This modular scheme provides support for high-quality clinical research, associated translational research, and collection of samples and data. We encourage bold and creative applications.
Applications are reviewed twice per year. Upcoming application deadlines: (outline) 10 September 2025 / (full) 4 December 2025
Typically, up to 10 years but longer durations can be considered if justified (project dependent)
Flexible; module dependent
Our core eligibility criteria are outlined below. Note that this scheme operates a closed round to ensure only eligible applications are submitted.
You must contact us for an informal and confidential discussion of your proposal prior to submitting your application. We’ll advise on your eligibility and provide guidance on submitting your application.
Email clinicalresearch@cancer.org.uk
You can apply for our Clinical Research Funding Scheme if you are based at a UK university, medical school, hospital, UKCRC registered clinical trials unit or research institution. The proposal must be investigator-led.
All applications must have a UKCRC registered clinical trials unit co-ordinating the clinical trial/study, or an associated clinical trial/study. If appropriately justified, we may allow exceptions for:
small-scale and/or non-complex, non-interventional studies
certain biomarker assay validation studies using samples from patients receiving standard of care
Explore the UKCRC clinical trials units
This scheme is open to researchers at any career stage, from early to established. Each module has specific guidance for applicant eligibility.
This scheme is open to early-career researchers (defined by the Develop Independence section of our competency framework) who have had limited involvement in research as co-investigators and collaborators. We encourage applications which include early-career researchers, specifically individuals who are nearing the completion of, or have recently graduated from, a clinical trials fellowship or clinician scientist fellowship.
We outline how we define career stages in our competency framework.
This modular scheme supports high-quality, biologically rich trials and studies using innovative and adaptive designs that seek to maximise what we can learn from every participant.
We encourage bold and creative applications.
This scheme has three interconnected modules: Clinical Trial, Experimental Medicine, and Sample Collection. We strongly encourage applicants to apply for all three modules together as an integrated package.
New clinical trial research proposals should take advantage of the opportunity to embed Experimental Medicine studies that will inform our mechanistic understanding of the disease, and its treatment, where possible.
We expect most clinical trial proposals to have a Sample Collection module and Experimental Medicine module integrated, where possible, to enable the delivery of our strategy.
We will also prioritise:
early phase proof of concept trials
trials that optimise/repurpose treatments while minimising adverse effects
trials that promote innovative methodologies
Examples of opportunities to generate mechanistic insights include:
why an intervention is or is not effective, including cancer recurrence
how tumours evolve to be resistant to therapies
how toxicities can be better predicted and managed
how combinations of therapies can be optimised to tumour biology (eg precision and stratified medicine approaches)
trials with clinical decision-making biomarkers which can progress towards biomarker registration for routine use
These investigations may be underpinned by research into how cancer evolves, develops resistance, evades the immune system and progresses. We also will support proposals investigating the primary effects of cancer on whole-body physiology, where there is a clear impact on patient outcome, such as cachexia.
We will consider standalone or mixed module applications, where justified. Additional modules can be layered on throughout the lifetime of a grant.
Where possible, recruitment should be representative of the target patient population and we expect study teams to identify and reduce barriers for underserved populations to access research.
All proposals should outline the activities planned to ensure the trial/study is designed with diversity and inclusion in mind, and how inclusion will be accounted for in the way the trial is designed and delivered.
We encourage proposals that focus on areas of strategic priority such as cancers of unmet need, children's and young people's cancers or rare cancers. We will continue to support trials that look to refine current treatments, including trials of radiotherapy and surgery, which are less likely to be funded by industry or other bodies.
We particularly value the generation of high-quality omics data within prospective randomised controlled trials.
Explore our work in cancers of unmet need
Explore our work in children’s and young people’s cancers
You can apply for endorsement of an academically sponsored clinical trial where the direct research costs have been secured elsewhere, typically through an industry partner and core funding from a clinical trials unit.
Endorsements do not provide any additional direct funding but allow you to brand the trial as a Cancer Research UK trial. Within a clinical trial endorsement proposal, funding can be requested for associated experimental medicine and/or sample collection modules.
Industry-sponsored trials cannot be reviewed under this scheme.
If the trial uses core funds from one of our core-funded clinical trials units, the endorsement will enable the trial to be included in the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) portfolio via the automatically eligible route.
