This calendar shows grant calls as blue segments starting from the opening date of the grant and finishing at the closing date.
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Grant summary table
| Grant | Maximum award | Opening date | Closing date | Decision made | Co-funder | Grant information |
| PhD studentship (partial funding) | £80,000 | CLOSED | CLOSED | CLOSED | Institution which the supervisor belongs to | Partial funding for a postgraduate student to carry out a PhD studentship |
| Master’s degrees by research (MDRs) | £40,000 | 1st August 2024 | 15th October 2024 | February 2025 | Funds a postgraduate student to carry out a research master’s project | |
| Research fellowships | £70,000 | CLOSED until 2025 | CLOSED | CLOSED | Funds an early-career veterinary researcher to help them establish independence | |
| Clinical research projects (CRPs) | £20,000 | OPEN: apply now | 15th May 2024 | October 2024 | Funds small-scale clinical research projects | |
| Joint-funded clinical research projects | £10,000 | CLOSED | Veterinary Cardiovascular Society | Funds projects in cardiovascular health in pets | ||
| Joint-funded clinical research projects | £10,000 | CLOSED | The Small Animal Medicine Society | Funds research into medical conditions in cats and dogs | ||
| Joint-funded clinical research projects | £10,000 | CLOSED | The Debs Foundation | Funds projects in pain management in pets | ||
| Student research projects (SRPs) | £3,200 | OPEN: apply now | 31st January, 30th April, 31st August | Within 6 weeks from the cut-off date | Funds projects for undergraduate vets, vet nurses and biovet students | |
| Joint-funded student research project | £2,500 | CLOSED | British Hen Welfare Trust | Funds undergraduate vets and vet nurses to research chicken veterinary health |
How we decide what we fund
Every year we receive applications for funding from researchers in universities and veterinary practices across the UK. We only support studies involving naturally occurring diseases where the anticipated results of the study will result in a change in diagnosis or management of small animal disease. Our selection process involves peer review by veterinary clinicians and researchers from around the world who give freely of their time to evaluate the applications. We give special thanks to them here. Their informed assessments are considered by our Grant Awarding Committee, which comprises veterinary academics and practitioners who have direct experience of companion animal diseases, to ensure that the research meets our criteria for funding and helps us achieve our mission. This committee is made up of representatives from UK vet schools, BSAVA affiliates and the general BSAVA membership, as well as one member of the committee who is a non-veterinary scientist. Its recruitment is overseen by the BSAVA volunteer manager, with Chair recruitment being overseen by the BSAVA volunteer development committee.
The assessment process
Stage 1 – The application
Each application form has been designed to provide the information needed to enable our Grant Awarding Committee to consider the research proposal and decide whether it is suitable for funding. Before making an application, you are advised to read the Guide to Applying for a BSAVA PetSavers’ Grant and the terms and conditions applicable to the grant for which you are applying. The application form, guide, and terms and conditions for each grant type can be found on the relevant webpages when the application process is active. If you have any queries please contact us on petsaversadmin@bsava.com.
Once you have completed the application form and filled in the checklist at the back, it is a good idea to get someone else to read it in order to make sure that it is clear and contains all the required information.
Applications should be emailed to petsaversadmin@bsava.com by midnight on the closing date. The application form should be accompanied by the following:
- A signed copy of the terms and conditions
- A letter of support from your head of department or practice principle, indicating that they support the application
- Details of ethical approval from a recognised ethics review panel
Further guidance for this stage of the process can be found here.
Stage 2 – Preliminary review
All applications will be subject to preliminary review to make sure that they meet our funding criteria and ethical and legal requirements. Where this is not clear from the application, you may be contacted to provide further information before the application is considered further.
The preliminary review will also seek to flag up any concerns with the research proposal for further consideration by the committee. For example:-
- Is the project likely to advance the understanding or management of a disease in small animals?
- Are the results likely to benefit cats, dogs or other companion animals?
- Can the work be carried out effectively using the available and requested facilities?
- Are the investigators competent to carry out the work?
- Can the work be completed within the specified time?
- Are the costs realistic?
- For student projects, what is the standard of student training?
Stage 3 – Peer review
Each application (except those for student research projects) will be sent to at least two external reviewers for comment. Reviewers must have no conflicts of interest with any of the applicants, such as:
- Being applicants or co-applicants in the current round of PetSavers’ grants
- A close personal friendship
- Being recent collaborators (within the last 2 years), or
- Working in the same organisation
Where a large number of applications are received, the Grant Awarding Committee will produce a shortlist by voting on the applications before they are sent out for external review. If you have not been short-listed you will be advised at this stage.
Stage 4 – Committee meeting
The shortlisted applications, preliminary and external reviews will be submitted to a meeting of our Grant Awarding Committee where each application is considered and scored against specific criteria. The highest scoring project(s) are funded subject to sufficient budget being available. Members of the committee are required to reveal potential conflicts of interest with the applications, and to abstain from voting if any are identified. The committee’s funding decision is final and there are no rights of appeal.
Committee meetings are held in the spring and autumn. MDR and PhD applications submitted by 15th October are considered the following spring, CRP applications submitted by 15th May are considered that autumn and Research Fellowship applications submitted by 28th February are considered in May. We aim to make funding decisions on SRP applications within 6 weeks of the cutoff dates of 31st January, 30th April and 31st August.