Wellcome Trust - "Early-Career Awards"

This scheme provides funding for early-career researchers from any discipline who are ready to develop their research identity. Through innovative projects, they will deliver shifts in understanding that could improve human life, health and wellbeing. By the end of the award, they will be ready to lead their own independent research programme.

Eligibility

You can apply to this scheme if you are an early-career researcher and you are ready to design, plan and deliver your own innovative research project that aims to:

• advance understanding in your field

and/or

• develop methodologies, conceptual frameworks, tools or techniques that could benefit health-related research.

During the award, we expect you to:

• expand your technical skills and/or your experience of different research methodologies or frameworks
• build a collaborative network with other researchers in your field
• develop your people management skills
• advance your understanding of how to complete research responsibly and promote a positive and inclusive culture.

Your research can be in any discipline – including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), experimental medicine, humanities and social science, clinical/allied health sciences, and public health – as long as it has the potential to improve human life, health and wellbeing, and aligns with our funding remit.

Career stage and experience

At the point you submit your application, you must have completed a substantive period of research training relevant to your discipline.

You must have:

• completed a PhD (for example, in the life sciences) or an equivalent higher research degree. At the point of application you must have passed your viva examination.

or

• if you have not started a PhD or equivalent degree, at least four years' equivalent research experience (for example, in the humanities and social sciences).

You may also have some postdoctoral experience in your proposed field of study, but generally no more than three years. When we review how much postdoctoral experience you have, we will allow for part-time work, career breaks and other significant amounts of time spent outside research, for example clinical training.

We will also consider whether you have changed research discipline. For example, moving from astrophysics to computational neuroscience. There may be some crossover, such as in research sites or techniques, but the shift should still be a significant change.

You should be able to demonstrate:

• a good understanding of research methodology
• evidence of project delivery and analysis.

You should not need close supervision to complete your proposed research, although you may need training in new techniques and experimental approaches.

If you are a health professional and you want to continue with clinical activities, you must be registered with, and be licensed by, the relevant professional regulator in the country you intend to work in. Read our Q&As for health professionals.

By the end of the award

By the end of the award, you should have the research maturity to develop, manage and lead your own creative, independent research programme.

If you decide not to pursue a career in research, you’ll have transferable skills that you can use in roles related to research or outside of research, for example in industry or teaching.

Host organisation

You must have sponsorship from an eligible host organisation in one of the following:

• UK
• Republic of Ireland
• a low- or middle-income country (apart from India and mainland China).

It can be a:

• higher education institution
• research institute
• non-academic healthcare organisation
• not-for-profit organisation.

You should choose a research environment that provides you with the appropriate training, resources and experience to deliver your project and develop your research skills and identity. We encourage you to move away from your current research environment. This may mean moving from your group or department, but it is not essential to move organisations.

Time spent away from research

You can apply if you've spent time away from research (for example a career break, maternity leave, or long-term sick leave). We'll allow for this when we consider your application.

Depending on your previous career stage and the level of supervision and retraining you need now, you may also want to consider a Career Development Award.

Resubmissions

If you are unsuccessful with an application to this scheme, you can submit one more application for the same project. Significant changes are needed for the second application. You do not need to contact us first.

Other Wellcome awards

During an Early-Career Award, you can be a coapplicant on one Discovery Award.;

Assessment criteria

We will review your research proposal, skills and experience, and research environment.

Your research proposal

To be competitive, your research proposal will be:

• Bold. It aims to deliver a significant shift in understanding and/or it provides a significant advance over existing methodologies, conceptual frameworks, tools or techniques. It has the potential to stimulate new and innovative research.
• Creative. Your proposed approach is novel – it develops and tests new concepts, methods or technologies, or combines existing ideas and approaches in a new way.
• High quality. It is well-designed, clear, supported by evidence and the proposed outcomes/ outputs are feasible.

Your skills and experience

We will review:

• your previous research outputs and contributions to the research community
• your research skills and experience of different methodologies, and how you plan to develop these during the award
• how you will develop your management skills and capabilities for leading a research programme.

Your research environment

We will review:

• how your research environment(s) will support you to deliver your research programme and develop as a researcher
• how your host organisation will help you develop your project and management skills
• how you will contribute to a positive and inclusive research culture.

Who can't apply

You are not eligible to apply if:

• you have an existing tenured (salaried) post for the duration of the award
• you are the lead applicant on another application and you are waiting for a decision (you can only submit one application to Wellcome at a time)
• you hold, or have held, an equivalent fellowship at this career stage. An equivalent fellowship does not include short-term funding.

You cannot apply if you intend to carry out activities that involve the transfer of grant funds into mainland China.

What we offer

• A Wellcome Early-Career Award provides a salary for the grantholder and up to £400,000 for research expenses. If you are eligible to request overheads or overseas allowances, we won't count these against the £400,000 limit for research expenses. 
• The award usually lasts for 5 years, but may be less for some disciplines, such as humanities and social science.
• The award may be held on a part-time basis. We will extend the duration of the award to reflect this.
• You should ask for a level and duration of funding that’s justifiable for your proposed research.
• You can only hold one of these awards. We do not offer renewals.
• The award includes:
• a basic salary (determined by your host organisation)
• relocation allowance  
• staff  
• continuing professional development and training  
• materials and consumables  
• animals  
• equipment  
• access charges  
• overheads  
• travel and subsistence  
• overseas allowances  
• fieldwork expenses  
• inflation allowance  
• open access charges  
• clinical research costs  
• public engagement and patient involvement costs  
• contract research organisations  
• other costs

If you're awarded this grant

You are guaranteed an endorsement of a Global Talent visa application.

If your host organisation is in the UK and you have team members who will spend at least 50% of their working time contributing to the award, they may be eligible to apply for a Global Talent visa through the endorsed funder route.