What We Fund
VTCT Priorities
Background
The VTCT Foundation was established in 2014 following a one-off gift from VTCT, a specialist awarding and assessment organisation offering vocational and technical qualifications in a range of service sectors.
The Foundation is an independent grant making charitable foundation that has worked to improve the lives of those living with a visible difference.
Two major multi-year grants were made in 2015 and 2016 to the Scar Free Foundation and Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) respectively. Since then, we have funded many organisations through our major and small grants programme, during the Covid pandemic through our ‘New Ways of Working Fund’ and through an ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ programme which was launched in 2023.
To deliver on our aim to support high quality, impactful research we have funded both basic science and clinical research projects. We also launched a Career Development Programme which invests in attracting and developing talent in the visible difference research arena.
An important aspect of our work has been hosting and supporting a network of individuals and organisations called The Appearance Collective with the aim of fostering better collaboration, reducing duplication and increasing impact. As part of this we have held an annual Showcase event for all Appearance Collective members and hosted a biannual meeting to explore strategic issues for the Chairs and Chief Executives of larger Appearance Collective charities.
We are now in a transition phase as we develop a new strategy aiming to leave a lasting legacy that will strengthen organisations working in the visible difference sector.
Strategic Aims and Objectives
The overall aim of the VTCTF over the coming 3-year period is to develop a lasting legacy for organisations and researchers working in the visible difference sector, which will ultimately have long-lasting benefits for those living with visible differences. To achieve this aim, the Foundation will focus on two strategic objectives:
1. To support Career Development for researchers
2. To develop a new strategy for any future funding as part of our legacy programme.
1. Career Development for Researchers
Funding in the form of bursaries or Fellowships to build and retain capacity in research in the field of visible difference. Awards will be considered to support:
• Early career clinical fellowships – to support clinicians in developing their research focus and expertise in this field
• Postdoctoral research – to support career progression and to facilitate the trajectory towards independent research in the field
• Doctoral Bursaries – to support the completion of relevant PhDs or Professional Doctorates.
The planned research should be designed (either in the short or longer term) to underpin improvements in outcomes for those affected by visible difference.
2. A new strategy for any future funding as part of our legacy programme.
As the VTCTF moves into its final legacy phase, we will explore with members of the Appearance Collective (AC) and beyond their challenges and priorities, ideas for maximising their effectiveness and sustainability as well as feedback on the future of the Appearance Collective. We will then develop a new strategy for any future funding and support.