Choosing the best research

Each year we invite UK-based asthma researchers to apply to us for funding. They send us detailed applications and we decide which projects to fund in the coming year.

Our research strategy outlines what we think are the priorities in research. 

We ask every scientist and doctor applying to us for funding to make sure their project fits with this strategy.

However, every year we receive far more applications for funding than we can possibly afford. So we weigh up the quality of each project, assess their potential to benefit people with asthma, and judge how likely the scientists are to be successful in meeting their aims.

To help us in this decision making process, we enlist the help of national and international experts.

We also ask the opinion of our Research and Policy volunteers – people affected by asthma who generously donate their time.

They help us ensure that the opinions and priorities of people with asthma are fully represented in our funding decisions.

When researchers apply to us for funding, we ask them to tell us exactly what they want to do and what they hope to achieve. Then, during the course of their project, we ask for regular updates on what progress they’ve made so far and what obstacles they’ve had to overcome.

After their project has ended, we ask for a final report which describes everything they’ve found. We send every interim and final report to an independent asthma expert who gives us their opinion on the scientist’s progress.

In 2008 we started working with the Health Economics Group at Brunel University to analyse the impact and achievements of Asthma UK-funded research. We plan to reveal the results of this analysis later in 2010.

We believe that the point of doing research is to bring practical benefits for people with asthma. So it’s essential for the results of our work to be made public.

Researchers all work collaboratively – they know who else is working on their area of research and they regularly share their latest results. Every year, scientists apply to present their latest work at scientific conferences, and they write-up their results for publication in scientific and medical journals.

When a new treatment is proven to be effective, or we know something new about how a treatment should be used, we aim to publicise this as widely as possible. Not only will the scientists publish their work and give presentations at international conferences, but the Asthma UK Media Team will issue a media release covering the key points.

For example, in January 2009, Asthma UK-funded researcher, Professor Jonathan Grigg, published the results of his latest research showing that steroid tablets aren’t helpful in the treatment of wheezy young children. The Media Team at Asthma UK issued a media release to coincide with the paper’s publication, and the story was covered in newspapers, websites, and medical news information services around the world.