Who we are

Independent and research-led

As a broad funder, we are free to fund whatever we feel are the most important medical research questions of the time. Unlike many other funding bodies we are not restricted to providing support for a particular disease or condition, or a particular research institution. We can respond to the emerging health needs of the nation and the wider world, and the research priorities and opportunities identified by scientific experts and our donors. We are inspired by the responsibility and independence that your donations give us. We are a purely research-led organisation, meaning all our efforts are centred around funding scientists and research.

We set ourselves high standards for all of our research. We decide how to fund applications by seeking scientific advice through the Medical Research Council (MRC)'s research boards and training panels as well as the wider scientific community and lead clinicians. We also look to expert reports to inform our work, and where we can be, are informed by people with lived experience.

The MRC help us to find suitable experts in the field to either review applications or sit on our review panels. These and other services are provided free of charge by the MRC, reducing our overhead costs and increasing the efficiency of our processes, while allowing us to access some of the best possible advice.

Governance

We are committed to ensuring we maintain the highest of standards of governance best practice. In doing so we can ensure we’re all working towards fulfilling our vision. And this solid foundation, along with the research expertise that we have access to through the MRC, means that we can make clear decisions to target our money at the research that really matters.

Our Board, led by Professor Paul Moss OBE, includes trustees with expertise in science and science funding, bioethics, fundraising, communications, investments, finance and governance. Our trustees act in a voluntary role and do not get paid for the work they do for us. Find out more about our trustees.

Partnerships

There is much to do to improve human health, and there are many charities who share a similar vision. In addition to our strong relationship with our founder, the MRC, we seek out and nurture co-funding partnerships with other research funders and those who can support our work.

As well as allowing us to fund research in important, underfunded areas, previous partnerships have brought in additional expertise, perspectives of people with lived experience of the conditions, and helped us to reach new communities of researchers.

We are always open to new and innovative partnerships that will help to improve human health. You can contact us about any partnership enquiries.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We know that we need to work with the very best people, from as diverse backgrounds as possible, to represent different experiences and bring diversity of thought to all that we do. We are committed to working towards full equality of opportunity and embedding inclusion throughout our work.

Equity, diversity and inclusion in our workplace

As an employer, we work hard to ensure that all of our people can contribute to the best of their abilities, and that no one is inhibited from making their contribution; we will embed an inclusive, positive and fair culture where opportunities are open to all.

Two of our people are trained as EDI Advocates and our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group was established to review our work and make recommendations for change. We are implementing the action plan that arose from our first EDI audit and we are open to continued learning from all our people to help us identify and remove barriers to inclusion and encourage and embrace diversity of thought.

Equity, diversity and inclusion in our science and research

We are committed to embracing diversity, attracting the best from the widest pool possible, and drawing on the skills of all people when funding research.

We will continue to monitor the equality and diversity of our funding processes and funded researchers. Since early 2022, we have asked all grant applicants to tell us how the sex/gender dimension of their research has been accounted for in their experimental design. We have also guided our peer reviewers and Expert Review Panel members to specifically address this issue in the applications they assess.

As members of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Science coalition (EDIS), we will continue to learn from models of best practice in this area. We have already made steps forward in ensuring equality of our funding processes in the UK and internationally, and through training programmes in equitable collaborations.

We also joined with organisations across the UK medical research sector to publish a statement of intent signalling our support for the introduction of dedicated sex and gender policies for biomedical, health, and care research in the UK.

Planetary health

Science and research have clearly shown that climate change is a real and rapidly growing threat to all of us. As a charity whose very mission is to improve human health, we cannot sit back and watch as the planet’s health declines, and we cannot make matters worse by our own actions.

In addition to focusing our research funding on the impact of climate change on health, we have already taken steps to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and increase the environmental sustainability of our work. This includes divesting from fossil fuels.

We will now escalate the pace and impact of our actions – aiming to reach Net Zero in our own activities as soon as possible and influencing the activities of others that we work with and fund, or who provide services to us. We will ensure that planetary health and environmental sustainability is at the forefront of our decision-making by embedding this within our decision-making processes.

Find out more about our commitment to planetary health in Our Strategy to 2029.