Strategic Translation Awards

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Invited applications for applied R&D projects that are close to existing Wellcome Trust interests. For example, these may build on Trust initiatives in basic science, such as genome-wide association studies, healthcare in low- and middle-income countries, or in areas like malaria, typhoid or TB.

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Purpose

Strategic Translation Awards support research projects that are viewed as strategically important to the Wellcome Trust's mission.

Technology Transfer at the Wellcome Trust proactively seeks applications from scientists who wish to work in partnership with the Trust to achieve commercialisation of their inventions. Compared with the Translation Awards, the Trust is more proactively engaged in project management, working alongside the institution or company involved.

Strategic projects are exceptional projects that - due to the combination of potential high impact, risk, scale or complexity - warrant strategic status to provide a high level of momentum for the project.

For Strategic Translation Awards the Trust will normally actively participate in the stewardship of the project and lead on intellectual property management and exploitation. A wide range of biomedical developments can be considered, including therapeutics, vaccines, diagnostics, enabling technologies (including research tools), medical devices and regenerative medicine.

What's included

The important criterion is to develop the innovation to the point at which it can be adopted by another party

Awards will normally be for periods of two to three years, but can be longer in exceptional cases.

Providing it is adequately justified, modest equipment purchase and maintenance costs may be included in an application. Building or refurbishment expenditure will not normally be considered.

Applications may not include requests for academic institutional overheads.

See allowed costs and disallowed costs for further information on what is and is not included.

Eligibility

Projects must address an unmet need in healthcare or in applied medical research, offer a potential new solution, and have a realistic expectation that the innovation will be developed further by the market.

Institutions

Eligible institutions are not-for-profit research institutions, including those funded by the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, in the UK, that are able to sign up to our Grant Conditions. Overseas institutions should check their eligibility first with Technology Transfer and may be invited to apply.

Companies

We are able to use our charitable monies to fund commercial companies to meet our charitable objectives through programme-related investment (PRI). For further details please refer to our policy on PRI [Word 23KB]. Companies will normally be expected to sign up to specific terms relating to the scheme(see the Forms and Guidance tab on this page).

Overseas organisations

Organisations located outside of the UK must contact Technology Transfer staff regarding their proposed project.Proposals will be taken forward by invitation only. Uninvited applications will not be considered.UK organisations may contract or collaborate with overseas organisations

Principal applicants and coapplicants

Applicants should normally hold a position of responsibility within the eligible organisation and be able to sign up to or comply with the conditions or terms of an award.

In addition, postdoctoral research assistants - whether seeking their own salary as part of the grant proposal, funded by the Wellcome Trust on another grant, or funded by another agency - are eligible for coapplicant status if they make a significant contribution to a research proposal and have agreement from their funding agency.

Other eligibility information

Cancer research
Proposals in the field of cancer aimed at bridging the gap between fundamental research and commercial product development can be considered for Translation Award funding.

Disciplines outside biomedicine
Researchers from disciplines outside biomedicine can apply providing the application of research is designed to facilitate or meet a need in healthcare. For example, the application of physics, chemistry, computing, engineering and materials science to the development of medical products is entirely appropriate.

Healthcare need in an area that is not commercially attractive
We are committed to the translation of research into practical healthcare benefits across the full spectrum of disease. Disease areas neglected by industry because of the lack of a return on investment pose a particular problem, but imaginative ways forward can sometimes be developed (e.g. public-private partnerships such as the Medicines for Malaria Venture).

Intellectual property rights (IPR)/publications
If there are any restrictions on IPR or publications arising from your research, you must provide a written statement that details them. Restrictions on intellectual property may affect your eligibility to apply to the Trust. Please refer to our Grant Conditions.

For further information please refer to our policy on IP and patenting and the Forms and Guidance tab on this page.

Application process

Prospective applicants should first contact Technology Transfer staff at the Wellcome Trust to discuss their proposal.

You will then be asked to submit a preliminary application [Word 88.5KB], which will be considered for its strategic potential and the likely impact of the project downstream.

If successful, you will be invited to submit a full application.

The further progression of any strategic proposal will be dependent upon successful due diligence by the Wellcome Trust, which will include international peer review by members of our Technology Transfer Advisory Group.Only those applications that are competitive will be taken forward to a Technology Transfer Strategy Panel decision.

All funding decisions are made by the Strategy Panel.

Application advice

See the Forms and Guidance tab on this page for application guidelines, specimen application forms and other helpful guidance notes.

The most common application queries are addressed by our FAQs.

Deadlines

There is an open call for applications. Prospective applicants should contact Technology Transfer to discuss their proposal.

Contacts

Technology Transfer
Wellcome Trust
Gibbs Building
215 Euston Road
London NW1 2BE, UK

T +44 (0)20 7611 8202
F +44 (0)20 7611 8857
E techtransfer@wellcome.ac.uk

Wellcome Trust, Gibbs Building, 215 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE, UK T:+44 (0)20 7611 8888