How we fund research

We are an Association of Medical Research Charities member and fund research in line with their five principles of the principles of peer review: accountability, balance, independent decision making, impartiality and rotation of scientific advisers.

We use external peer and patient review. Applications are considered by our funding committees and all funding is approved by the Board of Trustees.

Applications for our funding schemes are reviewed by medical and scientific expert reviewers, people affected by blood cancer and members of our funding or review committees. Reviewers are asked to provide detailed comments on the application and provide a score of the application based on review criteria.

Applicants are given the opportunity to respond to reviewers' comments before their application is considered by a funding committee.

We screen all external peer reviewers for any potential conflict of interest before we send an application to them. We also ask our reviewers to declare any conflicts of interest they have with the application or applicant which we might not know about.

Download our conflict of interests in funding decisions policy below to find out more.

At the committee meeting, members discuss the applications and recommend a list for funding to our Board of Trustees.

Our expert panels consider the different categories of application:

• Our Research Funding Committee considers applications for research grants and advises on research strategy. The committee members are expert in disciplines relevant to our mission and join us on a voluntary basis.
• Our Clinical Trials Review Committee considers new applications for clinical trials and also monitors progress on our clinical trial grant portfolio. The committee members are expert in trials and drug discovery and join us on a voluntary basis.

All recommendations for all awards made by our advisory or funding committees are sent to our Board of Trustees. They then make the final decision on which applications we fund. Notification of the outcome of applications will be made after consideration by the Board of Trustees. Notification of a positive recommendation from the Committee does not represent a funding offer. The Trustees decision is final and non-negotiable.

The Blood Cancer UK Research Team will provide feedback on your application, comprising the anonymised external peer review and a summary of the committee’s evaluation. To ensure fairness and to protect the integrity of the funding process, committee members cannot discuss any decisions with applicants and individuals should therefore not be approached.