It will also enable the Department of Health and Social Care to cover any Research Part B costs that aren’t supported by industry. To be eligible for the Research Part B costs to be met, you will need to make clear to the NIHR RDN portfolio adoption team how our clinical trials units core-funding is also being used to support the trial alongside industry funding.
You can review our frequently asked questions for additional clarification on any questions you might have.
Explore our clinical research funding scheme FAQ(PDF, 1.01 MB)
You should not apply for this scheme if your proposal does not fit the remit of the Clinical Research Committee. This includes:
population based studies, clinical trials and associated translational research aimed at understanding the epidemiology of cancer, cancer risk, incidence rates, overall changes in cancer survival, preventative interventions and screening
clinical and translational research that aims to investigate how and when early cancers and pre-cancerous states are diagnosed, including investigations into biomarkers for early detection or risk stratification for screening
genome-wide association studies for the identification of genetic predisposition/risk biomarkers
biomarker discovery proposals that are not integrated within a clinical trial or a well-designed observational study
pre-clinical studies utilising cell lines or animal models to investigate biological mechanisms
pre-clinical research for drug development
development of an imaging technology that requires administration of unlicensed/experimental reagents (ie PET probes or contrast agents) to patients in first-in-human studies
translation of your funded research into a commercial opportunity that brings patient benefit
industry-sponsored trials
If you are unsure which funding committee is most suited to your research proposal, please contact us and we can provide a recommendation. You can also search our funding schemes to explore other opportunities.
Applications for all modules of this scheme are reviewed two times a year by our Clinical Research Committee and its Expert Review Panels.
The review process involves three steps.
Submit an expression of interest to confirm if you’re eligible and the application is in remit. We’ll also provide advice on the application process, including outline and full stage.
You may choose to bypass the outline stage where one of the following applies:
standalone Sample Collection applications
standalone Experimental Medicine applications that are <£250k in total
Experimental Medicine applications that have been reviewed as part of a Clinical Trial outline proposal by the Clinical Research Committee within two years of the associated trial grant start date
Clinical Trial applications that do not intend to submit an Experimental Medicine proposal and are either <£500k or led internationally
standalone Clinical Trial endorsement applications
the study follows seamlessly on from a feasibility study we’ve previously funded costed amendment or extension to an existing study we already support
costed amendment or extension to an existing study we already support
If you’ve been approved to apply, we’ll send you a link to start your application in our online grants management system, Flexi-Grant.
The committee will review your outline application and make a recommendation whether to invite you to submit a full application.
Whether successful or not, all applicants receive feedback. The outline stage is a valuable opportunity to receive this feedback from the Clinical Research Committee and enhance the quality of your proposal.
If your outline application is shortlisted, your full application will be reviewed in the subsequent funding round, unless you choose to defer.
Your full application will be sent to our Expert Review Panel to be discussed. They will provide written comments in advance of the panel, and you will have an opportunity to respond to these comments either in writing or through an interview at the Expert Review Panel meeting, if your study is particularly complex.
The panel will provide a recommendation to the Clinical Research Committee based on the scientific quality of your application.
The Clinical Research Committee makes the final funding decision, taking into consideration recommendations from the Expert Review Panel and the alignment of your application with our strategic priorities.
The Clinical Research Committee and Expert Review Panel will review your proposal based on relevance to our strategy, statement of intent and a set of standard criteria.
More information on the criteria by which applications are reviewed is on our committee pages.
Learn more about the committee
We offer early- to mid-career researchers the opportunity to observe panel and committee meetings across our funding remit and prioritise giving this opportunity to researchers from underrepresented groups.
Find out more about eligibility and how to apply
We will provide feedback on your application, but all funding decisions are final.
Committee members cannot discuss their decisions with applicants, so please do not approach them directly. This allows our committee members to keep the Code of Practice for Funding Committees, which keeps our review process fair and protects applicants, committee members and external reviewers.
Our review process is extremely important to us, so we reserve the right to decline applications from anyone who compromises its integrity. We do not accept resubmissions, unless recommended by the committee.
We consider applications for this award twice a year. This scheme requires an initial outline submission followed by a full application.
If your outline application is shortlisted, your full application will be reviewed in the subsequent funding round, unless you choose to defer. For instance, if you submit an outline application in spring, you will be invited to submit a full application for review in the autumn.
Full applications due by: deadline past
Outline applications due by: 10 September 2025
Full applications due by: 4 December 2025
Outline applications due by: 27 March 2026
See specific details for each module under ‘How do I apply’. You can find general detail on what funds can be requested in our costs and salary guidance.
