Applicant questions and answers
Eligibility
1. Who is eligible to apply?
The Principal Investigator must be a UK-based researcher at an eligible institution (although Co-Investigators on the application can be international), or at an overseas establishment supported by the MRC.
2. Is my UK institution eligible?
Eligible organisations fall into three categories:
- UK higher education institutions (HEIs)
- Research Council Institutes
- Independent research organisations (IROs)
Please see eligibility for research council funding on the RCUK website for further details.
3. Is there a limit to the number of applications I can submit?
Individuals may be the Principal Investigator on only one application, but may act as a Co-Investigator on any number of applications. However, please note that the assessment will consider the level of engagement of Principle Investigators and Co-Investigators with the research and their capacity to meet these requirements.
4. Can MRC units and institutes apply under this call?
Yes. However any award to a MRC unit/institute would be made on the basis of 100 per cent directly incurred costs only and would not include indirect or estates costs.
5. Can I submit research which has previously been submitted to an MRC Research Board or Panel and was not funded?
Applications previously declined by the MRC or another Research Council will not be considered by the MRC within 12 months (from the date of submission to the original Research Council, as either an outline or full application) unless substantially revised.
6. If my application doesn’t fit the call remit, what options do I have?
If your application does not fit the remit of this call, but is within the broader sphere of MRC interest, then you may apply via other normal funding mechanisms. Please see ‘Available grants’ on our website for more information.
Disease focus
7. What diseases are included?
All non-malignant diseases will be considered but applicants must make a clear and compelling case that the disease is stratifiable based on response to existing therapy, that there is sufficient critical mass to develop a large consortium and that it would be of interest to industry.
8. I am already part of an MRC disease-focussed consortium, can I apply within the same disease area?
You may submit an outline application within the same disease area but the new application must be markedly different from the aims of the established consortium. However, it is unlikely, unless there is compelling justification to do so, that MRC will fund two consortia in the same disease area.
9. What will happen if more than one application is received in any particular disease?
The MRC will expect researchers to take a collaborative approach in developing these consortia. MRC may consider short listing two outlines in the same disease area if there is marked difference in the aims. If there is significant overlap in two or more outlines, MRC may invite applicants to work together on a single full application.
10. There are no current therapies on which to base stratification in my disease area, can I apply?
No, for this first round we are focussing on diseases where there is clear evidence of stratification based on existing therapies.
Consortium development
11. Who should be involved in a consortium?
This should ultimately be determined by the scientific direction but consortia should be multidisciplinary, must build on existing clinical research infrastructure and must have industrial partners.
12. What stage of development is expected of the consortia?
It is likely that different disease areas will be at different stages of stratification and development, with research into some diseases ready for substantive investment while others may need more development time. It is likely for this first round that preference will be given to better established consortia with a strong track record of working together. However, this outline stage can also be used as a stimulus for consortia development. Applicants should indicate the stage of development of the consortium and whether further development will be required through workshops, etc – if so specify the proposed content of the workshop and funding required.
13. Will the MRC provide support for developing the consortia?
MRC may provide some funding for consortia development activites (e.g. workshops, meetings) but will not provide support for organising or running such initiatives.
Funding
14. How much funding is available under this call?
The MRC has allocated up to £60 million for this call over 4 years. This is likely to be divided as £15m per year but this will depend on the quality of received applications.
15. What do the MRC envisage funding?
The funding is to develop multi-disciplinary research platforms. It is not intended to fund typical 3 or 5 yr project grants but to be larger scale, multi-partner endeavours. Naturally, there must be a strong patient focus that will draw in clinical expertise, clinical data handling and possibly methodology development. However, it is expected that this is linked to strong mechanistic research to determine the biological basis underpinning stratification and identify new diagnostic biomarkers and potential new targets.
16. What is the expected duration of the grants under this call?
Depending on the nature of the research it is expected that grants would be between 4-5 years.
17. Are applications under this call value limited?
No. Awards under this call will not be limited. However applications are expected to be appropriately costed and all resources requested adequately justified.
18. Will the application attract full economic costs (FEC)?
Yes, the application will need to be submitted on a FEC basis.
19. Will awards be pruned?
Yes, the MRC will retain the option to prune awards in line with developing the consortium and feedback received from the expert panels. However, it is still important that applications are appropriately costed and represent clear value for money.
20. When will the awards be announced?
Awards will be announced following the review panel in October 2012.
Preparing an application
21. How do I apply?
All applications must be submitted using the Research Councils’ Joint electronic Submission (Je-S) System. Applicants should refer to the general guidance for applicants (on Je-S Help), the call guidance and MRC standard terms and conditions.
