Investigator Awards Q&A

37. Will candidates shortlisted for interview have a chance to respond to the comments the peer reviewers raise in their written reports, in advance of the interview?

38. What is the role of the Interview Panel?

Grant management

39. Can Investigator Award holders move their grant to another host institution during the lifetime of the award?

40. Are you expecting host institutions to provide funds to buy-out applicants from teaching and administrative duties?

41. Can Investigator Awards be extended in time?

Back to Investigator Awards

General information

1. Why have you introduced Investigator Awards?
Wellcome Trust Investigator Awards build on our strategic goal of supporting the brightest researchers with the best ideas.

We want to provide more flexible and generous support for our researchers, to give them the opportunity to address important questions about health and disease.

This concept is one which we have developed with our Fellowship schemes. Over the last few years, we have expanded and strengthened our Fellowship schemes to support scientists at all stages of their careers. The Investigator Award scheme aims to extend this successful funding model to researchers who are in established academic posts salaried by their universities or research institutes.

2. How do Investigator Awards fit within your overall funding portfolio?
Investigator Awards will complement our existing portfolio of Strategic Awards and Fellowships. Strategic Awards provide the key route for the funding of large, multidisciplinary and often highly collaborative research initiatives. Fellowships fund the training and research of outstanding individuals who are not in established academic posts. Investigator Awards will fund the best researchers who are in established academic posts (or the equivalent in non-university research institutions).

3. Will the introduction of Investigator Awards affect the total amount of grant funding you provide?
No. Future funding levels will be determined by the size of our overall endowment, not by the mechanism of funding.

Top

4. What types of award are available?
There are two types of Investigator Award:

New Investigator Awards support strong researchers who are in the early stages of their independent research careers and have already shown that they can innovate and drive advances in their field of study.

Senior Investigator Awards support exceptional, world-class researchers, who have an international track-record of significant achievement relative to their career stage, who have demonstrated the originality and impact of their research, and who are leaders in their field.

The New Investigator Award category is to emphasise that we wish to receive applications from researchers at the earlier stages of their careers, as well as from more established researchers.

We recognise that a wide spectrum of researchers fall into the Senior Investigator Award category, from those who have held an established post for little more than five years to those with more than 20 years’ experience. Applicants will be assessed on their research record to date, relative to their time spent in research, and so the expectations for more experienced researchers will be higher than for less experienced researchers. Our reviewers take this into account when they assess applications, and we have made awards to researchers from across the career spectrum and with varying levels of experience.

5. What type of individuals do you aim to attract?
Awards will fund outstanding researchers with the vision to innovate and explore the most challenging questions in their field of study. We aim to select people who are able to articulate a compelling vision for their research, and who demonstrate the talent, track record, originality and leadership to achieve it.

6. What do you expect of your Investigator Award holders?
We want our Investigators to advance knowledge and generate breakthroughs in their research areas. We also want to work closely with our Investigators to establish a community of researchers at the leading edge of their fields. They will be expected to take an active role as mentors and educators. We will actively encourage our Investigators to interact and collaborate, build networks, translate knowledge and participate in public engagement with science.

Top

7. What funding is available?
Awards provide a flexible package of funding that is driven by the requirements of the proposed research. NIAs and SIAs might be anything up to £425 per year and for any duration up to a maximum of seven years. Applicants can request up too £3m over seven years, but of course smaller awards and duration are equally welcome. To date – we have made awards that have ranged in duration from three to seven years, and in value from £0.5m to over £3m.

If you wish to apply for a Investigator Award, you are advised to discuss the proposed scope and scale of your proposal with us before submitting your application. More detailed information on the costs that can be sought on an Investigator Award is available on the scheme webpages.

8. How many applications have you received to date?
In the first round we received 173 applications. We have received around 60 applications per round since. More detailed information about applications received is available here.

9. How many Investigator Awards do you expect to make?
We do not intend to make a pre-determined number of Investigator Awards per year. The number of Investigator Awards will depend on the quality of applications received.

A directory of Investigator Award grantholders is available here and data on applications received and awards made to date is available here.

Top

10. Are Investigator Awards offered across your whole remit?
Investigator Awards in Biomedical Science are available to researchers working in biomedical, public health and clinical research. A separate scheme for Investigator Awards in the Medical History and Humanities and Ethics and Society are also available. There are at present no plans to roll out Investigator Awards to our Technology Transfer or Public Engagement Grant programmes.

11. How many application rounds per year are there?
From October 2012 there will be three rounds per year. Deadline dates for applications are available on our website.

We aim to make a decision on all main applications within four months of submission.

