Medical Research Grant guidelines 

The guidelines under which grants are awarded are reviewed on an annual basis and the final decision on which projects to recommend for support is made by the Council of The Freemasons' Grand Charity.  Most medical research grants that the Council recommends for approval will be selected from among the range of applications received by The Freemasons' Grand Charity.  Typically, in any one year, the Council will support research projects for a variety of different medical conditions.

Minor Grants

Medical research grants tend to be for large sums of money and the concept of core funding grants is not applicable to this area as funding is only given for specific research projects.  Normally, therefore minor grants are not awarded for medical research projects

Major Grants

• Preference is given to medical research applications from charities that are members of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)
• A grant will only be made for a specific research project that has been peer reviewed in accordance with the AMRC guidelines
• The institution carrying out the research project must be located in England or Wales
• Funding may be granted for up to three-year periods in certain circumstances
• The average grant size in the medical research category is likely to be between £25,000 and £60,000
• A very few major grants of over £60,000 may be approved each year
• The purpose of the grant might be to fund the salary of a researcher, such as a PhD student, and may include consumables
• Generally separate grants are not made to fund pieces of equipment, unless they form part of a larger research project

Applications from University or Hospital Research Departments

An increasing number of university or hospital research departments are making applications for medical research grants.  However, The Freemasons’ Grand Charity does not usually fund individual researchers or university research departments directly.  Instead the charity prefers to make grants via a medical charity which is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities.  

In this way, the Charity is able to ensure that a research project has been suitably peer-reviewed by an external scientific panel made up of experts in that particular research area as the Trustees do not have the capacity or expertise to review medical research applications independently.

The office does not wish to encourage applications that have little chance of success with the Committee as we do not wish to waste researchers’ valuable time.  However, if you do wish to apply, please use the medical research application form and ensure that you include evidence of external peer review from at least two or three other universities.

Grant Application Procedure

Medical Research Application Form

All applications must be accompanied by a full copy of the charity's latest annual report and audited accounts.

Applications may be submitted to The Freemasons' Grand Charity office for the attention of the Head of Non-Masonic Grants, The Freemasons' Grand Charity, 60 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AZ, at any time throughout the year.

Acknowledgement

Charities should also offer The Freemasons' Grand Charity the opportunity for its support to be recognised and acknowledged publicly.

Closing Date 

• Grant applications are considered at meetings held in  January, April, July and October.
• Applications are currently being accepted for consideration at the meeting to be held in July 2012.  The closing date for receipt of applications for presentation at this meeting is Friday 25th May 2012.
• Applications received after the closing date will be held over to the next meeting (Nov 2012).   

Please note - applications must be signed or they will not be accepted

For further information please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions or contact Katrina Baker on 020 7395 9314

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