What are Clinical Study Grants and who can apply?
The Clinical Study Grant supports funding for over £350,000 for:
- Interventional clinical trials: trials of specific interventions or pathways of care for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Interventions include drugs, surgery, devices, psychological, physical and educational interventions.
- Observational studies of specific patient groups that are hypothesis led and address a defined clinical question(s) over a fixed timescale (up to 5 years). The population of interest should be a patient population, who will usually be recruited within the NHS. The study should have a predefined outcome(s) that will lead to changes in clinical management directly or will inform the development of a clinical trial to test an intervention.
- Clinical studies can include a mechanistic evaluation, either as a substudy within a clinical trial or as part of an observational study.
The scheme does not support funding for population based cohort studies or patient based cohort studies focusing on open ended epidemiological questions, or whose main focus is genetics/genomics or other omics analyses (please apply for either a Special Project Grant or a Programme Grant). For programmes of experimental medicine or programmes of clinical research, please apply for a Programme Grant.
If you are unsure which scheme is appropriate for your clinical study application, please email amoilss@bhf.org.uk.
Grant duration
- Grant duration is usually up to 5 years, with regular progress reports, initially annual reports. We will consider applications for clinical studies of longer duration.
- We may consider a staged award based on proof of adequate recruitment and progress.
- Clinical Study Grants cannot be renewed.
Award may include
- Staff salaries. For example: research fellow, clinical trial co-ordinator, research nurse, where fully justified.
If support is requested for a clinical fellow, please justify why the study activities cannot be performed by a research nurse or other healthcare/trial management professional. The cost of the clinical fellow should be pro-rata for research activities on the grant, and should not include time spent in clinical training or clinical duties. Please note that Clinical Study Grants are not intended as a mechanism to support the undertaking of a PhD. - Research consumables directly attributable to the project.
- Research equipment essential for the project.
- Travel funding of up to £2,000 per year to present research at or attend scientific meetings relevant to the grant.
- A small amount of funding (up to £50k) to support the work required to obtain relevant permissions for clinical trials research, including clinical trials authorisation and ethical approvals, can be released prior to grant activation. You will need to submit a formal request to the BHF for release of these funds prior to formal activation of the grant (which requires proof of ethical committee approval). Find more information about accessing this funding here.
Entry requirements
- The principal investigator will be a researcher working in an established research institution in the UK. They must have a strong track record of trial management and management of high value grants, usually from us, and an internationally recognised research profile.
- Any multicentre interventional clinical trial, while remaining under the scientific control of the principal investigator, should usually be managed by a UKCRC-registered Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) and should usually include a member of the CTU as a co-applicant or principal investigator unless there are clearly justified reasons for not doing so. Please see a list of accredited clinical trial units (CTUs) that have expertise in cardiovascular trials here.
- For multicentre observational studies, applicants should consider a mentorship arrangement with a CTU. We will judge the need for this arrangement on a case by case basis.
- A lay person can be included as a co-applicant on a Clinical Study Grant if they are making a significant contribution to the study. If you would like to include a lay person as a co-applicant on a Clinical Study Grant, they will need to have an honorary affiliation with an academic institution for the duration of the study, and an accompanying academic institutional email address.
Preliminary applications
Preliminary applications are accepted throughout the year, and are assessed internally with input from the Chair and Vice Chair of the Clinical Studies Committee to reach a decision about whether to progress a preliminary application to a full application and to provide scientific feedback to improve the quality of full applications. If your preliminary application is approved, you will be invited to submit a full application. Please note: you must submit your full application within 12 months of your preliminary application being approved, or you will need to submit a new preliminary application for approval.
We are unable to publish exact dates for the preliminary application meetings as they can change. However, we recommend that you use the submission dates below as a guide for when to submit a preliminary application to minimise the time between submission to decision. Typically, the time between the submission dates given below and receiving a decision will be approximately 5 weeks.
Preliminary application assessment panel meetings are currently planned to take place in:
- November 2024 – submit by 5pm Wednesday 23rd October 2024
- February 2025 – submit by 5pm Thursday 6th February 2025
- May 2025 – submit by 5pm Wednesday 23rd April 2025
- September 2025 – submit by 5pm Thursday 28th August 2025
- November 2025 – submit by 5pm Thursday 23rd October 2025
Full applications
There are two funding rounds a year for full applications for Clinical Study Grants. The next deadlines for full applications are no later than 5pm on:
- Wednesday 15th January 2025 for the April 2025 Clinical Studies Committee. [Rebuttal period – late March to early April 2025]
- Wednesday 2nd July 2025 for the October 2025 Clinical Studies Committee. [Rebuttal period – late September to early October 2025]
Please note – it is the responsibility of the primary applicant to ensure that all necessary application approvals (by co-applicants/head of department/admin authority) are received in advance of these deadlines. We will acknowledge receipt of your application within 24 hours and we will advise when you can expect the result.
