Mental Health Award: Understanding how anxiety- and trauma-related problems develop, persist and resolve
This award will fund researchers to investigate the causal mechanisms through which brain, body and environment interact over time in the development, persistence and resolution of anxiety- and trauma-related disorders. Knowing more about these mechanisms will help us find better ways to identify these problems and intervene at an early stage.
Call at a glance
- Lead applicant career stage:
- Administering organisation location:
- Anywhere in the world (apart from mainland China)
- Strategic programme:
- Mental Health
- Frequency:
- One-off
- Funding amount:
Up to £4 million
- Funding duration:
Up to 5 years
- Coapplicants:
- Accepted
Next deadline
Disabled applicants
If you are disabled or have a long-term health condition, we can support you with your application process. Please contact us if you require this information in a different format or if we can assist you in any other way.
About this call
Wellcome’s mental health strategic aim is to drive a transformative change in our ability to intervene as early as possible in the course of anxiety, depression and psychosis, in ways that reflect the priorities and needs of people who experience these problems.
This call will fund research that advances scientific understanding of the causal mechanisms through which brain, body and environment interact over time in the development, persistence and resolution of anxiety- and trauma-related disorders.
We encourage applicants to review all the information on this page. You can also watch this webinar with our Mental Health team as they explain the call and its part in our Mental Health strategy.
The primary focus of this call is on anxiety- and trauma-related disorders, defined here to include:
- generalised anxiety disorder
- panic disorder
- social anxiety disorder
- all types of phobias
- obsessive-compulsive disorder
- post-traumatic stress disorder
- acute stress disorder
- transdiagnostic symptoms strongly associated with the above conditions (for example, threat hyperreactivity, repetitive negative thinking, etc.).
We will refer to anxiety-related problems throughout, to refer to all the problems listed above and in scope for this call.
Focus on causality
Existing evidence suggests that many factors contribute to the development, persistence and resolution of anxiety-related problems. For example:
- Genetics
- Childhood maltreatment
- Traumatic life experiences
- Poverty
- Negative social experiences such as bullying
- Environmental exposures such as air pollution.
However, we know much less about the biological, psychological and social causal mechanisms underpinning how and why these factors influence the trajectory of these problems over time. With this funding opportunity, we want to move beyond correlational evidence to a deeper consideration of the causal mechanisms underpinning anxiety-related problems. This mechanistic understanding will help us develop new and improved ways to predict, identify and intervene as early as possible.
A focus on anxiety-related problems is needed because:
- anxiety is the mental health condition that affects the greatest number of people worldwide, with an estimated 301 million people living with an anxiety-related problem.
- anxiety has the earliest onset of all mental health disorders on average, emerging earlier than other disorders such as depression or schizophrenia.
- anxiety can both precede and coexist with other diagnoses such as depression and psychosis. In addition to the severe impact it can have on people’s lives on its own, it might also be a target to prevent the development of additional mental health problems.
- the neurobiology of anxiety-related problems is relatively well understood, both in humans and in animal models, meaning that the field is well placed to make new, interdisciplinary and cross-species links to enhance our understanding of causality.
Despite all this, anxiety-related problems remain under-researched and underfunded relative to other mental health problems. By improving our understanding of these problems, we will gain knowledge that can be used for translational purposes. This will help us find better ways to identify problems early on and to intervene at the most critical and earliest possible points (for example, through new therapeutic targets, new markers and new and improved early interventions).
About your proposal
Research priorities
To be eligible to apply, applicants must address at least one of the following two priorities.
1. Research that considers multiple levels of explanation
The causes and solutions of mental health problems are likely to involve a combination of biological, psychological and social factors. Integrated approaches are therefore crucial to understanding the causal mechanisms of mental health problems.
We are therefore looking to fund research that examines questions at more than one level of explanation (for example, molecular, cellular, systems, cognitive, behavioural, social, environmental or societal). This may involve using different experimental models (for example, organoid and rodent models) and human participants; however, this is not a requirement.
2. Research in low- and middle-income countries
Of the more than 300 million people living with an anxiety-related problem globally, an estimated 79% (238 million) live in low- and middle-income countries. Despite this, research into anxiety-related problems in these countries has been underfunded, with less than $2 million spent on anxiety each year, compared to over $17 million spent on depression. Without a better understanding of how these problems develop, persist and resolve in these countries, we will not be able to progress towards our vision of a world in which no one is held back by mental health problems.
We are therefore looking to fund research within and/or across low- and middle-income countries, to better understand how different contexts may impact the trajectory of anxiety-related problems. Read the full list of low- and middle-income countries.
What we are looking for
Applications must focus on the causal mechanisms underlying the development, persistence and/or resolution of anxiety-related problems. Proposals do not need to focus on all three stages; they can focus on just one, two or three.
Research proposals must feature:
The chosen causal factor(s) must be related to the trajectory (development, persistence and/or resolution) of anxiety-related problems. The proposal must define and justify why a particular causal factor is being investigated.
- The proposed factor must be grounded in strong evidence, which could include, but is not limited to:
- Direct evidence of causality for a given factor based on experimental studies in humans and/or in animal models, but where gaps remain in explanatory mechanisms underpinning causality.
- Evidence that a proposed causal factor confers risk or protection for anxiety-related problems based on large, well-controlled, replicated observational studies.
- Qualitative work or observational data may contribute as partial evidence for causal factor(s), depending on the context.
- The case for choosing a particular causal factor(s) may be strengthened by including evidence that:
- The proposed factor is considered relevant to people with lived experience who are most applicable to your research.
- Understanding more about the mechanism(s) underpinning this factor will have implications for advances in translational research.
Research proposals must use research design(s) that allow for the study of how anxiety-related problems develop, persist and/or resolve over time, and provide insights into the causal mechanism(s) explaining this change.
- Applicants must use the most appropriate methodology to address their research question(s) and make a good case for how their chosen methodology allows for causal inference. For example, methodologies that would address causality could include but are not limited to:
- experimental studies (in cellular, animal or human models)
- projects incorporating randomised controlled trials
- quasi-experimental designs
- temporal precedence
- triangulation
- machine-learning analysis
- network models and mediation analyses.
- In projects where a clinical trial or human experimental approach is used, the outcomes must primarily inform our understanding of the mechanism(s) by which the chosen factor(s) causes the development, persistence and/or resolution of the anxiety-related problem under investigation.
- Not all work packages need to address causality, but the proposal needs to justify the inclusion of any work packages that do not use causal methodologies. Qualitative research, observational longitudinal analysis and/or measurement development/validation is therefore in scope if it helps to address the overall research question(s).
Research proposals must address at least one of the two key priorities for this call:
- Conduct research that examines questions at more than one level of explanation (for example, cellular, cognitive and environmental).
- Conduct research within and/or across low- and middle-income countries to better understand how anxiety-related problems develop, persist and resolve over time in these environments.
Research proposals must consider and clearly describe the potential impact of the proposed project and how, if successful, it would contribute to translational work (either directly or over time) supporting real-world application.
For example, this could include developing new knowledge that would advance early intervention by identifying potential new opportunities for the prediction, identification and/or intervention in anxiety-related problems.
Research proposals must demonstrate the involvement of lived experience expertise in their research, unless there is a strong justification for not doing so.
