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Advice to applicants

1. Please note that applications must be made directly from the researchers working on the project that is the subject of the application.
2. The Foundation seeks work that is directly clinically applicable and is therefore unlikely to support basic research including in vitro or animal in vivo studies.
3. As a registered charity the Foundation does not pay 'overheads'. The Charity Research Support Fund www.hefce.ac.uk/research/funding/charities is now available to universities to provide funding contributing to the sustainability of research institutions. This is also intended to complement charity funding in relation to directly allocated costs not funded by medical research charities, including the Bupa Foundation.
4. Salaries for academic staff in senior research posts are not eligible for Foundation funding (see 3 above).
5. Annual pay increases for whole time or part time research staff employed specifically and solely for a project can be included. Please note that any annual increments or cost of living rises during the course of a project should be estimated at the outset. The Foundation does not uplift these automatically and cannot increase the funding once set, to cover such increases.
6. The Bupa Foundation does not set formal maximum or minimum limits on grants; careful budgeting is anticipated.
7. The Foundation does not fund medical electives, educational courses, seminars, conferences or travel except where essential for the business of the project, e.g. to conduct research or focus interviews elsewhere.
8. The sending of an application to peer review is not promise of an Award.
9. Every effort will be made to provide feedback where it is available and the anonymous reviewer permits, but no correspondence can be entered into regarding an unsuccessful application.
10. The Chairman's decision is final.
11. Unless clearly requested in the decision letter, repeat applications for a specific project declined by the Board are not permitted.
12. Please submit one copy of the PDF generated by the system, signed by all applicants. 14 days are allowed for receipt of this copy; if you anticipate that the time taken may be longer than this period, please consult the Registrar on 020 7656 2591/2536 or email bupafoundation@bupa.com
13. Please note that in the event of a successful application, any offer of funding will be conditional on obtaining the necessary ethical approval if this is required.
14. No project may be started until written proof of ethical consent is provided to the Foundation. Please note that the first cheque will be payable only on receipt of this evidence.
15. When inputting the start date on the online application system, please take into account that if your application is successful, several factors including those detailed below* can cause delays to the start of a project.

Applicants are therefore strongly advised to allow at least 4- 6 months from the date of the grant meeting to the proposed start date of the project.

*The following issues may impact the actual start date for the project:

• The period from date of grant meeting to formal confirmation of a grant may be up to a month.
• Owing to audit requirements the period from offer letter to Bupa Foundation's payment of the first grant cheque may be up to 3 months.
• If it has not been possible to obtain ethical approval prior to your application, you are advised to allow at least four months for this, between confirmation of your grant and start of the project.
• If you are planning to recruit staff for the project we advise applicants to consider that this can take an additional 3 months.