About
Collaborations to Catalyse Translation (CCT) is a pilot call to help drive forward translational research in the global health arena by facilitating closer interactions between the University’s Oxford-based departments and the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), enabling researchers in both locations to capitalise on the breadth and depth of expertise and resources available within Oxford and the MORU network.
CCT is a joint initiative between the Medical Sciences Translational Research Office (TRO) and the MORU Institutional Translational Partnership (iTP) office. It comprises two sources of devolved funding from Wellcome, each managed by the TRO and the iTP office respectively.
The CCT Committee, comprising members of the University and external members, will allocate funding to successful projects.
The Call for proposals and a copy of the Case for support form (also available through IRAMS) can be found here:
Remit
CCT funds short collaborative projects between Oxford-based and MORU-based research teams that tackle specific challenges in the progression from post-discovery research outcomes towards clinical implementation. This call does not support exploratory basic science.
A successful project will involve work being carried out at each location (Oxford and MORU). Projects can be led from either location.
Please note: if you haven’t yet identified a corresponding partner team at Oxford or MORU (as appropriate) with whom to collaborate, your organisation’s MORU-Oxford CCT Support team (details in “How to apply” tab above) can work with you to identify potential synergies and to explore potential partnerships to take your proposal forward
The call is not themed; the TRO and iTP office welcome all ideas where a collaboration between Oxford- and MORU-based teams will tackle hurdles in the development of any modality of therapy, diagnostic or other intervention. Projects proposals should clearly identify the barriers to progression, and how bringing together the specific expertise and resources at each location will overcome such barriers to progress the project to the next stage of its translational journey. The project plan should be milestone-based with clearly articulated and quantifiable markers.
A highly desirable outcome is that project becomes a strong candidate to receive follow-on translational funding, such as from internal Oxford- or MORU-based proof-of-concept funds, external schemes such as the MRC Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS) or equivalent schemes from other funders, or from industry.
Costing and duration
Funding available from CCT will be up to £25k per project. Awards made from CCT will be for direct costs only.
A successful project will involve work being carried out (and funded) at each location, with component parts receiving local* funding.
Projects are expected to be up to 6 months in duration. However, if your project is substantially longer than this, please discuss with the MORU-Oxford CCT Support Team in advance of submission and provide appropriate justification. Please ensure that your project is scheduled accordingly and that the timeline is appropriate to the objectives and milestones set out
All projects must have a start date that allows project completion in advance of 30th June 2021.
The funding will not support: entire translational projects; bridging funding or PhD studentships; continuation of normal research grants; and costs relating to protection of intellectual property. Please also note that PI and Co-applicant salaries are not an eligible cost.
Awards will be managed from the TRO and iTP office on behalf of the University. Applications, scores and reviewer comments may be shared with other internal University panels to ensure maximum value for money.
SOURCES OF FUNDING
*CCT comprises two streams of devolved funding from Wellcome, each administered by the TRO and the iTP office, respectively. A successful project will receive its budget for Oxford-based activities from the TRO, and for MORU-based activities from the iTP office.
It is envisaged that the available funds will finance in the region of 2-3 projects.