For More Life Without Cancer - 2023 Funding Round

We now invite applications to our 2023 Funding Round for projects and clinical trials testing the latest innovations in the NHS or local communities in the following areas:

1. Reducing the risk of developing cancer
2. Improving early diagnosis
3. Improving treatments

Our mission is to take action today to have the biggest impact on cancer for the people in Yorkshire. The proposed work should have the goal to reduce the incidence of cancer in a given population and/or to increase cancer-specific survival of cancer patients (but not at the expense of quality of life) during the course of the project.

All projects must be testing an intervention, with the emphasis on solving problems rather than describing them. All projects are encouraged to ensure inclusion and engagement with populations often underrepresented in research such as ethnic minorities and deprived communities.

We’ve put together a short presentation which gives an overview of our research strategy and how to apply for funding here.

Key dates and deadlines

Applications will be accepted from any organisation in the UK that can contribute to the topic areas outlined above and are happy to accept our Award terms see below.

1. Reducing the risk of developing cancer - Over 30,000 people develop cancer per year in Yorkshire. We welcome applications that seek to reduce the risk of people developing cancer. Any intervention may be investigated whether medicinal, surgical, behavioural, lifestyle or environmental, provided there is convincing evidence to support the proposal.
   
   All proposals must quantify impact in terms of lives saved and projects with the greatest impact will be prioritised. For feasibility studies potential impact at the next stage should be considered (if the
   feasibility were demonstrated).
   
   Applications focused on the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Yorkshire (see Appendix 1) or seek to address multiple cancers, will be prioritised as those projects are the most likely to have the greatest impact.
   
   
2. Early diagnosis and cancer screening - The NHS Long Term Plan indicates that early diagnosis will be the main contribution to 2000 fewer cancer deaths in Yorkshire.
   
   All projects in this area should aim to diagnose more people at an earlier stage to improve survival. Survival need not be an endpoint given that, for most cancers, survival at one and five years is much higher if the cancer is detected early (at stage 1) than if it is detected later (at stage 4). From our analysis uptake of national screening programmes across the region are lower within more deprived communities. We welcome applications that will seek to address any inequality and improve access across the region.
   
   Applications that address the cancers that cause the most deaths in Yorkshire (see Appendix 1) per year will be prioritised as those projects are most likely to have the greatest impact.
   
   
3. Improving treatments - We welcome applications that test new treatments, or improve current treatments, aiming to improve survival of cancer patients. Any improvement in survival should not be at the expense of quality of life, and all proposals should aim to measure and publish Patient Reported Outcomes.
   
   For the purposes of estimating impact on the application forms we will accept the view that extending survival beyond 5 years can be considered a ‘life saved’.
   
   Projects solely focused on improving quality of life are not eligible for the Funding Round.
   
   Applications that address the most common cancers and those that cause the most deaths in Yorkshire (see Appendix 1) will be prioritised as those projects are most likely to have the greatest impact
   

We welcome applications for clinical trials in any of the above topic areas from feasibility testing through to large multi-centre phase III trials.

Trials should attempt to recruit the majority of the study patients from Yorkshire. If this is not possible and would prevent a trial being developed due to there not being enough eligible patients in Yorkshire then applicants must:

• Demonstrate that every effort has been made to recruit as many eligible patients from Yorkshire as possible.
• Outline how many eligible patients there are in Yorkshire and how many the applicants aim to offer the trial to.

Further to the priorities outlined in the above topic area priority will be given to applications for clinical trials:

• That will recruit the majority of participants, patients or the public, for the study from within Yorkshire.
• With the largest ratio of ‘the number of people offered the trial in Yorkshire’ to ‘the number of people eligible for the trial in Yorkshire’.

We run a two-stage process application process for funding. Preliminary applications are taken through our Strategic Fit Test. The Strategic Fit Test is assessed by lay stakeholders of the charity’s Research Advisory Panel (RAP). Projects that best align with our strategy will be invited to submit a full application.

Full applications are peer reviewed by external experts, with relevant expertise and experience, during the second stage of our review process the Excellence Test. The full applications and peer review comments are then discussed and scored at a Research Advisory Meeting. Both lay stakeholders and academic expert RAP members attend this meeting, and their views are treated equally. The recommendations from this meeting are then taken to the Board of Trustees for a final decision on which proposals to fund.
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If you have any questions please contact research@ycr.org.uk or call our research team 01423 613483