The SAC meets twice a year, in Edinburgh, to discuss the project applications received during April and October respectively. These applications have already been reviewed by two SAC members, survived the preliminary triage, and have then been peer-reviewed by two external experts in the field, prior to being considered at this meeting. The applications will then undergo a further triage, to remove those applications which are clearly not going to be funded.
The SAC can spend up to two days assessing the remaining applications; discussing them is great details and allocating them a score. Once the applications have been scored in this way, they are awarded funding in order of merit according to the score achieved. This ensures that only the highest quality applications are funded.
The last meeting of the SAC took place in Edinburgh on 6th & 7th March 2008 to discuss the applications submitted in the October 2007 round.
The following pictures give you a glimpse into how the process works.
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The committee settles down to business |
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The Chairman starts proceedings |
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The committee discuss the applications |
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The Grants Administrator logs the committee's decisions |
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The aftermath! |
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The Committee at the end of the meeting |
AICR is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC). AMRC members aim to follow the highest standards of accountability in medical and health research funding, and are required to use independent peer review in the allocation of all grants and awards for research.