Co-funded by
Wellbeing of Women in partnership with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and Burdett Trust for Nursing will jointly fund two Entry Level Scholarships (ELS) to provide each successful candidate 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:
- Fertility, pregnancy and birth;
- Gynaecological and reproductive health;
- Gynaecological cancers
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.
Applicants are encouraged to make use of the RCM Research Award Buddy Scheme. The scheme has been created to encourage and support more midwives to apply for the WoW-RCM ELS awards and is a source of advice and guidance for applicants when developing their research ideas and funding applications.
Call timeline
Call launch: 7 April 2022
Submission deadline: 30 June 2022 by 1pm
Application outcome: December 2022
Awards start: from February 2023
How to apply
Download the ELS application forms and guidance below. Before applying, please read the grant guidance.
WoW Entry Level Scholarship Application Form 2022
WoW Research Questions for Non-standard Animals
WoW Entry Level Scholarship Guidance for Applicants 2022
If you have any queries, please contact the Wellbeing of Women research team at research@wellbeingofwomen.org.uk or call 020 3697 6350.