Research Fund - Seed Grants Application Form

Name of lead applicant*

First Last

Job title*

Department*

Email*

Telephone*

Primary site*

Royal Brompton Hospital

Harefield Hospital

Guy’s Hospital

St Thomas’ Hospital

Evelina Children’s Hospital

Other

Tick all that apply

Employment confirmation*

The lead applicant must hold a substantive or honorary contract with the GST Trust.

I confirm that the lead applicant holds a substantive or honorary contract with the Trust

Line manager or senior colleague contact information*

In this section please provide the contact details of your line manager or senior colleague with oversight of your project. This person MUST NOT be a project collaborator.

First Last

Email*

Telephone*

Research Proposal

In this section you will be asked for the details of your project including;

Your project title
A lay description of your project
Background and Context
Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement
The research hypothesis or key questions
Aims and objectives of this funding
Study Design for this Funding
Future funding
People and Partnerships
Ethical and Governances consideration
Benefits to Patients

This is a key section of the application that will be assessed.

Project title*

Lay Research Summary*

Provide a short description of the research that could be understood by a lay person. This description should cover a lay title (if needed), what you’re investigating, the need for this work and the potential impact on heart and lung patients. If the application is successful, this description may be used in promotional and fundraising efforts of the charity. (Max 1,500 Characters)

Background and Context*

Provide relevant background information that is needed to understand the wider context of your application. Explain the need for research in this area and the rationale of the lines of research planned. Give sufficient details of other past and current research to show that the aims are scientifically justified and to show that the work will add distinct value to what is already known, or in progress. Justify the research either through its importance for medical advancements, or its contribution to relevant areas of basic biomedical science. (Max 3,000 Characters)

Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement*

Describe how patients, patient advocacy groups, communities have been involved in developing/planning/designing this proposal and will be involved in the active project and the dissemination of outcomes. (Max 1,800 Characters)

Research Question/Hypothesis*

Describe the main hypotheses or research question(s) to be investigated (Max 600 Characters)

Aims and Objective for this Grant*

Please describe the key objectives you will aim to achieve with this funding in terms of outputs and outcomes. This question is not asking for the objectives of the potential fully funded research once a follow-on grant is secured from an external funder. (Max 1,500 Characters)

Study Design for this Grant*

Describe the experimental approaches and methodology for the research project in detail (for example giving and explaining sample sizes, methods of recruitment and trial designs). It is not necessary to describe each experiment (if relevant), but sufficient detail is required to show why the research is likely to be competitive. Consideration should be given to how diversity factors such as sex, ethnicity and age are included and accounted for in the study design, on data selection or where human participants are involved. (Maximum 3,000 Characters)

Future Funding Plans*

Describe the future plans you have for this research project. What will the aims and objectives be for the fully funded project and how have these been taken into account in this funding proposal? (Max 1,800 Charters)

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion on Data Use and Patient Recruitment*

Please describe how diversity factors such as sex, ethnicity and age are included and accounted for in the study design, on data selection or where human participants are involved. (Max 1,500 Characters)

People and Partnerships*

Outline how each of the researchers and collaborators named in the proposal will contribute to the project, which skills and knowledge they will bring, how they will work together and outline other major collaborations important for the research. Where appropriate, explain how the grant will contribute to the applicant’s career and also the development of others. (Maximum 3,500 characters)

Ethics & Research Governance*

Are there any ethical issues arising from any involvement of people, human samples or personal data in the research proposal? If so, have you discussed this with your sponsor, and is there a plan in place to secure ethics approval, once funding is secured, with the relevant regulatory authorities? Describe the ethical review and research governance arrangements that would apply to the proposed research. Please also provide an indicative timeline for any ethics approval process, bearing in mind the proposed start date for all projects of 1st April 2026. (Max 1,500 Characters)

Benefits to Patients*

Please describe in lay terms how the overall research will improve heart and lung patient health outcomes, both in the short and long term. (Max 1,800 Characters)

Costs and Deliverability

In this section you will be asked for details of your project that indicate its deliverability including;

Project Budget and milestone
Risks and mitigations.

