Big Ambitions For Diabetes Research, UK

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 08 Jan 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Diabetes UK is delighted to announce that the cap on research grants considered by the Research Committee has been removed.

Diabetes UK has invested substantially in its research programme through the support of its Board of Trustees.

The research budget has increased steadily from £4.5 million in 2000 to £7.38 million in 2008.

Major funder

We are one of the major funders of research in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and we have a long and distinguished track record in funding research that will make a real difference to people with diabetes, their families and carers.

Open to more projects

However, the limit of three years' funding and maximum award of £225,000 has meant that the larger, multi-centre collaborative projects in both basic and clinical diabetes research could not be submitted by leading researchers to Diabetes UK.

In the past year, we have worked hard to change this and ensure that leading diabetes researchers in the UK consider submitting their proposals to Diabetes UK in the first instance.

The Research Committee will now consider applications for up to five years' duration with no limit on the funds requested. All requests for funding, however, will have to be fully justified by the applicants. Any request for more than £500,000 will need to be discussed with the Research team at Diabetes UK before a submission is made.

Research award criteria

The criteria for awarding grants remain the same:

- Potential to make a difference to people with diabetes
- Track record of the applicants to deliver results
- Value for money.

Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said: "I am absolutely delighted that we can now offer more time and resources to the world-class researchers we have in the UK, enabling them to improve the lives of people with diabetes through their ambitious and innovative research programmes."

How to apply

Further details on how to apply for research funding can be found in our Research section.

http://www.diabetes.org.uk