought. Applicants are also permitted to nominate referees themselves (although the Trust may not necessarily follow up the suggestions offered).

Is there a standard application form?

We generally have two-stage online application processes (either outline and full proposal stages for project grants or proposals and interviews for personal funding such as fellowships or PhD studentships) but we will set out the requirements in the detailed call documentation.

 

You will need to register for an account on our Grants Management System and then select the scheme for which you are applying.  The online application form will only appear within the Portal when the scheme is open to applications so do check current deadlines for opening and closing dates.  We will make downloadable copies of application forms available to help you plan your application – but do please note that we will only accept submissions via the Grants Management System during the published  application periods.

What would you say a good application looks like?

Our Research Grants Committee members have put together their “top ten” tips on writing a good application…

 

  1. Your application will be looked at by several people: peer reviewers, other specialists, as well as non-specialists. Craft it so it can be understood by all these readers – the detail must be accurate, but make the main messages stand out for the non-specialist glancing through the application.
  2. Remember you know much more about your planned project than the reviewer. Don’t leave things in your head that need to be explained in the application – asking a critical friend to review the final draft can be useful. 
  3. Be explicit about who will benefit, how, and why. Explain why the research is needed what impact will it have.  The “pathways to impact” section is very important. (If you’d like help on how to write a good pathway statement, why not check out these resources?) Even if work is more “early stage”, there should be a clear pathway for what this work might lead to that ultimately improves the health and well-being of older people.
  4. Always provide an analytical plan (e.g., but not exclusively, a power calculation), based on solid evidence from the literature and/or feasibility data.
  5. Be realistic about what you can achieve with your resources, both in terms of the funding you request and the tasks you hope to achieve. Make sure that what you plan to do is feasible. In developing your application, focus on work that answers your core questions/objectives, which should be clearly specified and achievable in the time/resources available. Applications can fall down by having too broad a scope leading to concerns about feasibility.
  6. Be clear about how your proposed project fits with what is already known and how it will be a useful addition. Why does this particular project need to be done by this particular team at this particular time? Make clear what the gap in the literature is and how you intend to fill it (watch Dragons’ Den for examples…)
  7. For research that involves human participants (including samples extracted from human participants in the course of the study, or data originally collected from older people) make sure you have clear plans for public involvement, ideally that should include the development of your protocol e.g. reviewing your plain language summary.
  8. Write clearly and make sure your message comes across credibly. Tell a convincing story. Take a look at our strategic priorities and write in language that we will understand.  You can find lots of help on writing a good lay summary via INVOLVE’s Make it Clear campaign.
  9. It’s not a time to be shy – shine!  We want to be sure that you can deliver.
  10. And last but not least, allow yourself plenty of time, everything takes longer than you think. Remember that you’ll need input from your finance colleagues and from your head of department or Dean. They will all need to create accounts on the Grants Management Portal and “sign off” on your application before you can submit.  Check the deadlines  and work back from there.

Will I need to obtain ethical approval or a Home Office Licence before I can apply?

No. Evidence of HRA approval or a Home Office Licence will need to be provided prior to you starting your project and any grant offer will be conditional upon proof of ethical approval, research sponsorship arrangements, etc. It is not expected that these will be in place during the application process, though.

Where can I see examples of what sort of work the Trust funds?

You can see examples of our funded projects in the Success stories section of our website (although please bear in mind that some of these examples are for grants awarded under the old schemes).

Do you accept applications for research involving the use of animals?

In line with our grant making policy, we will only support the use of protected animals in research where no viable alternative exists and applicants are required to comply with guidance published by the National Centre for the Refinement, Replacement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). Where an applicant intends to use animals in the proposed research, they will be required to complete a detailed section of the application form if invited to full application.

Where can I apply and what is involved?

We generally make two calls each year and within these, there may be a range of funding mechanisms on offer.  We also periodically collaborate with other organisations to make funding available. Please check the Apply for funding section of the web site for details of open calls and deadlines. 

