Research grant application process

A female reasearcher working at a station within the UCL lab. She is wearing a white lab coat with green latex gloves.

Each grant funding round will have its own bespoke application form and guidance notes. You must use the application form for the specific grant round and we strongly encourage you to read our accompanying guidance notes before submitting your application. Information on the process can be found on this page.

Eligibility

The lead applicant must be employed by one of these organisations:

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Faculty of Medical Sciences, University College London

If a fellowship or grant is funding the lead applicant’s salary, the lead applicant must have a co-applicant employed by one of the two organisations above.

Co-applicants and collaborators can be based outside of the two organisations above provided a justification is provided outlining their expertise.

Administrative assessment after submission

After the deadline passes for every grant round, the grants team undertake administrative checks on each application. The checks include:

eligibility of the lead applicant to apply
whether an application is within remit
all the required signatories have been obtained
required attachments are included
the finance section is complete

If any of the above information is incomplete, the grants team will go back to the lead applicant and ensure the required information is obtained.

Application assessment

Applications are assessed by the charity’s research review panel against the following criteria. There may be additional criteria depending on the grant round.

alignment with the RFL R&D strategy
importance – the research need
research design and methodology – sound methodological approaches
feasibility – realistic objectives delivered within the timescale and budget
potential impact for patients – potential to deliver the eventual outcomes for patients
value for money – reasonable and justifiable costs

Applications to our annual research grant round for applications up to £10,000 are reviewed by the research review panel.

Applications submitted to strategic research grant rounds are externally peer-reviewed by relevant national and international experts. Applicants may then be given the opportunity to respond to the peer reviewers’ comments.

All applications are also reviewed by our research involvement group made up of people with lived experience who are also represented on the research review panel.

Research review panel

The research review panel makes a recommendation to the charity on which applications to award funding.

The panel consists of:

Professor Adrian Harris (Chair)

Consultant medical oncologist, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; emeritus professor of medical oncology, Oxford University
Professor Helen McGettrick

Professor in inflammation and vascular biology, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, Birmingham University
Dr Betty Raman

Associate professor of cardiovascular medicine, Oxford University; senior clinical research fellow
Professor Michael Seckl

Professor of molecular cancer medicine, Imperial College London; consultant oncologist, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Dr Maria Fragiadaki

Senior lecturer, Queen Mary University of London; UKRI Future Leaders Fellow
Dr Jane Freeman

Associate professor in clinical microbiology, University of Leeds; honorary clinical scientist in microbiology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Dr Nuria Porta

Reader in medical statistics and group leader, Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit, The Institute of Cancer Research

When additional expertise is needed for a panel meeting, we co-opt relevant experts to help with the review and recommendation of applications.

The panel abides by the conflict of interests policy and our terms of reference.

Approval of applications

Applications that are recommended for funding are approved by the relevant internal charity committee.

Resubmission of an unsuccessful application is not permitted unless specifically invited.