Quality Improvement and Innovation Grants

Each year the OAA offers up to three quality improvement and innovation grants of up to £20 000.

Applications are invited for this non-research grant awarded directly by the OAA. The grant is intended to help fund projects that focus on education, training, innovation, patient safety or some other aspect that is compatible with the core activities of the OAA and the benefits of which are likely to be appreciated at a regional or national level.

Eligibility

An application will be considered from Departments of Anaesthesia or Academic Departments of Anaesthesia where at least one applicant from the group is a member of the OAA and has been so for at least 12 months. That member, along with all the other applicants, must have a significant and substantial contribution to the conception, design or delivery of the project. If the project lead investigator is a trainee anaesthetist, it is expected that supervision from an experienced investigator working in the same department will be provided.

The project must be relevant to obstetric anaesthesia.

Successful recipients must supply a report to the OAA within two years of receiving the grant. If the project is not finished within this time frame of two years, annual reports on the progress must be submitted to the OAA. The OAA must be acknowledged in any presentation or publication that arises from the project and the results should be submitted for presentation at the OAA Annual Scientific Meeting.

The Support

Applications of various amounts up to a maximum of £20 000 will be considered, however these amounts are not fixed and extra funding may be available for some high quality projects. The OAA wishes to be as flexible as possible whilst ensuring good value for money.

The money may be to support innovation and product development or for quality improvement projects concerned with education, training, patient care or safety or some other aspect that is compatible with the core activities of the OAA. The money may be for equipment (excluding laptops, personal computers, filing cabinets and other basic office equipment), consumables, part salary or other expenses that will be directly incurred by the project. If the grant is used to support a salary, the employer is responsible for ensuring that appropriate health checks are made according to local occupational health guidelines and that the employee carries appropriate professional indemnity.

Applicants who have obtained part-funding for their project from another source may apply for this grant but must declare the details of the other source of funding. Similarly, applicants may apply who wish to use this grant to support an application to another source

Application process

The application form can be downloaded here. Each application will be assessed by members of the OAA Research and Grants Committee and also expert peer review outside of the OAA committee. Certain projects/applications may be referred to the NIAA for consideration at the next NIAA funding round. The OAA reserves the right not to make an award if the application is not of sufficient standard

Applicants should complete the application form and return by email to the Robin Russell, Chairman of the Research and Grants Sub-committee. The deadline for the next round of applications is Friday 28 April 2023.