We  use an online application system  (Grants Management Portal) and you will need to register for an account. We are also an ORCID member organisation.  In common with a number of other major funders, we now require all applicants for research grants to provide an ORCID iD when completing an application form in our Grants Management Portal. Applicants who don’t have an ORCID iD can register for one and complete the education, employment, funding and publications (“works”) sections of their ORCID profile.  This will auto-populate the relevant sections of our application form.

The application process for research project grants is generally in two stages: an outline application followed by a full application for those successfully shortlisted at outline stage.  Peer review will be conducted for those applications invited to submit full applications, which will then be reviewed and scored by our Research Grants Committee.

The online application forms will only appear within the Portal when the scheme is open to applications so do check current deadlines for opening and closing dates.

We will only accept submissions via the Grants Management System during the published application periods.

Where can I find help on registering for and using Dunhill's online Grants Management Portal?

If you need help with registering on the Grants Management System, please contact us on 0207 403 3299 and our Grants Officers will be able to talk you through it.

What is an ORCID iD and why do I have to have one?

We require all lead applicants for Research Project Grants to provide an ORCID iD when completing an application form in our Grants Management Portal. Applicants who don’t have an ORCID iD can register for one.

 

Find out more.

 

Through ORCID, researchers can allow funders, publishers and research organisations to access the information in their ORCID profile during grant and manuscript submission. In the future, we’ll be able to automatically capture research-related information linked to individuals, to simplify and speed up grant application and reporting processes.

Can I submit more than one application at a time?

Unfortunately not.  Our Research Funding Strategy (which may be downloaded from the How we support you - Resources section of our website) identifies the Trust’s priority areas for support and the call documentation will set out available funding mechanisms to enable you to decide which of your projects best fits these.

What are the Trust's requirements for being a Principal Investigator?

Principal Investigators (Lead Applicants) should be:

  • Academics; or
  • Clinicians (normally at consultant level or equivalent); or
  • Allied health professionals (normally at post-doctoral level or with equivalent research experience), or
  • other appropriately qualified professionals with a strong involvement in the health of older people (normally at senior scientist level, or equivalent) who are employees of an eligible research organisation

holding:

    • a permanent post, or
    • a fixed term post which extends beyond the duration of the grant.

Lead applicants for whom this is a first grant as Principal Investigator will not be precluded, indeed, the Trust wishes to encourage the development of research capacity by providing opportunities for career development.  We would, however, expect to see a more experienced researcher as a Co-Investigator with a clear plan for mentoring and support. 

What are the Trust's requirements for being a Co-investigator?

Academic Co-Investigators – CoI –  (Co-Applicants) should meet:

  • The same criteria as for PIs (as above), except for those in fixed term posts. For this category of CoI, the requirement should be that their post should extend at least for the duration of the grant.
  • Research Assistants may be named as CoIs if they have made a significant contribution to the proposal, and they will be employed for a significant proportion of their time on the project (normally at least 50%).
  • CoIs are expected to make a substantial and defined contribution to the research.  You will be required to state the contribution of the CoI to the project in the application form.

Lay co-applicants should have appropriate and directly relevant expertise and should be spending a substantive amount of time on the project and not merely fulfilling an advisory role.

When will I hear if my application has been successful?

We will publish the timetable with each detailed call for proposals.

Do you accept applications for research involving research conducted in a Clinical Trials Unit?

If you intend to carry out the research in a Clinical Trials Unit (CTU), you will need to complete a detailed section in the application form, if invited to full application, setting out all costs applied for (both staff and non-staff), with detailed justification for each cost making up the overall contribution being applied for. Any ineligible costs will be automatically struck out and applicants should ensure that any Part B AcoRD costs are not included (see the answer to the question on eligible costs).

Will the Trust act as a research sponsor?

No. All successful research applicants need to provide evidence of the acceptance of the proposed sponsor to undertake this responsibility before a research grant can be confirmed, or provide a nil return stating that the object of the research does not fall within NHS research governance requirements

I see that the Trust is an NIHR non-commercial partner. What does this mean for my project?

