Research programme

Summary of the programme

Our Research programme closed on 29 May, and we are keen to update you about the number of applications we have received and how we are going to consider them.  On 7 May, we explained that if the programme was heavily oversubscribed, we would introduce an early sifting stage to our assessment process, and progress only those that best demonstrate they meet our criteria and score highest.

We have received 450 applications to round 2 of the programme - this is significantly higher than the 35-50 awards that we expect to be able to make, and we appreciate the need for us to work quickly and fairly to give you a decision as early as possible.

Therefore, as well as eligibility and completeness checks we will also use an additional assessment phase that will enable us to score and rank all applications and only progress those that have a realistic chance of success.

As part of this additional phase we will consider those factors that we know best demonstrate a strong good project, including evidence of need for the research, the extend to which beneficiaries and stakeholders have been/will be involved in the project, and the degree to which the project outcomes address the programme outcomes.  All complete and eligible applications will be scored using the same pre-defined criteria.

We appreciate that it will be very disappointing for those applicants who are not taken forward following this assessment phase, but given the limited amount of money available we have to take some very difficult decisions.  Given the number of projects we are likely to fund, we recognise that it would be poor service to keep everyone waiting for a decision for several months.  We are also mindful to keep the costs involved in assessing applications to a reasonable level and not waste lottery money on processing bids that we know are unlikely to be successful in securing a grant.  Our recent Big Thinking consultation told us we should be mindful of both these points.

We hope this message is helpful, and if you have any questions or feedback, please call our Research programme helpline on 0845 0711068.

What to do next

For more information, please visit www.bigresearchprogramme.org.uk.

Contact

• Visit the website
• Call our programme helpline on 0845 0711068.
• Email us at researchprogramme@aeat.co.uk
• Call our Lottery Funding Helpline on 0845 275 00 00 or go to www.lotteryfunding.org.uk