Creating and sharing a research strategy

Reviewed: April 2025

AMRC supports members in creating and sharing a research strategy as both a condition of membership and a responsible funding practice.

Full member requirement: AMRC members must have a published research strategy online so that external audiences can see the direction of research and the rigorous methods used to make research funding decisions.

What is a research strategy and why is it important to have?

A research strategy sets out an organisation’s priorities in specific research areas, describing how the charity will use funding to meet its missions and goals and guide its activity over a specific time period. Having a clear research strategy helps to make applications more relevant, make funding decisions more effective and enable charities to deliver on their mission and aims.

Done properly, the process of creating a research strategy allows charities to:

• ensure that the research is funded in line with the charity’s mission and goals.
• ensure the research has the potential to have the largest possible impact on the desired mission.
• ensure the research is relevant to and considers the voices of all stakeholders including patients and the public, as well as researchers and clinicians.
• identify gaps and avoid research waste by understanding and building on current or past research in the same or a relevant research area.
• highlight to others (researchers, funders and broader stakeholders) what the organisation is doing in this space.
• identify potential collaborators and others working in and contributing to this space; for example co-funders, applicants and those that can disseminate or use the research.

If you have any questions about this topic or information to share, please get in touch with our Policy Team at [email protected].