Project grants

Definition of a Project grant

The Project Grant provides support for larger pieces of high quality, diabetes related research. Applications should normally be for hypothesis-driven projects.

Financial support

Support may be requested for up to five years. There is no limit to research expenses that may be requested, however all requests must be fully justified.

Applicants applying for £500,000 or more must contact the office in the first instance and should normally hold substantial funding from Diabetes UK.

Applicants applying for £15,000 or less should follow the Guidelines for Small Grant Applications

Salaries

Salaries may be requested for research (both post graduate and post doctoral) and technical assistants.

Research assistants may wish to register for higher degrees during the lifetime of the grant. It should be noted that Diabetes UK will not pay university and/or college fees.

Clinical and secretarial assistance may be provided in some cases but must be fully justified within the application.

Eligibility

Applicants must have a tenured post or be able to demonstrate that they will have a salary and position at the Institution they are applying from for the lifetime of the grant.

Deadlines

Applications for this scheme are considered two times per year with the following deadlines:

  • 1 June (Committee meet in October)
  • 1 December (Committee meet in May).

How to apply

Please use the Project grant application form (Word, 470KB).

Administrative processes

Peer review

Applications will be sent out for peer review to researchers who have not published or worked in the same institutions as any of the applicants for at least five years. Please consider this when suggesting reviewers in the application.

The Research Committee

Applications are sent to the Research Committee, which meets twice a year to recommend to the Board of Trustees which applications should be funded.

Assessment criteria

Applications are assessed on the following criteria:

  • Potential difference the research will make to the lives of people with diabetes
  • Scientific excellence
  • Track record of the applicants
  • Value for money.