Wellbeing of Women in partnership with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) funds Entry-level Research Scholarships (ELS) which provide successful candidates with up to £20,000 for research lasting normally up to one year. Funds are for directly incurred research costs and may include a salary contribution. Applicants must be midwives and full members of the RCM. The research must be undertaken in the UK.
Scholarships are usually for research that seeks to improve the practice of midwifery and maternity services, including postnatal care, but will be considered for basic science, clinical and translational research that seeks to improve the health of women, girls and babies in one of the following areas:
- Pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period
- Gynaecological cancers
- General wellbeing issues surrounding women’s reproductive and gynaecological health
Awards are intended to provide ‘pump-priming’ funds to enable midwives to be exposed to a research environment and to obtain pilot data that will enhance an application for a research fellowship (PhD or MD). Applicants would normally be new to the research discipline and will not previously have been heavily involved in substantial or funded research projects.
An ELS is not intended as a ‘top-up’ for existing grants. Its primary purpose is to support a single individual at an early stage of their research career.
In line with RCM's Race Matters campaign and our intent to increase involvement and engagement from and support to midwives who identify as Black, Asian or an ethnic minority, we welcome applications from midwives from these communities and/or whose project aims to improve the health outcomes from people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities. We would also like to offer mentoring and support with these applications. If you would like to take up this offer, please contact research@rcm.org.uk.
Call timeline - 2021 call
Call launch: 17 June 2021
Submission deadline: 1pm on 12 August 2021
Application outcome: December 2021
How to apply
The application form and guidelines will be made available for download at the next call launch.
If you have any queries, please contact the Wellbeing of Women research team at research@wellbeingofwomen.org.uk or call 020 3697 6350.