Scientific Foundation Board (SFB)
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 GP, primary
health care professional or university based researcher may apply
for a grant for scientific research to be undertaken in the UK,
these can kick start the beginning of a distinguished research
career. It highlights the support of the College for Research. The
Board selects successful grantholders through assessment of
applications against set criteria. The Board is currently
chaired by Professor Greg Rubin.
The SFB is now looking for two new members
(clinical or non-clinical) to join the Board in Summer
2012.
The responsibilities as a member of the Board are:
• To assess the submitted
applications using pre-defined criteria on annual basis
- To contribute to awarding grants up
to £20, 000 annually through attending the grant awards committee
each Autumn
• To contribute to awarding grants
up to £1, 000 throughout the year through assessing applications on
an ad hoc basis
• To read materials circulated by
the Project Officer and provide comments via email if
appropriate.
• To promote the SFB through
relevant communication channels.
The standard tenure of membership
is three years. RCGP will reimburse travel expenses &
locum cover (if required) for attendance at SFB meetings.
To apply, please send
us:
-Your CV (no more than 10
pages)
-A covering letter explaining your reasons for applying
and listing your previous experience on grant awarding bodies and
particular research methods expertise.
Deadline for applications - 29 June 2012
Applications must be sent to the CIRC team by post
and email:
Clinical Innovation and Research Centre
Royal College of General Practitioners
1 Bow Churchyard
London
EC4M 9DQ
circ@rcgp.org.uk
GRANTS NOW AVAILABLE FOR OVER £1000
- Deadline for applications - 29
June 2012
The maximum award for any single study is £20,000.
The Board also considers applications
for the Practitioners Allowance Grant of £1,000
or less.
The Board is continuing its partnership arrangements both with
Heart Research UK and with the BUPA Foundation to enable more
applications 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.
Our funding 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 Board has no research priorities of its
own, it is a source of funding for interesting studies which do not
fall within the NHS research agenda. Grants are awarded for
studies which are of direct relevance to general practice and which
are undertaken within the UK. High priority is given to
applications from young and/or new researchers who have not
previously been funded, or pilot studies and short
term studies lasting up to about 18 months. Applications will also
be considered from practising GPs and other members of the primary
health care team.
How to apply
The application
form 
and the general
guidelines 
apply regardless of the source of funding. To be eligible
for funding, projects must relate to a research project in any
topic relevant to health care in the primary care setting.
£20,000 Grant
The closing date for applications for grants
over £1,000 is end of June each
year. The Board usually meet in October and
applicants will be notified by December. Please note that
applicants are required to send 14 hard copies.
Practitioners Allowance
Grant
Applications for grants under £1,000 are
considered under Chairman's Action throughout the
year. Applicants should be notified within 4-6 weeks. Please
note that only one hard copy is required.
Applications must be sent to the
CIRC team by post and email:
Clinical Innovation and Research Centre
Royal College of General Practitioners
1 Bow Churchyard
London
EC4M 9DQ
circ@rcgp.org.uk
Information for Grant Holders
All SFB Grant Holders must complete a Final Report within
12 months of the completion of the study. Grant Holders for
studies over 12 months must also complete an Interim
Report (a Second Interim Report for studies over 24 months
would also be required).
Awards
More information about past SFB studies can be
found in the table
here
Submission Of Interim And Final Reports To The
Board
Grant holders are required to submit an interim
report to the Board after the first twelve months on any projects
of more than twelve months duration. This must be submitted
within three months of the date shown on the
“Guidance for holders of grants from the Board” form which
accompanies the letter confirming your award. For projects of
twelve months or less duration, grant holders are required only to
submit a final report. This report must be submitted within
twelve months of the end date of your study. The final report
will include a structured abstract for placement on the Scientific
Foundation Board’s page on the College’s web site.
The formats for interim and final reports are
set out below.
Interim Report Format
(Projects of more than 12
months duration only)
(Please note that a
report of a similar purpose already prepared for another body will
be acceptable in lieu of this.)
Please
provide a brief report under the following headings. Any
additional information may be included as appendices:
1. Please
state:
- The name of the project.
- The grant holder’s name.
- The grant reference number.
- The original start and completion dates and the actual start
and completion dates. If your project timetable has slipped,
please explain why.
- The value of the grant awarded and the actual expenditure on
your project. If, at this stage in your project, you are expecting
either an overspend or underspend, please explain why.
2. Please provide
- a summary of progress to date on your project, including any
interim findings and any problems that may have arisen and how
these have been overcome. This should be of approximately 500
words.
Final Report
Format
The first part of the final report comprises
factual information which helps us to review the outcome of our
awards. The second part relates to a report on the findings
of your study – for this, firstly, we request a structured abstract
of around 250 words. This structured abstract will be
placed on the Board’s website and should follow the format
provided below.
The following framework must be
followed in the preparation of your report – the information you
provide will be added to a database used to review the outcome
of awards made by the Board.
- The title of the project.
- The grant holder’s name.
- The grant reference number.
- The original start and completion dates and the actual start
and completion dates. If your project was completed more than
six months early or late, please explain why.
- The value of the grant awarded and the actual expenditure on
your project. If you had an over/underspend please give details,
including the reasons why.
- Presentations at scientific or professional meetings.
Please specify whether meetings were local, national or
international and whether presentations were oral, poster or
workshop.
- Publications: Please state whether you are planning to
publish, have a paper in press or have had a paper(s) published
relating to your project and in which journal(s). References for
publications should be provided.
- Higher degree , (e.g. MSc, MD, PhD). Please
state whether you are planning to undertake a higher degree, are
working towards a higher degree or have been awarded a higher
degree and whether this project will form part of your work for
this.
Structured abstract (250 words) for
placement on the Board’s website using the following
headings:
- Background
- Objectives
- Design
- Setting
- Subjects
- Results
- Conclusions
circ@rcgp.org.uk
020 3188 7597