Our research funding

We fund scientific, clinical, and applied healthcare research to help find new ways of diagnosing, preventing, and treating eye conditions. We do not restrict our funding focus which means we fund research into any eye condition affecting children or adults.

• We agree a new research strategy every five years and we monitor its effectiveness annually. 
• Our average annual research spend is variable and, depending on our income, it can fall between £350,000 and £600,000. We are funded entirely by public donations and we do not receive any government funding. 
• On average, we receive 40 applications a year across all our funding schemes and, on average, we fund 1 in every 4 applications received.

We fund research that is either:

• Researcher-led: Our funding schemes run annually. Our Translational Research Award accepts applications which are reviewed by an independent Research Advisory Board and by external peer reviewers. Our Seed Award accepts applications which are reviewed by our independent Seed Panel. All final funding decisions rest with our Board of Trustees. In its decision making, the Trustees balance the advice received from our expert advisors with our financial capacity.  
• Strategy-led: Depending on funds, we open additional, time-limited grant rounds focused on specific eye conditions.