Useful Documents to help with your application

For guidance on how to make an application for funding from Alopecia UK, take a look at our Tips for writing an application for Alopecia UK funding.

Funding applications are reviewed by both the Lay Research Panel and Research Committee. The application form contains a section for a Lay Summary, please make sure this does not contain any technical language and is understandable for a non-scientific audience. Writing a Lay Summary will give you some guidance to ensure your Lay Summary is suitable.

Our Frequently Asked Questions document may also be useful.

• Alopecia UK Research Funding Code of Practice
• Alopecia UK Research Integrity Policy
• Alopecia UK Open Access Policy

Terms and Conditions

Before considering making an application, please read through our Terms and Conditions.  All applicants and the involved institutions should agree to accept and adhere to the grant conditions, including intellectual property and revenue-sharing elements, before making an application.

Peer Review Policy

We adhere to the Association of Medical Research Charities principles of peer review to ensure we fund research of the highest quality.

Applications are subject to both scientific and lay expert peer review and may be subject to an external assessment, depending on the size of the grant. Applications are assessed on the following criteria:

• Relevance and novelty of the proposed project
• Deliverability
• Quality of the research design and methodology
• Value for money

Applications, along with any external assessments are considered by our Research Committee, who make recommendations for funding to our Board of Trustees.

Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)

We are members of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), which means we work to the principles of peer review that they have set out (as mentioned above). Through our membership of the AMRC, grant holders may be eligible for extra support from the Charity Research Support Fund (CRSF). The CRSF underpins charity investment in university research across England. The fund enables universities to leverage research funding from charities; it means researchers who receive charitable funding can recover the ‘indirect’ costs of research that charities do not pay. These costs include estates, shared IT and administration overheads.

As members of the AMRC we support the AMRC statement on the use of patient data in research and their actions to better develop and standardise processes. We support the principle of using animals in research when there is absolutely no alternative. All AMRC member charities support this principle, as outlined in this statement.

NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) support

Alopecia UK is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) non-commercial Partner. This means the studies that we fund may be eligible to access NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) support. The network supports health and social care research taking place in both NHS and non-NHS settings, such as studies running in care homes or in hospices, which will answer important questions for those patient populations. 

Read the full policy on Eligibility Criteria for NIHR Clinical Research Network Support here.

In partnership with your local R&D office, we encourage you to involve your local CRN team in discussions as early as possible when planning your study to fully benefit from the support the NIHR CRN offers as outlined in their Study Support Service.

If your study involves NHS sites in England you will need to apply for Health Research Authority Approval. For guidance on submitting an application, please visit: www.hra.nhs.uk.

Involving patients and the public

Researchers can involve people living with or affected by alopecia throughout all stages of the research process. Our Lay Research Panel is a group made up of experts by lived experience, as they are people affected by alopecia and their family members. They have perspectives that may not typically be considered by researchers, which helps improve the quality and relevance of research. It is important to consider how people with lived experience can be involved in your work as early as possible. Any interactions with people with lived experience should use clear, plain English communications. It should not merely be a "tick box exercise", instead it should have the potential to gain different perspectives and to meaningfully affect how the research is done. 

• NIHR guide on working effectively with public contributors.
• New NIHR website with resources and training for involvement (launched January 2024). 
• A practical guide to patient and public involvement in lab-based research, developed by medical charities and universities.
• Report and publication on the practical benefits of patient and public involvement from the British Society for immunology.
• Sense About Science have put together guidance to help with communicating your work to patients and the public.

How to request lay panel support

If you would like to contact our lay research panel with an involvement opportunity, please complete the application form for PPI support and return it to [email protected]. If you have any questions about the network or would like to know more about involvement in alopecia research, please contact us.

More useful resources

• Guidance on holding virtual PPI meetings from the NIHR.
• Guidance on payment for involvement from the NIHR.
• Participant Information Quality Standards and Design and Review Principles from the HRA.