We will consider support for long-term patient follow-up within applications to the Clinical Research Scheme where there are clear and defined research questions. In these instances, you must explain in your application why these questions cannot be addressed within the primary endpoint timeframe and how the research will add overall value to the study.
Examples where this may be appropriate include investigations into later occurring oncological events such as recurrences/relapse, long-term known/expected side effects/toxicities and secondary malignancies.
We recognise in some circumstances it may not be possible to include accurate costs for long-term follow up when you submit your full application. In this instance, we recommend detailing estimate costs for long-term follow up in your full application.
If costs turn out to be underestimated you will need to submit a costed amendment application for review 12 months before the end of the grant, or if costs are overestimated, we will reconcile underspend on this budget line.
If you are unable to detail estimate costs at the time of full application, we still recommend detailing your plan and justification for long-term follow up and intention to submit a costed amendment or extension application for these costs 12 months before the end of the grant.
population-level epidemiological studies focused on secondary physical effects of cancer treatment
PhD students or fellowships
industry sponsored trials
research Part B costs (for studies taking place in the NHS, we will fund Research Part A costs in line with AcoRD guidance)
NHS Treatment or Service Support Costs
genomic testing that would normally be provided by the NHS
contingency costs
explorative pre-clinical studies eg to determine drug candidate selection or early drug development
regulatory (GLP) toxicology
international trials (costs for UK participation are eligible, but not the costs of delivering the trial internationally)
In partnership with your local R&D office, we encourage you to involve the Research Delivery Network in discussions as early as possible when planning your study to fully benefit from their support
Contact the Research Delivery Network
You can apply to us for funding for the coordination of a UK-led intergroup study in mainland Europe by the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) headquarters.
The study should be coordinated by a UKCRC registered Clinical Trials Unit with the EORTC headquarters supporting agreed components of the EU coordination of the study. For further details please see our EORTC coordination costs guidelines.
Read the EORTC costs guidelines(PDF, 1.96 MB)
The costs added to the cost table for each application within Flexi-Grant should be specific to the module you’re applying for. This means that an integrated proposal consisting of multiple modules will have the costs split across multiple applications to facilitate management of individual components of the award.
For proposals integrating several modules, we encourage applicants to think carefully about the phasing in of costs. Typically, we would expect the Experimental Medicine research costs to commence after the expected date of the first site opening, with an appropriate number of samples collected.
Alternatively, for biomarker-driven trial proposals, it may be appropriate to phase in the clinical trial costs upon completion of certain milestones within the Experimental Medicine research, eg where an assay validation must be completed prior to biomarker implementation within a trial.
We will consider no-cost extension requests on a case-by-case basis.
Under exceptional circumstances, you can apply for a costed extension where additional funding is required to complete a study funded by the Clinical Research Committee.
Where there is a significant change to the study design, sample size or study drug, an amendment must be submitted for review by the committee. Where necessary, you can apply for a costed amendment where you are making a change to an existing study funded by the Clinical Research Committee which requires additional funding.
We do not typically accept costed extension applications for the Biomarker Project Awards (one of our historic funding schemes).
Note that if you apply for an additional module(s), this should not be submitted as an amendment application but should go through the standard application process.
No-cost extensions are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
No-cost amendments will follow the outline application deadline.
Costed extensions and costed amendments will follow the full application deadline.
Please contact us if you need an extension or amendment.
Contact us at clinicalresearch@cancer.org.uk
Excess Treatment Costs occur when the costs of a drug or treatment are higher in a research study than in routine care. For non-commercial research studies, these ETCs are the responsibility of the NHS and are paid for by service commissioners.
There are 12 NIHR Regional Research Delivery Networks (RRDNs) which help manage the ETC process on behalf of their local Clinical Commissioning Groups and in collaboration with NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning function.
Where the total (study-level) ETCs are higher than £1m, or where the average ETCs are higher than £20K per patient across all patients recruited to a study, there will be a further review by the Department of Health and Social Care, Specialised Commissioning and NHS England to ensure this research represents value to the NHS. This process will take place after the Clinical Research Committee have stated their intention to support the study.
As part of this process, we may need to share reviews of the study with the appropriate contact at the DHSC. We will ask permission from reviewers to share comments in these circumstances. It may take up to six weeks for a decision to be made by DHSC about high cost ETCs.
