How we choose

At Tenovus Scotland, we are committed to finding and funding the best medical and biomedical pilot projects we can, those with the greatest potential to make a significant positive healthcare impact. To achieve this, we have a rigorous system of double scrutiny of potential applications by both local and national scientific advisory committees.

The members of our National and Regional Committees cover a wide range of scientific specialisms and non-scientific expertise, with the understanding and in-depth knowledge to recognise potential and support early stage research ideas.

Double scientific scrutiny

Our activities are split into four regions – Edinburgh,Grampian Highlands and Islands, Strathclyde and Tayside & NE Fife – and each has its own Regional Committee and a Local Scientific Advisory Committee (LSAC). Funds raised in a region are spent in that region so, knowing the local funds available, each Regional Committee selects the best local applications based on their LSAC’s recommendations. These selected projects are then sent to our independent National Scientific Advisory Committee (NSAC). The NSAC acts as ‘double scrutiny’ of proposed projects to ensure all selected projects meet the highest standards of research.

Only if a project is rated highly by both the LSAC and NSAC will it be funded and go ahead. This also means that the NSAC assesses projects from all four Regional Committees and can ensure equivalently high standards in all regions.

Project assessment

Tenovus Scotland receives mid-project and end of project reports from every study and reviews the results and outcomes, including scientific publications and presentations at conferences. We also follow up researchers five years after each project began to see what progress has been made and further funding achieved.

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