How to extend or postpone your grant end date

Grant end dates are determined by the start date of a grant and the duration agreed with Wellcome when it is awarded.

You can defer your start date by up to 12 months from the start date set out in your award letter. This then moves the grant end date back by the same amount of time.

All posts funded on a fellowship grant end when the fellow's salary support ends.

You must send us an end-of-grant report when your grant ends.

We will change your grant end date if:

• you ask for a no-cost extension
• you have been awarded a costed extension
• we agree to a change due to parental leave, sick leave or changes to working hours.

Covid-19 extensions

If your grant ends between 2022 and the end of 2024 and was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, we will consider extending your grant by up to 12 months. This includes any Covid-related extension you may have already received. Extensions due to Covid-19 will be considered in addition to a no-cost extension request outlined below.

Grants ending after 2024 will not be eligible to receive an extension due to Covid-19 disruption.

Other no-cost extensions

We will consider a request for a no-cost extension for up to 12 months to continue activities related to your original grant, provided there are sufficient funds remaining on the grant to do so. We will not give you any more funds.

You should contact us to request a revised end date no earlier than 12 months and no later than 2 months before your original end date.

The new end date will be final. No additional extensions and/or revisions to the end date will be considered, including bringing the end date earlier, unless they are related to change due to parental leave, sick leave or changes to working hours.

We will not award a no-cost extension and a costed extension on the same award. See our supplementary funding policy for more information on costed extensions.

Examples of when we will give a no-cost extension

• Delays in receiving ethical (or other) approvals.
• Patient/participant recruitment delays.
• Procurement issues.
• Facilities being shut down/refurbished or research site changes.
• Staff recruitment delays (where multiple key posts are not all activated at the same time) or gaps in post-occupancy during the grant (for example a postdoc leaving).
• Original research objectives not yet achieved.

Examples of when we will not give a no-cost extension

• Expansion of the project. For example, if the original aims/activities on the grant have been completed, or the extension of activities are significantly different from the original project plan.
• Funds would be shifted into budget headings not covered by the original award, or if funds are ring-fenced, for uses other than that originally agreed.
• Conference/meeting attendance.
• Writing new grant proposals.
• Bridging funds to cover a period between grants.
• Writing up a thesis.

How to request a no-cost extension

You should submit your request using the online form no sooner than 12 months and no later than two months before the original end date. No-cost extensions will not be considered if requests are received after the original grant end date.

If, for recruitment reasons, you require earlier confirmation that your grant will be extended please contact your Funding Manager who will provide written confirmation of our commitment to extend the grant for up to 12 months when the request is submitted.

You should discuss your grant balances with your research and finance offices before asking for an extension.

You will need to tell us:

• your proposed new end date 
• the reason for requesting a no-cost extension, with a short explanation of why
• that you have enough grant money to continue your work during the extra period 
• that remaining funds are not being used from ring-fenced budget headings for other purposes.

If you hold a fellowship, you can use existing grant funds to support your salary during the extension. If you don't have enough funds to do this, your salary must be supported by another source.

Where a grant for follow-on funding has been awarded, this will not be activated until the no-cost extension period on the existing award has ended.
 

Holders of a joint grant must get agreement from all the other grantholders to change the grant's end date. Grantholders are responsible for telling their research and finance offices of changes to the end date.

The person with the latest end date will need to submit the end-of-grant report for the whole grant.