King’s College London is using a flexible fund to turn early-stage research ideas into evidence strong enough to win major grants from bodies like the Medical Research Council or the Wellcome Trust. The problem this addresses is the gap between a promising concept and the data needed to secure substantial external funding. Many researchers have good ideas but lack the resources to generate the preliminary results that make a competitive grant application. This fund provides that bridge. If successful, the scheme could accelerate the development of new treatments, diagnostics, or public health interventions—particularly in child health, diabetes, urban public health, and quantitative biomedicine. It also supports early-career researchers through two-year Prize Fellowships, helping to recruit the most promising scientists before they are lost to other institutions or sectors. Small public engagement grants allow researchers to share their work at science festivals or events like Pint of Science, building public trust and interest. A Parenting Leave Fund helps staff return to work after maternity, paternity, or adoption leave, retaining talent that might otherwise leave research altogether. The overall impact is a stronger, more diverse research pipeline that turns curiosity into real-world benefit.
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1. Support for translational pilot studies This is incorporated into the KHP R&D Challenge Fund . The Fund is designed to help researchers develop an evidence-base sufficient to enable them to apply for more substantial funding from established bodies such as the Medical Research Council or the Wellcome Trust. 2. Prize Fellowships With additional support from the London Law Trust KHP Biomedical Research Centres, 2 year post-doctoral Prize Fellowships are offered. These are intended to facilitate recruitment of the most promising early-career researchers, capable of obtaining long-term support through externally-funded post-doctoral fellowships. The first round of this scheme will be launched in March 2015. 3. Small grants for public engagement Small grants (generally £100-1,000) are available to individual researchers or groups of researchers to undertake public engagement activities, such as participation in science festivals or Pint of Science. Interested academics should contact Tom Foulkes. 4. Parenting Leave Fund This supports the staff returning to work after a period of maternity, paternity or adoption leave (or during that period), by making awards of up to £10k. For details, please see the university Parenting Leave Fund webpage. 5. Development of cross-disciplinary research Pump-priming funding will be used to stimulate new collaborations and develop research in the following areas: Quantitative Biomedicine & Biophysics Urban Public Health Diabetes Child Health The funding will be allocated following a series of workshops in each area.
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