We recognise that there are a range of ways that research teams can involve and collaborate with people with lived experience. For example, this may include, but not be limited to:
- expert advisors
- coapplicants
- collaborators
- advisory group members.
We are open to any methods of involvement that teams choose but it is crucial that lived experience experts are involved in the most appropriate and ethical ways to inform multiple aspects and stages of the research project.
Projects with human participants must use, as a minimum, one or more of our recommended common measures in the collection of new data. You may also collect data using any other measure(s). This work must also comply with our policy on research involving human participants.
All projects must describe the relevant ethical, social and cultural implications of their proposed work.
Examples of other elements in scope
Research proposals can:
- Include secondary research objectives and activities exploring how anxiety-related problems precede or develop alongside depression and/or psychosis (both of strategic interest to Wellcome), but this cannot be the primary focus of the research proposal.
- Examine interactions between different causal factors.
- Explore multiple mechanisms for a single causal factor.
- Look at how anxiety-related problems develop, persist and resolve across an individual’s lifespan.
- Focus on populations of any age but make the case as to how insights would ultimately have implications for early intervention.
- Focus on transdiagnostic symptoms of mental health problems that can be experienced by individuals with anxiety-related problems (for example, persistent worrying or irritability).
- Use validated questionnaires to evaluate symptoms and cut-off scores to identify symptoms of anxiety-related problems.
- Study anxiety-related problems in the context of other conditions (for example, study how generalised anxiety disorder develops in the context of autism).
- Focus on under-represented and/or under-researched populations (for example, children living with intellectual disabilities, ethnic minority communities).
- Conduct comparative research (for example, compare how post-traumatic stress disorder develops in low- and/or middle-income countries as opposed to in a high-income country).
- Enrich existing datasets, including longitudinal datasets, if this is necessary to address the proposed research question(s).
- Include pilot data. Pilot data is not essential for this call although it may strengthen your application, especially at the full application stage.
- Test the causal mechanisms by which an intervention helps to resolve anxiety-related problems. We are interested in all kinds of interventions (e.g., pharmacological, non-pharmacological, digital) provided through healthcare systems or by other systems (e.g., workplaces, educational organisations), or undertaken by individuals themselves. However, the focus must be on improving mechanistic understanding of how they work, as opposed to focusing on efficacy.
- Work with one model system (for example, rodents) or with human participants only, as long as at least one of our two key research priorities is addressed.
- Design novel and ambitious projects that may involve an element of risk.
The table consists of example research questions that would be in scope for this award. This is not a comprehensive list of examples, and you would not be at a competitive advantage or disadvantage by focusing on any of these. We recognise that certain constructs may be both a mechanism and a causal factor, depending on how the applicant frames their hypothesis and research question(s). The fact that an item is listed below as a mechanism does not preclude it from also being a causal factor, and this applies the other way around.
Example research question: Is mechanism V responsible for the relationship between causal factor X and mental health outcome Y using method Z that allows for causal inference?
| Required construct |
Examples (not comprehensive, just for illustration) |
|---|---|
| Mechanism [V] |
|
| Causal factor [X] |
|
| Outcome [Y] |
|
| Method [Z] |
|
What is out of scope
Research proposals cannot:
- Rely only on non-causal research methods (for example, data-driven approaches for stratifying populations or correlations at a single time point).
- Study the mechanisms of causal factor(s) for which there is no/inadequate evidence, or which are not identified as important by people with lived experience.
- Focus on the identification of a causal factor rather than test its underlying mechanism(s).
- Focus on evaluating the efficacy or effectiveness of an intervention rather than test the causal mechanisms by which the intervention helps to resolve anxiety-related problems.
- Focus primarily on anxiety as a risk factor (for example, for psychosis) without investigating the underlying causal mechanism(s) for anxiety-related problems.
- Focus primarily on mental health problems other than the anxiety-related problems in scope for this call (for example, by focusing on adjustment disorder or trait-level anxiety).
- Conduct exploratory or curiosity-driven mechanistic research that is not directly relevant to the call remit.
- Aim to develop new birth cohorts.
Webinars
We have been running webinars to discuss the call and offer participants a chance to ask our Wellcome Mental Health team questions as a panel. It's a great way to hear an overview of the call and hear some questions from other potential applicants.
- Watch a recording of our 14 September webinar with details about the funding call, how to apply, eligibility and a Q&A session specifically about the call.
- Watch a recording of our 10 October webinar in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) exploring the funding call, current trends and future directions in research and practice for anxiety and trauma-related problems.
Eligibility and suitability
Who can apply
You can apply to this call if you are a team of researchers:
- from any relevant discipline (we consider a broad range of disciplines to be relevant to mental health science, including but not limited to those listed in our mental health funding remit)
- from an eligible organisation
- based anywhere in the world (apart from mainland China).
We encourage applications from:
- diverse and interdisciplinary teams, with collaborations covering multiple areas of expertise (for example, biological, psychological and social)
- researchers at any stage of their career, including early career researchers and/or those who are new to the field of mental health science.
Although we encourage applications from diverse and interdisciplinary teams, this is not required. Each application should include the necessary team expertise and organisational support to answer the proposed research question(s). The contribution of each coapplicant (and collaborator, if applicable) to the project should be justified. Teams may want to consider involving people with lived experience of mental health problems in the project team, as lead applicants, coapplicants and/or collaborators.
When research occurs in more than one location, applications must include coapplicants based in each country where the research will take place. If the proposed research is planned to take place only in a low- or middle-income country, the lead applicant must be affiliated with an eligible organisation based in that country. For all collaborations, we expect applicants to demonstrate how they will approach ethical and equitable partnerships, including how this will be approached in partnerships between low- and middle-income country researchers and high-income country researchers.
Each application can only have one named lead applicant, who would be accountable for the delivery of grant activities, the financial management of the award and compliance with Wellcome’s grant conditions in the event of a successful application. The management of the project locally is at the discretion of the applicants and could include co-leads to ensure equity, where justified (for example, across high-income and low- and middle-income countries).
Applicants should draw on available resources to frame their approach to ethical and equitable partnerships, as it applies to their research.
Some resources that may be helpful are listed below, though this is not an exhaustive list and there may be other approaches that are better suited to help applicants:
- The UKCDR & ESSENCE Equitable Partnerships Resource Hub
- The TRUST Code:
- Morton B, Vercueil A, Masekela R, Heinz E, Reime, L, Saleh S, et al. (2021). Consensus statement on measures to promote equitable authorship in the publication of research from international partnerships. Anaesthesia, 3(77): 264-276.
The lead applicant must:
- Have the experience needed to drive and lead a collaborative, large-scale research project and/or the necessary support structures in place to enable this.
- Have experience of people and research management, as appropriate for their career stage.
- Have experience of, or demonstrate commitment to, effectively leading a team that embeds lived experience expertise, as relevant to the research project.
- Have a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract or the guarantee of one for the duration of the award. The contract should not be conditional on receiving this award.
- Be able to contribute at least 20% of their research time to this project.
- Be based at an eligible organisation that can sign up to our grant conditions.
You can only be listed as a ‘lead applicant’ on one application for this call. You can, however, be included as a coapplicant on one other application or hold other Wellcome awards. However, you must demonstrate that you have sufficient capacity for both projects if funded. See who cannot apply below for more details. Read more about lead applicant salary recovery and other costs covered.
