Grantholders e-newsletter

Issue 13: April 2008

1. New organisational structure at the Trust

On 1 January 2008, the divisions responsible for the Trust’s grant-giving activities were reorganised.

A new Grants Management department is now responsible for managing our application and award processes, allowing our Science Funding, Technology Transfer and Medicine, Society and History Divisions to concentrate on strategic and grant-making activities.

While this reorganisation has been managed to ensure that the impact to our applicants and grantholders will be minimal, your key Trust contact may have changed. If you have any queries or concerns regarding your application or grant, please approach your established Trust contact in the first instance.

2. Update on new Grant System launch

Testing of the new Grant System is due to start during summer 2008. Following the completion of the initial rounds of this testing, we expect to be in a position to announce the go-live date for the new system.

During this transitional period, please continue to apply using our current eGrants online application system. We will continue to make interim payments on account as a contribution towards grant expenditure incurred by your organisation.

Further information about our new Grant System.

3. Open access

A recent analysis of Wellcome Trust-associated articles found that 91 per cent of papers published within a single month were in journals with a publishing policy that is fully compliant with the Trust's open access requirements.

Grantholders are reminded that all research papers funded in whole or in part by the Wellcome Trust must be made freely accessible through PubMed Central (PMC) and UK PubMed Central (UKPMC) as soon as possible, and in any event within six months of publication.

4. Research Information Network

The Research Information Network has issued guidance on how research funders should be acknowledged by authors in scholarly journal articles. This has been drawn up in partnership with major research funders and publishers, and provides concise and sensible information on what wording to use to help ensure consistency in the way that funders are acknowledged.

New calls for proposals

5. Medical Engineering initiative

The Wellcome Trust and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) have launched a joint £45 million initiative to boost innovation in medical engineering within the UK.

The initiative will provide funding for a number of multidisciplinary centres of excellence within the UK, bringing together experts in the fields of the physical and engineering sciences with those in the clinical and life sciences with the aim of developing innovative solutions for healthcare.

Applications for funding from academic institutions across the UK are now open and the deadline for preliminary applications is 30 May 2008. Find out more about the initiative.

6. Strategic Translation Awards in Seeding Drug Discovery

The next deadline for preliminary applications for the Trust's five-year, £91m Seeding Drug Discovery initiative is 23 May 2008. The initiative assists researchers to establish and advance drug-like, small-molecule-based therapeutic projects in areas of unmet medical need.

Applications are welcomed from across all therapeutic areas. Previous awards have been made for projects tackling obesity, MRSA, Gram-negative bacteria, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

7. Biomedical ethics: new funding schemes launched

Following a review of the Trust's Biomedical Ethics Programme completed last year, two new funding schemes have been launched:

Clinical Fellowships in Biomedical Ethics
Clinical Research Leave Awards in Biomedical Ethics

The schemes have been created to encourage more clinicians, GPs and allied health professionals to conduct research in biomedical ethics. For information about the schemes or about other funding opportunities in biomedical ethics at the Trust, please email j.leveridge@wellcome.ac.uk.

8. Funding policy update

The Trust is willing to provide funding to meet the full costs of animal research, and as such, funds may be requested to cover full economic costing (fEC) charge-out rates for animal house facilities, when animal use is essential to the project.

9. Funding update for studentships

For non-clinical/basic science PhD studentships, the consolidated inflation/flexible funding allowance will be applied to the total award exclusive of the student's stipend costs. The Trust's studentship stipend scales incorporate an annual uplift for inflation.

For clinical PhD studentships, the inflation/flexible funding allowance will be applied to the total award exclusive of the student's salary costs. The Trust will separately add compound inflation of three per cent per annum to the student's salary costs from year two onwards.

10. Changes to subsistence rates, travel to meetings and overseas allowances

The following changes will apply to grant applications considered from 1 October 2008 onwards:

Subsistence rates
Where individuals requesting subsistence are from developing or restructuring countries and the host organisation does not have an established subsistence policy, the following increased subsistence rates should be used: £90 per day for weeks 1-4 and £60 per day thereafter. The subsistence rates to be used for all other individuals will remain unchanged.

Travel to meetings allowances
Standard travel to meetings allowances are to increase. Requests for additional funds for specified meetings/conferences will no longer be permitted, as the standard travel to meetings allowances are expected to cover all such costs.

Overseas allowances
Overseas-employed post holders working in other overseas countries for 12 months or more will be eligible to receive the following additional allowances: housing security (in developing countries only) and education allowance for accompanying dependent children (where appropriate).

Find out more about what you can apply for on a grant, including subsistence costs.

11. One-day workshop

The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), in partnership with the Wellcome Trust, is hosting a one day workshop in London on 1 October 2008 to highlight scientific and technological advances that have implications for refinement of the use of chronic implants in animal research.

Further details, including registration, can be found on the NC3Rs website.

12. Inside DNA

Genomics researchers based in the south-west have a great opportunity to engage people with their work via the 'Inside DNA' exhibition in the At-Bristol science centre.

The Trust has partnered with Ecsite-uk to provide free training, mentoring and funds for researchers to develop their own activities for the 'Inside DNA' events programme. To find out more about engaging people with your work while developing your communication skills, email louise.webb@ecsite-uk.net.

13. Wellcome Trust and New Scientist essay competition

If you are a postgraduate or postdoctoral researcher in science, engineering or technology and can inspire audiences with an article about your research and its implications for society, you could win a Wellcome Media Training Placement with New Scientist, £1000 spending money and more.

Find out more about the 2008 competition.

14. The media and publishing your research

Are you working on some interesting research? Could you act as an expert, commenting on the science behind the headlines?

Whether through issuing a press release or acting as a journalistic buffer, the Trust's Media Office offers you all the support you need to reach a wider audience. We always respect embargoes and work closely with you, your institution, co-funders and all relevant journals.

To notify us about a forthcoming paper or to discuss working with the media in general, please contact Craig Brierley, 44 (0)20 7611 7329 or email c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk.