Where to find funding

NIHR is the nation’s largest funder of health and care research, spending £1 billion from the Department of Health and Social Care on research every year. However, a wide range of bodies fund health and social care research, including charities i.e. Alzheimer’s Society and the Medical Research Council, or industry, some fund projects jointly. Most have specific areas of interest and many are disease specific. Sources of further information include (note this is not an exhaustive list):

Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) is the national membership organisation for medical and health research charities. AMRC members support over one-third of all UK publicly-funded medical research in the UK, with members investing over £1.2 billion in health research in the UK in 2012.
Medical Research Council (MRC) funds research through a range of grants, calls, highlight notices, studentships and fellowships.
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds a range of programmes addressing a broad range of health priorities. Funding is based on the quality and relevance of the research to personal social services, public health and the NHS.
NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC) is part of the NIHR, manages a number of research programmes, including: Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation; Health Services and Delivery Research; Health Technology Assessment; Public Health Research; and Systematic Reviews.
UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) many different organisations fund health research in the UK. The UKCRC has developed a coherent approach to health research funding by providing a forum to coordinate the activities of funding bodies and by developing an evidence base to inform strategic planning.
UK Research Office (UKRO) is the European office of the UK Research Councils. Activities include providing details on European Commission funding opportunities.

There is support available to you when preparing a grant application.

Specific Calls

Funder	Clinical area	Research question	Criteria	Amount	Deadline
NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme	Children and young people	What is the clinical and cost-effectiveness of interventions to improve self-care of children and young people with neurodisability?	Randomised Controlled Trial Minimum duration of follow-up is 12 months	No maximum limit	29/11/2022 (Stage 1)
NIHR Public Health Research Programme	Health inequalities	What interventions are effective to promote good mental health and wellbeing among young women aged 12-24?	Evaluation of interventions operating at a population level rather than at an individual level, which should address health inequalities and the wider determinants of health. Primary or secondary research, i.e. trials, evaluations, or analysis of epidemiological data.	No maximum limit	29/11/2022 (Stage 1) Webinar for applicants on Wednesday 28 September, 14:45–16:00
NIHR Public Health Research Programme	Health inequalities	Which interventions, aimed at people working in SMEs, precarious job roles or in specific occupations, have the most impactful in securing mental health and wellbeing of the employees and how do we ensure that these interventions are cost-effective for the employers, business owner or host organisation?	Evaluation of interventions operating at a population level rather than at an individual level, which should address health inequalities and the wider determinants of health. Primary or secondary research, i.e. trials, evaluations, or analysis of epidemiological data.	No fixed limit	29/11/2022 (Stage 1) Webinar for applicants on Wednesday 28 September, 14:45–16:00
NIHR Public Health Research Programme	Perinatal	Which interventions are the most impactful in improving mental health outcomes in women or/and partners experiencing a pregnancy not ending in a live birth in the UK?	Evaluation of interventions operating at a population level rather than at an individual level, which should address health inequalities and the wider determinants of health. Primary or secondary research, i.e. trials, evaluations, or analysis of epidemiological data.	No fixed limit	29/11/2022 (Stage 1) Webinar for applicants on Wednesday 28 September, 14:45–16:00
Wellcome Trust	Anxiety, depression, psychosis	Mental Health Award: Integrating sleep and circadian science into our understanding and treatment of anxiety, depression and psychosis	PhD (or equivalent) and significant postdoctoral research experience, ready to lead independent research programme. Interested in applications that advance understanding of the dynamic changes that occur in sleep and circadian rhythm across trajectories and phases of anxiety, depression and psychosis, in different developmental, geographical, societal and cultural contexts.	Up to £3M over 5 years	19/10/2022