This is a key section of the application that will be assessed.

Project Budget and Milestones*

Max. file size: 50 MB.

Please complete and upload the budget and milestones template that can be found here: (Add link)

Delivery Risks and Contingency Plans*

Highlight potential risks and identify any potential mitigations that can be put in place to minimise them. (Max 2,400 Charters)

Approvals and Project Sponsor

This section will not be assessed. However, funding is contingent to RBHC receiving the following conrmations and may be withheld without them.

Name of Sponsor/Grant Administrating Organisation (GAO) for this Project*

Sponsor/GAO Budget Approval*

I confirm the above statement

All project budgets must be approved by the project’s sponsoring/GAO organisation. Where GSTT is the sponsor/GAO you will need to provide signed confirmation below from the relevant Trust Finance representative. ‘I confirm that I have engaged with the sponsoring/GAO organisation; they have agreed to be the project sponsor and have approved the project budget.’

Research Officer's contact details*

First Last

Job title*

Department*

Email*

Telephone*

Signed*

Finance Officer's contact details*

First Last

Job title*

Department*

Email*

Telephone*

Signed*

Sponsor Contact Details*

First Last

Job title*

Department*

Email*

Telephone*

Signed*

PA/Ringfenced time confirmation.*

I confirm that I have sought and received approval for research ringfenced time from line manager previously mentioned in the application.

My project does not involve PA or ringfenced time.

If your project involves PA or ringfenced time, you will need to first seek the appropriate approval from line managers or senior reporting officers.

The Use of Animals

This section is only applicable to projects that involve the use of animals. It will not be used in a comparative assessment with other applications, but a satisfactory response is required to received funding for those projects involving the use of animals. As a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities, RBHC is committed to upholding the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) where animals are to be involved in research that we fund. The applicant must ensure that any part of the Research involving the use of animals complies at all times with the relevant laws and regulation. Where possible, the applicant must adopt procedures and techniques that avoid the use of animals. Where this is not possible, the project must be designed so that:

The least sentient species with the appropriate physiology for the work are used.
The number of animals used in an experiment must be the minimum sufficient to create adequate statistical power to answer the question posed.
The severity of the procedures performed upon animals is kept to a minimum. The experiment should be kept as short as possible, and anaesthesia/analgesia used to minimise pain where possible.

Applications should include an appropriately detailed and justified experimental plan, with statistical analyses and preliminary data to support the proposed research when possible. This includes incorporation of the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) where animals are to be involved. In particular, the Grants Committee members are asked to consider and comment on whether:

the research question can be addressed without the use of animals
the species is justified
the experimental design is appropriate
the number of animals requested are appropriate

Any recommendations arising from the Grant Committee review of the application with regards to animal use and communicated to the applicant (whether in the Award Letter or other form or written or electronic communication) must be followed by the the project. Please refer to the NC3Rs APPIVE guidelines and responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research for further guidance. When animals are purchased from commercial suppliers for use in the project taking place in the UK, UK suppliers should be used wherever possible to minimise the risk of suffering during transport. Please be aware that GSTT does not sponsor projects that involve animal research. These projects will require a separate sponsoring organisation.

Will your project include the use of animals?*

Yes

No

Overview of the use of animals in your project

Please describe the necessity of using animals in your project and how the project meet the principle of the 3Rs. (600 characters)

RBH Charity Data Collection and Feedback

The following questions will help RBHC understand the need for this funding and better tailor future funding. As further funding rounds are envisaged, this feedback will be directly taken into consideration in their development. These questions will not be assessed and will not be passed on to the assessors.

Has RBH Charity previously awarded you funding?*

Yes

No

If you answered yes to the previous question, please could you give a short description of the funding you received?

Why have you applied to this funding rather than looking to another funding body for this project?*

Application Feedback

Please provide any feedback you have on the application process in general and/or on this application form?

Fund Feedback

Please provide any feedback you have on this fund/funding in general.