If you are applying for Health Research Authority approval for clinical research studies taking place in England, you will need to complete a form known as a ‘Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Template (SoECAT)’ as part of your funding application. This template is designed to capture the different activities and costs associated with clinical research and attribute them accordingly.
We require a SoECAT for all full applications (including endorsement applications).
To submit a SoECAT, you must download the form from the NIHR Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS).
Your SoECAT must be signed off by an AcoRD specialist, who will confirm that the activity and cost attribution is accurate. This must be done prior to submitting your application to us. We strongly recommend you engage with your LCRN and the online SoECAT and its guidance as early as possible during the application process.
The final step is to submit a completed Funder Export file from the online validated SoECAT as part of your application in Flexi-Grant. In certain circumstances, a completed Funder Export from the online SoECAT will not be required. Confirmation of this should be provided in your application form.
As this scheme is made up of three interconnected modules, each module has its own specific requirements. The first step for all modules is to contact us and submit an expression of interest. Please reach out at least one month before the submission deadline.
Email clinicalresearch@cancer.org.uk
We recommend you also read additional guidance such as our costs guidance, grant conditions, and other policies to understand any other requirements before applying.
Read our research policies and guidance
If your proposal is in remit and you are eligible to apply, we will send you a link(s) to apply via Flexi-Grant. Before starting the application, the lead applicant(s) for each module must use the links provided to open the application forms.
Full applications must be approved online by your host institution.
For integrated proposals there will be multiple application forms, although the information in these will be distinct and limited to essential questions only. Each question has guidance which will indicate whether the response should be module specific or for the entire integrated proposal.
In addition, there will be a single research proposal document for your entire integrated proposal to ensure cohesiveness.
There can be different study teams in integrated proposals including different lead and joint lead applicants, so please be sure only the correct lead applicant for each module opens the relevant application form. Once all forms have been opened, you must complete the Clinical Trial application form first, if applicable.
Where the lead applicant differs across modules within an integrated proposal, we expect all lead applicants to be a part of the study team for all integrated modules, either as a joint lead applicant or co-investigator role.
We recognise that integrated proposals can be logistically complex, with multiple centres contributing to the delivery of the study. Through our translational arm, Cancer Research Horizons, we can support you in creating the contractual framework needed to enable the delivery of significantly complex studies. This can speed up contractual set-up between the collaborating parties and ensure the trials run smoothly.
Cancer Research Horizons will contact research groups that are eligible for this support after submission of the outline application. If you have any questions on how to contractually coordinate the setup of these grants, or how to access Cancer Research Horizons support, then please contact us.
Applications should include the following information.
Lead applicant(s) must be an established clinician, scientist or profession allied to medicine in a UK university, medical school, hospital, clinical trials unit or research institution. lead applicant(s) must be in a post which is fully funded for the duration of the award.
Named statistician(s) must be included as co-investigator(s) or joint lead applicant(s) with appropriate expertise for each component of the application. If the clinical trial involves biomarker research, we expect the named statistician(s) to have both biomarker and trial-specific expertise. We encourage a named methodologist as a co-investigator or joint lead applicant, where appropriate, particularly in highly complex trials.
We encourage early career researchers to join as joint lead applicant(s) or co-investigator(s), as appropriate. The application should demonstrate support from their group leader, mentor, or supervisor.
The Clinical Trial scheme supports interventional trials of cancer treatment (including systemic treatment, radiotherapy and surgery), with the aim of improving outcomes for patients.
You can apply for funding or endorsement of a Clinical Trial module in any one of the following areas:
pilot/feasibility studies
phase 1a/2 dose finding trials testing safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy (including novel combinations of therapies and radiotherapy, and novel indications)
phase 1b/2 or phase 2 trials testing the viability of larger trials, including the ability to recruit and/or to explore tolerability or efficacy of treatments
window of opportunity studies
phase 2/3 or phase 3 trials to investigate the efficacy, effectiveness and tolerability of interventions with the aim of improving survival, or tolerability and patient outcomes
surgical trials from stage 1-3 in accordance with the IDEAL framework
Studies of cancer treatment approaches that aim to achieve equivalence of survival whilst reducing toxicity or optimising treatment delivery, such as non-inferiority trials, are welcomed where the potential for a significant impact on patient outcomes can be demonstrated.
Standalone feasibility and/or pilot studies are in remit, in addition to pilot/feasibility studies that are integrated within the design of a larger clinical trial.
Clinical Trial applications should ordinarily include a Sample Collection module, and we will prioritise Clinical Trial proposals that also have an Experimental Medicine module integrated within the trial design.