Each coapplicant must:
- Be essential for the delivery of the project and make a significant contribution, for example, in designing the proposed research and leading a specific component of the project.
- Demonstrate the team’s commitment to effectively embed lived experience expertise, as relevant to the research project.
- Have a guarantee of space from their administering organisation for the duration of their commitment to the project, but do not need to have a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract.
- Be able to contribute at least 20% of their research time to the project.
- Be based at an eligible organisation that can sign up to our grant conditions.
Coapplicants can be based at the same or different organisations as other applicants, including in different countries. They can also be at any career stage and/or come from any relevant discipline. You must justify the added value of their contribution to the team. Read more about coapplicant salary recovery and other costs covered.
Collaborators can also be included in applications. They are distinct from coapplicants in that they will support the delivery of the project but will not lead on a specific component of the research. For example, collaborators could provide technical, clinical or subject-matter expertise on statistical analysis or measurement of specific variables. They could also provide access to tools or resources, such as longitudinal datasets, clinical records, or organisations led by or working in collaboration with people with lived experience.
- The team should include all the necessary expertise and technical skills to deliver the proposed research, including lived experience expertise and/or the skills needed to effectively involve and collaborate with people with lived experience.
- The team will be expected to actively foster a diverse, inclusive and supportive research environment within the team and across represented organisations.
- Team size should be appropriate for the proposed research. Teams can involve a minimum of two applicants, including the lead applicant, and will usually be no more than eight people (not including collaborators), unless in exceptional circumstances where a strong case must be made for requiring a larger team.
- Applications must include applicants based in each country where the research will take place.
You can apply for this award if you have spent time away from research (for example, for a career break, parental leave or long-term sick leave). We will take this into consideration during the review of your application.
If you have retired, please note that you must have a guarantee of space from your administering organisation and you must contact us before applying.
Lead and coapplicants can be part-time. There is no formal minimum, but part-time applicants should still be able to contribute at least 20% of their research time to the project and their part-time work should be compatible with delivering the project successfully.
What is expected of your administering organisation
All applicants must be based at an eligible organisation that can sign up to our grant conditions.
The organisation can be a:
- higher education institution
- research institute
- non-academic healthcare organisation
- not-for-profit or non-governmental research organisation
- commercial organisation (please note that you are not eligible for this call if your company is not established and/or does not have working capital).
Collaboration agreements
If your application involves a collaboration or partnership between multiple organisations, the partners must enter into a suitable collaboration agreement, including provisions that cover:
- confidentiality
- publication rights
- access to background intellectual property
- ownership of foreground intellectual property
- arrangements for the protection, management and exploitation of foreground intellectual property.
Please note that the lead applicant’s administering organisation is required under our grant conditions to own all the foreground intellectual property arising from the project and to take the lead in any commercialisation activity. For guidance, applicants are advised to read Wellcome's intellectual property policy.
We expect organisations based in the UK to meet the responsibilities required by the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, managers and institutions.
Any organisation with Wellcome funding that is based outside the UK is expected, at a minimum, to follow the principles of the Concordat.
We also expect your administering organisation to:
- guarantee that the space and resources you need have been agreed upon and will be made available to you from the start date through to the end date of your award.
- explain how your research fits with the strategic aims of the organisation.
- give you, and any staff employed on the grant, at least 10 days a year (pro rata if part-time) to undertake training and continuing professional development in line with the Concordat. This should include the responsible conduct of research, research leadership, people management, diversity and inclusion, and the promotion of a healthy research culture.
- provide a system of induction, embedding and planning for you when you join the organisation and/or start the award.
- provide you with the status and benefits of other staff at a similar career level.
If your administering organisation is a core-funded research organisation (for example if your organisation receives funding for its core facilities such as communications, governance, senior management salaries), a Mental Health Award from Wellcome should not replace or lead to your organisation receiving less from the core funds on those activities.
Who cannot apply
Submitting multiple applications to this call
You cannot apply to this call if you intend to carry out activities that involve the transfer of grant funds into mainland China.
You can only be an applicant on a maximum of two applications to this funding call (irrespective of your career stage):
- You can be a lead applicant on one application and a coapplicant on another.
- You can be a coapplicant on two applications.
You must be able to demonstrate that you can dedicate enough time and resources to both projects if funded.
Other Wellcome awards
Find out what other Wellcome awards you can be a part of depending on your role.
The awards should be for different research projects, with no overlap.
Assessment criteria
The following assessment criteria and weightings will be used at the full application stage. At the preliminary application stage, a simplified scoring system based on these same assessment criteria will be used. Read more about our guidance on how to write your preliminary application.
The full assessment criteria are as follows:
- Research question(s) and proposed methodology (40%)
- Suitability and expertise of the team (20%)
- Lived experience involvement (20%)
- Suitability of research location and approach to research environment (20%)
Alongside our assessment of your application, we aim to build a diverse selection of projects as part of this award. We will therefore consider funding a breadth of research, focusing on a diversity of causal factors, bio-psycho-social mechanisms and geographical contexts.
Research question(s) and proposed methodology (40%)
Potential and impact
- The proposed research must lead to an increased understanding of the biological, psychological and/or social mechanism(s) by which causal factor(s) lead to the development, persistence and/or resolution of anxiety-related problems.
- The research question(s) must have sufficient scope and ambition, such that understanding the mechanisms underpinning the chosen factor(s) will have (now or in time) implications for translational research. This could include, for example, implications for the development of new or improved ways to predict, identify or intervene at the earliest – and most critical – time points possible. Applicants should consider how, if successful, the project will contribute to translational work (either directly or over time) and support real-world application.
- The proposed project must address at least one of our two key research priorities:
- Research that examines questions at more than one level of explanation.
- Research within and/or across low- and middle-income countries, to better understand how different contexts may impact the trajectory of anxiety-related problems.
Rationale and strength of evidence
- The proposed causal factor(s) is clearly defined and grounded in strong evidence, supporting its causal role in the development, persistence and/or resolution of anxiety-related problems.
- The case for choosing a particular causal factor(s) is strengthened by including evidence that:
- the proposed factor is considered relevant to people with lived experience who are most applicable to your research
- understanding more about the mechanism(s) underpinning this factor will have implications for advances in translational research.
- The mechanism(s) by which the proposed causal factor(s) impact the development of anxiety-related problems is clearly stated and supported by at least preliminary evidence (for example, preliminary data or published literature).
Proposed methodology
- The research design clearly addresses the research question(s) and proposed hypothesis, seeking to gain causal (rather than correlative) insights into how anxiety-related problems develop, persist and/or resolve over time.
- The proposed methodological approach is justified and appropriate to assess causality (for example, the choice of the experimental model system is justified and the sample is adequately powered).
- The study design describes a plan to generate equitable evidence amongst diverse groups affected by the condition (for example, through sampling approaches, study site selection, inclusion/exclusion criteria or sub-group analyses).
- This project is well-designed and feasible using the resources and timelines proposed (for example, a recruitment plan is in place and is achievable, and all components of the project have been appropriately costed).
Suitability and expertise of the team (20%)
The lead applicant has:
- research experience relevant to the project, as shown through research outputs and/or preliminary data (as appropriate for their career stage)
- the experience needed to drive and lead a collaborative, large-scale research project and/or the necessary support structures in place to enable this
- experience of people and research management (as appropriate for their career stage).
