Irish Cancer Society Public and Patient Involvement in Research Award 2026

Apply now using our Grant Management System

Background

The Irish Cancer Society is committed to putting patients, families, carers, survivors, supporters and the public at the very heart of what we do. Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in the research process ensures that research is meaningful and of benefit to those directly and indirectly affected by cancer.

The Irish Cancer Society’s Public and Patient Involvement Award aims to support excellent Irish-based cancer researchers in all disciplines, to develop their public and patient involvement activities.

Eligibility

This award is open to cancer researchers of all backgrounds. This includes academic and clinical researchers (post undergraduate level), medical doctors, and professionals of social sciences, nursing, and allied health, working with those affected by cancer. Further eligibility requirements are listed below.

The research team can include:

A lead applicant (mandatory)
An academic mentor (mandatory for lead applicants with <5 years of post-doctoral research experience or not employed at an approved host institution)
PPI mentor(s) (optional)

Please note: The addition of a PPI mentor(s) is not mandatory for this award. While the Irish Cancer Society encourages PPI mentorship to guide applications, we recognise that some researchers are at the start of their PPI journey and require funding to initiate PPI relationships and activities.

Eligible Applications must not:

Propose PPI activities for which funding from another charity/organisation is already available, e.g., using funding to ‘top up’ a previously awarded grant.
Include generalised, vague engagement, dissemination, or participation activities. Applications must propose a plan for true public and patient involvement and partnership.
Use the funding to simply carry out research. Funding may only be used to cover ‘PPI in Research’ i.e., activities pertaining to the partnership/ involvement of people affected by cancer in the research plan.

Please see the guidelines for applicants for eligibility criteria.

Funding and Duration

Applicants can apply for funding of a maximum €5,000 for a grant period duration of at least 6 months. All funding requests must be appropriately justified based on the proposed PPI activities. Applications requesting lower amounts are also welcome and eligible for this award. Each lead applicant may only submit one application.

Please note: Proposed PPI activities must begin by Q2 2027.

Submission and Key Dates

Applications must be completed and submitted through the Irish Cancer Society’s new online grant management system. To submit an online application, you are required to register at the following address: https://irishcancersociety.optimytool.com/en.

Milestones: