Max Hamilton Research Fund

Who is eligible for support?

• Recipients of support should be working locally at the time they seek support. "Working locally" will usually mean working in West Yorkshire, or working in a place with administrative links with the University of Leeds - for example, an organisation that provides support for students to attend courses in Leeds.
• Recipients of support will either [1] be currently involved in post-basic training in a discipline relevant to mental health work or [2] they will be currently working for a postgraduate award.
• Support will be offered for research on a topic that is primarily related to mental health. Research that (for example) simply uses a mood or quality of life measure as one outcome will not be sufficient.
• Support will only be given to postgraduate students if they are registered at the University of Leeds.

How will support be offered?

The fund may support local research in one of two ways:

• By providing small grants to individuals to assist them in the conduct, analysis or presentation of their own research.
• By providing funding to employ somebody with a particular skill that can be used by many junior researchers. For example, by paying for sessions of medical statistics time, or secretarial time to transcribe interviews.

The balance of these two forms of funding will be determined by the financial health of the Fund and by decisions of the committee.

How will decisions be made?

• For individuals seeking small grants a simple application form will be used, available on this website. For sums under £200 the Committee chairman will make the decision. For sums £200 and over, the chairman will consult at least two other committee members.
• Decisions about committing funds to employ staff will be made by the whole committee at its annual meeting. In general, the Fund will not support travel to conferences or purchase of general-purpose equipment such as computing equipment. It may support travel expenses, training expenses or the purchase of equipment or services that are essential for the conduct, analysis or presentation of a research project.

How is it managed?

• The fund is held by the University of Leeds - and is a registered charity.
• The fund is managed on behalf of the University of Leeds by Psychological and Social Medicine in the School of Medicine, Leeds. The division manages the fund through a committee chaired by a member of the academic staff.