Small grants and pump-priming awards
Small grants to enable key experiments required for publications or larger grant applications.
These small grants are an excellent way to perform a key experiment, either to finish a paper or to underpin a future grant or fellowship application. There are several schemes throughout the college, such as at Roslin Institute (Roslin ISP Early Career Grants), and at the Insitute of Genetics and Cancer (IGC Early Career Awards), but there are many other opportunities from small charities and societies.
Medical Research Scotland – early career researcher grants
These awards available to help newly-established early career researchers develop their own independent programme of research. They can be used for new research projects, critical pilot studies, critical replications, proof-of-concept work or to supplement other research programmes, whether funded by other grants or not.
Medical Research Scotland Early Career Researcher Grants website
Society for Endocrinology
Grants may be awarded for research to gain preliminary data before applying for other external funding and resources for a small project or to finalise a project.
Society for Endocrinology Early Career Grants website
Carnegie Trust – Research Incentive Grants (RIG)
This scheme allows early-career researchers to undertake, as the Principal Investigator, short research projects, either of a stand-alone nature or in the form of an initial study leading to a more extensive project. Maximum RIG awards are for £15,000 and 12 months duration.
Fight for Sight small grant awards
Small grant awards offer competitive funding to support small feasibility studies and pilot studies as well as facilitate the generation of preliminary data. The aim is to make novel research ideas more competitive for larger follow-on funding.
Fight for Sight Small Grant Awards website
Diabetes UK early-career small grants
These grants support early-career basic scientists and members of Allied Health Professions to undertake small research projects related to diabetes. The scheme will enable scientists at an early stage in their career to develop their work and go on to obtain additional grant funding from other organisations. Awards are provided for up to one year (longer periods of time may be requested if fully justified). Up to £15,000 can be provided for material and consumables, small pieces of equipment, animal purchase and maintenance and collaborative travel.
Diabetes UK Early-Career Small Grants website
The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour research grants
These awards offer up to £10,000 to support
(i) promising pilot research projects that are at too early a stage to attract funding from larger funding agencies such as the UK Research Councils
(ii) small-scale projects, that, although worthwhile, are unlikely to attract funding from alternative sources.
Grants may be made to allow the applicant to travel to conduct collaborative research, or to bring a collaborator to the applicant's institution for the same purpose. The committee will consider research projects in all areas of animal behaviour.
Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Research Grants website
Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
This Trust offers grants for early-career researchers to spend up to two months overseas, researching a topic of their choice.
SULSA small hrants
SULSA has developed a new call for early career researchers looking to develop their own independent research theme. The funds can be used for a variety of activities, such as: travel, training in new techniques, consumable costs, and facility access. Projects up to £4,000 can be funded, with a minimum of eight projects awarded per round.