How Grants are Approved
BRACE will fund a research project only after the proposal has been subjected to a rigorous review process:
Grant Application Submission
All research grant applications must be submitted within the deadline specified on the official BRACE website. Applicants are advised to regularly check the website for updates and ensure that their submissions meet all requirements before the published deadline. Late submissions will not be considered.
Internal Check
All grant applications are reviewed based on adherence to the required application format, the eligibility of applicants, and alignment with BRACE’s remit.
Triage
All grant applications are initially reviewed by members of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), who evaluate each submission with a YES or NO response. Applications receiving more than 50% YES votes typically proceed to the external review stage.
External Review
Successful applications are forwarded to five external expert reviewers, selected based on recommendations provided by the applicants. If BRACE does not receive at least 2 reviews from these reviewers, BRACE will then seek further reviews from its own external reviewer contacts. Reviewers will be matched on area and expertise.
SAC Meeting
The SAC operates independently to evaluate each application based solely on scientific merit. While the SAC provides recommendations, it does not participate in the final funding decisions. Typically, at least two external reviews are required before the SAC discusses a proposal and submits its recommendation to the BRACE Board of Trustees.
Board Meeting
Trustees discuss recommendations from the SAC, reviews from external reviewers, and then taking into account availability of funds, they vote for final funding decision.
Note: Independent Decision-Making in the Grants Process - BRACE staff do not participate in decision-making at any stage of the grants process. All funding decisions are made by the BRACE Board of Trustees. Grant applications undergo rigorous review by external experts, with recommendations provided by an autonomous Scientific Advisory Committee. Final funding decisions are made by the BRACE Board of Trustees, ensuring a transparent and impartial process.
The charity has its own Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), which works independently to assess each application on scientific merit alone. Final decisions about grants are taken by the Trustees, who will also consider the availability of funds.
As each application is received, it is subjected to triage by the SAC and, if it meets the basic criteria for consideration, will be circulated for peer review. The reviewers must be fully independent of the applicants, and may be located abroad as well as in the UK. Applicants are asked to nominate five reviewers, and the SAC will consider these nominees as well as experts that it has identified. The SAC will normally require at least two reviews before it will discuss the proposal and make a recommendation to the Trustees.
The SAC currently has the following members:
Trustees
- Dr John Pounsford (Chair)
Non-Trustees
- Professor Kei Cho - Professor of Neuroscience, King's College, London
- Dr Lorenzo More - Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience, University of Central Lancashire
- Professor Payam Barnaghi - Chair in Machine Intelligence Applied to Medicine, Imperial College London
- Professor Maeve Caldwell - Professor in Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin
- Dr Charlie Arber - Senior Research Fellow, University College London
- Dr Eric Hill, University of Loughborough
- Professor Nancy Zook - Associate Professor of Psychology, University of the West of England
- Professor Wendy Noble - Professor of molecular Neurobiology, University of Exeter
- Professor Zafar Bashir - Professor of cellular Neuroscience, University of Bristol
All members of the SAC will be consulted about every application unless they have a conflict of interest. Non-trustee members of the SAC are eligible to apply for grants but will be excluded from all stages of the approval process of their own application.
BRACE is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)
Page last updated October 2024
Share this page