Dr Paul Colville-Nash
Programme Manager, Medical Research Council
Scottish Infection Research Network
10 th January 2010

• Application Process and Tips
• The Right Funder? About the MRC
• Funding opportunities

• Choose the right funder and the right scheme
• Complete application form (MRC: EAA or Web based form)
• Scientific case for support
• Cost application (in conjunction with Research
Organisation);
• Obtain Head of Department approval.
• Own Research Organisation approval
• Submit application to Research Organisation for final costing/approval
• They submit to MRC
• Funding Decision
• Peer Review application
• Decision

• Emphasis on potential for early career investigators
• A clear rationale for the research
• Clarity & Succinctness key
• Emphasize and re-emphasize important points and arguments
• Methodology - Preliminary Data
• People, environment, training for fellowships
• Collaborations

Planning & Preparation
• Plan your application – don’t rush! Moratoria!
• Talk to people in the know – funders, senior colleagues, successful previous applicants etc.
• Know the specific Aims, rough costs and preliminary data needed
• Consider regulatory approval
• Read & follow instructions
• Can take a year from submission to starting of award

What and Why? The Hypothesis
• What is your hypothesis?
• Long-term “global” objective of project
• Why do you want to do this research? Review the relevant literature objectively. Why now?
• Background to problem, significance; Present knowledge gap to be addressed and show the uniqueness of approach.

Be Focused!: Specific Aims
• Well-defined objectives and/or criteria from which the rest of the project is derived and the level of success is determined.
•Not too many unrelated questions
•Relationship with experimental plan should be clear; methodology can be introduced.
•Presented in a readable, often outline, form so that readers can see the precise questions to be answered and the outcomes anticipated.
•Aims should be “SMART”

Methods: The “Killer experiment”
• Prove hypothesis; conclusive approach, e.g. functional knockout
• Statistics and power
•Present a detailed plan of attack for each specific aim
•Should support costs proposed in the budget
•Describe how you will evaluate success in achieving your aims
•Provide a flow of logic for each experiment’s results and the subsequent steps in the research plan
•Address sub-optimal methodologies and offer rationale for their use
•?Include timetable/ or timeline, often at the end of the section, to make organisation apparent

Preliminary Data
•Shows that the project is realistic and feasible
•Shows that you/your team can successfully do the proposed work
•Convinces the reviewers that your hypothesis should be tested
Case for support
Address all the relevant questions
Take account of what reviewers will be looking for
Write clearly and economically

Personnel & Collaboration
WHO proposes to do a project is just as important as WHAT is being proposed because a grant is an INVESTMENT not a contract. Evidence must be presented that the research team is capable of delivering a return on that investment
Evidence includes:
•Education and training
•Scientific track record
•Specific expertise
•Appropriate time commitment
•Use of appropriate collaboration

Resources
• Is your research space adequate? Do you have the necessary equipment? What shared/core resources are available?
• Fully justify resources requested. What is allowed? Travel?
Publication costs? External contract costs? Training Fees?
• Justify why needed
–don’t just list; you’ve already done this!
• Do not under/over fund! Remember it is hard to get supplements for grants once awarded
The Big Question:
Are there “unwritten” limits to funding? Value for Money!

Appendices
• Often contain publications, manuscripts, surveys, questionnaires, data collection instruments, original glossy photographs or colour images of gels, micrographs etc
• NOT to be used to circumvent page limits elsewhere
• BUT CHECK THEY ARE ALLOWED! They maybe removed!!

The Abstract
•Summary of the entire proposal – write it last!
•Understandable by researchers outside the field – don’t underestimate the importance of the lay abstract either!
•Will be the first thing read by primary reviewers
•May be the ONLY thing read by other committee members; but not at MRC of course!!
•Will influence the way reviewers approach the rest of the proposal

Last but not least - REVIEW internally!
• Mentors for new applicants
• Get a second opinion
• Proof read & spell check – remember the little things count!

Response to reviewers comments - if you get past first base!
• A measured response that addresses important concerns can make all the difference
• Stick to the key issues
• Refer to parts of the application which may address concerns
• Use references
• Opportunity to add in extra data, publications to reassure

• Unfocused, overambitious project
• Unoriginal, pedestrian approach
• No clear hypothesis, or not hypothesis-driven
• Methodology not sufficiently detailed
• Project not intellectually challenging
• Centre has no international standing in research area
• Lack of infrastructure/facilities
• Training element incomplete/unclear; poor training environment
• Right person - wrong project! And vice versa!!

• Application Process and Tips
• The Right Funder? About the MRC
• Funding opportunities

• Many opportunities
• Get to know likely sources in your field
– what do they do?
• Keeping up to date is another skill for the researcher
• Sign up for information feeds
• Regularly visit key websites
• It’s good to talk!

• Encourage and support high-quality research with the aim of improving human health
• Produce skilled researchers
• Advance and disseminate knowledge and technology to improve the quality of life and economic competitiveness in the UK [and worldwide]
• Promote dialogue with the public about medical research

MRC operating expenditure - £625.4m in 07/08
• 300 new grants to researchers
£236 million on grants and training awards in universities and medical schools
• £343 million for over 500 programmes in our research units and institutes over 2000 publications in peer-reviewed journals
• Licensing income receipts of £85.4 million through MRCT
£384 million total cash generated since 1998
People
• Over 4000 people in our own units, institutes and centres
• £72.2 million on training and career development
107 new fellowships, 450 new post-graduate students

• Consultation with over
500 stakeholders
• A non-prescriptive agenda

Strategic aim 1
Picking research that delivers: Setting research priorities which are most likely to deliver improved health outcomes
Strategic aim 2
Research to people: Bringing the benefits of excellent research to all sections of society
Strategic aim 3
Going global: Securing progress in international medical research
Strategic aim 4
Supporting our scientists: Supporting and sustaining a robust and flourishing environment for world-class medical research http://www.mrc.ac.uk/strategicplan

Discovery Delivery
MRC Translational
MRC lead NIHR lead
Genetics/genomics
Structural biology
Imaging
Systems medicine
Global health
Ageing: lifecourse
Stem cells
Infections
Population science
Pharmacogenomics
Animal/human models
Regenerative medicine
Experimental medicine
Methodology
Global health
HTA Trials
EME Trials
(Late stage III)
Public health
E-health

• Application Process
• The Right Funder? About the MRC
• Funding opportunities

• General Enquiries
MRCgrants@ssc.rcuk.ac.uk
• Scientific queries via Programme Managers
Details on MRC web-site under each Research
Board:
( http://www.mrc.ac.uk/
Ourresearch/Boardpanelsgroups/index.htm
)