The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is one of three leading research institutions who are to receive a share of £10 million funding after experiencing a loss of charity funding as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
LSHTM will receive £2,743,650 from Research England's Specialist Institutions Fund, alongside The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and The Institute of Cancer Research, London.
The specialist nature of these institutions has left them hit by a loss of charity funding due to the impact of COVID-19. This funding will help them to continue their ground-breaking and lifesaving work, which includes research into cancer and a wide range of the world's most serious tropical diseases.
Supporting specialist institutions
Research England, part of UK Research and Innovation, has allocated £10 million to these specialist institutions to address a reduction in charity funding caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding was reallocated from the £80 million Specialist Institution Fund launched by the Chancellor in the 2020 spring budget.
The funding will be awarded in proportion to the institutions' Quality-related Research (QR) charity support funding. It is 'whole institution' funding awarded in proportion to the income they receive from charities for research which has been awarded through peer review and open competition.The specific criteria for a specialist institution, as defined in HEFCE's 2016 review, are that they concentrate more than 60% of their activity in either: one Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student cost centre or one HESA academic staff cost centre.
To be eligible to receive this reallocated funding, institutions needed to:
- be specialist institutions
- receive more than 10% of their total income from eligible charity funding
Continuing world class research
Executive Chair of Research England David Sweeney said: "These institutions undertake vital research into diseases of global importance, including cancer, COVID-19 and tropical diseases that must continue to be supported to save lives around the world.
"Given the importance of these institutions in tackling research agendas, we have reallocated this funding to ensure these operations are not unduly jeopardized by a reduction in charity funding."
