Accelerator Awards

Accelerator Awards is sponsored by Wellcome. Funds researchers to develop innovative ideas into practical applications, such as mitochondria-targeted nanomedicines.

Lead applicant career stage:Administering organisation location: Your salary (if required) and up to £200,000 for project expenses Calculating next key date… ### Your background and experience * Self-identify as being from a: * Black heritage background, including a mixed heritage background.

For example, Black African; Black Caribbean; Black Other; Mixed background (must include Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black backgrounds). * Bangladeshi heritage background, including a mixed heritage background. For example, Bangladeshi Other; Mixed background (must include Bangladeshi backgrounds).

* Pakistani heritage background, including a mixed heritage background. For example, Pakistani Other; Mixed background (must include Pakistani backgrounds). * Currently be working in or ordinarily resident in the UK.

* Have completed a substantive period of research training relevant to their discipline by the time they submit the application.

This means you must fit at least **one** of the following: * you have completed a PhD (for example, in the life sciences) or an equivalent higher research degree * if you are currently studying for a PhD, you must have passed your viva examination by the application deadline * if you have not started a PhD or equivalent degree, you must have at least four years' equivalent research experience (for example, in the humanities and social sciences) * Have been awarded an undergraduate degree at a UK institution or a PhD at a UK institution.

If you hold your first permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract, you must have been appointed within the last three years unless, during this time, you: * spent time away from research due to personal circumstances (for example, for a career break, parental leave, long-term sick leave or a chronic illness) * worked part-time and research was not part of the role (for example if you have been employed as a healthcare professional) * worked part-time and your cumulative research time is less than three years If you hold a proleptic appointment, you can request your salary costs from Wellcome for the duration of the award.

If your contractual circumstances change between the point of application and your award activation, you must tell us immediately, as this may change your eligibility for salary. We will not normally supplement salary funds after the award has been made (read our supplementary grant funding page for more information). #### How much time you must contribute You should spend at least 80% of your research time on the grant.

If you are requesting your salary on the award, you should not spend more than 20% of your time on non-research related activities, for example, clinical duties, teaching or administration. If you're in a clinical craft speciality, you may spend up to 40% of your time on clinical duties.

If you are not requesting your salary on the award, you should be spending sufficient time on the proposed activities to achieve the aims of the proposed work. #### Health professionals If you are a health professional and want to continue with clinical activities, you must be registered with and licensed by the relevant professional regulator in the country you intend to work in. Read our Q&As for health professionals.

Read about the different applicant roles at Wellcome. You must be currently working in or ordinarily resident in the UK. Your administering organisation must be in the UK.

The grant cannot be held at an organisation outside the UK at any time. Any nationality is eligible, as long as you meet the conditions outlined above for the lead applicant. ### Other Wellcome awards You cannot apply for this scheme if you are an early-career researcher or mid-career researcher who already holds another Wellcome award as a lead applicant.

You cannot concurrently apply for an Accelerator Award and an Early-Career Award or Career Development Award. Submission of projects that were previously rejected from other Wellcome funding schemes is allowed.

### If you've spent time away from research #### Career breaks, parental leave, sick leave You can apply for this award if you have spent time away from research (for example, for a career break, parental leave or long-term sick leave). We will take this into consideration during the review of your application. Lead applicants can be part-time.

There is no formal time contribution, but your part-time work should be compatible with delivering the project successfully. ### Other people you can involve in the application and award Collaborators support the delivery of the project but don't lead on a specific component of the research.

For example, collaborators could support by: * providing access to tools or resources such as datasets or clinical records * providing access to organisations led by or working in collaboration with lived experience experts * providing expertise on working in different countries * sharing subject-specific knowledge and guidance, for example, expertise on statistical analysis or measurement of specific variables Collaborators do not have to meet eligibility requirements, and they are not required to give a minimum research time commitment.

Collaborators cannot receive a salary or compensation for the time spent on the proposed project. You can request costs to cover their expenses, for example, for their grant-related travel and the costs associated with providing the agreed input into the research, including the materials and consumables involved. These should be costs directly related to the research.

If your application was shortlisted, you will need to make significant changes to the application and may submit **one** further application. If your application was not shortlisted, you should make changes to the career plan and proposed activities and may submit again.