The Dunhill Medical Trust is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) non-commercial Partner. This means the studies we fund are automatically eligible for NIHR support. That’s great news for our researchers, because this support is free and it can help to improve the delivery of your study in the NHS.

 

Established by the Department of Health, the NIHR:

  • funds high quality research to improve health
  • trains and supports health researchers
  • provides world-class research facilities
  • works with the life sciences industry and charities to benefit all
  • involves patients and the public at every step.

 

The NIHR Study Support Service


Regardless of the size of your study, where it’s based (as long as it is in England) and the specialty, you can access the same set of NIHR support services. There are six services to make the most of:

  • Early contact and engagement​ – To make the greatest impact on study delivery, engage with the NIHR CRN from the outset and gain access to free support that provides benefits throughout the full life-cycle of your study.
  • Early contact and engagement​ – To make the greatest impact on study delivery, engage with the NIHR CRN from the outset and gain access to free support that provides benefits throughout the full life-cycle of your study.
  • Early Feedback​ – ​Access NHS clinical experts across all therapeutic specialties to advise on the feasibility and deliverability of your study in the NHS.
  • Site Identification​ – Liaise with your Local Clinical Research Network to help identify sites for your study​ from over 240+ NHS organisations and 10,000+ General Practices in England.
  • Optimising delivery​ – The NIHR CRN assessment informs and enables the type of support your study will need
  • Effective study set-up​ – Benefit from a national study-wide action plan for streamlined study set-up across all NHS sites supporting your study.
  • Performance monitoring​ ​- Proactive study-wide performance monitoring helps your study to meet its recruitment targets within planned timescales.

 

To find out more contact the NIHR on:
t: ​0113 343 4555
e: ​supportmystudy@nihr.ac.uk
w: ​www.supportmystudy.nihr.ac.uk

Does the Trust have an Open Access policy?

Yes, as a member of a consortium of biomedical and health research funders, we contribute to the funding of Europe PubMed Central (Europe PMC). You can view it here.

Does the Trust provide funding to cover Open Access fees?

In line with its Open Access Policy, the Trust will provide a contribution towards the valid costs of open access fees levied by publishers who support the open access model, but demand payment to allow manuscripts to be made available on Europe PMC within 6 months of the official date of publication.
When publishing papers arising from our funded grants, grant holders must also ensure that the Trust is correctly acknowledged.

Does the Trust have a policy on Intellectual Property Rights?

As described in our Terms and Conditions for Research Grants, in certain circumstances, we may make any grant offer to support research conditional upon securing an Intellectual Property Agreement (sample at this link) for the sharing of any commercial revenues that may arise as a result of the work it has funded.

What is Researchfish?

Researchfish is an online platform developed specifically for collecting research outcomes.

Details of how the Trust uses Researchfish and what this means for our grant-holders. 

Does the Trust have links to the tobacco industry?

No.  The Trust does not receive or seek funds from any external body and promotes the highest ethical practices in scientific and medical research and fully complies with the Joint Protocol of Cancer Research and Universities UK on Tobacco Industry Funding to Universities (2004).  Please read about our history.

Plants

Apply now

If you’ve read the  call details, checked the deadlines and completed the eligibility quiz, you’re ready to apply.  We use an online Grants Management System.  Where the scheme is co-funded, though, do please check whether our funding partner is taking the lead on the applications process.  If that is the case, you will need to apply via their system so do check the call details carefully.

Please click on the icons for instructions.

  • Step 1Check our deadlines
  • Step 2Complete eligibility quiz
  • Step 3Provide an ORCID iD
  • Step 4Apply online

Timetables and deadlines for open calls may be found in the call documentation.

Please note that for Research Project Grants, we have a 2-stage application process (“outline” and “full”). All outline applications will be reviewed and scored using a range of criteria based on our strategic priorities and the clarity and strength of the proposal. The lowest scoring, depending on number of applications received, will be rejected at this stage. 