12. How will multidisciplinary and collaborative research be funded?
Collaborations are encouraged in Investigator Award applications, and it is important to highlight the collaborators who will be key to the success of your project.

In cases where two researchers work closely together towards a shared research vision, we encourage joint Investigator Award applications. If you are considering applying for a joint Investigator Award, please contact the Trust for advice on how best to apply before completing your application form.

Large-scale multidisciplinary and collaborative programmes involving equal input from several researchers will continue to be supported through our Strategic Awards scheme.

13. Are Investigator Award applications assessed in relation to the Trust’s Strategic Plan?
Applicants will be asked to explain how their research questions address our major challenges. Their responses will be considered along with the other key assessment criteria, including the applicant’s track record, the quality and importance of the research questions, the approach proposed to solving these questions and the research environment.

Top

14. Do you intend to make a set number of awards for each challenge?
No. We do make a predetermined number of awards or allocate a ring-fenced sum of money for each challenge. Information on the distribution of awards by challenge area is available here.

15. Will you limit the number of applications from or awards to an institution?
No. However, each application must be accompanied by a statement of commitment on behalf of the host institution from the most senior authority in the relevant Faculty, School or Division, which will require the institution to express why the applicant, in particular, merits Investigator Award status.

16. What will you expect from the host institution?
The environment in which the research is undertaken, and the nature of the support promised by the host institution, will be important factors when we are evaluating an application.

All applications must be accompanied by a statement of commitment on behalf of the host institution from the most senior authority in the relevant faculty, school or division.

Eligibility

17. What is meant by an ‘established academic’ post?
An ‘established academic’ post-holder is defined as a member of staff at an eligible higher education or research institution who is (or will be by the start of the award) employed on a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract salaried by the host institution.

Fellows whose salaries are funded by the Wellcome Trust, the Research Councils and other charities are not eligible to apply unless they hold a written guarantee of an established academic post at the host institution and will have taken up this post by the start of the award.

If you are unsure whether you or your institution are eligible, please contact us.

Top

18. Do I need to be currently employed by the host institution where the grant will be held to be eligible to apply?
No. However, you will need the written guarantee of an established academic post at the host institution, which must be taken up by the start of the award.

19. Do you make allowances for people who have taken career breaks, taken unconventional career paths or have been working part-time?
Yes. Please contact us for advice if this is the case.

20. Can I apply if I currently hold a Trust grant?
If you currently hold a Trust Fellowship and are moving into an established academic post, then you will be able to apply to either the New Investigator Award scheme or the Senior Investigator Award scheme, depending on your career stage.

If you are currently a Principal Investigators on a Trust Programme Grant, then you will be eligible to apply for either New Investigator or Senior Investigator Awards, during the last two years of your Programme Grant.

If you currently hold other Trust grant funding then you will be able to apply, provided you meet the core eligibility criteria.

Top

21. Can I apply if I am clinically qualified?
Yes. Clinically qualified individuals may be eligible to apply; however, you must hold an established academic post with an Honorary Clinical Contract and spend no more than half of your time on clinical duties. Applicants should contact the Trust for further advice.

22. Can I reapply for an Investigator Award if my first application has been unsuccessful?
Unsuccessful applicants will normally be expected to wait 12 months before resubmitting an application. We would expect to see substantial differences in a reapplication and you should first discuss your resubmission with the Trust.

23. Can I hold more than one Investigator Award at the same time?
No.

24. Can Investigator Award holders apply for grant funding from other agencies?
Yes. However, they will be required to explain the relationship between their Investigator Award and other applications for funding.

We expect that an Investigator Award is used to investigate the major scientific questions the researcher undertakes.

Top

25. Will Investigator Award holders be able to apply for additional funding from the Trust in support of their Investigator research programmes?
Investigator Award holders may apply for enhancement funding during the course of an award to support significant unanticipated costs, such as access to equipment or resources, or to support the grant holder to exploit new opportunities or paths of discovery as their work unfolds.

Further information about enhancement funding will be provided to Investigator Award holders when they receive their grant award.

New Investigator Awards

26. Who is eligible to apply for New Investigator Awards?
The core criteria for eligibility is that applicants:

i. will hold an established academic post at an eligible higher education or research institution in the UK or Republic of Ireland, funded by the host institution, which will be taken up by the start of the award.

ii. should be no more than five years from appointment to their first established academic post on the date they submit their main application.

Detailed eligibility for New Investigator Awards is available here. If you are unclear whether your current funding makes you eligible to hold a New Investigator Award, or which scheme you should apply for, please contact us.

