How we fund UK clinical research

Reverse Rett is a full member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC).

As a member of AMRC, we use a rigorous application process, called peer review, to help us decide which UK clinical research to fund. Our decisions are made with help from both our Research Review Committee and External Peer Reviewers, helping to ensure we’re not only funding research of the highest quality, but also research that will be of direct benefit to children and adults with Rett Syndrome in the UK.

Download the Research Selection Process PDF (2 pages)

Our research selection process

  • 1

    If we become aware of groundbreaking clinical development work and if the proposed research is within our charitable remit, we may invite the clinicians to submit a research grant application for funding support.

  • 2

    The proposal is then sent to three to five independent experts who provide a written peer review of the proposed work.

  • 3

    These reviews are then sent to the members of the Reverse Rett Research Review Committee. Members of this committee have volunteered their time to make an objective, independent assessment of the proposal being considered. The RRC then makes a funding recommendation to the Reverse Rett Board of Trustees.

  • 4

    The Reverse Rett Trustees then take the final decision, based on the recommendations of the Research Review Committee, whether or not to fund the proposal.

  • 5

    Applicants are given the chance to read and respond to the external scientific peer reviewers’ comments and all of this information – application, external reviewers’ reports, and applicant’s response – is given to our Research Review Committee for consideration and assessment.

  • 6

    Grants are reviewed and awarded within a period of four months.

Core principles

Research we fund relies on the generous support of all our fundraisers, namely the public and the family and friends of those affected by Rett Syndrome. We take the responsibility of allocating those hard-raised funds very seriously, which is why we work to three core principles:

  • 1. Peer review

    All our research applications are subject to peer review, as outlined above. Peer review is an integral part of our decision making process as it enables us to fund high quality researchers and projects which have a clear clinical impact.

  • 2. Conflicts of interest

    We make every effort to ensure that decisions are fair, objective, and transparent. We have a strict conflict of interest policy for external reviews, internal reviews, and our Board of Trustees.

  • 3. Working together

    Working with others is a key part of our strategy. We believe that collaboration and partnership is fundamental. By sharing resources, knowledge, and experience we can accelerate the pace of research, and save time and money.

Research Review Committee

More information about the Reverse Rett Research Review Committee

Research evaluation

Funded projects are appraised on a regular basis and the evaluations will be published in our annual reports. When research is conducted in the UK, our Research Review Committee will visit the research site wherever possible. The impact of the research we fund is measured in terms of achievement against original research goals, publication of key research findings, and review by peers at the end of a grant funding period.

Grant applications

We do not have regular calls for proposals, nor will we consider unsolicited applications for research grants.