FAQs for research grant applicants

The Lead Applicant (Principal Investigator) must hold a higher academic research degree (PhD or equivalent) and be a senior established researcher, demonstrated by previously receiving at least one independent research grant. They must hold full-time employment at the lead institution. Only one person can act as Principal Investigator.

No, a PhD student cannot be the PI. However, they can be included on a research grant project, providing that they are a full-time student, spending 100 per cent of their time on the project. The host institution is responsible for the progress and training of the PhD student, and must ensure adequate supervision and assessment of the student’s progress and research training.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) International Research Grant Programme accepts applications from anywhere in the world except the Americas (North America, Central America including the Caribbean, and South America).

If you are based in a low- or middle-income country, please contact us in advance to express your interest in applying for a grant.

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) manages and funds a separate Research Grant Programme, accepting applications from the Americas only (North America, Central America including the Caribbean, and South America). The details of this programme can be found online at aicr.org or by email at research@aicr.org.

The Regular Grant Programme accepts applications from universities, medical schools, hospitals, research institutes and other academic centres. Research for commercial organisations is not eligible.

With the AMRC and its members we will be working to understand better how charity funding partnerships can be placed on a sustainable footing across the range of research activity and types of research institutions. See the AMRC position statement on supporting research in universities for more information.

• As a PI

One application per PI per grant cycle is accepted.

Please note: an applicant can be PI for one application and co-applicant in one or more other applications (up to a maximum of four).

• As a research organisation

A maximum of five applications will be accepted from one institution in any one grant cycle.

The Regular Grant Programme comprises two main grant types: Investigator Initiated Grants (IIGs) and Pilot and Feasibility Grants (PFGs). IIGs are for researchers working on our research areas and themes, while PFGs are intended as start-up funds for preliminary research to allow the development of innovative ideas, testing new methodologies or research tools relevant to our research themes.

• IIGs are for a maximum of £500,000 for up to four years. The total budget for the grant should be allocated approximately equally across each year of the project duration.
• PFGs are for a maximum of £60,000 in total for up to two years.

Applications must address the role of diet, nutrition (including body composition) and physical activity in either cancer prevention or cancer survivors. For more detailed information, please check our Regular Grant Programme guidelines.

Proposed projects should have an original and sound hypothesis, a clear study design, and be relevant to WCRF International’s general and specific priorities. They should also be achievable within the timescale and budget, and include power calculations and relevant statistics.

• Experimental designs outside in vivo human settings, such as animal models, will only be considered for relevant studies that examine mechanistic pathways of the cancer process.
• Exposures in animal research need to be justified in terms of their relevance to exposure in humans and as to why a human research model is not used.
• Please note that tumour models in animals induced by chemical carcinogens, or any studies outside mammalian systems will not be accepted.
• The relevance to humans and to human cancer of the proposed animal model will need to be clearly explained.
• We support the AMRC principles on the use of animals in research.

Applications that propose solely cell line studies will not be accepted.

We do not fund research on anti-cancer drugs or cancer treatment.

No. The application will progress, but if awarded it will not be allowed to start until you have provided proof of ethical approval.

WCRF International only accepts applications in English.

All applications are electronic and are to be completed online through our Grant Management System.

Budgets should be submitted in pounds sterling (£) only.

WCRF International’s Regular Grant Programme can award funding from two charities: WCRF NL and WCRF UK. Grants awarded by WCRF NL will be paid in euros (€). Grants awarded by WCRF UK will be paid in pounds sterling (£).

Please note: if the host institution uses another currency than the funding body, the monthly payment will be subject to fluctuations in the exchange rate.

Yes, as soon as we have reviewed your application, feedback will be provided.

If an application is not deemed fundable at the Full Application stage, the PI may submit a new Outline Application in the next grant cycle. This revised application will include an additional section, where all issues previously raised by the Grant Panel and peer reviewers should be addressed; it will also compete equally with all other submitted applications in that cycle.

We receive hundreds of applications each year. However, we do not publish our success rates. Based on our recent funding cycles, researchers can expect that if an application is shortlisted, around 30 per cent of IIGs and 20 per cent of PFGs get funded.