Research Grants
CSO has two Research Advisory Committees
- the Health Services Research Committee (HSRC)
- the Biomedical and Therapeutic Research Committee (BTRC)
which advise on the scientific merit of grant applications and their relevance to the health of individuals in Scotland. In addition, all investigator driven projects are reviewed by a system of peer review before being considered by the Committees. Each committee meets three times yearly to consider applications. About £7 million a year of CSO's budget is spent on funding research projects on their recommendation.
There are two main types of research grants available from CSO. Project grants are normally limited to a cost ceiling of 80% of the full economic cost up to a maximum of £225,000 spread over a maximum of 3 years. Applications for these grants are first submitted as an outline and if the research is considered viable then full applications are requested and considered by either the BTRC or HSRC.
For those starting out on research the small grants scheme provides a helpful stepping stone into research. These are limited to 80% of the full economic cost up to a maximum of £50,000 for a duration of up to 12 months. Outline applications are not required for small grants, but are recommended for inexperienced researchers. Applicants can obtain assistance from the relevant research manager and are given constructive feedback following external peer review. This scheme is also used to fund feasibility or pilot studies, prior to submission of a project grant application. Several successful small grants have led to applications for full grants.
Approximately 180-200 outline proposals are received each year of which some 40-50 are funded.
Details of projects funded, along with summaries of recently completed projects, can be found on our SHOW site.
Research Managers
Dr Roma Armstrong - 0131 244 2255 (BTRC)
Dr Hilary Lapsley - 0131 244 2254 (HSRC)
Dr Peter Craig - 0131 244 2077 (HSRC- Public Health projects)
Ms Beatrice Cant - 0131 244 0335 (HSRC - Mental Health projects)