School of Medicine Grant Advisory Committee

The Grant Advisory Committee has been established to provide information and feedback to School of Medicine colleagues who are preparing grant proposals.

We are now accepting applications from Post Doctoral Researchers in the school of medicine who are preparing fellowship and grant applications.

The Committee will assess grant applications at an early-stage, and provide independent, constructive advice on the development of your proposal. This review process is designed to complement existing UCD Research supports ( https://www.ucd.ie/research/ ) and as always, all applicants are encouraged to engage fully with UCD Research.

 

Public Engagement and Engaged Research

Funding agencies including the Irish Research Council, Science Foundation Ireland, the Health Research Board, and Horizon Europe all place significant weight on the need for greater engagement with public research stakeholders.

UCD Research offers a range of supports that allow you to plan for the involvement of stakeholders throughout all stages of research, including the grant application stage. For more information on these supports, please go to: https://www.ucd.ie/research/portal/outcomesandimpacts/publicengagementandengagedresearch/. 


How will the Grant Advisory Committee Process Work?

STEP 1 Applicants send early-stage grant applications (funding scheme you are targeting, specific aims/research plan, impact statements if available) to Research Team at medicine.research@ucd.ie
STEP 2 Applications will be shared with the Grant Advisory Committee, who will nominate up to three Expert Reviewers for each application
STEP 3 Application will be forwarded to nominated reviewers
STEP 4 Expert reviewers will return written commentaries within one-two weeks of receipt of application
STEP 5 Grant Advisory Committee Chair and Research Team will collate responses and return to applicant

Additional notes with regard to process

  • Who is eligible to submit a draft proposal to the committee?

All School of Medicine staff including academic faculty, adjunct faculty, research fellows and postdoctoral research fellows are eligible to submit a grant proposal.

  • When can I submit my draft proposal?

This is a rolling call. We accept applications throughout the year for any research grant calls.

  • Does my proposal need to be finalised?

We encourage potential applicants to engage with this committee as early as possible and submit an initial draft or an early-stage outline of their proposal to allow you to develop your research plan and consider feedback.

  • What details do I provide when submitting my early-stage grant document?

To ensure detailed, high-quality feedback, applicants are encouraged to provide as much detail as possible to the Grant Advisory Committee. These include

  1. Applicant name
  2. Call details/deadline
  3. Funding requested
  4. Draft research plan (including specific aims of research, impact statements, Collaborator details and preferred reviewers. A fully completed draft can also be considered and accepted)
  5. Note: If you are a Post doctoral fellow/Research Fellow - please confirm with your supervisor/ PI that you are submitting your application to the Grant Advisory Committee.
  • Will an applicant know who reviewed their proposal or can you request specific reviewers?

If you have preferred reviewers, please provide this information and we will endeavour to facilitate this. You will be informed on who your reviewers are.

  • Can the applicant engage with the reviewers on specific feedback?

Yes. This is an open and transparent review process designed to support and encourage colleagues at the early stages of Grant writing.

 

 

We are pleased that colleagues who have availed of this review process have been successful in their grant applications.

TESTIMONIAL:

Dr Carol Aherne
SFI Frontiers for the Future project recipient 2022
“The input I got from experienced colleagues highlighted key areas that I worked on to improve the understanding and impact of my proposal. I am very grateful for the comments I received which directly contributed to the success of my proposal”.