Sight Research Uk

What Sight Research Uk does

Sight Research UK is a UK-based Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under charity number 1156134, founded in 1986 by Professor David Easty at Bristol Eye Hospital. The charity funds pioneering eye research aimed at preventing sight loss and improving treatments for vision impairment, distributing capital through two principal grant programmes: Seed Awards of up to £15,000 for early-stage proof-of-concept research (two rounds per year as of 2026), and Translational Research Awards of up to £150,000 (TRL 3-5) or £250,000 (TRL 5-7) for projects with a clear pathway to patient benefit. Over 2020-2026 the charity invested £2.41 million across 48 research projects, unlocking £43.5 million in follow-on funding for a £2.52 leverage ratio per £1 deployed. Cumulative activity since 1986 includes over 130 funded projects, 40 PhD studentships, and 224 research publications since 2020.

Sight Research UK serves two distinct stakeholder groups. Downstream, its beneficiaries are UK-based university researchers, NHS clinicians, and allied healthcare professionals who apply for competitive funding; named recipients include investigators at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, King's College London, University of Brighton, London South Bank University, and University of Birmingham. Upstream, its funders are individual donors, corporate partners, trusts and foundations (including Sir Samuel Scott of Yews Trust, Thriplow Charitable Trust, Carr-Gregory Trust, C M Lowe Charitable Trust, and Hospital Saturday Fund), and participants in fundraising events such as The Big Half half marathon. The charity holds Association of Medical Research Charities membership and NIHR Non-commercial Partner status, enabling grant holders to access indirect cost coverage and NHS clinical research network infrastructure.

The organization does not sell products or services. All revenue is generated through donations, Gift Aid-enhanced public giving, trust and foundation grants, and fundraising events. The Research Strategy 2026-2031 targets £1.5 million in annual turnover within three years and addresses the documented funding gap that eye research receives only 1.5% of total UK medical research funding, despite roughly 2 million people in the UK being affected by retinal disorders and a new case of sight loss being communicated every six minutes.

Name

Sight Research Uk

Legal name

Sight Research UK

Website

https://sightresearchuk.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sight Research UK is a UK-registered charity (number 1156134) founded in 1986 that funds pioneering eye research through Seed Awards and Translational Research Awards distributed to UK universities and NHS clinicians, financed entirely by public donations, trust grants, and fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Research Grants

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

Keywords

• Eye research funding
• Ophthalmology research grants
• Sight loss prevention
• Medical research charity
• Vision research grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Bradley Stoke, Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Sight Research UK generates revenue through public donations, fundraising events, and charitable giving. The organization accepts one-time and recurring donations via its website, JustGiving platform, and other channels. Gift Aid scheme allows UK taxpayers to increase their donation value by 25%.
2. Trust and Foundation Grants: The charity receives support from various trusts and foundations including Sir Samuel Scott of Yews Trust, The Thriplow Charitable Trust, The Carr-Gregory Trust, and The C M Lowe Charitable Trust.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Sight Research UK is a UK-based charitable organisation that funds pioneering eye research through competitive grant programmes. The charity distributes donated funds to researchers via Seed Awards (up to £15,000) and Translational Research Awards (up to £150,000-£250,000), supporting early-stage and translational research into causes, prevention, and treatment of sight-threatening eye diseases.

Product overview

Sight Research UK is a UK-based charitable organisation (CIO, registered charity 1156134) that funds pioneering eye research rather than operating a traditional product. The charity offers two main grant programmes: the Seed Award (up to £15,000 for early-stage research, twice yearly as of 2026) and the Translational Research Award (up to £150,000-£250,000 for projects with clear pathway to patient benefit). Additional services include donor-directed giving campaigns, a clinical trial finder powered by Antidote, and fundraising events including The Big Half. The organisation's Research Strategy 2026-2031 outlines plans to increase turnover to £1.5 million within 3 years while supporting researchers earlier and longer.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Seed Award Grants up to £15,000 supporting early-stage eye research for UK-based researchers and clinicians. Funds proof of concept, basic research, and disease modelling with clear pathway to patient benefit. Two rounds per year as of 2026.
• Translational Research Award Supports research projects with clearly defined pathway to patient benefit, accelerating translation of scientific findings into new therapies, devices, and diagnostics. Awards up to £150,000 (TRL 3-5) or £250,000 (TRL 5-7).
• Clinical Trial Finder Digital tool provided through partnership with Antidote allowing patients to find clinical trial research projects near them, searching international databases including UK-based trials.
• The Big Half (Charity Running Event) Annual half marathon event on 6 September in London where supporters run on behalf of Sight Research UK to raise funds for sight-saving research.
• Eye Conditions Knowledge Hub Comprehensive A-Z guide to eye conditions from age-related macular degeneration to uveitis, providing information on causes, prevention, and treatment research.
• Targeted Donation Campaigns Donor-directed giving programme allowing supporters to direct donations to specific research projects including Combat Eye Cancer, Help Little Eyes (childhood glaucoma), and Treat Retinal Disorders.

