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Wellcome offers the opportunity to observe funding advisory committees. Researchers who are considering applying for Wellcome funding in the next two years can apply to observe a shortlisting committee.
When you’re a committee observer, you can watch how Wellcome assesses grant applications. This can help give you a better understanding of how Wellcome works before you submit your own application. Observers will gain understanding of:
- how committees use our assessment criteria
- how different aspects of the application are considered during assessment.
We encourage observers to share their experience with other potential applicants. Observers must not share any sensitive information about the applications they observe.
Being a committee observer doesn’t mean that you will be eligible to apply for a Wellcome grant.
Being a committee observer
Researchers can apply to be ‘committee observers’ who watch shortlisting meetings for the:
Observers will attend shortlisting meetings online for half a day, watching the discussion of applications.
Who can be a committee observer
You can apply to be a committee observer if you are a researcher in the UK, Republic of Ireland, or a low- or middle-income country. You must be planning to apply for a Discovery Research grant within two years. You must not:
- have held a Wellcome award for which you had a Wellcome panel interview (this does not include PhD studentships)
- have a senior-level award from Wellcome or elsewhere
- have been on – or observed – a Wellcome committee before
- be a PhD student unless you’re in your final year and you’re considering applying for an Early-Career Award
You won’t be able to observe a committee meeting if you are involved in an application being assessed in the same round, but you may be invited to observe a committee at a different time of the year.
How to apply to be a committee observer
Applications are now open. Applications close on 14 April 2025.
Applications to be a committee observer are open once a year for six weeks.
We’ll hold applications and select observers for committee over the following 12 months, so it may be some time before you are contacted and invited to observe. Anyone not selected during that year can apply again the following year. We will not hold a waiting list (you must reapply to be considered).
When you apply, you’ll be asked questions, including:
- where you’re based
- whether you’re from a group that is underrepresented in UK research
- whether you’re an active researcher
- whether you’re considering applying in the next two years
- which scheme you’re most likely to apply to in the next two years
- which subject area your research is in
You can express a preference for which committee you’d like to observe. We cannot guarantee to accommodate all preferences.
If your application is successful, we’ll invite you to create a Wellcome Funding account where you can:
- agree to the confidentiality statement
- check the conflicts of interest policy
- read the committee member guidance
- read the applications that will be discussed in the meetings you plan to attend
How Wellcome uses positive action to decide between committee observer applications
If we have more observer applications than available committee observer spaces, we will prioritise these groups.
A majority of committee observer places will go to:
- researchers with Bangladeshi, Black or Pakistani heritage working in the UK
- disabled researchers
- researchers based in or applying from low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs)
- researchers based at less research-intensive universities in the UK (non-Russell Group)
The remaining places will be given to applicants at random using a lottery process.
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