The call is now closed

The Dundee Cancer Centre (DCC) is pleased to announce a call for proposals under its Development Fund which seeks to support new, innovative and cutting edge projects that would advance the aims of the Centre:   

• To promote and support the development of cancer-related translational research in Dundee
• To train and develop cancer researchers
• To promote cancer-focussed public engagement activities     

The DCC is a partnership between The University of Dundee, NHS Tayside, and Cancer Research UK (CR-UK) established to facilitate collaboration and communication of cancer related activities between the local clinical, research and fundraising communities.

Translational research in the DCC builds on its areas of strength in skin, colorectal or breast cancer, surgical oncology and imaging. The DCC is also one of the key funders of the Tayside Tissue Bank.        

The Dundee Cancer Centre Development Fund was set up to support a milestone driven funding portfolio of projects across the full spectrum of cancer research, including basic science, medicine, nursing, dentistry, biophysics and computing. Projects with the potential to attract downstream or other external funding are favoured and the remit includes higher risk projects in novel fields.

Eligibility

The funding under this call is available for new projects focused on cancer and to be led by researchers and/or clinicians in NHS Tayside and the University of Dundee.     

Funding criteria

To receive support from the Development Fund, projects must meet the following mandatory criteria: 

• Projects must be new and focus on cancer
• Projects must include collaborations across the University of Dundee and/or NHS Tayside.  
• Projects must address one or more of the DCC strategic focus areas: translational research, training and capacity building, public engagement

 In addition, the DCC encourages and will prioritise new projects that are: 

• Innovative pilots with tangible potential to have impact on cancer research and/or practice  
• Pump-priming projects with a clear pathway for future development
• Multidisciplinary projects, including collaborations with or from outside the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing and Life Sciences
• Translational research projects
• Collaborations with other Cancer Centres, particularly Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre 
• Addressing the DCC strategic focus areas outside research – training and public engagement
• Exploring the application of new technologies in advancing research on cancer or its promotion
• Projects with matching funds from other sources. 

Available funding

The Development Fund will support projects for up to £30,000. Submission of any larger proposal will require prior approval, which might be granted in exceptional cases. Please contact DundeeCancerCentre@dundee.ac.ukto discuss.  

Applicants should note that the Development Fund will not cover the sorts of expenses that are covered by programme grants, particularly routine consumables, or staff bridging costs. Funding should not be requested if other CR-UK funding routes are available, such as support for conferences and meetings or large equipment.

Successful projects are expected to start as soon as possible, and no later than six months after the indicated start date. Normally, the duration of funded projects is between six and twelve months.    

The DCC will request brief progress reports twice a year and a comprehensive final outcome report must be submitted to the DCC within a month of completion of the project. 

Application and assessment process

Proposals must be submitted by the lead applicant by the end of Friday, 15 March 2013. We can only accept proposals that are submitted via the Development Fund online system on https://dcc-dev-fund.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/and comply with the set format: 

• A two page maximum description of the project including detailed budgetary requirements and justification for requested funds. Proposals should be in minimum size 12 Arial font, with margins no smaller than 2.5 cm.
• Proposals should explain briefly the suggested research or research related idea and how it is proposed to be implemented over a specific timeline.  
• The proposal should include an explanation of how it fulfils the set criteria, what is new about the project and what benefits it will bring to the Dundee Cancer Centre and cancer research in general.
• For pilot, pump-priming projects, details of how it will be extended over time should be included, along with future funding plans. 

Following the deadline the proposals will be considered by a review panel with diverse areas of expertise. Funding decisions are expected to be announced in May 2013. 

Contact

More information about the Dundee Cancer Centre and its activities is available on its website http://cancercentre.dundee.ac.uk/

For any queries related to this competition please contact DundeeCancerCentre@dundee.ac.uk