Successful applicants at the outline stage will be invited to submit a full proposal and proceed to full peer review. Full proposals, together with the reports of the peer reviewers are then considered by the Research Grants Committee, suitably experienced members of which, will rank the applications using a range of criteria based on the Trust’s strategic priorities, taking into account the expert views. The highest ranked applications, falling within the funding budget for the round will be approved by the Research Grants Committee for funding (or in some circumstances, referred to the Board of Trustees for approval).

Funding mechanisms which provide funding for individuals, such as fellowships and PhD studentships require an application which will be reviewed, scored and ranked with the highest ranking being invited to interview which will be conducted by a suitable panel of experts, who will make their recommendation to the Research Grants Committee.

Does your project address issues relating to cancer or heart disease?

The Trust tries to prioritise areas which are under-funded or are not associated with significant, dedicated national or international charities so we exclude projects in these areas. Please check the focus of the call for which you are applying.
Correct
Incorrect

Do you currently hold a grant from the Dunhill Medical Trust as Principal Investigator?

You may not be eligible to apply. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this further.
Applications led by less experienced Principal Investigators (PI) will not be precluded and indeed are to be encouraged.  We would, however, expect to see at least one experienced Co Investigator named as an applicant and that there are plans for the mentoring, support and development of the PI. There is space on the application form to enable you to outline this support.
Correct
Incorrect

Are you currently named as Co-Investigator on two or more grants from the Dunhill Medical Trust?

You may not be eligible to apply. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this further.
Correct
Incorrect

Does your project address the Trust's objectives and focus for funding, as set out in the details of the call to which you are responding?

Applications must be aligned to the objectives of the call to be considered. Please check the call details at /apply-for-funding/#open-calls-and-deadlines
Correct
Incorrect

Are you employed by one of the following:

  • a higher education institution (HEI) within the UK;
  • an NHS Trust or hospital; Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG); or GP practice which has formal academic links with a higher education institution (HEI) within the UK
  • an independent not-for-profit research organisation (IROs) within the UK which is established to conduct research for the public good and which place results in the public domain?
You are unlikely to be eligible to apply. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this further.
Correct
Incorrect

Will you be the only person working on the project?

We will provide funding for suitably constructed teams of two people or more. We prefer to fund multi disciplinary projects.
We do not fund individuals (other than through PhD studentship or research training fellowship schemes) and will only fund projects on which there is a team (at least two people). We also prefer to fund multi-discplinary projects.
Correct
Incorrect

Will your budget for the project include an element to cover your salary?

Please see our frequently asked questions https://dunhillmedical.org.uk/faqs-research/ for allowable costs.
Our guidelines reflect the AMRC Position Statement on supporting research in universities. We will generally cover the costs directly incurred in undertaking a project (termed Directly Incurred Costs by the Research Councils), which in most cases are a major proportion of the total cost of the work to be done. This means that we will not meet the salary cost of the time of the Principal Investigator and will only meet salary costs for Co Investigators where they are spending more than 50% of their time on the project. Please see our FAQs for more details.
Correct
Incorrect

Does the team working on the project include a PhD student?

Our research grants are intended for postdoctoral level research. We will however consider projects where a PhD student is working within a larger team with postdoctoral researchers (this would not include a project where the Principal Investigator is supervising one PhD student). In such circumstances you may request a stipend for the time they will spend on the project but we will not cover the  other costs of the studentship.  We make other schemes available to support PhD level study.
Correct
Incorrect

Research project grants are intended for postdoctoral level research. We will however consider projects where a PhD student is working within a larger team with postdoctoral researchers (this would not include a project where the Principal Investigator is supervising one PhD student). In such circumstances you may request a stipend for the time they will spend on the project but we will not cover the  other costs of the studentship.  We have other schemes for PhD level study.

This step does not apply to community grant applicants.
 
In common with many other funders, we require all lead applicants for Research Project Grants to provide an ORCID iD when completing an application form in our Grants Management Portal.
 
