Reporting on our research

Open access

As part of our vision to advance medical research, improve human health and change people’s lives, we are committed to ensuring that the knowledge and discoveries which result from research we fund are available to everyone.

Open access is an important means of achieving this, as it makes published research freely and permanently available online for anyone to read, share and reuse.

All research articles that arise from our funding must be archived, as well as being immediately and freely available through Europe PubMed Central (Europe PMC).

Read our full Open Access Policy to find out more.

Impact

We need to be able to demonstrate the impacts and benefits of funding research on human health. And that’s why we ask you to report on your research – on an annual basis, and when your grant comes to an end. Take a look at our grant terms and conditions for more information on what we expect from our grant holders.

We use an online tool called Researchfish to evaluate and report on the impact of the research we fund. See below for an overview of what Researchfish is and how to use it.

What is Researchfish?

The Medical Research Foundation uses the Researchfish system, provided by Researchfish Ltd. This is an online facility that enables research funders and research organisations (LROs) to track the impacts of our awards and researchers to log the outputs, outcomes and impacts of their work. Award holders are invited to create an account on Researchfish to add outcomes to their awards at any time during the year.

What information do I need to provide, and when?

You will need to have a Researchfish account and to use it to provide annual updates on your research and after our funding has finished – usually for five years. Research outcomes need to be updated within three months of the grant end date. We may also require an update to an award outside the annual Researchfish submission period, or other additional information, in order to support evaluations for specific funding schemes or areas of science, or to communicate about your work to our donors. You will be notified of these. You will still need to submit a full outcomes report on Researchfish when you have completed your grant.

You may record and attribute research outcomes to awards at any time during the year. However, the Foundation has aligned with the Research Councils UK (RCUK) Researchfish submission period which is February-March each year, when the update of research outcomes information takes place. During this period there will be a ‘Submit to Researchfish’ button for each award. By clicking on this button, you formally confirm that the research outcomes you have entered represent a full and up-to-date record. You will be reminded of the annual submission period by email.

You need to maintain an active email address in the Researchfish system to allow communication to take place. Please contact us if you need to update any details related to your grant records. Recently awarded grants may have little to report but we ask that you complete your research outcomes update as fully as possible and submit by the required date. In cases of agreed extended absence such as parental leave, sickness etc you can request a temporary suspension of the requirement to provide an annual update by contacting us directly at research@medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk

How do I set up my Researchfish account?

You will receive notifications from the Foundation and Researchfish once your grant has been set up. If you have already created a Researchfish account for another funder, use the link provided in the email from Researchfish to log in to your existing account and add your Foundation grant to your Researchfish portfolio.

If you do not yet have a Researchfish account, once you have been awarded a grant from us you will receive an email from Researchfish asking you to register. You will need to register and start building your profile and research portfolio.

Researchfish terms and conditions

The submission of research outputs and outcomes data via Researchfish is a condition of our grant. If you do not submit the data we ask for, we may withhold payment of invoices related to the grant. When you submit a return in Researchfish, you agree that the information provided is truthful, accurate and as complete as is practicable. Researchfish is not a publicly accessible data repository. But data held in Researchfish may be used to populate our website, and in the production of corporate publications such as our annual reports.

Queries

We’re here to support all of our grant holders and if you have any questions please contact us directly and we’ll do our best to help.

Technical queries: please contact the Researchfish support team at support@researchfish.com

Grant reporting queries or updating award contact details please contact us at research@medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk

You can find out more about Researchfish and access helpful training tools, such as webinars and frequently asked questions here: www.researchfish.net/researchers