We will consider proposals that do not include an Experimental Medicine module and, more rarely, a Sample Collection module, where one of the following criteria are met:
1. There are limited opportunities for translational research and where the value of the trial alone can be demonstrated. For these proposals, we expect to see justification for why it isn’t possible to collect samples and/or integrate any translational research into the study design, highlighting the value that the clinical trial will bring to patients.
We strongly encourage sample collection within your trial even if you are not intending to work with the samples, where it can be demonstrated that these provide a valuable resource for the wider cancer research community.
2. The Experimental Medicine research is not yet developed at the time of the Clinical Trial application. We will consider a subsequent application to the Experimental Medicine module, preferably within two years of the Clinical Trial grant start date.
If your subsequent Experimental Medicine application is delayed beyond two years, you may be required to submit another outline application. If planning to submit these applications separately, you will be asked to justify why the Experimental Medicine module cannot be integrated into the initial Clinical Trial proposal and outline your future Experimental Medicine research plans in the Clinical Trial application.
3. The Experimental Medicine research is funded elsewhere. We encourage integrated proposals to this funding scheme and welcome opportunities to co-fund with other funding bodies. If funding has already been obtained, you will be asked to provide details of the funded Experimental Medicine research in the Clinical Trial application
We encourage SWATs to be embedded into trial applications so we can collectively generate a body of evidence to help overcome common trial challenges more effectively.
SWATs are research sub-studies embedded within a larger clinical trial and are designed to test and evaluate trial processes. This can optimise the value gained from the host trial by systematically addressing common trial challenges.
Many research practices, including recruitment and retention strategies, lack substantial evidence to guide decision making and can have a large impact on the success or failure of a trial. Replication across different contexts is key, so building a SWAT into a trial doesn’t mean that you must start from scratch.
Our areas of interest include:
equality, diversity and inclusivity: for example, investigations into the effectiveness of various activities to improve the recruitment of patients from underserved backgrounds or reducing inequalities in access to cancer interventions
methodology: for example, investigations into innovative statistical/methodological approaches or decentralisation of clinical trials
patient and public involvement (PPI): for example, investigations into how different PPI approaches promote recruitment
quality of life: for example, investigations into complementary therapies or patient reported outcomes measures
sustainability: for example, investigations into how to reduce the carbon footprint for a given clinical trial/study, or more widely
We encourage early career researchers with appropriate expertise to lead these sub-studies, including clinical trials units staff or research nurses, to support career progression. The results of these sub-studies should be published.
Please see the SWAT repository for information on existing SWATs that you can replicate within your trial. In addition to these resources, the Trial Forge SWAT Centre at the University of York has set up a Trial Forge SWAT Network to support researchers in the UK and elsewhere in doing SWATs.
Explore the Trial Forge SWAT Network
There are no cost limits for this module, but the costs requested should reflect the scale and complexity of your trial. Typically, we see costs of approximately £50k to £200k per year.
These are guide costs and larger amounts will be considered with appropriate justification, particularly for trials with complex and adaptive designs and/or where there is inclusion of SWATs.
Applications should include the following information.
Lead applicant(s) must have both clinical and scientific expertise. This could be:
one individual with clinical-academic training, such as a clinician scientist
a collaboration between a clinician and scientist, in which case we would expect two or more joint lead applicants
a non-clinically trained scientist working at the interface of clinical research. ie a strong translational research focus
Applicants not meeting these criteria must provide strong justification. There may be a small number of exceptions, such as a bioinformatician being the lead applicant for a data-driven approach.
We do not mandate a clinician as the lead or joint lead applicant on Experimental Medicine applications that are integrated within a clinical trial, if the lead applicant of the associated clinical trial is on the study team for the Experimental Medicine application to ensure appropriate linkage and oversight.
For non-clinically trained scientists, there must be a clinical lead or joint lead applicant(s) for clinical study proposals recruiting patients.
For larger, programme-style applications, the lead applicant must be an established researcher at an eligible UK institution whose post is fully funded for the duration of the award. Early career researchers can apply as lead applicants on smaller project-style applications, or joint lead applicants on larger, programme-style applications.
A named statistician(s) must be included as co-investigator(s) or joint lead applicant(s) with appropriate expertise for each component of the application. If your proposal involves biomarker research and is associated with a clinical trial, we expect the named statistician(s) to have both biomarker and trial-specific expertise.