22. Is there an outline stage?
Yes. All applicants must submit an Outline application via Je-S.
23. When is the deadline for submission of the outline and full proposals?
- Outline applications must be submitted to the MRC no later than 4pm on the 24th January 2012.
- Full applications must be submitted to the MRC no later than 4pm on the 28th June 2012.
Please note that clicking ‘submit document’ on your proposal form in Je-S initially submits the proposal to your host organisation’s administration, not to MRC. Therefore, please allow sufficient for your organisation’s submission process between submitting your proposal to them and the call closing date.
24. My organisation is not registered to use the Je-S system.
Please contact the J-eS helpdesk as soon as possible with details of your organisation and the grant scheme you wish to apply for.
25. What is the page limit for the case for support?
The page limit for Outlines is 4 pages and for full applications the limit is 12 pages.
26. Can I create my own case for support document as I would for a normal research grant?
No, outline applications must use the headings specified in the call text on the MRC website.
27. Can I include annexes in my application?
Yes, applicants should include letters of support from industry collaborators with their outline applications. No other annexes will be accepted.
28. Will I need to complete a MICA form?
All applicants invited to submit a full proposal will need to complete a MICA form as there will be an expectation that the full applications will be collaborative proposals with industry partners. MICA forms will not be required for the outline stage. Please refer to the additional guidance for submitting MICA proposals which can be found here.
29. What happens if my application is received after the deadline?
Any proposals received after the deadline will not be eligible for this call and will be declined.
Assessment
30. How are proposals assessed?
At the Outline stage, applications will be reviewed by an Expert Scientific Panel comprising cross-MRC Board, international and industry experts. There will be three possible outcomes of this review stage:
- Outline proposal successful – applicants will be invited to develop a full proposal to be submitted 28th June 2012
- Outline proposal unsuccessful – applicants will not be allowed to submit at this or further rounds
- Outline proposal deferred – some elements of the application are strong but other areas need developing. The applicants will be given time to develop the consortium further and invited to submit for the following rounds.
At the Full proposal stage, applications will be sent out for international peer review and assessed by the same expert panel supplemented with subject specific experts if necessary. Applicants will be invited to MRC for an interview with this panel before funding decisions are made. The expert panel will make the final funding decisions. Full proposals will be assessed on the standard criteria for an MRC research grant.
31. Will the applicant be given the opportunity to respond to the panel?
Applicants will be able to respond to reviewers comments following submission of a full proposal. Applicants however, will not be allowed to respond to the Panel. The Panel’s decision is final.
Ethics and governance
32. Do I need full ethics permission and regulatory approvals for any human studies in the proposal? If so, when should I apply for this?
The MRC does not require ethics permissions and regulatory approvals to be in place when you submit an application. However, given that research requiring the use of human tissue/organs may raise various ethical and regulatory issues, applicants will be required to demonstrate that they have adequately considered these matters. Early discussions with regulatory bodies may be required to ensure that all requirements can be met in a timely manner once an application is successful. It is the responsibility of your host institution to ensure that the appropriate ethics approval(s) has been obtained and that no research requiring such approval is initiated before it has been granted. Please read the MRC terms and conditions.
33. Who has liability and indemnity responsibilities for any clinical studies?
Liability and indemnity responsibilities will follow those outlined in the Lambert Model Agreements for Pre-clinical Studies and the model Industry Collaborative Research Agreement (miCRA) for Clinical Studies. Briefly, it is expected that the responsibilities for the conduct of the study will lie with the Sponsor of the research.
Communications
34. How will you let me know if my application has been successful?
The Principal Investigator will be notified of the decision on outlines and also full applications by email communication.
35. Will you publish a list of the awards that are made?
Yes, MRC intend to publish a list of the short-listed outline applications to raise awareness to the broader industry and academic communities of potential collaborative opportunities.
Following the final funding decisions a list of awards will be made available on the MRC website (the list will be inclusive of name, title of grant, host institution and value awarded).
Other
36. If my query is not answered by the FAQ’s, or I have a scientific query regarding my application, who do I contact?
For scientific queries please contact Dr Des Walsh at desmond.walsh@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk
For queries regarding preparation and submission of your application, in the first instance please refer to all documentation relating to the scheme, particularly the Guidance Notes and Je-S Help which will guide you through the standard processes for preparing a proposal and costing your proposals. If you still have a query, contact the Je-S helpdesk:
Je-S Helpdesk: Monday – Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm
Telephone: +44 (0) 1793 44 4164
Email: JeSHelp@rcuk.ac.uk
Web: https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk