ABSTRACT
Obtaining research grants has never been easy. With the continuing heavy decline in Government funding for biomedical research, the situation concerning Government monies (the British Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Science and Engineering Research Council, DOH, etc.) has become ever more difficult. Nevertheless, although the picture is gloomy for Government funded research, it is important to realise that research is being funded. For example, Haggard (1993) points out that in 1991-92, the Medical Research Council (MRC) invested £20.42m in research on the nervous system, £16.67m in mental health research, £8.5m in cognitive science, and £3.8m in health services research. Of course, some of this money went to fund units rather than single grants, but it is still a substantial investment. The charitable scene is particularly active in funding research, and a compilation of British Charities Funding Neuroscience Research (1986), identified 24 charities disbursing amounts from £300 to £20,000, and some charities (e.g. the Wellcome Trust) are major rivals to Government sources of research funding.