Top

27. What type of individuals do you aim to attract?
New Investigator Awards are aimed at recently appointed, independent researchers who have already established a strong scientific track-record relative to their career stage, demonstrating innovative research with clear impact; who are forging international reputations for excellence in their fields; and who show exceptional promise for the future. The Trust is particularly interested in receiving applications from university lecturers within the first five years of their independent research careers.

Successful New Investigator Award holders will:

have a strong, internationally competitive track record in research, relative to the stage of their career and research experience to date
have published significant intellectual contributions to research
show evidence of achievement as an independent researcher in their chosen area
have begun to establish a training record and to coach or mentor less experienced researchers.

28. Can New Investigator Award holders apply for continued funding?
These awards are not renewable. We expect the holder of a New Investigator Award to be able to go on to compete at the Senior Investigator Award level if he or she wishes to obtain further funding.

Top

Senior Investigator Awards

29. Who is eligible to apply for Senior Investigator Awards?
The core criterion for eligibility is that applicants should hold an established academic post at an eligible higher education or research institution in the UK or Republic of Ireland, which is funded by the host institution.

Detailed eligibility for Senior Investigator Awards is available here. If you are unclear whether your current funding makes you eligible to hold a Senior Investigator Award, or which scheme you should apply for, please contact us.

Top

30. What type of individuals do you aim to attract?
Senior Investigator Awards are aimed at world-leading researchers who have an established track record of significant achievement relative to their career stage; who have carried out innovative research with a clear impact; and who propose a compelling vision for their research to explore the most important questions in their field of study.

Senior Investigator Award holders will:

be an internationally recognised research leader
have made significant contributions to your field - demonstrated by a substantial record of publications in the important journals in their field
have a strong track record of attracting significant research grant support from major funding bodies
have a strong training record supporting the development and mentorship of less experienced researchers.

31. Can individuals who have retired or are approaching retirement age apply?
Yes, subject to the policy of the host institution and with the support of a sponsor at the host institution. We will not normally pay the salary of the applicant in these circumstances.

32. Can Senior Investigator Award holders apply for continued funding?
Senior Investigator Award holders will be able to apply for a further Senior Investigator Award as their current award comes to an end. Applications will be considered in competition with other applications submitted for the scheme.

Top

The assessment process

33. How are Investigator Award applications assessed?
Information on the review process and decision-making bodies is provided on the Investigator Award scheme pages.

34. Is there a pre-application stage where my eligibility and suitability can be assessed?
We are no longer offering a formal CV check stage. However, prospective applicants are strongly advised to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria, and may contact the Trust at any stage during preparation of the application to discuss their proposal or suitability for the scheme.

35. What is the role of the Expert Review Groups?
There are nine Expert Review Groups (ERG) which together constitute a body of internationally renowned researchers with high level expertise and experience across the disciplines relevant to our biomedical remit. These ERGs are responsible collectively for assessing and shortlisting Investigator Award applications.

Further information on the ERGs and their remits is available here.

36. Can I nominate an ERG when I submit my application?
You will be asked to identify which ERG you consider your research falls under. However, we will review each application on arrival and we may reallocate the application to another ERG if we consider it appropriate.

Top

37. Will candidates shortlisted for interview have a chance to respond to the comments the peer reviewers raise in their written reports, in advance of the interview?
Not in writing, but the Interview Panel will have received the referee reports and candidates may be asked to address specific comments raised by referees during the interview as appropriate. Selected unattributed referee comments will be fed back to candidates before interview.

38. What is the role of the Interview Panel?
The Interview Panel is responsible for interviewing all Investigator Award candidates shortlisted by the Expert Review Groups and making the final award recommendations.

Further information on the Interview Panel is available here.

Grant management

39. Can Investigator Award holders move their grant to another host institution during the lifetime of the award?
We are willing to consider requests from Investigator Award holders to transfer their grant to another eligible host institution. Requests will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and have to be justified in terms of the scientific rationale and appropriateness of the new research environment. All such transfers must have the prior approval of the current and proposed host institution.

40. Are you expecting host institutions to provide funds to buy-out applicants from teaching and administrative duties?
No – the duties of a member of staff who holds an Investigator Award is a matter for the Investigator Award holder and the employing institution. However, we believe that all of our grantholders should be involved in some way in the provision of education, mentorship and training, and that our awards should not prevent a researcher from fulfilling the essential requirements of his or her employment contract, which might also include administrative or examining duties. Equally, we would not expect those duties to hinder the research carried out under the award.

41. Can Investigator Awards be extended in time?
We are willing to consider requests for no-cost extensions for up to one year.

Top