The coapplicants have:
- the expertise needed to deliver the project, with their contribution to the project being significant and clearly justified
- the appropriate time and necessary resources available to deliver the project.
The team:
- has the necessary expertise and technical skills, as well as the appropriate variety of disciplines and perspectives, to deliver the proposed project
- includes lived experience experts and/or has the necessary skills to effectively involve and collaborate with people with lived experience of mental health problems (as appropriate) in the proposed research
- are all necessary as applicants to deliver the proposed research, and there is proof of concept that the proposed collaboration will be feasible and effective (for example, the team has appropriate management plans in place describing how the collaboration will be equitably organised and managed day-to-day)
- has contributed and is committed to fostering a positive and inclusive research environment, which demonstrates a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
Lived experience involvement (20%)
- People with lived experience are involved in multiple stages, including the conception, planning, design, delivery and dissemination of the project. Lived experience experts should have the relevant experience and expertise that is most applicable to the research, including consideration of the location where the research is planned to take place.
- A clear justification and explanation is given for how people with lived experience are involved (or not involved in certain elements) and how that involvement will shape the research at each stage of the project.
- People with lived experience are appropriately compensated or paid for their time.
- The involvement of people with lived experience is appropriately costed and budgeted.
Suitability of research location and approach to research environment (20%)
Taking into consideration the local context(s) and setting(s), we will review:
Research location
- The administering organisation is supportive of the research project (for example, it aligns with their strategy, they provide in-kind or financial support in the form of PhD students, administrative or technical support, and training opportunities).
- The applicants have access to the necessary research infrastructure (for example, access to a magnetic resonance imaging scanner for projects involving human neuroimaging).
Research environment
- The research environment is suitable to support and develop the applicants and their proposed research. This should include details about career development opportunities (for example, providing training and ensuring publication opportunities for early career researchers).
- A detailed description of how the team will contribute to and develop a positive and inclusive research culture is provided. This may include, but is not limited to:
- Project management plans, including the vision for leadership and any shared approaches for team-based working, how project priorities and decisions will be determined, and how team members will be able to provide feedback.
- Plans for how collaborative applications will approach ethical and equitable partnerships, including how this will be managed in partnerships between researchers in different countries (for example, for collaborations between researchers based in low- or middle-income countries and those in high-income countries).
- Plans for how contributions to research outputs will be credited, as appropriate.
- Plans for leadership and people management or development, supporting collaborations, research integrity and contributions to the wider research community.
Ethical, open, equitable and engaged research conduct
- An implementation plan including details about appropriate oversight, governance, monitoring, standard operating procedures and methods for course correction (as needed) is provided. This will enable the research plan to be conducted in line with ethical, open, equitable and engaged research practices.
- A detailed description of a suitable outputs management plan (for example, depositing, sharing and storing data, and open access publishing) is provided.
- Details about how the research outputs will be made available to those who need them (for example, policymakers, communities and industry) and in appropriate formats.
- Details about the relevant ethical, social and cultural implications of the proposed work, and how the study team plans to manage these issues, both in the conduct and oversight of the study and in the communication of its findings.
What we offer
This award includes funding for:
- Projects of any duration up to 5 years
- Applicants should ask for the duration of funding that is appropriate for their project.
- If your proposal is likely to exceed the proposed duration of funding, please contact us. In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accommodate projects longer than 5 years (for example, to accommodate follow-up or early translational work).
- Once award letters are administered, awardees will have up to 12 months from the date of the award letter to start the grant.
- Projects of any budget up to £4 million.
- There is no average award amount for this call. You should ask for the level of funding you need for your proposed research. You must justify all costs within the costs section of your application.
Lead applicant
If you are based in the UK or Republic of Ireland, you cannot ask for your salary.
If you are based outside of the UK or Republic of Ireland, you can ask for a contribution to your salary if you hold a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract that states that you have to get your salary from external grant funding.
The amount we pay will be proportionate to the time you contribute to the award, for example if you contribute 30% of your time to the award we will fund 30% of your salary.
You will have to contribute at least 20% of your research time to this award.
Your administering organisation must confirm:
- that your employment contract states you must get salary recovery from external grant funding
- that they will underwrite the salary and post for the period of time that you will be working on the grant.
Coapplicants
Coapplicants must contribute at least 20% of their research time to this programme.
If any coapplicant employed on your grant holds a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract that states that they have to get their salary from external grant funding, you can ask us for a contribution to their salary in your application.
The amount we pay will be proportionate to the time they contribute to the award, for example if they contribute 30% of their time to the award we will fund 30% of their salary.
Your host organisation must confirm:
- that the coapplicant’s employment contract states they must get salary recovery from external grant funding
- that they will underwrite the post, including any salary costs not covered by Wellcome, for the period of time that the person will be working on the grant.
Coapplicants can also ask for salary where they:
- Are employed by a charity, social enterprise or commercial organisation. The amount they request must be proportionate to the time they will spend on the grant.
- Don’t have a permanent, open ended or long-term rolling contract and they:
- Will spend 80% of their time on this grant. In this case, they can ask for their full salary. Their post does not need to be underwritten and can be contingent on the application being successful.
- Will spend less than 80% of their time on the grant. In this case, they can request salary proportionate to the time they will spend on the grant. The host organisation must guarantee space and salary support if they cannot get it from other sources for the period of time they are working on the grant. Their post cannot be contingent on the application being successful.
- Are employed on the award as post graduate research assistants. If they are to spend 100% of their time on the award, their post does not need to be underwritten by the host organisation and can be contingent on the application being successful.
Alternatively, coapplicants may get their salary through employment on another grant.
Staff working on your programme
We will cover the salary costs of all staff, full or part-time, who will work on your grant.
Staff members may include:
- research assistants or technicians employed on your grant
- experts with lived experience
- specialist service staff, for example data analysis, fieldwork and clinical studies
- project manager, if you have multiple applicants on your programme
- support if you or a member of staff employed on your grant is disabled or has a long-term health condition.
Teaching buyout
If you’re a humanities and social science researcher, you can ask for funds for research or teaching replacement to cover the cost of a temporary replacement lecturer. You must retain at least a 10% commitment to teaching.
Costs:
- can cover up to 33% FTE of your contracted time
- are usually for a person at a more junior level than the postholder
- can be spread across the full period of the grant.
If you already get buyout costs from another grant (funded by Wellcome or elsewhere), you can ask us for this cost, but only for the period of time on your Mental Health Award when you won't receive buyout costs from another grant.
You must provide a letter from your employing organisation, confirming that your contract includes a teaching commitment. You should include this in your grant application.
PhD/Research Masters fees
We do not provide studentships on this award. But if applicants employ a research assistant or a technician on the grant, they can ask for the costs to cover their PhD/Research Masters fees. Each applicant can ask for fees for one research assistant or technician at a time on the grant.
We will only pay the international student fee rate for low- and middle-income nationals who are registered to study for a PhD/Research Masters in a high-income country, excluding the UK and Republic of Ireland. In all other situations, we will pay home student fees.
We will provide the salary costs for staff, full or part-time, who work on your project, up to the equivalent of a 36-month full-time post. For example, you can ask for 24 months' salary for a research assistant, and 12 months' salary for a technician.
