Discovery Programme Foundation Awards

About this scheme
How to apply to this scheme

About this scheme

Key information

Career level

Mid-career researcher

Established independent researcher

Clinician

Non-clinical researcher

Research area

Biomarker research

Radiotherapy research

Pre-clinical research

Imaging research

Cancer biology

Engineering

Physics

Mathematics

Chemistry

Preliminary submission

26 September 2024

Final submission

9 January 2025

Committee review

June 2025

Funding period

6 years, or part-time equivalent

Funding amount

Up to £1.5 million

Programme Foundation Awards allow excellent mid-career researchers to develop their independent research group.

Eligibility

You should:

Be the sole Lead Applicant (PI)
Have a full-time post at a UK University which is committed to provide your full salary for the duration of the award
Be able to demonstrate that you meet the range of skills and experience as outlined in the ‘transition to scientific leadership’ career stage in our Fellowships Competency Framework

You should not concurrently hold a CRUK-funded Fellowship or Career Establishment Award, or a Group Leader position at a CRUK core-funded Institute. Please contact us for advice on when to apply for funding if you hold a CRUK Fellowship or a Career Establishment Award.

On completion of a Programme Foundation Award, you are expected to be in a competitive position to apply for a Discovery Programme Award.

Career breaks, flexible working, changes in discipline and other personal circumstances will be taken into consideration when assessing your record of outputs, research achievements and career progression.

If you are unsure of your eligibility for the Programme Foundation Award, please contact us.

Scientific remit

Programme Foundation Awards can fund:

Basic biological research relating to cancer
Preclinical studies that will generate biological data to underpin therapeutic development
Biomarker research
Imaging research
Radiotherapy research
The application of engineering and physical sciences to cancer

As part of CRUK’s longstanding strategic partnership with the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), there is an opportunity for any successful applications with relevant research components in engineering and physical sciences to be jointly supported by both CRUK and the EPSRC. Applicants considering submitting a proposal with a significant multidisciplinary component are encouraged to discuss their application with the Office.

For more specific details of research supported by Programme Foundation Awards, please refer to the scheme guidelines.

What is funded

How to apply to this scheme

Overview of the application process

Applications for Programme Foundation Awards are considered twice a year and follow a two-stage process:

Outline application: You'll need to submit an outline application which the Discovery Research Committee will use to decide whether to invite you to submit a full application to a subsequent meeting. You should contact the office at least two months before the submission deadline to discuss the process and to open an online application form.
Full application: If you're invited to submit a full application, you can do so straightaway or wait until the next funding call. You'll be invited to an interview with an Expert Review Panel who will make funding recommendations to the Discovery Research Committee.

Timelines

Outline Application Deadline	Committee Shortlisting
26 September 2024	November 2024
2 April 2025	June 2025

Full Application Deadline	Committee Review
9 January 2025	June 2025
25 June 2025	November 2025

If your outline application is approved by the Committee, you may apply in full by either of the next two full application deadlines.

Before you begin your application

1. Please ensure you read the following documents:

2. You must contact the office to discuss your eligibility and suitability of your research proposal before submitting an application.

What makes a successful application

The Discovery Research Committee will judge your application on the basis of scientific excellence, innovation and importance to furthering our understanding of cancer or potential benefits to cancer patients.

Scientific excellence: you must have a strong scientific rationale, as well as appropriate experimental design and statistical analyses, to support the proposed research proposal.
Cancer relevance: your proposed work must have value in advancing the fundamental understanding of cancer or improving how cancer is diagnosed and/or treated.
Track record: you and/or your team members should have an excellent track record and potential to produce outstanding results.
Excellent team and collaborative environment: suitability and feasibility of the Lead Applicant(s) (and supporting roles) to carry out the proposed research with access to the resources and facilities required for the successful fulfilment of the award. The added value of any proposed collaboration and the individual contributions, as well as the steps taken to ensure an effective collaboration.
Resources requested: the costs you can request in an application should be for the direct costs of the research and must be reasonably justified in line with the experimental plans, leveraging existing resources where appropriate.

The Committee will also consider how closely your research aligns with the priorities laid out in our Research Strategy, including earlier detection and harder-to-treat cancers (brain, lung, oesophageal and pancreatic cancers).

The 5 year rolling success rate (financial year 2019-2024) from application to funding for this scheme is 25%.

Find out more about our strategic priorities

Find out more about what makes a successful application

Funding committee reviewing your application

Applications are assessed by an Expert Review Panel. Final funding decisions are made by the Discovery Research Committee.

Start your application