NBCRC Pilot Grant Application Guidelines - 2025 Round
Many thanks for your interest in the NBCRC Pilot Grant initiative. We have £30k available to allocate to the best research proposals for the 2025 round – 2 grants for ~£10-15k ea, with NBCRC PI’s being the main applicant (but with others participating as co-applicants). Eligibility criteria are shown below.
The main aim of the program is to initiate new breast cancer research discoveries, to produce preliminary data that will be used in publications and enhance success in securing external substantive funding (via grants to research councils, major charities etc). As such, applications should be milestone driven with successful applicants being expected to submit progress reports (in lay terms) approximately every 3-4 months over the tenure of the award and upon its completion. These reports will be used, with permission, to update NBCRC supporters and advocates, and in webpage/social media communications.
An additional aim of the program is to encourage new research teams to work on breast cancer, in a collaborative way with NBCRC members. You can find out more about our previous research grant holders here.
To ensure suitable representation and breadth of research, and providing opportunities to all, we have the following eligibility criteria:
Eligibility criteria
| Full members of NBCRC |
can submit one application as lead applicant plus one application as a co-applicant |
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| Affiliate members NBCRC |
can submit one application as lead applicant, but must have at least one NBCRC full member as a co-applicant |
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| Associate members of NBCRC |
can be cited as a co-applicant (on >1 application), but must have a full member as PI or co-applicant (and should have PI approval) |
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| Non-members of NBCRC |
can submit one application as lead applicant, but must have at least one NBCRC full member as a co-applicant |
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Information on membership criteria, together with contact details and research interests of NBCRC full members can be found on the NBCRC website.
If you work on Breast Cancer but are not yet an NBCRC member please consider joining!
Information on membership criteria, together with contact details and research interests of NBCRC full members can be found on the NBCRC website: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/nottinghambreastcancerresearchcentre/meet-our-members/index.aspx. Queries regarding your application or eligibility criteria can be addressed to Faylisha Scott at nbcrc@nottingham.ac.uk Please note: to ensure equal opportunity to all, previous successful applicants cannot apply for the initial 2 years following allocation and completion of their latest award.
The same 2-tier review process will be used as in previous years - it is described below.
When applying please pay particular attention to the summary sections (lay and scientific) as these will be used in initial assessment and triage. Our patient/advocate group will rely on the lay abstract to assign their score. Please stay within the word count stated on the form. The initial triage score will be used to identify the top five applications to go forward for external review, that will be conducted by breast cancer research PI’s from around the UK and EU.
The initial triage score will be used to identify the top six applications to go forward for external review.
NBCRC Full Pilot Grant Application form 2025
NBCRC Pilot Grant Application Guidelines 2025
Summary of the process
| Noon, Mon 24th March |
Application deadline.
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| 21 April |
Initial triage - lay and scientific abstracts only assessed by:
- Panel of University of Nottingham senior academics (non-cancer specialists)
- An external BC specialist of international standing
- Panel of BC patients. The average patient score is given twice the weight of other individual reviewers.
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| 28 April |
- Applicants unsuccessful in the triage stage are informed
- Top 5 projects are forwarded for full peer review
- Full applications assessed by a panel of 5 external, internationally recognised BC researchers, representing a wide breadth of BC research areas
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| 23 June |
- Full review completed
- Scores, submitted independently, are totalled and the top 2 projects approved for funding
- Successful applicants informed by beginning of July, at the latest and asked to agree to the terms of the award. Awards commence from 1 Oct 2025 for maximum of 12 months.
- Feedback provided to all applicants where possible
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