If you don’t have an ORCID iD, you can register for one. Through ORCID,  researchers can allow funders, publishers and research organisations to access the information in their ORCID profile during grant and manuscript submission. Currently, we use your ORCID profile to auto-populate the following questions on the application form:
  • Degrees and professional qualifications.  In ORCID this is called “Education”.
  • Postgraduate career (please provide details of your last 3 positions, starting with the most recent).  In ORCID this is called “Employment”.
  • Current/most recent externally funded grants you have held as the lead applicant.  In ORCID, this is called “Funding”.
  • Peer-reviewed publications (please list your (relevant) publications from the last 10 years).  In ORCID, this is called “Works”.

There is no option to input these mandatory pieces of data directly into our application form so it is essential that your ORCID profile is up to date to enable the application form to be auto-populated.

ORCID has published a range of help including a suite of videos to help you with common issues such as changing your password, editing your personal details and updating your publication list.
 
 

We operate an online application system. The software we have chosen for this is Flexigrant® from Fluent Technology. If you are an academic or clinical researcher, you may be familiar with the system, which is also used by a number of other funders.

If you wish to apply for a grant, you will first need to create an account in the system. 

double-circle Apply now
  • Step 1Check our deadlines

Timetables and deadlines for open calls may be found in the call documentation.

Please note that for Research Project Grants, we have a 2-stage application process (“outline” and “full”). All outline applications will be reviewed and scored using a range of criteria based on our strategic priorities and the clarity and strength of the proposal. The lowest scoring, depending on number of applications received, will be rejected at this stage. 

Successful applicants at the outline stage will be invited to submit a full proposal and proceed to full peer review. Full proposals, together with the reports of the peer reviewers are then considered by the Research Grants Committee, suitably experienced members of which, will rank the applications using a range of criteria based on the Trust’s strategic priorities, taking into account the expert views. The highest ranked applications, falling within the funding budget for the round will be approved by the Research Grants Committee for funding (or in some circumstances, referred to the Board of Trustees for approval).

Funding mechanisms which provide funding for individuals, such as fellowships and PhD studentships require an application which will be reviewed, scored and ranked with the highest ranking being invited to interview which will be conducted by a suitable panel of experts, who will make their recommendation to the Research Grants Committee.

  • Step 2Complete eligibility quiz

Does your project address issues relating to cancer or heart disease?

The Trust tries to prioritise areas which are under-funded or are not associated with significant, dedicated national or international charities so we exclude projects in these areas. Please check the focus of the call for which you are applying.
Correct
Incorrect

Do you currently hold a grant from the Dunhill Medical Trust as Principal Investigator?

You may not be eligible to apply. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this further.
Applications led by less experienced Principal Investigators (PI) will not be precluded and indeed are to be encouraged.  We would, however, expect to see at least one experienced Co Investigator named as an applicant and that there are plans for the mentoring, support and development of the PI. There is space on the application form to enable you to outline this support.
Correct
Incorrect

Are you currently named as Co-Investigator on two or more grants from the Dunhill Medical Trust?

You may not be eligible to apply. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this further.
Correct
Incorrect

Does your project address the Trust's objectives and focus for funding, as set out in the details of the call to which you are responding?

Applications must be aligned to the objectives of the call to be considered. Please check the call details at /apply-for-funding/#open-calls-and-deadlines
Correct
Incorrect

Are you employed by one of the following:

  • a higher education institution (HEI) within the UK;
  • an NHS Trust or hospital; Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG); or GP practice which has formal academic links with a higher education institution (HEI) within the UK
  • an independent not-for-profit research organisation (IROs) within the UK which is established to conduct research for the public good and which place results in the public domain?
You are unlikely to be eligible to apply. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this further.
Correct
Incorrect

Will you be the only person working on the project?

We will provide funding for suitably constructed teams of two people or more. We prefer to fund multi disciplinary projects.
We do not fund individuals (other than through PhD studentship or research training fellowship schemes) and will only fund projects on which there is a team (at least two people). We also prefer to fund multi-discplinary projects.
Correct
Incorrect

Will your budget for the project include an element to cover your salary?

