Wellcome Trust in UK is currently accepting applications for the Collaborative Awards in Humanities and Social Science for the 2020/21 academic year. This scheme funds teams who are tackling major health-related questions in the humanities and social sciences that require a collaborative approach.
Wellcome exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive.They are a global charitable foundation, both politically and financially independent. They support scientists and researchers, take on big problems, fuel imaginations, and spark debate.
Their funding supports over 14,000 people in more than 70 countries. In the next five years, they aim to spend up to £5 billion helping thousands of curious, passionate people all over the world explore ideas in science, population health, medical innovation, the humanities and social sciences and public engagement.
Worth of Award
- A Collaborative Award is up to £1.5 million, for three to five years.
- They fund across a range of levels. You should ask for funding that’s justifiable for your career stage, research experience and the proposed research programme.
Support includes:
- Research expenses, including research assistance and PhDs.
- Research or teaching replacement
- Conference and meeting costs.
- You can also apply for Research Enrichment funding to increase the impact of your work through activities in public engagement, open research, and diversity and inclusion.
Eligibility
- You can apply for this award if you want to tackle an important and original health-related question that requires the combined knowledge and expertise of a team of researchers.
- Your proposed approach must have the potential to make a significant, measurable difference to health research in the humanities and social sciences.
- The number of researchers in your team can range from two to six and should be appropriate to your proposed research.
Everyone in the team should have:
- a good track record in their field relative to their career stage
- a PhD or equivalent.
- Team members can come from the same or different disciplines. They can work in the same organization (including the same department) or in different organizations around the world.
- As lead applicant, you must have a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract, or the guarantee of one.
- Your salary must be paid by your host organization in the UK, Republic of Ireland or a low-or middle-income country.
- The other applicants in the team don’t need permanent contracts. Those without permanent contracts can ask for salaries.
- You, and any other applicants with permanent contracts, can ask for replacement costs.
- If you, or any co-applicants, hold a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract but have to get your salary from external grant funding, you can ask us for this in your application.
- This only applies if you are based in the UK or a low- or middle-income country. Your host organization must confirm details about your employment contract.
Your proposal
They will review:
- the importance and originality of your research question(s) to your field(s)
- the necessity of this collaboration to answer these research questions
- the feasibility of your proposal
- the track records of all team members, relative to their career stage
- evidence that the team has the relevant expertise for the proposed research and will work together well, eg you’ve collaborated with each other before, or been involved in similar teams
- the time you and your team members will spend on the Collaborative Award, and how it fits in with other academic commitments
- the suitability of the environments in which you and your team members do the research.
How to Apply
You must submit your application through the Wellcome Trust Grant Tracker (WTGT).
Stages of application
- Submit your preliminary application
- Review of preliminary applications
- Submit your full application to your host organisation for approval
- Host organisation reviews your application and submits it to them
- Shortlisting
- Interview
- Start your fellowship
- If you are disabled or have a chronic health condition, they can support you with the application process.
Deadline: They consider applications twice a year. You must submit your application by 17:00 (GMT/BST) on the deadline day. For the January 2019 round
- Preliminary application deadline -January 7, 2020, 17:00 GMT
- Full application deadline – March 24, 2020, 17:00 GMT
- Shortlisting – May 2020
- Interviews – July 2020