You can ask for more staff costs (in addition to the equivalent of a 36-month full-time post) if you need:
- specialist service staff and technical experts, for example environmental sustainability, data analysis, fieldwork and clinical studies
- support because you or a member of staff employed on your grant is disabled or has a long-term health condition – see 'Disability-related adjustment support'.
We do not provide studentships on this award.
If you have named people on your grant whose salaries will be funded by Wellcome, you can ask for visa or work permit costs to help them take up their posts at the host organisation. You can also ask for:
- visa costs for the person's partner and dependent children
- essential associated costs, such as travel to attend appointments at a visa application centre or embassy, and essential English language tests
- Immigration Health Surcharge costs for the person, their partner and dependent children if they will be in the UK for six months or more.
If you or a member of staff working on your grant is disabled or has a long-term health condition, you can ask for adjustment support to help you carry out your project.
Costs can include, but are not limited to:
- additional costs for staff to help with day-to-day activities related to your project
- assistive technology to help use computers, research equipment or materials – for example, text to audio software
- care costs for assistance animals if you need to travel.
We will not pay for capital or building costs, such as access ramps.
You can ask for these costs if your government and/or employer:
- does not cover any of the costs
- only covers some of the costs (if they do, we will only meet the shortfall).
The costs we provide must not replace the support you may get from the government or your organisation, who are responsible for providing these costs.
If you don't know what these costs are now, you can ask for them after we've awarded your grant.
We will provide funds if you need to outsource project work to:
- contract research organisations
- other fee-for-service providers.
If you need to carry out clinical research using NHS patients or facilities, we will cover some of the research costs.
Annex A of the guidelines for attributing the costs of health and social care research and development (AcoRD) sets out the costs we cover, and which costs should be funded through the Department of Health and Social Care in England, or its equivalent in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. If you're based in the Republic of Ireland, we would expect you to adhere to the spirit of these principles.
Read more information on our clinical trials policy.
If your proposal involves clinical research using NHS resources, check if you need to upload a SoECAT form with your full application.
If your organisation receives open access block grant funding, you can ask them to cover your open access article processing charges.
If you're at an organisation that does not receive block grant funding, we’ll supplement your grant when your paper has been accepted for publication.
You cannot ask for these charges in your grant application.
How we calculate your inflation allowance
We will add an inflation allowance to your award. Your inflation allowance is based on your total eligible costs and the duration of the award.
We will use an inflation allowance that reflects the inflation rate of the country where the host organisation is based using data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). You'll receive the following allowance if the costs in your application are in pounds sterling.
| Award duration (in months) | Inflation allowance |
|---|---|
| 0-12 | 0.0% |
| 13-24 | 1.01% |
| 25-36 | 2.04% |
| 37-48 | 3.08% |
| 49-60 | 4.13% |
The costs in your application must be based on current known costs, excluding inflation.
You should allow for salary pay awards during Year 1. These should be based on pay awards already agreed; if you don’t know what the pay award is yet then use the IMF rate for the currency your award will be made in.
We cover fieldwork costs if they’re essential and you can justify them. Costs can include:
- survey and data collection, including communication and data collection services and any associated costs such as essential field materials, travel costs and language translation services
- the purchase, hire and running costs of vehicles dedicated to your project
- expenses for subjects and volunteers, including the recruitment of participants, their participatory fees and travel costs
- statistical analysis.
You can ask for other fieldwork costs that aren’t listed here, but you’ll need to justify them.
You can ask for these costs if you are applying from a higher education institution, a research institute, a non-academic healthcare organisation, a not-for-profit or non-governmental research organisation or a small company.
Travel costs
Conference attendance
You can ask for a contribution towards the costs of attending scientific and academic meetings and conferences, including registration fees and the costs to offset the carbon emissions of your travel. The limits are:
- Lead applicant – £2,000 a year
- Coapplicants on your grant – £2,000 each a year
- Staff employed on your grant – £1,000 each a year.
We provide costs to cover caring responsibilities for any staff employed on your grant to attend a conference. This includes childcare and any other caring responsibility they have. We will pay these if:
- Wellcome is providing the salary
- the conference is directly related to the research
- the caring costs are over and above what they would normally pay for care
- the conference organiser and their employing organisation are unable to cover the costs.
You can ask for up to £1,000 per person for each conference.
Collaborative travel
You can ask for travel and subsistence costs for collaborative visits for you and any staff employed on your grant. You’ll need to justify each visit and its duration.
Other travel
We will pay for other essential visits, for example to facilities, libraries, archives, sample collection and for fieldwork. You can include subsistence costs.
Carbon offset costs
This applies to all types of travel costs Wellcome provides.
You can ask for:
- the cost of low carbon travel where practical, even if it's more expensive (for example travelling by train instead of flying)
- project-related resources or activities that provide an alternative to travel, such as video conferencing, communication and file-sharing software
- costs to offset the carbon emissions of the journeys you make.
We won't pay for the core infrastructure that your host organisation should provide, unless you're eligible to ask for these costs under our overheads policy. Examples of these costs include:
- organisation-wide video conferencing packages
- high-speed broadband
- HD screens.
See our carbon offset policy for travel for information on what you and your organisation need to do.
Subsistence costs
If you’re away for up to one month you can ask for subsistence costs. These include accommodation, meals and incidentals (for example, refreshments or newspapers).
If your administering organisation has a subsistence policy, use their rates.
If your administering organisation doesn’t have a subsistence policy, please use the HMRC rates.
If you’re away for more than one month and up to 12 months, we will pay reasonable rental costs only, including aparthotels. You should discuss appropriate rates with your administering and host organisations, or Wellcome, as appropriate. We expect you to choose the most economical options, booked in advance where possible.
If you’re from a low- or middle- income country and will be working in a high-income country for more than one month and up to 12 months, you can also ask for up to £10 a day to cover extra costs, such as transport and incidentals.
If you’re away for more than 12 months, we will pay the costs of your housing. You should discuss your needs with your administering and host organisations.
The allowance we provide will be based on family and business need. We will set the maximum allowance we pay for each location. This will be based on current market data or, where data is unavailable, in consultation with your administering organisation, using equivalent market rates. Please contact us if you need help calculating the costs.
We will cover the direct expenses you have to pay to find and rent a home. We will not cover the cost of utilities or any refurbishment.
Overseas research
If you or any research staff employed on your grant will be doing research away from your home laboratory, we'll help with the additional costs of working on the project overseas. Please see the 'Overseas allowances' section for details.
You can ask for these costs if you are applying from a higher education institution, a research institute, a non-academic healthcare organisation, a not-for-profit or non-governmental research organisation or a small company.
If you or any staff employed on your grant will be spending time in another country, we’ll help you with the additional costs of working on the project overseas.
Our overseas allowances are:
- a contribution towards the personal cost of carrying out research overseas, to ensure that you are not disadvantaged
- provided on the assumption that you’ll be paying income tax, either in your home country, or the country you will be working in (your personal tax is your responsibility)
- provided on the understanding that you or your partner will not receive equivalent allowances from elsewhere
- determined by the amount of time you will spend away from your home country.
