Grants for Science Researchers in the United Kingdom from the Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust is offering grants for researchers throughout their independent careers in science and public health, up to £ 3 million.

Investigator Awards provide flexible funding of up to around £3 million. Awards can last up to 7 years. You can hold an award on a part-time basis.

The support includes:

• Grant will cover the salary costs of all staff, full or part-time, who will work on your project.
• Visa and work permit costs
• visa costs for the person's partner and dependent children.
• The materials and consumables you need to carry out your proposed research.
• Equipment purchase.
• Equipment maintenance.
• the cost of one personal computer or laptop per person up to £1,500.

Overheads can include:

• estates, for example, buildings and premises.
• non-project dedicated administrative and support staff. administration, for example, finance, library, and room hire.
• The total cost for overheads should not be more than:
• 20% of the direct research costs if you’re based in a low- or middle-income country
• 15% of the direct research costs if you’re based anywhere else.
• These costs must directly support the activity funded by the grant.

How to apply for these costs:

• In your grant application you must:
• give a full breakdown of costs (you can't ask for a percentage of the research costs)
• explain why these costs are necessary for your research
• include a letter from the finance director of your host organization, or the sub-contracted organization, confirming that the breakdown is a true representation of the costs incurred.
• You can ask for a contribution towards the costs of attending scientific and academic meetings and conferences, including registration fees and the costs to offset the carbon emissions of your travel.
• You can ask for travel and subsistence costs for collaborative visits for you and any research staff employed on your grant. You’ll need to justify each visit and its duration.

• You can apply for an Investigator Award if you're an independent researcher with a compelling research vision who wants to tackle the most important questions in your field.
• These awards are also open to joint applications from two researchers whose complementary expertise is essential to deliver their shared vision.
• If you hold an Investigator Award, you can apply for a New Investigator Award if the end date of your current grant is no later than 1 July 2022.
• Applications are accepted by researchers throughout their independent careers.

If you're in the early stages of your independent research career, you should be able to show that you can drive advances in your field of study and that you have considerable promise for the future. You should have a strong track record relative to your career stage of:

• leading innovative and creative programs of research.
• making important contributions to research, eg publications, patents, and impacts on policy.
• securing research grant funding.
• You should also be able to show that you're developing an international reputation for excellence in your field.

If you're a more established researcher, you should have achieved more in terms of the originality and impact of your research. You should have a track record of:

• making significant contributions to research, eg publications, patents, and impacts on policy.
• securing sustained research support from major funding bodies.
• developing and mentoring less experienced researchers.
• You should have an international reputation as a research leader in your field.
• You must be based at an eligible host organization in the UK, Republic of Ireland, or a low- or middle-income country apart from India or mainland China.
• You should have a permanent, open-ended, or long-term rolling contract, or the guarantee of one. Your salary must be paid by your host organization.
• If you hold a permanent, open-ended, or long-term rolling contract but have to get your salary from external grant funding, you can ask us for this in your application. If this applies to you, you must commit at least 10% of your working hours to this award. In this case, your host organization must confirm details about your employment contracts or their policy on salary recovery costs.

Your research proposal:

Your research proposal must:

• describe an innovative and ambitious program of work that could transform your field.
• explain the approaches you will use to deliver that program of work.
• be distinct from, and not replace, activities already supported by other awards.
• be within the scientific remit of the organization.

Selection Criteria:

When Wellcome considers your application, it’ll look at:

• your track record as an independent researcher, relative to your career stage.
• the importance of your research question(s) to your field.
• the feasibility of your proposal.
• the suitability of your research environment.
• the time you'll spend on the Investigator Award, and how it fits in with your other academic commitments.

You must provide a statement of commitment with your application. The statement should come from the most senior person in the relevant faculty, school, or division at your host organization. This should state:

• why the host organization thinks you merit an Investigator Award.
• how your research proposal complements and addresses the host organization's strategic aims and priorities.
• how the host organization will support you to ensure that the ambitions of your research proposal can be achieved (including financial, technical, administrative, or other assistance).
• that space and resources you need have been agreed upon and will be made available to you from the start date through to the end date of your award.
• the nature of your employment contract and its compliance with eligibility criteria for an Investigator Award.
• If you're employed at an eligible core-funded research organization, an Investigator Award should not replace or lead to a reduction in existing or planned core support.

About Wellcome Trust:

Wellcome is a politically and financially independent foundation that supports researchers, takes on big health challenges, campaigns for better science and helps everyone get involved with science and health research. The foundation’s funding supports over 14,000 people in more than 70 countries. In the next five years, it aims to spend up to £5 billion helping thousands of curious, passionate people all over the world explore ideas in science, population health, medical innovation, the humanities and social sciences, and public engagement.

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