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General guidelines for research grant applicants

Financial support

Salaries

Diabetes UK will pay salaries based on the scales in operation at the institution in which the research will take place. Applicants should consult the appropriate administrative authority at their institution to determine the salaries to be requested.

Diabetes UK will not pay salaries for principal investigators, co-applicants or collaborators named on the funding applications. In cases where a principal investigator or co-applicants' salary is dependent on grant funding, we would require a letter from the Institute confirming this.

Diabetes UK will not fund on a cost recovery basis and is therefore unwilling to meet the salary costs of staff currently funded by the Higher Education Funding Council, NHS or equivalent. If you are unsure whether a specific salary is allowable on a Diabetes UK application, please contact the office in the first instance.

Diabetes UK will pay for named staff with specific expertise, such as Statisticians, Health Economists, nurses etc for their time on the project.  If you are not sure if the salary of a post will be covered, please email research@diabetes.org.uk to clarify.

Salary increments

Costs for National Insurance contributions and any superannuation should be added to salary costs at the point of application. These costs will not be considered after an award has been made.

Known salary increments may be included on the application form but national pay awards may not. If the application is awarded institutes may invoice for the pay awards at the end of each grant year. Please refer to the grant conditions for more information.

Other salary costs

For more information about our position on other salary queries, such as parental leave or sick pay, please visit Managing your Diabetes UK grant.

Research costs

The finance section is one of the most important elements in the application process. Applicants should fully justify all requests in detail. Where possible, categories (e.g. consumables) should be broken down and fully justified to avoid an application being returned. 

All requests should be fully justified in any application to Diabetes UK.

Diabetes UK do not cover the costs from the list below.

  • Research work not specified at the time of application
  • Retrospective funding for work already completed
  • 'Top-up' funds for current research projects
  • Overspending on current grants
  • Publication, open access, and public relations costs. Please refer to our open access policy for more information
  • Advertising
  • Stationery
  • Secretarial work
  • Travel*
  • Attendance at conferences**
  • Indirect costs, as specified by the Research Councils
  • Overheads of any description
  • Maintenance costs or access charges (eg building maintenance)
  • Staff development (eg training of staff)
  • Staff facilities
  • Financial services (eg accounting, auditing)
  • Routine care for patients
  • Databases (unless specifically required for the research project).
  • Apprenticeship levy

Inflation may not be included on research costs.

*If travel is an integral part of the research programme, financial provision should be sought at the point of application, otherwise support will not be provided.

**These restrictions apply only to researchers submitting an application to the Project grant or Early-career small grant schemes.

Diabetes UK endorses the key principles set out in the AMRC statement on supporting research in universities.

Concurrent applications to Diabetes UK and other funding bodies

Applicants can apply for funding for the same research proposal from other funding bodies concurrently but Diabetes UK must be informed of this at the time of application, where possible, or at the point of application to another funding body.


Failure to do so may result in an application being rejected or funding being withdrawn. If the application to another funding body is recommended for award Diabetes UK must be informed immediately.

Applicants can apply to more than one funding scheme for the same project at Diabetes UK. If one application is recommended for award, all other applications will be automatically withdrawn.

Deadlines and how to apply

Applicants are advised to refer to the specific scheme guidelines for deadlines and details of how to apply.

All applications must be submitted through the online grants management system by 5pm on the day of the deadline. Late applications will not be considered.

Administrative process and assessment criteria

Applicants should refer to the specific scheme guidelines for assessment criteria.

Grant conditions

Applicants and institutes (Head of Department) must confirm on application that they have read and accept the Diabetes UK Grant Conditions and related policies on behalf of the host institution and that, if granted, the work will be accommodated and administered in the institution in accordance with the Grant Conditions.

Contact us if you have a query

If you have any questions or queries please contact the Diabetes UK Research department at research@diabetes.org.uk.

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