To ensure high-quality and relevant research, funders should ensure the meaningful involvement and engagement of those affected by research and its outcomes, from prioritisation to implementation.

To promote research impact, funders should use the whole research cycle from study design to dissemination, knowledge mobilisation and implementation, to ensure research is relevant to and appropriately shared with research users.

To fund research that is high-quality and addresses unmet needs, funders should require that there is an evidence gap demonstrated by a review done systematically.  Research methods should be appropriate and robust with ability to replicate findings.

To make research outcomes applicable to everybody, equality, diversity, and inclusion should be integral to the whole research cycle, including funding decisions, design and conduct of studies, accessible dissemination and researcher development.

To contribute to environmental, social, and economic sustainability, funders should actively work to improve their own practices, consider expectations and requirements of researchers and consider sustainability in the topics they fund.

To ensure the safe and effective conduct of research, the selection and oversight of research should be actively managed in a risk proportionate way, consistent with responsible research assessment, applicable laws, regulations, and ethical guidance.

To facilitate Open Science and reporting, funders should incentivise that study methods, data and findings are made publicly available as appropriate throughout the research cycle, from inception to outcomes. This applies irrespective of the nature of the findings and whether the study completed as planned.

To be equitable whilst ensuring appropriate governance, funders should strive to be as transparent as possible about their processes and decision making.

To continuously improve every aspect of their work, funders should undertake effective monitoring, evaluation, and evidence-informed learning from their own activities, alongside sharing with and learning from other funders. Where possible, funders should undertake research on research funding practice to further inform and improve practice.