The International Funders' Award (IFA) Management skill training programmed is funded by the Wellcome Trust and delivered by the Open University UK. The programme is aimed at increasing effectiveness in research and value for funding that funders give to research. I am one of the first four Awardees of this programme in the UK to receive this award. Our job as the pioneer Awardees will be to learn at the same time assess and recommend appropriate improvement of the programme for future Awardees.