• What we do
  • Funding research
    • Current grants
    • Completed grants
    • How you can help Campaign
    • Funding research in Ireland
    • New study
    • Dr Tracy Robson
  • Our achievements
    • Research issues
    • recent research success
    • Research publications
  • Our events
  • Research explained
  • Applying for a grant
    • Project grants
    • Pilot grants
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    • Scientific Advisory Board
      • Previous SAB members
    • Grant application statistics
  • Policy and campaigning
    • Our campaigns
      • Science for Life
        • Charity research support
      • Getting better care
        • Cancer Reform Strategy
        • Cancer Strategy in Scotland
      • Breast screening
    • Political support
      • Charity visits
    • General election
    • Charity research support fund

Campaigning for charity research support

Campaign has worked with other charities and universities to develop a joint statement on the CRSF and government support for charity funded research in universities. We are currently campaigning for the government to show its commitment to charity funded research by maintaining the Charity Research Support Fund (CRSF) when it carries out the Comprehensive Spending Review. 

Breast Cancer Campaign funded nearly £5 million in new research funding in 2009. Our research makes a valuable contribution to a wide variety of areas of breast cancer research, from projects that look at genetic factors, to others that look at the psychosocial impact that breast cancer has on people’s lives.

Medical research within the UK, and the science base as a whole, is significantly enhanced by charities. Charities spend around £1.1 billion on medical research in the UK, and fund more cancer research projects than all other public funders combined. This research relies on funding provided by the Government to support the full costs of research.

Charities have traditionally funded the aspects of a research grant that are directly identifiable for that project, with the universities funding the indirect costs such as lighting and other overheads. Previously these central costs were met by a government grant but this system was changed in 2005 with the ending of the grant, leaving a shortfall in funding of projects by charities.

To protect a charity's ability to ensure their funding is spent on research and not central costs, the CRSF and its equivalents in the devolved nations, was introduced to cover these other costs. 

In our Science for Life report, we called for greater investment from the Government into supporting university infrastructures to take into account the anticipated increases in charity-funded research. The increases in CRSF funding since then have been less than hoped.

Our recent report looked at the effects that full costing for research has had on charities. Among the findings, we have found that the current level of support provided through the CRSF is insufficient to fully support charity-funded research within UK universities. This has led to many researchers being advised to seek alternative funding to charities.

We are calling on the Government to:

• Renew its commitment to the CRSF to add security for charity-funded research, institutions and researchers
• Carry out a review of the CRSF to establish the sufficiency of current and future levels of the fund
• Ensure that all costs not funded by charities are covered by the CRSF
• Make the current system of CRSF allocation more transparent

The CRSF enables charity funds for research to be used to their greatest effect. Without a strong, sufficient, and transparent system of support, charities will find it increasingly difficult to continue funding world-class research.