There may be rare and justified circumstances where involvement of a statistician is not required, and the statistical expertise of the study team can be demonstrated to ensure methods are robust. This includes examples such as small and/or non-complex non-interventional clinical studies or certain biomarker assay validation studies using samples from patients receiving standard or care.
A pathologist should be included as co-investigator for studies involving tissue analyses.
The Experimental Medicine module supports translational research associated with a clinical trial, or clinical study, which aims to enhance our understanding of biological mechanisms to improve treatment strategies for patients. Applications can range from small, project-style proposals to large, programme-style research proposals.
We will prioritise proposals integrated within a funding or endorsement application for a trial or well-designed clinical study (including observational), as well as those that retrospectively use data/samples from at least one study we fund or endorse. However, where strongly justified, we will also consider applications associated with trials or well-designed clinical studies funded elsewhere, or retrospectively using data/samples from such studies.
The following activities are considered eligible for support where the above criteria are met:
investigations into the primary effects of cancer where the focus is on whole-body physiology and where there is a clear impact on patient outcome (eg how cancers communicate with their host or perturb organ physiology, host metabolism, central nervous system activity or immune regulation)
functional imaging studies
biomarker assay validation/qualification proposals including predisposition, screening, diagnostic, prognostic, predictive, pharmacological and surrogate response markers
biomarker assay development (up to 25% of the total proposed costs) where the primary focus of the study is assay validation and/or qualification
data/computation-driven approaches to clinical research, including biomedical/health informatics, artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches, computational/systems biology, integration of multi-modal data and modelling
a small amount of complementary pre-clinical research in animal models if informing the clinical trial/study design
For applications associated with a new clinical trial proposal, we strongly encourage these to be integrated within the clinical trial application to ensure the study design is appropriate to address the translational research questions.
We will also consider standalone applications, which must be either be:
a non-interventional clinical study recruiting patients, such as a prospective cohort study, eg TRACERx, or a biomarker validation/qualification study
a standalone biomarker validation/qualification proposal that utilises prospectively or retrospectively collected samples and/or data
a data and/or computation driven approach to clinical research
Biomarker assay validation studies should assess whether the assay is robust, reproducible, reliable and fit for intended use. Biomarker assay qualification studies should demonstrate clinical use for the biomarker.
Interventional studies are not within remit of this module and should be directed towards the clinical trial module.
There are no cost limits for this module, but the costs requested should reflect the scale and complexity of your proposal. Typically, we see project costs of approximately £100k per year and programme costs of approximately £300k per year. Larger amounts will be considered with appropriate justification.
Applications should include the following information.
For larger sample collection module proposals, we would expect the lead applicant to be an established researcher at an eligible UK institution whose post is fully funded for the duration of the award. Early career researchers can also apply as joint lead applicants on larger proposals, or as lead applicants on smaller project-style applications.
A named pathologist should be included as a co-investigator with appropriate expertise for studies collecting tissue-based biological samples and/or a named radiologist as co-investigator for studies collecting images.
The Sample Collection module supports hypothesis-driven prospective collection of unique samples and/or images within a clinical trial, or clinical study.
Funding of biobanks is not currently in remit under this scheme.
Costs associated with research samples needed to answer the key endpoints of the trial should be included in the clinical trial module. The Sample Collection Module is intended for future and/or additional research that is not integral to delivering the clinical trial.
We will prioritise sample and/or image collections that are integrated within a trial/study we fund or endorse, and/or Experimental Medicine proposal.
In exceptional and justified circumstances, we will consider standalone applications and/or non-hypothesis driven sample and/or imaging collections. This particularly applies to priority areas such as cancers of unmet need, children's and young people’s cancers and rare cancers, where the following can be demonstrated:
There is a rare opportunity to collect these samples, and evidence that existing samples are not appropriate/already available.
There is likely demand within the research community and appropriate rationale to demonstrate how the samples will be utilised.
There is consideration of how the samples are processed, managed and stored and made available to accommodate future research, for example, high-quality biomarker assay technologies.
We will also consider applications associated with active clinical trials/studies funded elsewhere, where strongly justified
There are no cost limits for this module, but the costs requested should reflect the scale and complexity of your sample collection. Typically, we see costs of approximately:
£30-£60 per block
£5-£40 per blood sample
Funding for the collection of other sample types is also considered where justified.