Carbon offset costs
We expect the people we fund to choose travel that has a lower carbon impact, where practical, even if it’s more expensive (for example travelling by train instead of flying).
You can ask for costs to offset the carbon generated by the travel, as part of your overseas allowances. If carbon offsetting for travel is not part of your organisational sustainability strategy, you can ask us for a similar level of support for other sustainability initiatives. Your organisation must get our approval for other sustainability initiatives to be included in applications.
See our carbon offset policy for travel for information on what you and your organisation need to do.
If you will be away more than 12 months, we will provide overseas allowances for your partner and any dependants if they are travelling with you.
If you will be away for 12 months or less and can justify why your partner and dependants must travel with you, we may provide overseas allowances for them.
We define your partner as the person:
- you’re married to
- you’re not married to but with whom you’ve been in a relationship for at least a year
and
- you live with at the same permanent address and share some form of joint financial commitment with, such as a mortgage.
You can ask for the following allowances. You need to provide estimated costs as accurately as possible.
We will pay your travel costs at the beginning and end of your overseas work. Costs can be for air, ferry, train or coach fares.
All fares should be:
- in line with our carbon offset policy
- booked in advance where possible.
If you are away for up to 12 months, you can ask for up to 80kg of additional baggage or unaccompanied airline freight for your outward and return journeys.
If you are away for more than 12 months, you can ask for the costs of shipping your personal items at the beginning and end of your overseas work.
We will pay the full cost of transporting:
- half a standard shipping container if you’re travelling alone
- a whole standard shipping container (20ft) if you’re travelling with a partner and/or dependants.
We will pay the cost of your medical insurance and travel insurance.
If you will be working in a low- or middle-income country we will also cover the cost of emergency evacuation cover.
We won’t pay for medical insurance if you will be based in the UK or Republic of Ireland.
We will pay the costs of visas, vaccinations and anti-malaria treatment.
You can ask for this if you’ll be based in a low- or middle-income country and it is necessary.
Costs can include guards, panic buttons and alarms. You should ask your employing organisation for advice on the level of security you need.
If you’re away for up to one month you can ask for subsistence costs. These include accommodation, meals and incidentals (for example, refreshments or newspapers).
If your administering organisation has a subsistence policy, use their rates.
If your administering organisation doesn’t have a subsistence policy, please use the HMRC rates.
If you’re away for more than one month and up to 12 months, we will pay reasonable rental costs only, including aparthotels. You should discuss appropriate rates with your administering and host organisations, or Wellcome, as appropriate. We expect you to choose the most economical options, booked in advance where possible.
If you’re from a low- or middle- income country and will be working in a high-income country for more than one month and up to 12 months, you can also ask for up to £10 a day to cover extra costs, such as transport and incidentals.
If you’re away for more than 12 months, we will pay the costs of your housing. You should discuss your needs with your administering and host organisations.
The allowance we provide will be based on family and business need. We will set the maximum allowance we pay for each location. This will be based on current market data or, where data is unavailable, in consultation with your administering organisation, using equivalent market rates. If you need help calculating the costs please contact us.
We will cover the direct expenses you have to pay to find and rent a home. We will not cover the cost of utilities or any refurbishment.
If you’re away for more than 12 months we will pay:
Local nursery or school fees
You can ask for these costs if you are in a location where there isn’t free local education of the same standard as in your home country.
Costs include:
- local nursery school fees up to a maximum of 30 hours a week for 3 to 4 year olds
- local junior or secondary school fees, up to the end of secondary school education.
Local international school fees
You can ask for these costs if local schools do not provide the same standard of education as in your home country. We will only pay the published termly school fees.
We will not cover the costs of:
- extracurricular activities, including field trips
- other extras including, but not limited to, uniforms, sports kit and equipment, transport, meals, books and electronic equipment.
Boarding school fees
We will consider paying the cost of boarding school fees in your home country if:
- a local international school is not available
- both parents, guardians or the sole care giver live outside the home country.
The allowance covers:
- up to a maximum of £30,000 a year for each child for the published termly fees only
- the cost of return airfares at the start and end of each school term, in line with our carbon offset policy for travel.
We will not cover the costs of:
- additional annual leave airfares
- extracurricular activities, including field trips
- other extras including, but not limited to, uniforms, sports kit and equipment, transport, meals, books and electronic equipment.
We will cover the cost of providing special needs education as far as possible. Please contact us to discuss your needs.
We would not usually expect to provide an education allowance if you will be working in a high-income country.
If you will be away for more than 12 months, we’ll pay for you to travel back to your home country for annual leave. This is in addition to your outward and return travel costs and depends on how long you will be away:
- 12-24 months – 1 annual leave trip
- 25-36 months – 2 annual leave trips
- 37-48 months – 3 annual leave trips
- 49-60 months – 4 annual leave trips
- 61-72 months – 5 annual leave trips
- 73-84 months – 6 annual leave trips
- 85-96 months – 7 annual leave trips.
All fares should be:
- in line with our carbon offset policy
- booked in advance where possible.
If you will be away for more than 12 months, you can ask for up to 100 hours of lessons in the local language for you and/or your partner during the first 12 months of your visit.
We will cover 100% of the costs for local language school classes or up to 50% of the costs of individual tuition.
We will not cover the cost of examinations or personal learning materials such as DVDs and books.
You can ask for costs that are essential to the project. These can include:
- materials, including printing and publishing
- other costs relating to engagement activities that are essential to carry out your research, such as collaborating with people with lived experience, patient involvement (including under-served groups) and community engagement
- dissemination of research results and findings arising from Wellcome-funded research and workshops.
If you are involving people with lived experience at the application design stage, you cannot include a consultation charge for this work. Wellcome will not be held responsible for any costs associated with the production of a response to this funding call.
We expect people with lived experience involved in approved applications to be appropriately compensated or paid for their time. The budget that must be requested during the application process should include appropriate remuneration for lived experience experts and costs for involvement.
We cannot advise on ways to appropriately compensate or pay people with lived experience, as approaches differ between organisations and contexts. However, when thinking about appropriate compensation or payment, we would encourage you to think about the experience, knowledge, and skills that someone will be bringing to the project, as well as their responsibility within the process. Make sure that you have appropriately budgeted for the costs needed to support meaningful involvement, as set out in your proposal. For example, this could include (but not be limited to):
- consultant fees for lived experience experts on the project
- travel costs
- salary costs for lived experience researchers embedded in a team
- expenses to support meetings or workshops.
It is not possible for us to advise on social security, in terms of people with lived experience being paid for their involvement, as the arrangements will be different in different countries. It is the responsibility of the research team to ensure that they are abiding by any relevant regulations in their context, and we would encourage you to seek advice from relevant local organisations if needed.
You can ask for overheads if your grant will be based at a:
- university outside the UK or Republic of Ireland
- research organisation that does not receive core funding for overheads
- charitable or not-for-profit organisation
- small or medium-sized commercial organisation.
You can also ask for overheads on any part of your grant that is sub-contracted to any of the organisations listed above.
If you’re based at a UK university, you can’t ask for overheads for sub-contracted activity if your university will include the sub-contracted funding in its annual report to the UK Charity Research Support Fund.
Overheads can include:
- estates, for example building and premises
- non-project dedicated administrative and support staff
- administration, for example finance, library and room hire.
