RSTMH Early Career Grants Programme – Terms and Conditions 2024

Applications can be on any area of tropical medicine or global health including infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, neglected tropical diseases and external factors that affect global health. 

Early Career Grants are for those who have not received a research grant of £5,000 or more in their own name before. They can be based in any country and can be working in any organisation. 

RSTMH anticipate that most applicants will be at the start of their careers, though it recognises that some more experienced professionals may be new to research and will still be eligible to apply for a grant. 

Both members and non-members of RSTMH can apply for an RSTMH Early Career Grant, however if awarded, membership will be provided to awardees (until your research report delivery deadline) to ensure they can benefit from the full benefits of membership of RSTMH. 

We would like to ensure as many early career researchers and professionals can apply for an Early Career Grant as possible and encourage people from a range of disciplines and sectors to apply. 

To ensure equity and fairness of opportunity, RSTMH does not use a definition focused on specific roles, qualifications held, or age, instead it chooses to supply guidance around the profile of an applicant that may be suitable for an Early Career Grant. 

Applicants should not have received research funding of £5,000 or more in their own name before. The applicant’s supervisor must verify this as part of the reference and the application process. 

Applicants should be able to: 

• Carry out research under supervision 
• Have the ambition to develop knowledge of research methodologies and discipline 
• Have demonstrated a good understanding of a field of study 
• Demonstrate the ability to produce data under supervision 
• Use critical analysis, evaluation and be able to synthesise new and complex ideas 
• Competently explain the outcome of their research and value thereof to colleagues

The list below provides general guidance about the costs which are eligible under the Early Career Grants Programme. We do understand there may be exceptions to this guidance and would ask applicants to evidence the need for higher costs as part of their budget description. 

Please note that the budget provided in the application form must be written in detail, using the headings outlined in the application form. Each budget line should be broken down to show unit costs and quantities for each cost. Budget items should be based on evidence of the relevant costs of time and services, and not general estimates. 

If an item costs more than the limits indicated below, applicants can use other sources of funding to top up e.g. If a piece of equipment costs £3,000 and only £2,000 is allowable under the programme, the applicant could cover the additional £1,000 from another source.

• Consumables 
• Fieldwork expenses, including reasonable per diems for staff standard class travel to, from and within sight(s)and accommodation 
• International travel to carry out the research, total costs up to 50% of the overall budget 
• Equipment, up to 50% of the overall budget 
• Computers, tablets and phones, up to 20% of the overall budget combined
• Training course, tuition or bench fees that are related to and directly relevant to the project, up to 20% of the overall budget 
• Local dissemination costs, up to 20% of the overall budget 
• Ethics approval costs, up to 10% of the overall budget 
• Reasonable contingency costs 
• Tax on purchases where relevant 
• Supervisor stipends where reasonable, up to 10% of the overall budget
• Data analysis and statistical expertise, where reasonable, up to 10% of the overall budget 
• Translation costs, up to 10% of the overall budget 
• Overhead costs for institutions are allowed, up to 10% of the overall budget  
• Stipends for research assistants or community health workers, up to 10% of the overall budget
• Stationery, up to 10% of the overall budget
• Reimbursement for participants' time is allowed up to a maximum of £2 per person 
• Reasonable travel reimbursement for participants is allowed 

If awarded receipts or other evidence of the purchase of all items must be kept for seven years after the final report has been submitted as they may be audited by RSTMH and its funding partners. 

If this grant application is part of a larger research programme, matched funding must be in place at the time of submission of the Early Career Grant application. In addition to the application budget, applicants must also include a brief outline of the larger research programme’s budget in the application.

The application must be supported by two referees, one of which should be a senior member of the employing or affiliated organisation. The other should be the applicant’s direct supervisor for the duration of this project. References must be on headed paper and must be complete and uploaded to Submittable by the deadline. Applications without submitted references from both referees will be deemed incomplete and not assessed. Referees should use an institutional email address and not a personal email address to submit their references. 

The supervisor should assess and clearly comment on: 

• The feasibility of achieving the project’s aims 
• The reasonableness of the budget, in total and for each budget area
• The relevance of the project plan
• The benefit of the project to the wider community 
• The applicant meeting the guidance for being early in their career 
• The mentorship and support available to the applicant 

The senior member from the employing or affiliated organisation should comment on:  

• The training and career development opportunities available to the applicant 
• The availability and use of relevant institutional resources  
• The mentorship and career support available to the applicant

On completion of the project, a report must be submitted to RSTMH through the submittable portal within 3 months, for formal review by the Grants and Awards Committee. This may also be used for potential promotion by RSTMH. 

The project report template will ask information on the following areas: 

• Results and outcomes of the project 
• The impact of the project on your career, skills and networks
• Any images that help to illustrate your research and outcomes
• The budget expenditure against your project budget, with all receipts and proofs of payment for audit purposes 
• Your current role and profile photo

Awardees are also required to submit quarterly progress reports via the submittable portal/
Failure to submit reports within the specified timeframes may result in RSTMH asking for a refund of all unspent funds. In such cases, future applications for funding will not be considered. 

The support of RSTMH and your funder, if relevant, must be acknowledged in all written publications and oral presentations arising from the project. The logo of RSTMH and the funder will be supplied for this purpose, and other materials can be provided on request. 

For transparency, RSTMH and your funder, if relevant, will announce its Early Career Grant recipients on its website, social media channels and through its communications. If you have any concerns about this, please let us know.