Generic Calls

Funder	Clinical area	Title	Criteria	Amount	Deadline
Wellcome	N/a	Early Careers Awards	PhD or at least four years' equivalent research experience Early-career researcher ready to design, plan and deliver own innovative research project that aims to: Advance understanding in your field and/or Develop methodologies, conceptual frameworks, tools or techniques that could benefit health-related research.	salary and up to £400,000 for 5 years	18/10/2022
Wellcome	N/A	Career Development Awards	Mid-career researcher and ready to lead a substantial and innovative research programme; Make a key contribution to your field by: generating significant shifts in understanding and/or developing methodologies, conceptual frameworks, tools or techniques that could benefit health-related research.	Not specified, 8 years	01/12/2022
Barts Charity	Enhance our understanding of health and illness and/or have the potential to lead to improved lives in East London.	Research Seed Grants	Applicants need to be in post at one of the below: Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London Barts Health NHS Trust hospitals School of Health Sciences at City, University of London	Up to £75,000 for staff and research costs specific to your application, over up to 12 months (or 18 months for projects that involve patient/participant recruitment).	Applications accepted 4 times a year. Upcoming deadlines: 20/10/2022 27/01/2023
Barts Charity	Enhance our understanding of health and illness, with potential to lead to improved lives in East London.	Research Project grants	Applicants need to be in post at one of the below: Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London Barts Health NHS Trust hospitals School of Health Sciences at City, University of London	£75,000 to £600,000 for staff and research costs specific to your application, over up to 36 months (or 48 months if includes PhD studentship).	Applications accepted twice a year. Next deadline: 6/10/2022
Medical Research Council (MRC)	Public Health	Public Health Intervention Development (PHIND)	Applicants need at least a postgraduate degree and an employment contract for the duration of the award at an eligible research organisation. Early-stage development of interventions that seek to address either UK or global public health challenges, including qualitative and quantitative primary research and the development of theory and logic models.	up to £150,000, for a maximum of 18 months.	15/09/2022
Medical Research Council (MRC)	Neuroscience and mental health	Neurosciences and mental health partnership	Researcher with at least postgraduate degree, but PhD preferred. Funding for new collaborations that will transform our understanding of neurosciences and mental health.	Not stated	27/09/2022
Medical Research Council (MRC)	Neuroscience and mental health	Neurosciences and mental health new investigator	Applicants need to have a postgraduate degree and employed by eligible organisation, ready to take the next step to become an independent PI. Proposal for research that increases understanding within the field of neurosciences and mental health.	Maximum limit not specified, but funding lasts three years and covers up to 50% of salary and 80% of full economic costs of project.	27/09/2022 Future deadlines in January and May.
Medical Research Council (MRC)	N/a	Daphne Jackson fellowship	Anyone who has taken a break of two years or more from research for family, caring or health reasons. A PhD, or at least three years research experience (academic or industrial) prior to the career break (with evidence of research impacts and outcomes)	Salary and expenses up to £1,500	Applications accepted throughout the year. Specific Sponsored Fellowships advertised throughout the year.

PhD Fellowships

Funder	Clinical area	Summary	Criteria	Amount	Deadline
Wellcome	Under-represented populations and diseases	HARP PhD programme	Research projects must focus on underrepresented populations and diseases and can address mechanisms, phenotypes or therapies. Funding for health professionals. 1 year pre-doctoral training also available.	FT salary for 3 years	2023 deadline TBC
Wellcome	Translational neuroscience Data science and digital technologies Society, Policy and Mental Health	King’s PhD Programme in Mental Health Research for Health Professionals	health or social care professionals and be registered with a national professional regulatory body	FT salary for 3 years	2023 deadline TBC
Medical Research Council (MRC)	MRC science area, including: population and systems medicine neurosciences and mental health translation global health methodology public health.	Clinical research training fellowship	registered healthcare professional, either: planning to undertake a PhD or similar a PhD graduate working outside of research, usually five or more years ago.	Salary and project costs for 3 years	07/09/2022 Application rounds open three times per year, closing in January, April and September.
London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (LISS DTP)	Social and behavioural science	Open competition	Open to UK and international students Research proposal developed by applicant	Either full or part-time (50%) in either 1+3 (1 year-Masters degree following by a 3-year PhD) or +3 (3-year PhD) format.	2023 deadline TBC
Barts Charity	Enhance our understanding of health and illness and/or have the potential to lead to improved lives in East London.	Healthcare Professional Clinical Research Training Fellowships	Healthcare professionals employed by Barts Health NHS Trust, Queen Mary University of London or City, University of London	3 years of full time salary support	04/11/2022