BGS Research Project Grant

The BGS awards Research Project Grants to support research-related activities undertaken by non-consultant grade doctors, nurses, allied health professionals or pharmacists who work in the field of geriatric medicine or have an interest in ageing.  

This grant may be used for either clinical or non-clinical research. For further information on who can apply please see the eligibility criteria on the right-hand side of this page.  

Doctors at consultant grade are not eligible. Applicants should not already be undertaking a higher research degree (e.g. MD or PhD) or have had this awarded.  The applicant must be a member of the BGS. 

Up to two grants of up to £10,000 each may be awarded per round. There are two rounds every year, opening 1 April  with a deadline of 30 June, and opening again on 1 November with a deadline of 1 March. Applications are not automatically carried forward from one round into the next, though applicants may choose to resubmit previously unsuccessful bids for a future round, detailing how they have changed their application to respond to reviewer comments. 

The grant can be used for things such as:

  • Research consumables  
  • Travel between sites 
  • PPI involvement 
  • Survey costs  
  • Patient refreshments  
  • Salaries for support staff 

The grant is not intended to provide funding:  

  • for undergraduate or postgraduate teaching 
  • as additional funding for the continuation of established projects  
  • to supplement existing grants or to support any activity not directly related to research  
  • for the organisation of conferences 
  • for attendance at conferences or courses  
  • for computer equipment  
  • for the costs of publications or printing  
  • for field trips  
  • for principal investigators' salaries. 

A maximum of two grants will be awarded in any single round. All grant applications must meet a minimum standard to be awarded, as determined by the judges. 

The scheme provides grants to enable researchers to follow through research ideas with a timescale of 12 to 36 months and will provide assistance to innovative research that may be at an early stage.

To be eligible for the scheme, the research must relate to geriatric medicine and the healthcare of older people. These grants support a complete project or, where appropriate, a pilot study to enable a future application for external project grant funding to be made. If this is the case, the rationale and timescale for such an application should be made clear. Six-monthly reports on progress must be provided to the BGS. 

Ethical approval  

Priority will be given to studies that have already received necessary ethical approvals (if required) but applicants may also apply prior to obtaining ethical approval. Where approval has already been granted, evidence of this should be submitted alongside the application. Where ethical approval is yet to be obtained, a clear timeline of this should be included within the application. If ethical approval is not required, this should be stated in the application.  

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) non-commercial partner status 

These grants are eligible for National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) non-commercial partner status. Being an NIHR non-commercial partner brings several benefits such as local Clinical Research Network (CRN) support. Partner status also enables decisions about eligibility for Network support/adoption to be reached more quickly. This applies to all BGS-funded studies. Once confirmed eligible for CRN support, these funded studies will be included in the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) Portfolio. Such studies  have access to NHS infrastructure for research, training and ISRCTN (a simple numeric system for the unique identification of randomised controlled trials worldwide) registration as well as NHS Service Support and Research Management and Governance. 

Support via the Clinical Research Network provides: 

  • Access to a local network of dedicated skilled research support staff including research nurses and other allied health professionals, who can help identify eligible patients, arrange consent to participate in the study, monitor and follow up patients as they progress through the study.  
  • Support to ensure that a study can be successfully delivered in NHS settings, including pharmacy, imaging and pathology services and the possibility of securing protected time for NHS staff to conduct research.  
  • Access to experienced Research Management and Governance staff who can advise on governance aspects of undertaking clinical research in the NHS and facilitate the rapid approval of a study through the NIHR Coordinated System for gaining NHS Permission (NIHR CSP).