Applicant FAQs

There are three stages to the application process:

1. If you have read this website and think your project is a good fit for the Trust’s criteria, you must complete the Trust’s Eligibility Test.
2. If you pass this test, you can submit an Expression of Interest form (the form link will be provided to applicants that pass the Eligibility Test).
3. We will then advise you if your project is suitable to progress to a full application. Full applications are made via an online Application form (see here for a copy of the questions). The link to the Application form will be provided to suitable applicants following reviews of Expression of Interest forms.

Once you submit your Application form, you will receive confirmation via email that your proposal has been safely received. During the assessment process the Trust may be in touch to ask for further information.

Projects can be conducted within the UK or internationally, but Trust grants are only paid to or through UK charitable organisations – primarily UK registered charities. Other UK charitable organisational forms may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Trust is able to accept applications from CICs (Community Interest Companies) as long as their projects are to be delivered in a partnership with a UK charitable organisation. If your CIC is not also a UK registered charity, a Memorandum of Understanding between the partners would need to be submitted as part of the application, and any funding awarded by the Trust would need to be paid via the UK charitable organisation.

Please note the Social criteria has additional restrictions for applicant organisations. Social applications:

• Must be from service-delivery charitable organisations, although these could be in partnership with others, including academic organisations
• Are only accepted from organisations with an annual income of up to £3,000,000

No. If you are seeking continuation funding for an ongoing project, or towards the running costs of an established organisation, then unfortunately we are not the funder for you. Please note the Trust does not provide retrospective funding.

For new initiatives that will become ongoing projects, the Trust will prioritise work that has the potential to be self-supporting at the earliest possible moment.

The Trust will consider applications to fund implementation projects that are innovative. As an example, it may fund roll-outs of pioneering pilot work where significant further developments will take place as part of the implementation.

However, an application for a straightforward scale-up and expansion of an existing proven model would be less likely to meet the Trust’s innovation focus.

Applicants may find the following definition of implementation from The Colebrook Centre helpful: “…active and planned efforts to identify approaches or interventions that work and deliver them in ways that maximise and preserve their effectiveness.”

The Trust does not usually fund:

• Conference attendance.
• Projects proposed indirectly through other ‘umbrella’ organisations.
• Projects from large well-funded charities.
• Personal education fees or fees for taught courses – unless the proposal comes from a senior researcher who is seeking funds for research which could be undertaken by post-graduate student.
• Completion of a project or PhD initiated by other bodies.
• Educational or ‘gap-year’ projects for young people.
• Projects where the Trust would not be a major supporter, with the Trust normally preferring to fund at least 50% of the total project costs. Applying for funding elsewhere will not prejudice an application.

The Trust never awards grants for the following:

• Directly to individuals (grants are only awarded through UK charitable organisations for specific projects).
• Donations to general appeals of any kind.
• The purchase, erection or conversion of buildings, or other capital costs.
• University overhead charges.

All applications for research funding involving human participants need to include serious consideration of the ethics of the proposed research and must be subjected to independent ethical scrutiny. The Trust Administrator needs to be provided with clear information about who will take responsibility for the ethical conduct of the research. (The Sir Halley Stewart Trust is not a National Institute for Health Research Partner Organisation.)

Research Governance

The Sir Halley Stewart Trust supports the principles of good practice and standards that apply to all research, as set out in the Department of Health’s Research Governance Framework in Health and Social Care (RGF).

The Trust does not, however, assume the responsibilities of the research Sponsor as described in the RGF. The Principal Investigator must identify the Sponsor within the research proposal. The Principal Investigator must also provide details of the individual, organisation or group that is acting as Sponsor before the study begins in a letter addressed to the Trust Administrator.

Where a Small Grant has come to an end, the Trust may consider a follow-on Main Grant application, depending on project progress and reporting.

In both cases, please contact the Trust to discuss how best to apply and relevant timings.

Multi-year projects must provide annual reports to the Trust. All grantees must provide a final report within six months of their grant’s completion. Following the completion of the grant, all grantees must complete an outcomes questionnaire and three years later an impact questionnaire. See the Trust’s Monitoring Guidelines for full details.

The Trust will send the grant offer paperwork to the applicant’s email address, unless it is not related to the charity / institution (in that instance, it would be sent to the email address registered on the Charity Commission or University website). This will include a Grant Conditions agreement for you to sign and return to the Trust, along with your organisation’s banking details and any necessary ethical approval or other relevant documentation for the project.

See here for an example Grant Conditions document, although please note this is tailored to each project and special additional conditions may be included depending on the project.

Once these documents have been received, the first instalment can then be paid in the Trust’s next monthly payment cycle.

Research Governance
The Sir Halley Stewart Trust supports the principles of good practice and standards that apply to all research, as set out in the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research.

The Trust does not, however, assume the responsibilities of the research Sponsor as described in the framework above. The Principal Investigator must identify the Sponsor within the research proposal. The Principal Investigator must also provide details of the individual, organisation or group that is acting as Sponsor before the study begins in a letter addressed to the Trust.

Ethical review
All applications for research funding involving human participants need to include serious consideration of the ethics of the proposed research and must be subjected to independent ethical scrutiny. The Trust needs to be provided with clear information about who will take responsibility for the ethical conduct of the research.

Please note: The Sir Halley Stewart Trust is not a National Institute for Health Research Partner Organisation.