Research funding governance
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity) is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC). As such, we ensure the research we fund meets the highest possible standards of quality, accountability, transparency and openness.
To meet the membership criteria:
We work in line with the AMRC’s standards for independent peer review.
We have a published research strategy.
We have a conflict of interest policy specific to research.
Our research funding is reviewed by an externally led assessment panel.
Research Assessment Panel
The Research Assessment Panel (RAP) is made up of external scientific members from across the UK. The Panel conducts scientific review and make most of the charity’s funding recommendations for research projects and programmes.
The role of the panel is to:
Assess research project and programme funding.
Make recommendations to the Grants & Impact Committee projects with high scientific merit, with a clear potential for patient benefit and fit into the relevant scheme’s remit and the wider charity research strategy.
Evaluate progress of charity funded projects against defined goals.
Provide advice and support to the charity regarding the national child health research landscape, ensuring the funding opportunities available to the wider child health research are communicated widely.
RAP membership as of May 2024
Professor Pamela Kearns, University of Birmingham (Panel Chair)
Professor Carl Goodyear, University of Glasgow (Deputy Chair)
Professor Eamonn Maher, University of Cambridge
Associate Professor Tim Collier, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Professor Veronica Swallow, Sheffield Hallam University
Professor Li Chan, Queen Mary University of London
Associate Professor Wael Kafienah, University of Bristol
Professor Alan Parker, Cardiff University
Professor Amanda Wood, Deakin University
Professor Gareth Veal, Newcastle University
Professor Frank Casey, Queen's University Belfast & Ulster University
Professor Sarah Ennis, University of Southampton
Professor Amaka Offiah, University of Sheffield
Professor Adrian Woolf, University of Manchester
Research Strategy Advisory Board
The Research Strategy Advisory Board (RSAB) comprises of key stakeholders from across Great Ormond Street Hospital, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and the GOSH Charity, in addition to external members to bring a national perspective.
The group are responsible for ensuring the successful implementation and monitoring of the charity research strategy alongside reviewing strategic research investment alongside the RAP.
The role of the Board is to:
Provide strategic oversight and recommendations for implementation of the research strategy, including investment, funding schemes and the alignment across the hospital, UCL and nationally.
Support the monitoring and evaluation of progress against the strategy aligned to the charity’s research focussed impact outcomes.
Promote and support opportunities for working in partnership to maximise the reach and impact of the research strategy.
RSAB membership as of May 2024
Professor Doug Turnbull, GOSH Charity Trustee (Chair)
Professor Pamela Kearns, Chair of GOSH Charity Research Assessment Panel
Professor Carl Goodyear, Deputy Chair of GOSH Charity Research Assessment Panel
Louise Parkes, Chief Executive, GOSH Charity
Dr Aoife Regan, Director Impact and Charitable Programmes, GOSH Charity
Mr Mat Shaw, Chief Executive, GOSH
Dr Kiki Syrad, Director of Research & Innovation, GOSH
Professor Thomas Voit, Director of Biomedical Research Centre, GOSH
Professor Helen Cross, Director, UCL Institute of Child Health
Public & patient involvement (PPI)
As a member of the AMRC, we recognise the importance of involving the public in producing high-quality research that has meaningful outcomes and we encourage research applicants to involve the public in their health and social care research.
We have introduced a new review panel to our funding process: the Patient Benefit Panel. This Panel consists of volunteers with lived experience of paediatric healthcare. Their role is to review the lay summaries and PPI responses in applications to all our response-mode research funding schemes and therefore ensure that the patient is as the centre of the research we fund and that what we fund can be communicated to a non-expert audience.
Beyond this, we are committed to continuing to explore how we can work with researchers to ensure involvement is approached most effectively.
All AMRC member charities support this principle, as outlined the this AMRC statement.