Please see our frequently asked questions https://dunhillmedical.org.uk/faqs-research/ for allowable costs.
Our guidelines reflect the AMRC Position Statement on supporting research in universities. We will generally cover the costs directly incurred in undertaking a project (termed Directly Incurred Costs by the Research Councils), which in most cases are a major proportion of the total cost of the work to be done. This means that we will not meet the salary cost of the time of the Principal Investigator and will only meet salary costs for Co Investigators where they are spending more than 50% of their time on the project. Please see our FAQs for more details.
Correct
Incorrect

Does the team working on the project include a PhD student?

Our research grants are intended for postdoctoral level research. We will however consider projects where a PhD student is working within a larger team with postdoctoral researchers (this would not include a project where the Principal Investigator is supervising one PhD student). In such circumstances you may request a stipend for the time they will spend on the project but we will not cover the  other costs of the studentship.  We make other schemes available to support PhD level study.
Correct
Incorrect

Research project grants are intended for postdoctoral level research. We will however consider projects where a PhD student is working within a larger team with postdoctoral researchers (this would not include a project where the Principal Investigator is supervising one PhD student). In such circumstances you may request a stipend for the time they will spend on the project but we will not cover the  other costs of the studentship.  We have other schemes for PhD level study.

  • Step 3Provide an ORCID iD
This step does not apply to community grant applicants.
 
In common with many other funders, we require all lead applicants for Research Project Grants to provide an ORCID iD when completing an application form in our Grants Management Portal.
 
If you don’t have an ORCID iD, you can register for one. Through ORCID,  researchers can allow funders, publishers and research organisations to access the information in their ORCID profile during grant and manuscript submission. Currently, we use your ORCID profile to auto-populate the following questions on the application form:
  • Degrees and professional qualifications.  In ORCID this is called “Education”.
  • Postgraduate career (please provide details of your last 3 positions, starting with the most recent).  In ORCID this is called “Employment”.
  • Current/most recent externally funded grants you have held as the lead applicant.  In ORCID, this is called “Funding”.
  • Peer-reviewed publications (please list your (relevant) publications from the last 10 years).  In ORCID, this is called “Works”.

There is no option to input these mandatory pieces of data directly into our application form so it is essential that your ORCID profile is up to date to enable the application form to be auto-populated.

ORCID has published a range of help including a suite of videos to help you with common issues such as changing your password, editing your personal details and updating your publication list.
 
 
  • Step 4Apply online

We operate an online application system. The software we have chosen for this is Flexigrant® from Fluent Technology. If you are an academic or clinical researcher, you may be familiar with the system, which is also used by a number of other funders.

If you wish to apply for a grant, you will first need to create an account in the system. 

double-circle Apply now

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The Dunhill Medical Trust 3 days ago

RT @NickJakubovics: Extremely grateful to the generous support of @DunhillMedical and others allowing us to help make dentistry COVID-secur…

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The Dunhill Medical Trust 3 days ago

Great press release by @UniofNewcastle on the excellent work carried out by @NickJakubovics @RostamiNadia and colleagues - informing how dentistry can...

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The Dunhill Medical Trust 3 days ago

RT @roslininstitute: Taking vitamin D supplements improves immune responses and inflammation in the elderly, a study focused on the virus t…

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The Dunhill Medical Trust 4 days ago

@meaapni @IMPACTAgewell @rcgp_ni @PACT_NI @NHSCTrust @RobinSwannMoH @healthdpt @CDHN_NI And to the health and well-being of older people and those who...

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The Dunhill Medical Trust 4 days ago

Fabulous initiative.

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Menu
  • How we support you
    • Our approach to funding
    • Collaborations
    • Support and resources
  • Apply for funding
    • Open calls and deadlines
    • Funding FAQs
    • Apply now
  • Manage your grant
    • Academic or clinical research grants
    • Community organisation grants
    • Grant management system
  • Success stories
    • Research projects
    • Community projects
  • About us
    • Our aims and vision
    • Our people
    • Vacancies
    • Reports
    • Governance and policies
    • Our history
  • News
  • Twitter feed
  • Join our community
  • Contact details