SAPC/RCGP awards for Outstanding Early Career Researchers (Academic General Practitioner and Primary Care Scientist)

Closing date each year: 31st January. Closing date extended in 2024 to 18th February.

Background

RCGP Scientific Foundation Board (SFB) and the Society for Academic Primary Care (SAPC) collaborate to deliver Outstanding Early Career Researcher awards.

These awards recognise researchers who have made significant contributions to academic primary care. Previously known as the Yvonne Carter Award, named after Professor Yvonne Carter CBE, whose research a huge impact on academic general practice.

The awards

We now offer two annual awards, one to an Academic General Practitioner and one to a Primary Care Scientist.

Each winner is awarded £500. 

As part of the award application, we ask applicants to submit a report detailing how they would use the money, its outcomes and support related PR activity. The award can be used for national and international travel to meet with other researchers and used for conference attendance.

In addition, they are invited to present their work at RCGP’s Winners Enclosure at the annual conference and the SAPC ASM. The exact date of the presentations are to be confirmed.

Eligibility

The award is open to early career researchers in primary care.

Applicants should have no more than 5 years (pro rata) academic experience, excluding any career breaks, either in General Practice/Primary Care (GP/PC) post PhD or no more than 5 years, excluding any career breaks, since starting a substantive contract in a dept of GP/PC (ie holding a post as a research fellow, lecturer, teacher, 0.4 or more WTE).

They should hold a formal or honorary appointment with a primary care department, centre or group in a UK/Ireland University, have published original research in peer-reviewed journals – at least one as a lead author – and be actively engaged in high-quality research which is genuinely grounded in primary care.

Application process

Please apply to the award via the Scientific Foundation Board grant and awards platform:
https://royalcollegeofgeneralpractitioners.grantplatform.com/ 

Please fill in your details, answer the questions on why you are an outstanding early career researcher and provide details for your head of department. 

We will only accept two applications from each department/centre/group. One application for category 1 is academic general practitioner, and one for category 2 is primary care scientist. Therefore, please liaise with your Head of Department before submission.

Judging

Applications will be judged by a panel consisting of primary care academics from the RCGP and SAPC. The awards will be restricted to applicants whose background the award panel considers to be genuinely grounded in primary care. The panel will assess applications for evidence of the candidate’s current and potential contributions to advancing primary care through research, including personal research leadership, wider promotion of academic primary care, publications, and other markers of distinction, as well as the clarity of the proposal for the use of the award funds. Particular emphasis will be given to research which demonstrates an understanding of, and contribution to, the primary care vision.