You should not apply for this scheme if: * you do not self-identify as belonging to one of the heritage backgrounds outlined in the ‘Who can apply’ section above * you are not currently working in or ordinarily resident in the UK * you do not hold an undergraduate degree or a PhD awarded from a UK institution * you have held your permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract for more than three years (unless the exceptions above apply) * you have not completed a substantive period of relevant research training as defined above ## Is your organisation right for this scheme?

* higher education institution * non-academic healthcare organisation * not-for-profit organisation ### Where your administering organisation is based Your administering organisation must be in the UK. ### What your administering organisation must do Your administering organisation must: * Meet the responsibilities required by the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers for institutions, managers and researchers.

* Commit to supporting you in completing the funded activities (for example, by adjusting administrative or teaching requirements, or providing space and resources for a research project). * Give you 10 days a year (pro rata if part-time) to undertake training and continuing professional development (CPD) in line with the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

This should include the responsible conduct of research, research leadership, people management, diversity and inclusion, and promoting a healthy research culture. * Provide a system of onboarding, embedding and planning for you when you join the organisation and/or start the award.

If your host organisation is a core-funded research organisation, a Wellcome Accelerator Award should not replace or lead to a reduction in existing or planned core support. ## Is your project in scope for this scheme? ### What your plan can include The funding is flexible and can be used for research activities or activities adjacent to research.

This includes, but is not limited to: * developing a novel research idea, pilot, proof-of-concept, or scoping study and gathering related preliminary data * taking up research skills training opportunities or other appropriate courses * writing and (co-)authoring papers, books, articles or funding applications * research time at another research institution in the UK or abroad * secondment opportunities for areas allied to research (for example, the pharmaceutical industry or non-governmental organisations) * planning meetings of collaborative networks or conferences **This is not an exhaustive list of eligible activities.

** Applicants are encouraged to propose activities they believe will best enable them to reach their next career stage, and to take full advantage of what we offer to strengthen their professional profile in multiple ways. If your plan includes research activities, research in any discipline is permitted but must align with Wellcome’s Discovery Research remit.

If your plan includes research-adjacent activities, they must either: * be related to human life, health and/or wellbeing, for example, writing a book or research article about human health, or doing a secondment at a pharmaceutical company, or * be supporting you to pursue a research career related to human life, health and/or wellbeing, for example, attending relevant training that will build the skills you need or make your profile more competitive in this field This award is designed to support successful career progression in academia.

Please refer to the assessment criteria below for further information on how applications will be assessed. ## Research costs we'll cover We will provide your salary if: * You do not have a post, or * You have a temporary or fixed-term post with less than two years remaining on your contract. You can only receive one salary.

We will fund the total cost of your salary for the entire period of the grant. Your salary should be based on the pay scales of the host organisation that will be employing you.

It should include: * employer’s contributions, including any statutory obligations (for example, National Insurance contributions if you’re based in the UK) and pension scheme costs * any incremental progression up the salary scale * locally recognised allowances such as London allowance. * any potential promotion costs * any Wellcome fellowship supplement that was part of a previous grant.

You should only allow for salary pay awards during Year 1. These should be based on pay awards already agreed: if you don’t know what the pay award is yet then use our inflation rate of 2. 04%.

From Year 2 onwards, we will automatically increase your salary, based on our current inflation allowance rates. If you are a clinical academic, your salary should be appropriate to your clinical status and within the salary scale for academic and senior clinical lecturers. If you're paid on a non-clinical salary scale, your basic salary should be in line with academics of a similar seniority.

Read about the responsibilities of grantholders and host organisations for people working on a Wellcome grant. #### Staff working on your programme We will cover the salary costs of all staff, full or part-time, who will work on your grant.

Staff members may include: * research assistants or technicians employed on your grant * specialist service staff, for example data analysis, fieldwork and clinical studies * support if you or a member of staff employed on your grant is disabled or has a long-term health condition – see 'Disability-related adjustment support'.

#### Research/teaching buyout If you’re a humanities and social science researcher, you can ask for funds for research or teaching replacement to cover the cost of a temporary replacement lecturer. You must retain at least a 10% commitment to teaching. * can cover up to 33% FTE of your contracted time * are usually for a person at a more junior level than the postholder * can be spread across the full period of the grant.

If you already get buyout costs from another grant (funded by Wellcome or elsewhere), you can ask us for this cost, but only for the period of time on your Accelerator Award when you won't receive buyout costs from another grant. You must provide a letter from your employing organisation, confirming that your contract includes a teaching commitment. You should include this in your grant application.

Staff salaries should be appropriate to skills, responsibilities and expertise.