Funding can be used to cover running expenses associated with the collection and pre-storage processing of blood and block samples. We expect staff salaries to usually be covered through existing infrastructure funding, but some staff support may be considered where appropriate justification is provided. For instance, where additional monitoring/tracking is required within a complex clinical trial to ensure adequate sample return.
You should consider the costing of imaging applications and an AcoRD specialist who can support with attribution of costs. For imaging applications, please also provide justification and standard operating procedures for the following:
study set up time
data transfer, storage and quality assurance per scan
analysis time (either included as a key component of a requested salaried post, or as a separate consumable per scan)
We would ordinarily expect your sample collection to be registered on the UKCRC Tissue Directory within 12 months of the sample collection commencing.
You will be directly asked to declare whether you have used any generative AI tools when completing the application form. If you have, you’ll then be asked to confirm compliance with our requirements on their use.
Read our policy on the use of generative AI tools
A narrative CV allows you to highlight your research achievements and contributions relevant to your application. You should also include your research outputs, such as preprints, training delivered, contribution to consortia, community outreach, patents, key datasets, software, novel assays and reagents. Guidance on the types of activities you may include are provided below each question in the form template, but this is not exhaustive. You do not necessarily need to provide an example for every activity.
All lead and joint lead applicants named on the application will need to complete and upload their own narrative CV labelled with their name in the header or footer.
Note that you can upload either a narrative CV or a skills and experience form depending on your situation for the full application, but you must submit a narrative CV for the outline application.
Read our guidance on narrative CVs
Only complete this form for your full application if you are a lead applicant, joint lead applicant or co-investigator eligible to request your salary, or you are an early career researcher (regardless of your salary arrangements). Refer to our salary guidance section for more information on this.
You can use the template provided in Flexi-Grant to complete this section. Your form shouldn’t exceed four pages.
Please refer to our competency framework that outlines the range of skills, experiences and types of examples to include in your application.
We need to make sure activities with commercial organisations do not compromise the scientific integrity, delivery or potential health impact of our funded research, and that potential conflicts of interest are identified and managed.
Please use the template provided in Flexi-Grant to complete this section. All lead and joint lead applicants must provide this information.
Read our conflicts of interest policy
Please upload statements of support on headed paper from:
the host institution of joint lead applicants or co-investigators based at a different institution to the lead applicant
collaborator letters of support, outlining what specific expertise and skills they will contribute to the work (not exceeding two pages each)
additional letters of support from appropriate advisory bodies
Early-career researchers will also need letters of support from their group leader.
If you plan to involve patients, patient tissue or patient information in your research, you’ll need to get ethical approval. You and your host institution are responsible for ensuring you comply with all legal requirements and ethics approval.
If you need to confirm funding arrangements before you can get ethical approval, we can make you a provisional offer of funding. However, funds may not be released until you’ve sent us written confirmation of ethical approval. Please bear this in mind when you propose a start date for your award.
If you need any other regulatory approval (eg sponsorship, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approval, Clinical Trial Authorisation approval, insurance or indemnity arrangements, data protection registration, or honorary contracts with NHS Trusts and Trust R&D approval for sites that research is conducted), we may also need written confirmation before we release funding.
We will review this on a case-by-case basis.
We prioritise supporting work that seeks to maximise what we can learn from every participant and require a sample and data sharing plan for all funding applications. This is to ensure that the samples and data generated through our funding will be put to maximum use by the cancer research community and, whenever possible, be translated to deliver patient benefit.
Your plan should include how samples and data resulting from this project will be made available as widely and freely as possible to the academic scientific community and to additional potential commercial partners, in a usable form. Samples and data should be made available once the primary intended purpose for the sample collection has been considered and the main findings from the final dataset have been accepted for publication.
This should be managed through a controlled access mechanism, considering patient privacy, intellectual property rights and other applicable laws.
Detail the steps that will be taken to ensure that the data and samples resulting from this project will adopt the FAIR principles of findable, accessible, interoperable, and re-usable.
Provide details for when data and samples collected and generated by the project will be made available: 1) how and when after generation will raw data and samples be made available for research purposes; 2) how and when after analysis will processed data be made available for research purposes; 3) how and when after journal publication will analysed data and methods be made available for secondary research.
Broadly describe the proposed ethics and patient consent statement (if relevant) for sharing and release (and withdrawal) of (de-identified) data and samples that will align with the FAIR principles, including the potential future sharing for commercial use. Please provide confirmation in your application that patient consent forms will include detail around the future intention to share data and samples with academic, commercial and third-party partners for secondary purpose research. If you foresee any issue with this, please contact us to discuss.