A decision will be reached by the Clinical Studies Committee, which meets twice a year (in April/May and October/November). If your full application is rejected, you may be allowed to reapply. If you reapply within 12 months of the committee decision you can usually submit a revised full application omitting the preliminary application stage. If you intend to reapply 12 months or later after the committee decision, you will need to submit another preliminary application for approval first.
As Clinical Study Grants are rarely awarded without revision, the application should usually be submitted around 12 to 18 months before the expected start date.
How are full applications assessed?
Full applications for Clinical Study Grants are reviewed by members of the Clinical Studies Committee, our Patient Advisory Group, and independent expert reviewers. View the BHF’s independent review guidelines, the Clinical Study Grant scientific review form and the Patient Advisory Group review form if you would like to know more about how applications are assessed and scored.
See the videos below to hear our Founding Chair, Vice Chair and lay members of the BHF Clinical Studies Committee discuss how they approached assessing Clinical Study Grant applications.
How to apply
Preliminary applications
The first step is to submit a preliminary application for the study. For details on how to complete a preliminary application, read our Clinical Study Grant preliminary application guidance.
Please log in to the BHF Grants Management System to access the Clinical Study Grant preliminary application form.
Please note: If your proposal has been endorsed by the GCRFF Multinational Clinical Trials Initiative, you do not need to submit a preliminary application for a Clinical Study Grant. Please contact walkerjo@bhf.org.uk to obtain a link to the full Clinical Study Grant application form.
Full applications
Once a preliminary application is approved you should submit a full application. Read our guidance about completing a full application for a Clinical Study Grant.
You should have received a link to the online full application form in the preliminary application decision letter. If you have not received a link, please email walkerjo@bhf.org.uk.
International collaborations
Studies funded by the BHF must have a UK-based principal investigator. The BHF will consider applications for international studies where the chief investigator and lead institution are based in the UK and the study is relevant to the UK population. Funding for that part of the study carried out abroad should be sought by the overseas investigators, although exceptionally the BHF will consider funding the overseas arm(s) of a UK led study.
The BHF will also consider proposals to support the UK recruitment arm of an internationally led study where the study is relevant to the UK population; again, a UK-based principal investigator is required.
Each project will be considered on a case by case basis and applicants interested in submitting a proposal for an international study should email amoilss@bhf.org.uk for advice.
The Global Cardiovascular Research Funders Forum Multinational Clinical Trials Initiative, which includes the BHF as a partner organisation, aims to provide a mechanism to help support better coordinated consideration of multi-national trial funding. Read more about the GCRFF Multinational Clinical Trials Initiative and how to submit an Expression of Interest.
Co-funding arrangements
The BHF is prepared to consider joint funding arrangements, including the possibility of jointly funding studies with international agencies. Joint funding requests will be considered on a case by case basis. You should contact us to discuss your proposal before applying for funding.
Please note: The Stroke Association is a potential joint funder of Clinical Study Grants in stroke research. If you are submitting a proposal for a study that concerns stroke research, we may ask for permission to share your Outline or Full Application with the Stroke Association for a possible joint assessment.
BHF Clinical Research Collaborative
The BHF Clinical Research Collaborative (BHF CRC) aims to support the planning and conduct of high quality clinical research in cardiovascular medicine and surgery in the UK. It provides infrastructure to allow the clinical cardiovascular research community to come together to better identify and prioritise the key clinical questions that need to be resolved in the cardiovascular field. Through collaboration, researchers will be able to plan trial protocols of the highest quality and deliver these studies through a network approach.
We strongly encourage potential applicants to the Clinical Study grant scheme to engage with the BHF CRC, who may be able to help with providing evidence that your proposed study is addressing a clinical question that is considered a priority by the relevant clinical community.
BHF Clinical Research Collaborative and Clinical Trials Units
The BHF CRC has established a list of accredited clinical trial units (CTUs) that have expertise in cardiovascular trials and that have agreed to partner with the CRC to promote the quantity and quality of research in the field. The BHF CRC offers UK researchers the opportunity to consult with a leading CTU to address questions in, and refine the design of, research projects. Find out more about the BHF CRC CTU initiative.
Previous Clinical Study Grant awards
The Clinical Studies Committee has awarded Clinical Study Grants encompassing a broad range of cardiovascular diseases. Read short summaries of all Clinical Study Grants approved for funding since 2017.
Visit funding web page
(https://www.bhf.org.uk/for-professionals/information-for-researchers/what-we-fund/clinical-study)