You should ask your host organisation to use their salary scales to calculate these costs, which should include: * employer’s contributions, including any statutory obligations (for example, National Insurance contributions if you’re based in the UK) and pension scheme costs * Apprentice Levy charges for UK-based salaries * any incremental progression up the salary scale * locally recognised allowances such as London allowance.

You should allow for salary pay awards during Year 1. If the pay award is not yet known, applicants should use the International Monetary Fund inflation rate, selecting the ‘inflation, average consumer price’ option as an indicator. From Year 2 onwards, you should use your organisation’s current pay rates.

We’ll provide a separate inflation allowance for salary inflation costs. Read about the responsibilities of grantholders and host organisations for people working on a Wellcome grant. If you have named people on your grant whose salaries will be funded by Wellcome, you can ask for visa or work permit costs to help them take up their posts at the host organisation.

You can also ask for: * visa costs for the person's partner and dependent children * essential associated costs, such as travel to attend appointments at a visa application centre or embassy, and essential English language tests * Immigration Health Surcharge costs for the person, their partner and dependent children if they will be in the UK for six months or more.

If you have to move to take up the post at your administering organisation, you can ask for up to £1,000. This is to cover personal removal costs only. You will have to explain in your application why you need this.

You can ask for costs to cover the following types of training. #### Continuing professional development and professional skills training You can ask for a contribution towards these costs. Types of training can include: * research leadership, professional and people management skills * career development support * responsible conduct of research * diversity and inclusion * promotion of a healthy research culture.

We expect your host organisation to provide and fund this training. However, if these types of training are not available, or the quality is inadequate, you can ask for up to £500 a year for you and each member of staff employed on your grant who will be: * in a post of 12 months duration or more only and * working on Wellcome funded awards for at least 50% full time equivalent.

#### Research skills training You can ask for costs to cover training for technical and research skills you wish to develop, relative to the area of research you are in.

We will pay for the materials and consumables you need to carry out your project, including: * laboratory chemicals and materials (for example reagents, isotopes, peptides, enzymes, antibodies, gases, proteins, cell/tissue/bacterial culture, plasticware and glassware) * project-specific personal protective equipment (PPE) that is above the standard expected for the setting * printing associated with fieldwork and empirical research * associated charges for shipping, delivery and freight.

You can ask for funds to buy animals if they are essential to your project. We will also fund the charge-out rates for animal house facilities if your organisation uses full economic costing methodology.

These costs include: * running costs (including animal maintenance, any experimental procedures, licences and relevant staff training) * appropriate estates costs * cage and equipment depreciation costs, but not building depreciation costs. We may not pay the full charge-out rate for an animal house facility if we've provided significant funding towards the infrastructure and/or core support of the facility.

If your organisation does not use full economic costing methodology to establish charge-out rates for animal house facilities, you can ask for funds to cover: * the cost of buying animals * running costs (including animal maintenance, any experimental procedures, licences and relevant staff training) * staff costs, for example, contributions towards the salaries of animal house technicians.

We will not provide estates or depreciation costs. Your chosen research environment should have the necessary equipment for you to complete your work. You can ask for additional basic items of equipment that are essential to your research project.

Costs may include purchase, delivery, installation, maintenance and training, where necessary. We will cover VAT and import duties if: * the usual UK exemptions on equipment used for medical research don’t apply * you’re applying from a non-UK organisation, and you can show these costs can’t be recovered.

You can also ask for specialised equipment if: * it is essential to the success of the proposed research project * it is not available at your host organisation or through collaboration, and you’ll be the main user and have priority access to the equipment. If a complete piece of specialised equipment costs £100,000 or more, we expect a contribution of at least 25 per cent from the host organisation or another source.

In some cases, we may expect a larger contribution. We’ll discuss this with you after we’ve assessed your application. Contributions can include benefits in kind, such as refurbishment or the underwriting of a key support post.

Multi-component items must not be broken down into component parts to avoid this contribution. #### Equipment maintenance We will cover maintenance costs for equipment if: * you are requesting it in your application * it is existing equipment that is: * funded by us or another source * essential to the proposed research project * more than five years old * cost effective to keep maintaining it.

We won’t cover maintenance costs for equipment if there is a mechanism in place to recoup these costs through access charges. We will cover the cost of one personal computer or laptop per person up to £1,500. * more expensive items, unless you can justify them * installation or training costs.