The total cost for overheads should not be more than:
- 20% of the direct research costs if you’re based in a low- or middle-income country
- 15% of the direct research costs if you’re based anywhere else.
These costs must directly support the activity funded by the grant.
How to apply for these costs
In your grant application you must:
- give a full breakdown of costs (you can't ask for a percentage of the research costs)
- explain why these costs are necessary for your research
- include a letter from the finance director of your host organisation, or the sub-contracted organisation, confirming that the breakdown is a true representation of the costs incurred.
You can ask for the cost of access to shared equipment, facilities or services if they’re essential to your project.
These may include materials and consumables, plus a proportion of:
- maintenance and service contracts
- staff time costs for dedicated technical staff employed to operate the equipment or facility.
We don’t cover the costs of:
- estates and utilities
- depreciation or insurance
- other staff, for example, contributions towards departmental technical, administrative and management staff time.
We do cover these costs if related to animal housing facilities.
If the facilities or equipment were paid for by a Wellcome grant, you can only ask for access charges if:
- the grant has ended
- any support for running costs and maintenance contracts has ended.
Equipment purchase
You can ask for basic items of equipment that are essential to your research project.
Costs may include purchase, delivery, installation, maintenance and training, where necessary.
We will cover VAT and import duties if:
- the usual UK exemptions on equipment used for medical research don’t apply
- you’re applying from a non-UK organisation, and you can show these costs can’t be recovered.
You can also ask for specialised equipment if:
- it is essential to the success of the proposed research project
- it is not available at your host organisation or through collaboration, and
- you’ll be the main user and have priority access to the equipment.
If a complete piece of specialised equipment costs £100,000 or more, we expect a contribution of at least 25% of the total costs, including maintenance, from the host organisation or another source. In some cases, we may expect a larger contribution. We’ll discuss this with you after we’ve assessed your application. Contributions can include benefits in kind, such as refurbishment or the underwriting of a key support post.
Multi-component items must not be broken down into component parts to avoid this contribution.
Equipment maintenance
We will cover maintenance costs for equipment if:
- you are requesting it in your application
- it is existing equipment that is:
- funded by us or another source
- essential to the proposed research project
- cost effective and environmentally sustainable to keep maintaining it.
We won’t cover maintenance costs for equipment if there is a mechanism in place to recoup these costs through access charges.
Computer equipment
We will cover the cost of one personal computer or laptop per person up to £1,500.
We won't pay for:
- more expensive items, unless you can justify them
- installation or training costs.
You can ask for funds to buy animals if they are essential to your project. We will also fund the charge-out rates for animal house facilities if your organisation uses full economic costing methodology. These costs include:
- running costs (including animal maintenance, any experimental procedures, licences and relevant staff training)
- appropriate estates costs
- cage and equipment depreciation costs, but not building depreciation costs.
We may not pay the full charge-out rate for an animal house facility if we've provided significant funding towards the infrastructure and/or core support of the facility.
If your organisation does not use full economic costing methodology to establish charge-out rates for animal house facilities, you can ask for funds to cover:
- the cost of buying animals
- running costs (including animal maintenance, any experimental procedures, licences and relevant staff training)
- staff costs, for example, contributions towards the salaries of animal house technicians.
We will not provide estates or depreciation costs.
We will pay for the materials and consumables you need to carry out your project, including:
- laboratory chemicals and materials (for example reagents, isotopes, peptides, enzymes, antibodies, gases, proteins, cell/tissue/bacterial culture, plasticware and glassware)
- project-specific personal protective equipment (PPE) that is above the standard expected for the setting
- printing associated with fieldwork and empirical research
- associated charges for shipping, delivery and freight.
You can ask for costs to cover the following types of training.
Continuing professional development and professional skills training
You can ask for a contribution towards these costs.
Types of training can include:
- research leadership, professional and people management skills
- career development support
- responsible conduct of research
- diversity and inclusion
- promotion of a healthy research culture
- understanding and reducing the environmental impact of research.
We expect your host organisation to provide and fund this training. However, if these types of training are not available, or the quality is inadequate, you can ask for up to £500 a year for you and each member of staff employed on your grant who will be:
- in a post of 12 months duration or more only and
- working on Wellcome funded awards for at least 50% full time equivalent.
You will need to justify these costs in your application.
Research skills training
You can ask for costs to cover training for the technical and research skills you need to deliver your proposed research.
You can ask for whatever research skills training you need for you, and each member of staff employed on your grant, who will be:
- in a post of 12 months duration or more only and
- working on Wellcome funded awards for at least 50% full time equivalent.
You will need to justify these costs in your application.
Allowed costs
You may ask for the following costs (you will have to justify them in your application):
- specialist publications that are relevant to the research and not available in institutional libraries
- consultancy fees, including for lived experience experts
- expenses for subjects and volunteers – includes recruitment of participants, their participatory fees and travel, as well as interviewee expenses
- reasonable research-associated costs related to the feedback of health-related findings but not any healthcare-associated costs
- costs associated with developing an outputs management plan
- questionnaires, recruitment material, newsletters etc for clinical, epidemiological and qualitative research studies
- public engagement materials where dissemination (including printing and publishing) is a key activity of the project
- recruitment, advertising and interviewee travel costs for staff to be employed on the grant
- purchase, hire and running costs of project-dedicated vehicles
- project-specific personal protective equipment (PPE) that is above the standard expected for the setting
- costs to host/a contribution towards hosting:
- a conference
- a session within a conference
- a symposium
- a seminar series
- advisory board meetings, if appropriate.
- The meeting should either be:
- for research purposes, for example data gathering
- to disseminate your research findings, for example to policy makers.
- Costs can include:
- travel and accommodation for keynote speakers
- external room hire and catering
- event publicity and conference materials
- childcare and other caring responsibility costs for delegates
- any costs related to accessibility and inclusion.
Disallowed costs
We will not pay for:
- estates costs – such as building and premises costs, basic services and utilities*
- phone, postage, photocopying and stationery, unless you can justify these within a clinical or epidemiological study
- page charges and the cost of colour prints
- research, technical and administrative staff whose time is shared across several projects and isn’t supported by an audit record*
- PhD stipends
- cleaning, waste and other disposal costs*
- indirect costs – this includes general administration costs such as personnel, finance, library, room hire and some departmental services
- office furniture, such as chairs, desks and filing cabinets
- clothing such as lab coats and shoes
- non-research related activities such as catering, room and venue hire for staff parties, team-building events and social activities
- indemnity insurance (insurance cover against claims made by subjects or patients associated with a research programme)
- ethics reviews, unless you are in a low- or middle-income country
- radiation protection costs
- contingency funds
- organisation insurance
- clinical examination or course fees
- working capital costs of commercial organisations.
*We will fund these costs in the case of animal-related research.
How to apply
Please refer to the sample preliminary application form [PDF 476KB] for proposal formatting instructions. We are unable to consider applications submitted in languages other than English.
Under the ‘Details of proposal’ section
In this section, you should set out how the proposed research fits the specifications of this funding call. All points listed below must be addressed to make your application eligible.
Please use the following headings within the ‘Details of proposal’ section:
Describe the primary objective of your proposal and your approach to advancing understanding of the mechanism(s) by which the chosen causal factor(s) lead to the development, persistence and/or resolution of the anxiety-related problem under investigation.
