The ASME Board is delighted to offer the Board Award once again.
The aim of this award is to fund one high-quality research project per year, up to £20,000, which is strongly aligned to ASME’s strategic priorities.
We believe this size of award will provide a ‘next step’ for ASME members who have held smaller awards previously, but you need not have been a previous award winner to apply.
We would particularly welcome projects with a focus on Maximising Potential – our conference theme for the Annual Scholarship Meeting in 2024 – although we will be happy to receive other applications aligned to our our strategic aims
The theme of Maximising Potential is deliberately broad, and you are free to interpret it as you wish. However, you may wish to consider aligning your work with one of three key areas of medical education policy in which ASME is currently particularly interested:
- Postgraduate training
- The increasing number of medical students
- SAS and Locally Employed doctors’ access to education and professional development
We would also welcome proposals that are focused on our ongoing commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, which may overlap with the themes above.
The research process, deliverables and dissemination strategy will be proposed by you, but we are keen to encourage innovative outputs and ways of sharing research findings.
As part of the plans for dissemination, we would expect you to attempt publication in a peer-reviewed journal, ideally the ASME journals Medical Education or Clinical Teacher, if your work is a suitable fit for either of these publications.
Collaborative bids are expected, and more than one institution should be represented within the applicant team, to increase research quality and encourage networking, in line with the ASME values.
We would be delighted to receive applications from ASME members who are not based in the UK. All applicants will be ASME members (individual or institutional) for the duration of the project, and the lead applicant will be an individual member.
We particularly welcome applicants from diverse and under-represented backgrounds.
Prize
- The funding will be awarded to the winner up to the value of £20,000
- Certificate
- Attendance (registration fee only for one person) at the ASM following the project’s completion to disseminate the findings
- Invitation to present about the project at our online event: ASME Honours – Celebrating Success
The application should contain the following information
Project title
- Category (Maximising Potential / Postgraduate training / The increasing number of medical students / SAS and Locally Employed doctors’ access to education and professional development / other)
- Name, job title and institution/organisation of the Primary Investigator (PI) / Lead Applicant (LA)
- Name, job title and institution/organisation of all co-applicants (no more than 5 allowed)
- Specify role of the PI/LA and each applicant in the project including %FTE commitment
- Host organisation (which will administer any award), and Administrative Contact Information (note that this person is not usually a co-applicant)
- Start date and the expected length of the proposed project in months
- Research Summary:
- Has this application, or part of this application, previously been submitted to this or another organisation? If so who? Please indicate why it was unsuccessful.
- Where a previous, related application was made to this scheme, please indicate how this research application differs from the previous application
- Justification for enquiry: (total word count 3,000 words excluding references, and no more than 2 tables or graphs)
- Project title
- Enquiry Goals (Aims, objectives, research questions etc.)
- Background and rationale
- What is the problem being addressed and why is it important?
- Detail on design and methodology, including justification of sample size, sample selection (power calculations and exclusion criteria where applicable) and analysis
- Success criteria and barriers to proposed work
- Ethics requirements and procedures
- A Gantt chart indicating a schedule for the completion of work, including the timing of key milestones and deliverables
- Projected outputs and Dissemination
- Expected Outputs of Research/Impact
- Relevant expertise and experience – please provide details of why the group is considered well qualified to do this research.
In addition, a one page CV for each applicant should be provided* highlighting relevant educational expertise and experience, plus relevant concurrent grants and details of up to 10 publications over the last five years
(*in addition to the submission’s overall total 3,000 word count, all CVs to be uploaded as one document)
Applicants should read the Awards FAQ page as it may help with queries about their submission.
Research management arrangements
Finances
- The finance section (200 words maximum in addition to the overall total 3,000 word count) should provide a detailed budget/breakdown of costs associated with undertaking the research as described in the proposal.
- Payments will be made to the contracted organisation only and the contracted organisation will be responsible for passing on any money due to their partner organisation(s).
- Appropriate sub-contracts and/or collaboration agreements must be put in place for any element of the research which is to be paid to another organisation.
- The fund will not support more than one fifth of the total amount of the application for conference attendance.
- Any equipment costs must exclude VAT.
- A representative of the sponsoring body must sign off the application.
Deadline for applications 2359hrs GMT 8th November 2023
Assessment criteria for this award are available here
Please read all the award guidelines and the FAQs if you have general award questions.
Please click on the Apply Now button at the top of this page.
2021
The ASME board funded two awards in 2021:
Advancing scholarship through effective and sustainable medical education research units: a realist evaluation
The team carrying out this work, scheduled to start October 2022, consists of the following members
Dr Eliot Rees, Keele University (principal investigator), Dr Peter Yeates, Keele University (co-investigator), and Dr Paul Crampton, Hull York Medical School (co-investigator).
Finding the Silver Lining in the COVID Cloud: developing best practice for early years medical education
The team carrying out this work, scheduled to start August 2022, consists of the following members:
- Primary Investigator:
Dr Nandini Hayes, Senior Lecturer in Medical Sciences, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry - Co-applicants:
Ms Maria Hayfron-Benjamin, Senior Lecturer in Medical Education, Queen Mary, University of London, and Dr Pedro Elston.
Examining the interconnectedness of medical students and its impact on achievement and wellbeing – a mixed-methods multicentre study with a focus on BAME students.
The team carrying out this work, scheduled to start March 2021, consists of the following members:
- Lead Applicant:
Dr Gerens Curnow, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust – Academic foundation doctor, previous small grant winner and future medical educator. - Primary Investigator: Dr Stephanie Bull, Senior Lecturer and Co-Lead for Problem-Based Learning, University of Exeter
- Co-applicants:
Dr Sohag Saleh Imperial College London Senior Teaching Fellow, lead for early-year’s research placement, pharmacology co-lead
Mr Neil Rice University of Exeter Medical School Psychometrician
Dr Mark Tarrant University of Exeter Medical School – Senior Lecturer in psychology applied to health
Dr Daniele Carrieri University of Exeter Medical School – Lecturer in public health
Joining the team is Dr Vrinda Nayak, Senior Lecturer in Education and Scholarship, University of Exeter Medical School.
2020
Examining the interconnectedness of medical students and its impact on achievement and wellbeing – a mixed-methods multicentre study with a focus on BAME students.
The team carrying out this work, scheduled to start March 2021, consists of the following members:
- Lead Applicant:
Dr Gerens Curnow, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust – Academic foundation doctor, previous small grant winner and future medical educator. - Primary Investigator:
Dr Stephanie Bull, Senior Lecturer and Co-Lead for Problem-Based Learning, University of Exeter - Co-applicants:
Dr Sohag Saleh Imperial College London Senior Teaching Fellow, lead for early-year’s research placement, pharmacology co-lead
Mr Neil Rice University of Exeter Medical School Psychometrician
Dr Mark Tarrant University of Exeter Medical School – Senior Lecturer in psychology applied to health
Dr Daniele Carrieri University of Exeter Medical School – Lecturer in public health
Joining the team is Dr Vrinda Nayak, Senior Lecturer in Education and Scholarship, University of Exeter Medical School.