The assessment of research grant proposals is made by appropriate experts drawn from academia, government and industry. Proposals are usually assessed first by individual reviewers and then by peer review panels.
Normally at least two individual reviewers are used, one of whom may be nominated by the applicant, although the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) reserves the right not to use nominated reviewers.
Nominated reviewers must not be collaborators; nor should they be from the applicant’s or collaborator’s organisation. Applicants are given an opportunity to respond to reviewer comments prior to assessment by the peer review panel.
Involving animals in research
Although the research funded by STFC is very unlikely to involve the use of animals there are occasions where this may be the case. As such, we are signed up to UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) position statement on the use of animals in research.
As a public funder of research and innovation, UKRI has a responsibility to ensure that our activities and those we fund are aligned with UK legislation and other guiding principles.
For more information on UKRI’s position statement on animal usage please see our webpage on involving animals in research.
Animal usage is not something STFC routinely asks reviewers or panel members to assess but it is important that the UKRI position is recognised by our assessors.