Scientific Foundation Board
The Scientific Foundation Board was established at the College
in 1976 as a charitable funding body of the College. It
awards grants for research projects whose findings will be of
direct relevance to the care of patients in the general practice
setting. Any primary health care professional may apply for a
grant for scientific research to be undertaken in the UK. The
Board is currently chaired by Professor Greg Rubin.
- The maximum award for any single project is £10,000.
The Board also considers applications for grants of
£2,000 or less on which a decision can normally be given to
applicants within four to six weeks of receipt.
For more than 30 years the Royal College of
General Practitioners Scientific Foundation Board (SFB) has
provided research grants which it has demonstrated can kick start
the beginning of a distinguished research career.
Applications are now invited for consideration
for project funding for research on any topic relevant to health
care in the primary care setting. Applicants may be
health professionals or university based researchers. Funding is
not restricted to general practitioners.
The maximum amount awarded
for any one project will be £10,000. Applications
must be made on the Board’s application form and applicants are
strongly urged to read the Guidelines to Applicants prior
to completing their application. Awards will be made to the highest
quality applications after consideration at the annual Board
meeting in the autumn.
This year the Board is continuing its
partnership arrangements both with Heart Research
UK and with the
BUPA
Foundation to enable more applications which are
considered worthy of support to be funded, over and above those
which can be supported from the Board’s capital
fund. All applications will be reviewed and judged by
the Board, but our funding partners will also consider relevant and
scientifically sound applications in their special topic areas,
prior to a final decision on the source of funding.
Under this arrangement our partners are
particularly interested in supporting applications relating
to:
- The prevention and treatment of
cardiovascular disease – including lifestyle changes and
medical and psychosocial interventions
- Preventive health: projects
covering all health environments (including the workplace) from
epidemiology to health maintenance
- Information and
communication: projects designed to enhance the
partnership between medical professionals and the
public/patients
The application form and guidelines apply
whether or not topics might subsequently be funded by the
Scientific Foundation Board, Heart Research UK, or the BUPA
Foundation. To be eligible for funding, projects must
relate to a research project in any topic relevant to health care
in the primary care setting.
Closing Date
The closing date for papers for consideration
for the 2008 Award has now passed.
Awards
To find out more about the SFB awards, please click on the
links below:
NB for grant
holders: Please note that the Board's
requirements for Interim and Final Reports have changed -
the current format can be downloaded from this website.
As the Board has no research priorities of its own, it is a
source of funding for interesting projects which do not fall within
the NHS research agenda. There are however some guidelines for
applicants:
- The Board awards grants for projects which are of
direct relevance to general practice and which are undertaken
within the UK.
- Priority is given to pilot projects and short term
projects lasting up to about 18 months.
- High priority is given to applications from young
and/or new researchers and those which it has not previously
funded.
- The Board considers applications from any discipline
but it gives a high priority to practising GPs and other members of
the primary health care team.
- All people who receive a grant from the Board are
required to submit an interim report after the first 12 months and
a final report within 12 months of the completion of their
project.