Describe how sharing of the data and samples collected or generated under this project with commercial entities will be approached.
Define the planned process for enabling international data and sample sharing (both within the investigator team, if relevant, and external to the team) and list the necessary contractual agreements that will need to be executed to deliver the proposed data sharing platform.
Describe the data and sample standards and definitions that the investigator team plan to use for the project, including how these align with existing data and sample standards in the research community and how the investigator team will ensure that the standards are consistent to facilitate ease of sharing.
Describe the data and sample governance, and data and sample architecture model (including diagrams as relevant).
Describe the future ambitions and processes for granting access to the data and samples beyond the initial research team and research questions proposed in this application. Include how infrastructure will be created during the project to enable these ambitions and what the anticipated timeline is for broader access.
Learn more about the FAIR principles
Read our data sharing and management policy
We expect researchers to include meaningful patient and public involvement and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities across all modules within the Clinical Research Scheme.
View our patient and public involvement toolkit
View our commitment to EDI in research
As a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), we monitor the full economic costs of the research we support. This means, you will need to complete an AMRC full economic costing information form as part of your application package.
full economics cost: please enter the total cost of your proposed research
charity contribution: please enter the total amount you’re requesting from us
Note that this information will not be reviewed as part of your final application
View AMRC’s position on funding universities
For successful applications involving a clinical trial, we expect the first site to be opened for recruitment within 12 months of receiving final approval of the trial by the Committee. Continued support for the second year of the grant will be dependent on the first site opening.
We recognise the challenges in reaching this milestone, and applicants should ensure the costings provided in the application for Year 1 are appropriate and in line with clearly justified set up timelines. If you anticipate the site opening will take more than 12 months, provide clear justification for this in the application as well as in subsequent milestone reports. Our Clinical Research Monitoring Panel (CRMP) can monitor against these targets.
Clinical Trial, Experimental Medicine and Sample Collection Modules are monitored through the CRMP. The release of the Grant Award Letter for each year of the study is subject to submission of a Scientific Milestone Report. This is reviewed by the CRMP who will determine whether to continue support of the study.
See Section 10 of our grant conditions for additional specific conditions relating to clinical trial governance.
Learn about our Clinical Research Monitoring Panel
View our clinical trial-specific grant conditions
If your application includes elements of AI or machine learning, you should ensure appropriate justification and detail is given.
Include a size and power analysis where possible or describe how these will be assessed after data collection.
Provide the list of features used for model training and outline a feature reduction strategy, if applicable.
Identify and address potential data biases where possible.
Describe any independent validation set you plan to use or provide a justification if one will not be used.
If using artificial neural networks, discuss their rationale and architecture; if not, outline alternative methods being considered and the criteria for their selection.
Describe how you split data for training and validation, and address any potential data imbalances, if applicable.
Outline your plans to assess and correct overfitting or underfitting and define the metrics and criteria for evaluating performance
We encourage collaboration between academia and industry through our awards. Most UK host institutions will already have a technology transfer agreement in place with our commercial arm, Cancer Research Horizons. If not, our standard funding terms and conditions would apply.
If you are working with a commercial collaborator, please contact the Cancer Research Horizons team before applying for a confidential discussion around intellectual property and technology transfer.
A formal agreement between academic and industrial partners is not needed to apply, but a letter of support from a relevant individual at the industrial partner organisation is. This letter should describe the nature of the collaboration and the industrial partner’s contribution, including funding and/or in-kind support such as data, samples, reagents, technology or expertise.
If the grant is awarded, you will need to share an outline of the agreement between academic and industrial partners with our Cancer Research Horizons Team to receive funding.
Contact the Cancer Research Horizons team
You can access additional guidance and support through the following links.
Please contact us if you have any questions about your eligibility, application or active award.
Robert Atkinson, Research Grants Manager
Lisa Barrett, Research Grants Manager
You can also review our frequently asked questions for additional clarification on any questions you might have.
Explore our clinical research funding scheme FAQ(PDF, 1.01 MB)
Reasonable adjustments can be made throughout the grant application process. We do not require a formal diagnosis to access support.
Find out about our disability and accessibility support
Explore the resources, policies and other support we offer to help you understand how to apply for and manage your funding.
We develop outstanding cancer researchers through funding, mentoring and coaching, training and networking opportunities.
