Evaluation of your research award

As a charity we need to understand the impact of our research funding. We harness the impact of our research to help us fundraise, campaign for people with arthritis, and influence policy change. In turn this helps us invest more in research and improve the lives of people with arthritis. 

Award holders need to keep us updated on their progress and challenges. Through regular reporting, usually annually, and for at least two years after your award closes. We want to share your breakthroughs and follow the progress of your work. We also need to check that our research is on track so we can offer appropriate support and guidance, and ensure funding is being spent effectively.  

Versus Arthritis uses a range of reporting approaches depending on the type of research being conducted. This includes Researchfish, our Grant Tracker system and potential further bespoke reporting in line with the type of funding call. 

Award holders are asked to report each year that their award is active, and for two years after the award closes. This is because outputs and outcomes often occur after the funding period. In some circumstances we may request that you report for longer, particularly if we anticipate significant outputs at a later stage.

Researchfish

Currently, Researchfish is the primary tool for most of our reporting. This is an online platform through which research outputs and outcomes are updated. Most award holders are asked to submit a report on an annual basis through the Researchfish system, during a six-week period in February and March.  

We will contact you via Researchfish soon after your award is made to ask you to ‘accept the award’ in the Researchfish platform. You may need to create a Researchfish account if it is your first time using the system. 

We will contact you in advance of the submission period to let you know it is opening, and again when it opens. We will also send reminders to those who have not submitted as the end of the reporting period nears.  

Information relating to outcomes and impacts in Researchfish must be completed as fully as possible and can be entered at any time during the award. 

You will be contacted if you are required to report through Researchfish. If you are unsure of the reporting requirements for your award, please contact  awards@versusarthritis.org. 

Some awards require more tailored reporting.  

Clinical studies and Progress Review Committee

Clinical studies that are recruiting human participants are also required to complete a six-monthly progress report in addition to reporting outputs and outcomes via Researchfish. These reports are reviewed by the Progress Review Committee (PRC), more information can be found here

Medical Technology Awards

Award holders are asked to submit monthly progress reports and an End of Grant Report via Grant Tracker. We do not require these awards to report via Researchfish.

Research Centres

Our Centres report through our bespoke reporting tools relating to the stage of the award, alongside Centre visits. We do not require Research Centres to report via Researchfish.

Research Consortia

Consortia will report regularly on progress using their Theory of Change and the outcome measures established from this. 

All peer reviewed publications funded by Versus Arthritis are expected to be uploaded to Europe PubMed Central (Europe PMC) in line with our publication guidelines. This is one of our primary tools for keeping track of the research we have funded, and it is an essential part of reporting.  

Europe PMC is a free-to-access digital archive of biomedical and life sciences research publications. It aims to promote open access to biomedical and life sciences research publications supported by European funders.  

For further information visit europepmc.org, where you can login to your account and access helpful FAQs. 

It is essential that you Tell us about your publications. 

Europe PMC plus is a manuscript submission and award reporting service. The manuscript submission service allows award holders who are supported by a member of the Europe PMC funders’ group to self-archive peer-reviewed articles that have been accepted for publication by a journal. Please note, the self-archive service should only be used if the journal does not offer open access repository on the author’s behalf. The submission service also allows award holders to link their papers to awards.

The award reporting service allows funders to assess the published outputs of the research they fund on a award-by-award basis, which is an important component of funders’ research evaluation programmes.

Award holders will receive account details by email from Europe PMC once an award has been added by Versus Arthritis to Europe PMC (typically 3 months after the date of award).

Reporting is incredibly important to us. If we don’t receive updates when they are expected, we would need to take action. We may need to contact senior members of your institution to chase or, in rare cases, withhold payment or block future applications until the issue is resolved.