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Wellcome Trust Programme Grants

Due: this is perpetual, applications may be submitted at any stage
Organisation: Wellcome Trust
WWW: www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Biomedical-science/Grants/Research-support/WTD004407.htm

description

Programme grants provide support for up to five years for internationally competitive research relevant to human and animal health. This longer-term funding gives researchers the opportunity to concentrate on a programme of research without having continually to seek funds from a variety of sources to maintain the group. The Wellcome Trust encourage holders of programme grants to pursue new ideas and avenues as they arise.

The trust would particularly like to promote research in the following areas:

• Adjuvant identification and development
• Stem cells
• The 3Rs (replacement, refinement, reduction)
• Influenza research

Applicants should direct any enquiries to the appropriate funding stream:

• Immunology and Infectious Disease
• Populations and Public Health
• Neuroscience and Mental Health
• Physiological Sciences
• Molecules, Genes and Cells

The trust now has a separate scheme for proposals for the development of technologies and biomedical resources.

The funding committees consider programme grant applications from principal investigators based in the United Kingdom or in the Republic of Ireland who meet the Trust’s eligibility criteria and have a strong track record of obtaining grant support from the trust or other organisations.

Overseas researchers with a track record of Wellcome Trust funding as a principal investigator, co-applicant or fellow, may apply for programme grant support without needing a UK-based collaborator.

Programme grants can be used to support international collaborations between universities in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland and overseas institutions. The ‘centre of gravity’ of the programme should be within the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland. The trust also wishes to encourage collaborations between academics in the UK or Republic of Ireland and scientists from developing or restructuring countries. In these cases, the ‘centre of gravity’ of the programme may lie outside the UK or Republic of Ireland. For these applications, a principal applicant must be identified in each institution, and both applicants and institutions must meet our standard eligibility criteria.

Applicants seeking research leave as part of the programme grant should have an established university post, and must be able to demonstrate that they are active in research but have a high teaching/administrative load that is hampering research progress. These applicants must be sponsored by their head of department and must provide details of hours spent on teaching, administration and clinical duties.

The level of support available depends on the scientific needs of the work but applicants should note that recent awards have rarely exceeded £1.2 million.

Research expenses can include the following:

• Salaries for research assistants and/or technicians
• Materials and consumables
• The purchase and maintenance of animals
• The purchase and maintenance of equipment
• Collaborative travel

A travel allowance to attend scientific meetings is automatically provided as part of an award.

Requests for research leave for up to five years may be included on programme grant applications. Awards for research leave will provide the salary of a temporary lecturer (usually at a lesser level of seniority), research expenses and a travel allowance.

Prospective applicants should initially discuss their research proposal with a member of the trust’s scientific staff from the appropriate funding stream and then submit a preliminary application. Application forms can be submitted at any time and are processed on a rolling basis for consideration at funding committee meetings, which are held four times a year. Applicants are advised to allow at least six months from submission of a full application to their preferred start date.