Assessment of Grant Applications

This is managed exclusively by the Research & Audit Committee of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain & Ireland

The Research and Audit Committee is responsible for advising on all matters relating to research, managing the ACPGBI databases and participating in national audit, including NBOCA (National Bowel Cancer Audit). The committee also facilitates external peer review for Bowel Disease Research Foundation (BDRF) grant applications.

Committee members

Role Representative
Chair Austin Acheson
Elected member Faheez Mohamed
Elected member Tom Pinkney
Elected member Doug Speake
Elected member Jared Torkington
Elected member Dale Vimalachandran
ACPN representative Gabrielle Thorpe
RCS Research Lead for Colorectal Surgery Simon Bach
The Dukes’ Club representative Peter Vaughan-Shaw

The committee meets in person at every annual meeting and by teleconference around four times a year. Each elected member of the committee also has individual additional portfolio commitments to support specific functions of ACPGBI, including representation on the NBOCA and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Clinical Advisory Groups, updating the website trials information, managing specific audits or databases and the Surgical Workload Outcomes Audit Database (SWORD) programme, and sitting on selection committees for research fellowships. All members are expected to review every BDRF grant application as the committee provides recommendations on funding to BDRF. Members devote a significant amount of time to the committee each year outside of meetings.

The chair is elected from within the committee by the elected members. The chair represents the views of the committee at ACPGBI Executive and Council to advise ACPGBI on policy and strategy with respect to research and audit, as well as matters affecting the profession. The chair becomes an ex officio trustee of BDRF with anticipated attendance at four BDRF trustees meetings each year. The chair is an integral member of the Programme Committee for annual meetings and has direct responsibility for arranging research sessions