Applications are Open
Aims of Small Research Grants
The Small Research Grant Programme supports UK-based researchers in building evidence to improve care and treatment for people with pulmonary fibrosis. The call encourages projects that use:
- Existing Data – to analyse trends, identify interventions, and address gaps in policy and practice.
- Qualitative Research – to capture patient and caregiver experiences to inform care improvements.
- Scoping Reviews – to identify knowledge gaps to help shape future research priorities.
Interested in Applying?
Key Dates
Our Research Review Panel will meet in June. To allow for your proposal to be considered, applications should be submitted in line with the key dates below.
Application Opens Application deadline Outcome notification by
6th April 5th May (23:59) 25th June
Available Funding
Funding Available: £10,000 total, supporting one or more projects, depending on the funding requested by successful applicants.
Project Duration: 6–18 months.
Eligibility Criteria
Applications are invited from Lead Applicants who are:
- Based in the UK (university, NHS institution, hospice, or research institute).
- Open to MSc students, PhD candidates, early-career researchers, or healthcare professionals. International collaborators permitted (but cannot hold the grant).
Priority Areas for Research
Project Scope: Proposals must align with at least one of the following objectives:
- Use existing datasets to analyse trends or identify interventions.
- Capture patient and caregiver perspectives via qualitative research.
- Address gaps in evidence through scoping reviews.
Research Questions
We are looking to fund patient-centred projects that seek to generate new evidence highlighting the barriers to care and treatment access for people with fibrotic ILDs, particularly in underserved populations.
This includes, but is not limited to, addressing health inequalities—such as regional disparities, social deprivation, and demographic factors such as sex and ethnicity—and improving access to anti-fibrotic treatments and multidisciplinary care.
The focus is on strengthening the evidence base to support future policy change, ensuring equitable, timely, and coordinated care for people living with pulmonary fibrosis.
Funding Scope
Applicants may request funding for direct costs of the research:
- Research staff salaries
- Data access fees, software licenses, or transcription costs for qualitative studies
- Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE), e.g., focus groups or workshops
- Dissemination, e.g., plain-language summaries and community events, open-access publication fees
Excluded Costs:
- Overheads or indirect costs
- Salaries for permanent staff
Applicants are advised to refer to our Research Strategy to ensure their application aligns with our research priorities.
How to Apply
The following information outlines how to apply for a Small Research Grant and the decision-making process for awarding funds.
Our Grants follow a 1-stage rapid review process.
Downloadable documents
Blank Offline Application Form (word)
Review Criteria and Scoring Guidance (PDF)
Small Research Grant Agreement (PDF)
Conflict of Interest Policy (PDF)
The 4-step funding process
1. Full application submission
Applicants submit their application forms using the online application form, in line with the key dates for review.
2. Application processing
Applications will be processed by our Research team to check that applications have followed the applicant guidance notes and that they broadly fulfil the award remit.
Applications are anonymised and prepared for review by the Research Review Panel (RRP).
3. Expert review
Applications undergo expert review by members of the RRP. Our RRP consists of scientific experts and people with lived experience ‘experts by experience’ of pulmonary fibrosis. All applications will be reviewed in-depth by a minimum of two members of the RRP.
The expert reviewers will provide a score against the scoring criteria, along with their recommendation to fund and a brief rationale.
You find details of the Small Research Grant scoring criteria in the Review Criteria and Scoring Guidance document.
The contents of your application will remain confidential and will not be reproduced, stored or disseminated for any purposes beyond the review process. All reviewers will adhere to our Conflict of Interest Policy. Applicants must declare any real or potential conflicts of interest with members of the RRP.
4. Successful grants awarded
Following expert review, the RRP will make their funding recommendations to the charity, who will make the final decision on which applications to fund.
All applicants will be notified of the outcome. Successful applicants will be issued with and an Award Letter outlining the terms and conditions of the grant.
Illustration of the review process
All queries relating to our Small Research Grants Programme should be sent to research@actionpf.org