Summing up
Funders’ requirements can vary a great deal, depending on factors such as their size and remit, how often they fund research, and on what scale. Funders whose remit includes biomedical sciences or potentially vulnerable populations tend to have more stringent and highly developed requirements in terms of ethics review and other research governance permissions. But, as awareness of research ethics and governance grows, funders are raising their expectations and requirements.
When we were developing this website, the funders we interviewed noted that failure to address ethics issues properly was one of the reasons that applications fail to get funded. Equally, funding can be withdrawn from a study if necessary ethics approval cannot be secured. To highlight these points is not to be alarmist. Rather, it shows why it is important to spend time addressing ethics considerations across the research process – and to check carefully what it is that your funder requires.See our section on research funders for links to common research funders’ websites .