Quantifiable outcome

• £2.52 generated for every £1 invested in research
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSight Research UK is an NIHR Non-commercial Partner. This status allows funded clinical research to access NIHR Clinical Research Network support and enables grant holders to apply for indirect costs coverage from NHS research networks. The partnership facilitates faster recruitment to studies and infrastructure support.
• Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSight Research UK is a member of the AMRC, which provides access to the Charity Research Support Fund. This allows university-based research to receive indirect cost coverage for charitable funding, making grants more attractive to host institutions.
• JustGivingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJustGiving platform integration allows Sight Research UK supporters to create personal fundraising pages. All donations through JustGiving come directly to the charity, simplifying donation processing for fundraisers.
• ForGoodcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorForGood is a free fundraising platform for charities built by Nebula Design. It has zero platform fees, meaning every penny of donations reaches Sight Research UK. The platform is funded through optional contributions from donors.
• Nebula DesignminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWebsite development partner that built Sight Research UK's website and the ForGood fundraising platform. Credit acknowledged in website footer.
• Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRNIB works alongside Sight Research UK in the sight loss sector. The organizations share mission alignment for supporting people with visual impairment. RNIB rehabilitation officers assist patients in accessing support services.
• PEM FriendsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPatient support organization for people diagnosed with Pemphigus or Pemphigoid conditions. Founded in 1999, they provide support and advice to patients and caregivers affected by conditions including OcMMP that Sight Research UK funds research for.
• Fight for SightminorOthersFellow UK eye research charity. Sight Research UK references Fight for Sight research in its strategy documents regarding funding gap statistics (eye research receives only 1.5% of total UK medical research funding).
• NHS Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NHS DES programme screens over 3 million people with diabetes annually. Sight Research UK-funded AI research operates within this existing NHS infrastructure, using standard screening photographs for risk prediction development.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB): Largest UK charity for people with sight loss, offering services, advocacy and some research funding. Broader mandate (services + research) and significantly larger scale; competes for donor mind-share in the same sight-loss cause area.
• Guide Dogs: Major UK sight-loss charity focused on mobility services and advocacy. Operates in the same sight-loss cause area for donor fundraising, though with a service-led rather than research-led model.
• Wellcome Trust: Large UK-based global charitable foundation funding biomedical research including vision science. Comparable as a research-grantmaking charity operating in the UK, though orders of magnitude larger in scale and broader in scientific scope.

Emerging players

• Glaucoma UK: UK charity funding glaucoma research and supporting patients. Comparable as a UK eye-condition-specific grantmaker, with overlapping investigator network (e.g. congenital glaucoma research funded by Sight Research UK at UCL).
• Macular Society: UK charity focused specifically on macular conditions (notably AMD), funding research and supporting patients. Comparable as a UK eye-disease-specific funder competing for the same donor and research-talent pool, though narrower in disease scope than Sight Research UK.
• Retina UK: UK charity funding research into inherited retinal dystrophies, providing support and information. Comparable in its disease-specific research funding model and donor demographic overlap with Sight Research UK's retinal disease grants.

Direct peers

• Fight for Sight: UK's largest dedicated eye research charity, funding pioneering research into sight loss conditions. Directly comparable as both charities raise donations, fund UK-based eye research projects, and compete for the same donor and grant-holder pool referenced by Sight Research UK in its strategy documents.
• Moorfields Eye Charity: Charity supporting research, education and patient care at Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. Highly comparable grantmaking model targeting UK eye research, including AI screening, gene therapy and clinical translation at leading ophthalmology institutions.

Others

• Cancer Research UK: Largest UK medical research charity, funding cancer research. Comparable as a peer in the UK charity-funded medical research ecosystem, illustrating the share-of-voice competition and donor-allocation dynamics that constrain eye research funding to ~1.5% of the UK total.
• British Heart Foundation: One of the largest UK medical research charities, funding cardiovascular research. Comparable as a peer charity operating in the UK medical research funding market, illustrating both the scale gap and the donor-allocation competition Sight Research UK faces.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sightresearchuk7543
• Facebookfacebook.com/SightResearchUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sight-research-uk
• Instagraminstagram.com/sightresearchuk

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sight Research Uk