You should clearly state:
- The specific aims and objectives of your project.
- The anxiety-related problem you are addressing.
- The definition and justification for your chosen causal factor(s), including an overview of the evidence supporting its causal role in the trajectory (development, persistence and/or resolution) of anxiety-related problems.
- The proposed mechanism(s) by which your chosen causal factor(s) is hypothesised to impact the trajectory of anxiety-related problems and any supporting evidence for this.
- The funding call priority/priorities your project is addressing (for example, research that considers multiple levels of explanation and/or research in low- and middle-income countries).
- Your proposed methodological approach, including a justification of how this will demonstrate a causal relationship between the proposed causal factor(s) and the anxiety-related problem.
- If relevant, and as applicable, include details of the target population, study design, sample size (including justification based on a power analysis, if applicable) and data analysis plans.
Describe the potential impact of your proposed project and how it will contribute to translational work, either directly or over time. For example, your project may have implications for the development of new or improved ways to predict, identify and/or intervene at the earliest and most critical time points possible.
- Explain how people with lived experience will be included in your project, who you are planning to involve, and what you think the added value will be.
- If people with lived experience are excluded at any stage of the project, please briefly justify why.
List the top five research outputs that you have contributed to and that are relevant to this proposal. By research output, we mean any output from a research project that you were involved in. This could include (but is not limited to):
- a peer-reviewed primary research publication or preprint
- a policy publication
- a dataset, code or software
- a commercial or interventional product or tool
- a patent
- clinical practice development.
Address the following questions:
- Describe how you have contributed to the generation of knowledge, new ideas, tools, or techniques, drawing on the five research outputs listed above. Where applicable, explain how these outputs are relevant to this research proposal, including their impact in your field.
- How have you managed a collaborative research project? This may include, for example, how you shaped the direction of a team, organisation, company, or institution (i.e., strategic leadership) and how you were involved in establishing and/or managing research collaborations.
- Explain your choice of research location(s) in terms of the support you will receive from your administering organisation (for example, in-kind or financial support in the form of PhD students, administrative or technical support, and/or training opportunities), the quality of the research facilities, and of networks in relevant fields.
- If applicable, describe your plans for how you will approach ethical and equitable partnerships with researchers in different countries and/or institutions.
Under the ‘Other participants’ section
Please include information on:
For each coapplicant (100 words maximum per coapplicant):
- List the name of the coapplicant and their host organisation.
- Describe the role that each coapplicant will have in this project and the relevant experience they bring to this proposal.
- Confirm how much time each coapplicant can dedicate to the project.
If applicable, please specify if a coapplicant will be a co-lead. Although each application can only have one named lead applicant, the management of the project locally is at the discretion of the applicants and could include co-leads to ensure equity, where justified (for example, across high-income and low- and middle-income countries).
For any additional collaborators required to deliver the project (200 words maximum for all collaborators):
- List their name and host organisation
- Provide a very brief description of their role.
- Describe how your team is positioned to achieve the research objectives, the complementary skills that they bring and resources that can be accessed.
- Describe how the proposed collaboration will be managed.
1. Before you apply
- Make sure you read everything on this page, including the preliminary application guidance and the useful documents.
- View the sample preliminary application form [PDF 476KB] to help you understand what is expected at this stage.
- Watch our webinar with the Mental Health team for more information on this funding call and answers to pre-submitted questions.
- Refer to the additional information for disabled applicants, or contact us to request this information in different formats.
Please note, supporting documents from your organisation or collaboration agreements are not required at the preliminary application stage.
You do not need to contact us before you write and submit your preliminary application. However, if you have questions, please do contact us.
2. Submit your preliminary application
- Complete the preliminary application form.
- Please note that you will not be able to save your progress and return to the form later. Therefore, we suggest that you prepare your preliminary application responses on a separate document (using the questions outlined in the sample preliminary application form [PDF 476KB]), and the preliminary application guidance, and then copy the information into the online form for submission.
- Your preliminary application must be submitted by 17:00 GMT on Tuesday 14 November 2023.
3. Shortlisting
- At the shortlisting stage, our staff and lived experience advisors will review your preliminary application.
- If shortlisted, we will contact you the week commencing 18 December 2023 and invite you to submit a full application.
- All shortlisted applicants will receive feedback on their applications in early January 2024. No feedback will be offered if your preliminary application is not shortlisted, due to the quantity of applications we expect to receive.
4. If invited to submit a full application, complete your full application and submit it to your administering organisation for approval
- Complete your full application through our application portal. More information and guidance will be available after preliminary applications have closed.
- Submit your full application to your administering organisation for approval. Make sure you leave enough time for the approver to review and submit your application before the deadline. The approver may ask you to make changes to your application.
5. Administering organisation reviews your full application and submits it to Wellcome
- Your full application must be submitted by 17:00 GMT on Tuesday 5 March 2024.
6. Written expert review
- We will seek external written expert review on full applications.
- Reviewers will be chosen based on their expertise within the relevant research field and not on their level of seniority.
- Unattributed comments will be sent to you before your interview.
7. Interviews
- A committee will interview shortlisted applicants online and make funding recommendations to Wellcome. Lead applicants may be accompanied by up to two coapplicants. Accessibility requirements will be accommodated.
- We will provide information on the structure of the interview and the committee membership before the interview. The committee membership will include a diverse range of international experts and lived experience advisors, and it will consider our diversity and inclusion priorities.
- The committee will score applications against the assessment criteria. They will consider your written application, reviewer comments, and interview performance.
8. Funding decision
- Final funding decisions will be made by Wellcome's Mental Health Team.
- You will receive an email notification of the funding decision soon after the decision has been made in June 2024.
9. Feedback
- Written feedback will be provided to all applicants who submit a full application but are unsuccessful at the final decision stage.
Details of how we handle any personal or confidential information contained in your application are available in our Grants Privacy and Confidentiality Statement [PDF 314KB].
Key dates
You must submit your application by 17:00 (BST/GMT) on the deadline day. We don’t accept late applications.
- 14 November 2023
Preliminary application deadline
- December 2023
Shortlisting
- 5 March 2024
Full application deadline
- 21-23 May 2024
Interviews
- June 2024
Decision
Useful documents
- Sample preliminary application form
- Common metrics in mental health research
- Research involving human participants policy
- Use of animals in research policy
- Wellcome Lived Experience information
- Watch our webinar with the Mental Health team exploring this funding call and Wellcome's Mental Health strategy.
Contact us
If you have a question about eligibility, what we offer or about completing the application form, contact our funding information advisors:
We do not answer questions on the competitiveness of proposals.
However, if you are unclear about whether your proposed idea would be in scope for this call, you can send a very brief summary of your idea (no more than 200 words) to mentalhealth@wellcome.org and include the title of the call (‘Understanding how anxiety- and trauma-related problems develop, persist and resolve’) in the subject line by Tuesday 7 November 2023. Based on the information provided, we will aim to reply to your email within one week, with an 'in scope' or 'out of scope' response.
Please note that this is not a requirement and will not impact your likelihood of being funded.
Ways to stay informed
There are several ways to find out more about our work and funding opportunities:
- Find out about our latest funding opportunities for mental health
- Search all funding opportunities
- Sign up to our monthly newsletter for details of the latest funding calls and other research news.