CLEFT invites researchers to submit high quality proposals for research grants of up to a maximum of £60,000. Proposals should focus on the causes of, or improving treatment and support for, cleft lip and/or palate. They may be either clinical or basic science questions. More information is available here.

Find out more about submitting an application 

We welcome applications for smaller grants. 

Each application will be reviewed by members of the CLEFT Research Steering Committee (RSC) which includes patient and carer representatives. Reviews of the applications by individuals affected by cleft linked to the cleft Research Governance Group may also be considered.

The timeline for the application process will be as follows:

Call for funding applications open 1st July 2026

Closing date for applications 30th September 2026

Applicants may be asked to join a zoom meeting on November 11th 2026 at 6pm: please keep this date free.

Enquiries should be emailed to [email protected]

RESEARCH APPLICATION FORM: APPLY HERE

The RSC recommends considering the following points to build a strong research funding application:

• Develop a clear research question that can be answered by your project;
• Perform a relevant literature review or systematic review which supports the premise of the research question in advance of the project; 
• Provide plans for, or evidence of, ethical permissions;
• Provide plans for, or evidence of, public and patient involvement;
• Confirm input and approval from a R&D department regarding the full costs of the project, including details of the grade and hours of any staff employed; 
• Explain clearly how the data will be analysed, including any statistical measures to be used. If appropriate consult a statistician during the planning of the project;
• Provide a clear and realistic time plan that covers the set up of the project, collection of data, analysis, and write up. Include the expected start and finish dates;  

 

Pitfalls to avoid:  

• Not being able to recruit sufficient numbers of patients; 
• Small sample sets, or data collection, that will be insufficient for robust and meaningful analysis – perform power calculations where appropriate;
• Not allowing enough time for data collection;
• Duplication of similar projects being carried out in other centres; 

  

Other considerations: 

• Request ethical permission early;
• Confounding factors – consider and understand as many confounding factors as possible, and how they will affect the findings of the study;
• Use well established, robust, and externally validated outcome measures where possible;
• Measure inter and intra rater reliability;
• Measure outcomes blindly and independently;
• Collaborate with other centres where possible; 

 

What you can also do for CLEFT:

Clearly state the impact of the research – how it will: 

• Change the quality of people's lives; 
• Improve treatments;
• Reduce the burden of treatment needed; 
• Reduce costs for health care providers;

 

 

CLEFT Research Steering Committee members:

E Anderson, Consultant Clinical Geneticist, Liverpool, Vice Chair;

S Butterworth, Cleft Fellow, Newcastle;

A Chadha, Cleft Surgical Trainee;

R Chorbachi, Audiological Physician, GOSH;

J Cropper, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Oxford;

J Davies, Speech and Language Therapist, Manchester;

M Dwyer, Parent;

F Gilchrist, Senior Lecturer in Paediatric Dentistry, University of Sheffield;

N Hay, Consultant Orthodontist, North Thames Cleft Centre;

M Hotton; Consultant Clinical Psychologist Spires Cleft Centre

H Lane, Speech and Language Therapist, University of Sheffield;

G McCarthy, External Engagement Coordinator, CLAPA;

H Robson, Lead Cleft Nurse, North Thames Cleft Centre; 

R Slator, Consultant Cleft Surgeon (retired), Chair;

P Stanier, Emeritus Professor of Craniofacial Biology and Genetics, ICH/UCL;

B Sommerlad, Trustee;

S van Eeden, Speech and Language Therapist, Newcastle;

Y Wren, Chief Investigator of The Cleft Collective Cohort Study, Bristol. 

View the Research Steering Committee members' bios

If you would like to download this Call for Research Proposal, click here