You can ask for the cost of access to shared equipment, facilities or services if they’re essential to your project. These may include materials and consumables, plus a proportion of: * maintenance and service contracts, * staff time costs for dedicated technical staff employed to operate the equipment or facility.

We don’t cover the costs of: * depreciation or insurance , * other staff, for example, contributions towards departmental technical, administrative and management staff time. We do cover these costs if related to animal housing facilities. If the facilities or equipment were paid for by a Wellcome grant, you can only ask for access charges if: * any support for running costs and maintenance contracts has ended.

You can ask for overheads if your grant will be based at a UK research organisation that does not receive core funding for overheads. * estates, for example building and premises * non-project dedicated administrative and support staff * administration, for example finance, library, and room hire Overheads are not counted against your £200,000 limit for research expenses.

The total cost for overheads should not be more than 20% of the direct research costs. These costs must directly support the activity funded by the grant. Applicants can also ask for overheads on any part of your grant that is sub-awarded to any of the organisations listed above.

However, applicants based at a UK university cannot ask for overheads for the sub-awarded activity if their university will include the sub-awarded funding in its annual report to the UK Charity Research Support Fund. #### How to apply for these costs If you are requesting funds for overheads, in your application you will need to provide a letter from your Finance Director stating how the overhead costs have been calculated.

If your organisation has an externally audited or otherwise verified methodology for calculating overhead rates, then the letter must include: * confirmation of the validated rate * how the rate was arrived at/who provided the rate * when the rate was last reviewed * where details of the rate can be found If your organisation **does not** have an externally audited or otherwise verified methodology for calculating overhead rates, then the letter must include: * a breakdown of the costs requested * confirmation that the request is a true representation of the costs incurred You can ask for a contribution towards the costs of attending scientific and academic meetings and conferences, including registration fees.

The limits are: * Grantholder – £2,000 a year * Research and technical staff on your grant – £1,000 each a year We provide costs to cover caring responsibilities if you attend a conference. This includes childcare and any other caring responsibility you have. #### Collaborative travel You can ask for travel and subsistence costs for collaborative visits on your grant.

You’ll need to justify each visit and its duration. We will pay for other essential visits, for example to facilities, for sample collection and for fieldwork. You can include subsistence costs.

This applies to all types of travel costs Wellcome provides. * essential travel costs, even if the low carbon option is more expensive (for example travelling by train instead of flying) * project-related resources or activities that provide an alternative to travel, such as video conferencing, communication and file-sharing software * costs to offset the carbon emissions generated by the essential travel.

If carbon offsetting for travel is not part of your organisational sustainability strategy, you can ask us for a similar level of support for other sustainability initiatives. Your organisation must get our approval before submitting an application.

We won't pay for the core infrastructure that your host organisation should provide, examples of these costs include: * organisation-wide video conferencing packages See our carbon offset policy for travel for information on what you and your organisation need to do. If you’re away for up to one month you can ask for subsistence costs. These include accommodation, meals and incidentals (for example, refreshments or newspapers).

If your administering organisation has a subsistence policy, use their rates. If your administering organisation doesn’t have a subsistence policy, please use the HMRC rates. If you’re away for more than one month and up to 12 months, we will pay reasonable rental costs only, including aparthotels.

You should discuss appropriate rates with your administering and host organisations, or Wellcome, as appropriate. We expect you to choose the most economical options, booked in advance where possible. If you’re away for more than 12 months, we will pay the costs of your housing.

You should discuss your needs with your administering and host organisations. The allowance we provide will be based on family and business need. We will set the maximum allowance we pay for each location.

This will be based on current market data or, where data is unavailable, in consultation with your administering organisation, using equivalent market rates. Please contact us if you need help calculating the costs. We will cover the direct expenses you have to pay to find and rent a home.

We will not cover the cost of utilities or any refurbishment. If you will be spending time in another country, we'll help with the additional costs of working on the project overseas. Please see the 'Overseas allowances' section for details.

If you will be spending time in another country, we’ll help you with the additional costs of working on the project overseas.

Our overseas allowances are: * a contribution towards the personal cost of carrying out research overseas, to ensure that you are not disadvantaged * provided on the assumption that you’ll be paying income tax, either in your home country, or the country you will be working in (your personal tax is your responsibility).

* provided on the understanding that you or your partner will not receive equivalent allowances from elsewhere * determined by the amount of time you will spend away from your home country. We expect the people we fund to choose travel that has a lower carbon impact, where practical, even if it’s more expensive (for example travelling by train instead of flying).

You can ask for costs to offset the carbon generated by the travel, as part of your overseas allowances. If carbon offsetting for travel is not part of your organisational sustainability strategy, you can ask us for a similar level of support for other sustainability initiatives. Your organisation must get our approval for other sustainability initiatives to be included in applications.

See our carbon offset policy for travel for information on what you and your organisation need to do. If you will be away more than 12 months, we will provide overseas allowances for your partner and any dependants if they are travelling with you. If you will be away for 12 months or less and can justify why your partner and dependants must travel with you, we may provide overseas allowances for them.

We define your partner as the person: * you’re not married to but with whom you’ve been in a relationship for at least a year * you live with at the same permanent address and share some form of joint financial commitment with, such as a mortgage. See a list of low- and middle-income countries, as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). You can ask for the following allowances.

You need to provide estimated costs as accurately as possible. We will pay your travel costs at the beginning and end of your overseas work. Costs can be for air, ferry, train or coach fares.

* in line with our carbon offset policy * booked in advance where possible. If you are away for**up to 12 months**, you can ask for up to 80kg of additional baggage or unaccompanied airline freight for your outward and return journeys. If you are away for **more than 12 months**, you can ask for the costs of shipping your personal items at the beginning and end of your overseas work.

We will pay the full cost of transporting: * half a standard shipping container if you’re travelling alone * a whole standard shipping container (20ft) if you’re travelling with a partner and/or dependants. We will pay the cost of your medical insurance and travel insurance. If you will be working in a low- or middle-income country we will also cover the cost of emergency evacuation cover.

We won’t pay for medical insurance if you will be based in the UK. We will pay the costs of visas, vaccinations and anti-malaria treatment. If you’re away for **up to one month**you can ask for subsistence costs.

These include accommodation, meals and incidentals (for example, refreshments or newspapers). If your administering organisation has a subsistence policy, use their rates. If your administering organisation doesn’t have a subsistence policy, please use the HMRC rates.

If you’re away for **more than one month and up to 12 months**, we will pay reasonable rental costs only, including aparthotels. You should discuss appropriate rates with your administering and host organisations, or Wellcome, as appropriate. We expect you to choose the most economical options, booked in advance where possible.

If you’re from a low- or middle- income countryand will be working in a high-income country for **more than one month and up to 12 months**, you can also ask for up to £10 a day to cover extra costs, such as transport and incidentals. If you’re away for **more than 12 months**, we will pay the costs of your housing. You should discuss your needs with your administering and host organisations.

The allowance we provide will be based on family and business need. We will set the maximum allowance we pay for each location. This will be based on current market data or, where data is unavailable, in consultation with your administering organisation, using equivalent market rates.

If you need help calculating the costs please contact us. We will cover the direct expenses you have to pay to find and rent a home. We will not cover the cost of utilities or any refurbishment.

If you’re away for **more than 12 months**we will pay: ##### Local nursery or school fees You can ask for these costs if you are in a location where there isn’t free local education of the same standard as in your home country. * local nursery school fees up to a maximum of 30 hours a week for 3 to 4 year olds * local junior or secondary school fees, up to the end of secondary school education.

##### Local international school fees You can ask for these costs if local schools do not provide the same standard of education as in your home country. We will only pay the published termly school fees. We will not cover the costs of: * extracurricular activities, including field trips * other extras including, but not limited to, uniforms, sports kit and equipment, transport, meals, books and electronic equipment.

##### Boarding school fees We will consider paying the cost of boarding school fees in your home country if: * a local international school is not available * both parents, guardians or the sole care giver live outside the home country.

* up to a maximum of £30,000 a year for each child for the published termly fees only * the cost of return airfares at the start and end of each school term, in line with our carbon offset policy for travel.

We will not cover the costs of: * additional annual leave airfares * extracurricular activities, including field trips * other extras including, but not limited to, uniforms, sports kit and equipment, transport, meals, books and electronic equipment. We will cover the cost of providing special needs education as far as possible. Please contact us to discuss your needs.

We would not usually expect to provide an education allowance if you will be working in a high-income country. If you will be away for **more than 12 months**, we’ll pay for you to travel back to the UK for annual leave.

This is in addition to your outward and return travel costs and depends on how long you will be away: * 12-24 months – 1 annual leave trip * 25-36 months – 2 annual leave trips * in line with our carbon offset policy * booked in advance where possible. If you will be away for **more than 12 months**, you can ask for up