Cross-sector experience awards – frequently asked questions

Applicants must be at an appropriate stage of their career to work in a different sector, based upon their own sector and discipline. You do not need to hold a PhD, or to work in research, to apply. Undergraduate students are ineligible for this award.

Applicants must hold a permanent contract, or fixed-term contract covering the duration of the proposed award. If your fixed-term contract does not cover the award duration, confirmation of an extension must be provided during the application process.

Applications from those who work part-time are encouraged, though applicants must still spend a minimum of 50% of their working hours on the award within a three-to-twelve-month period.

Applications from self-employed individuals are welcomed, however you must have a registered business or company and business bank account to accept award funding. You must speak with Academy staff prior to applying to discuss salary arrangements.

Applications from PhD students are welcome provided they have permission from their funder to pause their PhD. To evidence this, PhD students will be asked to provide a signed letter of support from their funder as part of their application.

PhD students required to undertake an internship as part of their programme may use this award to serve as their internship.

The applicant must be contracted to an employing organisation within the UK. Provided this criterion is met, applicants may be based outside of the UK, and/or may propose a partner organisation based outside of the UK.

Applicants must not:

• be a Trustee for the Academy of Medical Sciences
• currently hold, or have held, a contract of employment with the partner organisation. This includes previous internships and postgraduate education. The Academy will consider some previous experience in exceptional circumstances, on a case-by-case basis. This must be discussed with the team in advance of your application or it will be deemed ineligible
• hold 6% or more shares in the company named as the partner organisation. Applicants who own shares up to 6% must demonstrate the benefit of the award to their employing organisation, and that neither the applicant nor the partner organisation will disproportionately benefit from the award
• accept a salary, fee, or any form of payment from the partner organisation during the award
• have the means to work in another organisation or sector already

Your work at your employing organisation must have a clear link to the improvement of human health. Your work at the partner organisation must demonstrably benefit your work at your employing organisation.

You must dedicate a minimum of 50% of your total working hours to the award, and spend a minimum of three months working at each partner organisation. How you reach these thresholds during the award period is flexible.

You own intellectual property if you:

• created something that meets the requirements for a patent, copyright or design
• bought intellectual property rights from a creator or previous owner
• have a brand that could be a trademark.

Intellectual property can have more than one owner, and belong to people or businesses. As part of your application, you will need to confirm that if intellectual property is likely to be created during the award, the applicant and organisations must create an intellectual property agreement. This agreement should cover the rights to the intellectual property held by each party. We may request a signed copy of this agreement as part of the award acceptance process.

As part of the UK subsidy control regime, the Academy must report to the UK Government on how award funding is being used in relation to awards which collaborate with a commercial enterprise. This regime determines the lawfulness of monetary awards made using public sector resources when distributed to organisations involved in economic activity.

Applicants will need to identify whether a commercial enterprise is included in their application, for example the employing or partner organisations, or a collaborator. If awarded, the proposal will be subject to an additional series of checks aligned with subsidy control regulations.

We will inform you of the outcome of your application within two months of the panel meeting. All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application, and we provide anonymised feedback from the selection panel.

The earliest possible start date is usually around one to two months after we inform you of the decision, depending on how quickly you return the required documentation. Your project must start within six months of the earliest possible start date.

You must use the award for the aims and objectives for which it is awarded. However, we understand that sometimes changes are unavoidable. In these cases, you may apply for amendments to your proposal, such as a budget virement.

Please contact the team to discuss any changes before they are made. We will consider amendment requests on a case-by-case basis.

Under exceptional circumstances, we may consider no-cost extensions to the award period, if agreed by the employing and partner organisations. Awardees must contact the team as soon as possible if they think they have valid reason to request a no-cost extension, and have the resources to do so. No additional funds will be made available.

Applicants are encouraged to reapply considering the feedback they have received from the previous round. You may reapply with the same partner organisation only once. If both of these applications are unsuccessful, you must select a new partner organisation to apply again.

If your previous application was successful, you may only reapply with a new partner organisation, which must be based in a different sector to that of your successful application. If you have since changed employer, this new sector must also be different to the sector of your previous employing organisation.

The employing organisation is expected to support the applicant during the application process and agree on the details of the proposal. A named representative from the employing organisation and their finance office will be required to contribute to the application. These representatives must have the respective authority to sign the award terms and conditions on behalf of the organisation, and to approve the financial arrangements for the proposal. The employing organisation representative will also be required to provide a supporting statement, which will be assessed by the selection Panel.

Self-employed applicants will have the option to mark these roles as not required.
The employing and partner organisations will be expected to develop a collaborative relationship as a result of this award, and it is encouraged that this process is started prior to the award commencing.

For the purpose of this award, applicants with multiple employing organisations should name their employing organisation as that at which they spend the majority of their working hours, which must be a minimum of 50% OR the organisation most appropriate to support this award. Where the majority of your working hours at your employing organisation is below 50%, applicants must seek the permission of their other employers to reduce their working hours as required to reach the 50% minimum spent on the award.

Supporting statements will be required from a representative of each employer.

The partner organisation is expected to support the applicant during the application process and agree on the details of the proposal. A named representative from the partner organisation and their finance office will be required to contribute to the application. These representatives must have the respective authority to sign the award terms and conditions on behalf of the organisation, and to approve the financial arrangements for the proposal. The partner organisation representative will also be required to provide a supporting statement, which will be assessed by the selection panel.

During the award, the partner organisation should treat the applicant as an employee in all aspects except those associated with being salaried. This includes provision of any resources required for the applicant to perform their role. The employing and partner organisations will be expected to develop a collaborative relationship as a result of this award, and it is encouraged that this process is started prior to the award commencing.

The partner organisation must be based in a different sector to that or those which you currently work in. Applicants are eligible to be based in any sector(s). However, applicants working in the NHS who propose to move to the private healthcare sector, or vice-versa, should speak with the team to discuss their proposal before applying.

Partner organisations based outside of the UK are eligible. By applying with a partner organisation based outside of the UK, the applicant confirms their eligibility to travel to, live and work in the destination country.

Applicants with historic, previous experience in the sector of their partner organisation may be eligible to apply, however they must not have worked at the partner organisation. If the applicant has any form of experience with the partner sector, they should speak with the Academy team prior to applying.

Where an existing partnership is in place prior to this award, the applicant and organisations involved must still demonstrate that the applicant does not currently have the means to undertake the proposed placement. Collaborations between individuals based at either organisation are permitted only when these are completely separate from the proposal, and do not provide the means to support the proposed placement.

The applicant must not financially gain from working at the partner organisation.

Applications involving two partner organisations must name organisations based in the same sector. The applicant must spend a minimum of three months at each partner organisation, though the award period can flex, up to a total of 12 months, once this point is met. For example, 4 months at partner one followed by 6 months at partner two or vice versa. There should be a clear and synergistic benefit to their work with each partner.