MRC board and panel observer scheme

Mae’r cynnwys hwn wedi dod o wefan allanol ac mae ar gael yn Saesneg yn unig.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is offering the opportunity to observe a board or panel funding meeting, providing valuable insight into the decision-making processes at the MRC.

The opportunity is aimed at early to mid-career researchers who are transitioning to independence as defined in Skills and experience to win support.

This forms part of MRC’s commitment to the development of people and skills and will prioritise places for underrepresented groups.

What the scheme offers

They hope the opportunity to observe an MRC funding meeting:

• enhances transparency and provides insight into the work their research boards and panels do to ensure they fund the best quality science
• allows observers to better understand how complex elements (for example research questions, methodological approach, expected value or impact and cost effectiveness) come together to reach funding decisions
• is informative for observers to help in developing their own successful research applications
• assists observers in providing high-quality reviews
• gives observers the opportunity to provide their views on the assessment process and suggestions for improvements

All observers will:

• receive a briefing on the MRC grant assessment process specific to the funding meeting they are attending
• attend a debriefing session to discuss what they observed at the funding meeting

They encourage observers to use this information for further dissemination and to share their experience with colleagues.

Meetings you can observe

You can apply to observe any of the funding meetings taking place in 2025 for the following funding opportunities:

• Applied global health research (meetings in May and November)
• Developmental pathway funding scheme (meetings in May and September)
• Experimental medicine (meetings in June and December)
• Infections and immunity (meetings in July and November)
• Molecular and cellular medicine (meetings in June and November)
• Neurosciences and mental health (meetings in June and November)
• Populations and systems medicine (meetings in June and November)
• MRC equipment panel (meeting in April or May)

Most funding meetings take place over the course of two days. Successful applicants to the scheme will be invited to observe the discussion of a subset of applications on one of the days. Observers will not attend for the entire meeting.

Allocating funding meetings

They anticipate that demand to observe a meeting of an MRC board or panel will far exceed the number of available opportunities.

To manage this, the MRC asks applicants to identify two board or panel meetings they would be happy to observe. Please note that while they will make every effort to accommodate first choices, this may not always be possible due to high demand.

Who can apply

The MRC welcomes applications from researchers who are potential applicants to one of the MRC funding opportunities (or equivalent schemes from other funders).

To be eligible to apply, you must be based at an eligible research organisation and fulfil one of the following criteria:

• at a stage in your career where you are transitioning to independence (see ‘Skills and experience’ career stage ‘Transition to independence’)
• a research technical professional, if you are applying to the Equipment panel (see ‘Equipment panel applications’)

Eligible career roles

Applicants to the scheme could include those in the following roles:

• junior career fellowships
• intermediate career fellowships
• tenure track
• lectureship
• senior postdoc or staff scientists who are actively developing their independence (for example, project co-leads)
• senior career fellowships
• equivalent roles in industry
• research or technology specialist (for Equipment panel applicants only)
• senior research or technology specialist (for Equipment panel applicants only)
• research technician (for Equipment panel applicants only)
• laboratory or facility manager (for Equipment panel applicants only)
• relevant scientific disciplines working in clinical or preclinical translation within the MRC remit (for Developmental Pathways Funding Scheme panel applicants only)

See Biomedical research roles and career pathways for further information.

Equipment panel applications

For the Equipment panel, as well as those transitioning to independence, this opportunity encourages research technical professionals who are seeking to enhance their career development or are beginning to think about applying for grants.

Developmental Pathways Funding Scheme (DPFS) applications

The MRC recognises that DPFS applications can start and finish at any stage on the developmental pathway. This includes stages from early development, through pre-clinical refinement and testing to early-phase clinical studies and trials (up to Phase 2a trials), including research that is highly multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary.

Therefore, under the observer scheme they welcome applications from all relevant scientific disciplines working in clinical or preclinical translation within the MRC remit.

Who can not apply

You are not eligible to apply if:

• you have been awarded an MRC grant as project lead (previously principal investigator) or a comparable award from any organisation, unless the award was a fellowship or new investigator grant
• you currently have an application for review by the requested board or panel (for example, as project lead, project co-lead, researcher co-lead, staff or project partner)
• you have participated in an equivalent board or panel with another funder
• you have previously observed an MRC board or panel meeting

How to apply

Apply through MRC board and panel observers scheme (UKRI Engagement Hub)

Key dates are:

• opening date: 15 January 2025
• webinar for applicants: 3 February 2025
• closing date: 26 February 2025

Register for the webinar for applicants

The survey should take approximately 10 minutes and is largely made up of multiple-choice questions. To see the questions before applying, view the MRC board and panel observers form.

The MRC does not accept submissions by email. A webinar for applicants will take place on 3 February 2025 to support applicants with their online submissions.

Email rfpd@mrc.ukri.org if you require further support completing the online survey or have any accessibility needs.

Visit the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) website for the full details.