Ethics and Society
The Ethics and Society programme supports research that explores the ethical and social aspects of biomedical research and health interventions with the ultimate aim of achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health.
The key strands of the programme are to fund research that:
1) Sets out to inform answers to questions about how we ought to resolve ethical dilemmas arising in biomedical research and the development and delivery of healthcare.
We are interested in funding two broad kinds of ethical inquiry - systematic analyses of what ought or ought not to be done or of key concepts typically deployed in ethical analysis; and research combining empirical research with normative ethical analysis, conceptual analysis or a sustained critical reflection on how data gathered might inform the resolution of ethical dilemmas.
2) Seeks to explore and understand how the social aspects of health interventions or biomedical research impact their effectiveness.
Such research could, for example, explore questions of trust, power and social roles, or perceptions of risk, uncertainty and health. Interventions could be directly health-related (such as a vaccination programme or clinical trial) or a social intervention programme (such as a public policy, communication, or education).
3) Evaluates the effectiveness of public engagement and health communication interventions.
We will also happily consider funding research that straddles these broad areas of inquiry.
All research will have to address and inform potential solutions to tractable, real-world challenges.
Funded projects
See all funded projects