Replacing Animal Research’s Innovation Grant Scheme (UK)

Funding Information

• The scheme offers grants of around £5,000 but will consider applications asking up to £15,000.
• Projects should last between 6 months and 2 years.

Eligibility Criteria

• Project Eligibility:
  • Replacing Animal Research does not fund any projects that use live animals, including invertebrates. This includes work on reduction and refinement or partial replacement. In line with their mission, the Innovation Grant scheme funding is projects demonstrating excellent science, and are developing innovative, human-focussed, non-animal research methods.
  • If your project involves any animal-derived products, you must clearly justify their use in the project and demonstrate how you have researched available alternatives.
  • Applications must indicate other potential and confirmed funding sources for the project.
  • As part of the Replacing Animal Research ethos they expect the outcomes and methods of these projects to be made publicly available and accessible to non-specialists. If this incurs costs, for example, open-access publishing, these can be included and considered as part of the application.
  • They also expect that the project will contribute to the skills development of the researcher and/or progress their career in alternatives research.
• Applicant Eligibility:
  • The lead applicant must be a UK resident and the project based in GB or NI (overseas researchers cannot be the lead applicant but can be included as collaborators).
  • The lead applicant must hold a post (for the duration of the project and beyond) at a recognised UK higher education institution, non-profit organisation, research centre or relevant industry setting and have the support and facilities there to carry out the project. They will accept applications from early career researchers and post-doctoral staff.
  • They will also consider applications from researchers working within the commercial sector if the project results will be shared openly. They will not fund any project which aims to generate commercial IP for the grantee or their organisation.
  • The lead applicant must hold a PhD.

Judging Criteria

• Fit with Replacing Animal Research’s mission and charitable purpose
• Scientific innovation and advancement
• Human relevance of the outcomes of the proposal
• Scale of likely impact on replacing animal use
• All funding applications will be judged by a panel of academics, Replacing Animal Research staff, and, where possible, an expert in the relevant field.

For more information, visit Replacing Animal Research.