Sarcoma UK’s Open Grant Round provides support for research projects across the spectrum of sarcoma research, including laboratory and clinical research, and for PhD studentships.
Scope and remit
Sarcoma UK’s Open Grant Round provides support for research projects across the spectrum of sarcoma research, including laboratory and clinical research, and for PhD studentships.
Sarcoma UK is committed to funding world-class science to understand sarcoma better, improve treatments and make a difference to the lives of sarcoma patients. Since 2009, we have funded over £5 million of research to a range of high-quality institutions and projects across the UK.
Sarcoma UK’s strategic approach to research is flexible and broad, and the charity is open to supporting high-quality research across a number of scientific and clinical fields across all its funding calls. Areas of exploration that could be considered for funding include, but are not limited to, improving understanding of disease biology, improving diagnosis, developing new or better treatments, and improving quality of life.
Applications for funding will be assessed on both scientific quality and relevance to people affected by sarcoma. Therefore, successful applications will also have a pathway to impact for people affected by sarcoma; applicants should clearly justify this in their proposal.
Our Open Grant Round invites applications across all areas of sarcoma research, including laboratory and clinical research, and for PhD studentships.
The total budget of the call will be £800,000, plus up to an additional £200,000 from the Sarah Burkeman Trust (see below).
Grant types available
Small Grants, £50,000 – for pump-priming ideas, providing proof of concept, or funding additional research to a larger project already underway.
Large Grants, £150,000, to support a substantive piece of work; must support a member of staff.
PhD studentships, £130,000. Sarcoma UK seeks to provide funding for new PhD studentships in lab-based science, with the aim of attracting high-calibre graduates who will go on to develop a career in sarcoma research. Our PhD studentships offer up to £130,000 funding, comprising a stipend, fees and research expenses. Funding is available for three and a half years, with thesis completion expected within four years of the start date. Applications for PhD studentships will not be accepted if the studentship is already underway.
Call timelines
Call opens: May 2023
Deadline for submissions: 12pm (midday, BST) Thursday 28th September 2023
Applications received after this deadline will not be accepted. Applications will undergo a light touch triage process by Sarcoma UK’s Research Team and Grant Review Panel Chair to ensure they are in scope for the call.
Applicant response to peer and lay review: January 2024
Applicants informed of outcome: March 2024
How to apply
Applications should be sent to research@sarcoma.org.uk by the deadline advertised. Application forms can be downloaded below.
Please ensure you read the relevant guidance document prior to applying and that you use the relevant form for the grant you’re applying for.
Open Grant Round 2023 Application Form – PhD Studentships
Open Grant Round 2023 Application Form – Small and Large Grants
Open Grant Round 2023 Guidance for Applicants – PhD Studentships
Open Grant Round 2023 Guidance for Applicants – Small and Large Grants
The Sarah Burkeman Trust
Sarcoma UK is delighted to be working once again with the Sarah Burkeman Trust, who will be committing up to £200,000 for projects awarded via Sarcoma UK’s Open Grant Round. Please note that this funding increases the overall budget available for the round, and will not be awarded as additional funding to individual grants.
Applications for this funding are welcome for translational research projects in the following areas in adjacencies to Sarah’s own cancer journey:
- Gynaecological sarcomas
- Sarcomas that can particularly affect young people
- Poorly differentiated sarcomas
- Research focussed on early diagnosis
- Immunotherapy
All applications made through Sarcoma UK’s grant rounds will be subject to the same rigorous review process, administered by Sarcoma UK. All such applications will be assessed and ranked alongside every other application Sarcoma UK receives for the round. Those deemed to be fundable will be shared with the Sarah Burkeman Trust, who will make the final decision on which projects to support with this funding, in partnership with their Scientific Advisory Panel. You can read more about Sarah’s story here.
If you’d like your project to be considered for co-funding from the Trust, please indicate this on your application form.
Assessment Criteria
Sarcoma UK’s research programme is flexible and broad. Proposals will be assessed on scientific quality and relevance to people affected by sarcoma.
All applications will proceed to review unless they are deemed out of remit for the call shortly following submission. Applications will be assessed on a variety of criteria by peer and lay written reviews and Sarcoma UK’s Grant Review Panel, including scientific quality, pathway to impact and the team and environment. Read more about how your proposal will be assessed.
Eligibility criteria for our funding calls
If you are unsure about the eligibility of your application, please contact Sarcoma UK’s research team by emailing research@sarcoma.org.uk.
Host institution requirements
- The host institution for the project must be a UK-based higher education institution or the NHS.
- The host institution must be the employer of the grant holder.
- The host institution will be responsible for the entirety of the award, including all administration, liaison with third parties and ensuring compliance with conditions of award by other institutions where appropriate.
- Work on the project may take place at other institutions, which may be outside of the UK, but the host institution is responsible for any sub-contracting and payment of funds to other organisations.
Applicant requirements
- The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for the intellectual leadership of the research project and must be actively engaged in the overall management of the research.
- The PI should be able to demonstrate evidence of a strong research record, with experience to drive and lead a research project which addresses your proposed research questions. Demonstrable evidence could include publications, successful grant applications and an ability to lead teams.
- The PI and the proposed project must be based in the UK at a Higher Education Institution (HEI), Research Institute or Clinical Institution. The principal investigator of the work must have a contract of employment within the host institution for the duration of the grant prior to application.
- Where the PI is on a fixed-term contract, their contract must extend at least one year beyond the lifetime of the project, or the host institution must demonstrate that it intends to award a permanent position at the end of the fixed term. In addition, a co-applicant with a permanent post at the host institution should be listed on the application.
- Named Co-Is must be actively involved in the running of the project to the extent indicated in the application.
Resubmission guidance
For submissions of proposals across any Sarcoma UK grant rounds, we allow only one resubmission of a previously unsuccessful proposal, unless you have been explicitly invited to resubmit for a second time.
For all resubmissions, we require a full explanation of the revisions (additions, deletions and modifications) made to the proposal from its previous iteration, and responding to any concerns raised by reviewers or the Grant Review Panel. Please include this explanation as a maximum of 2 pages of A4 attached prior to your application form.
Resubmissions will be checked as part of our triaging process; applications which do not meet the above requirements will not be accepted.
Other requirements
Applications will not be accepted:
- Where the primary intent of the grant is for purchase of equipment
- From commercial organisations.
- Where the PhD studentship is already underway.
- Where the application has been submitted to any of Sarcoma UK’s funding calls on more than one previous occasion unless explicitly invited.
- Please note that the member of staff supported on a large grant may not be a PhD student.
