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Where to find funding

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

As part of a suite of work, NIHR are looking to fund research about pandemic preparedness. NIHR are looking to commission 3 platform clinical trials evaluating the efficacy/effectiveness of relevant interventions in:

  • hospitalised adults
  • hospitalised children
  • adults (plus or minus children) in a community setting

This is a 2-stage, commissioned funding opportunity. To apply for the first stage you should submit an outline application. If invited to the second stage, you will then need to complete a full application.

Eligibility: Applications are welcome from study teams already actively delivering a platform clinical trial in these patient groups and settings that could pivot to deliver the research needs in a pandemic. NIHR would also welcome de novo applications from study teams proposing a platform clinical trial to address a current important clinical research question measuring efficacy/effectiveness of interventions to treat serious infections in each of these patient groups and settings (baseline platform clinical trial) that could then pivot to addressing the research needs in a pandemic.

Deadline: 03/09/2025, 13:00

More Information

Webinar: NIHR is hosting a webinar to get more insight into this funding opportunity on Wednesday 11 June 2025, 12:30pm to 1:30pm. Sign up by emailing htaresearchers@nihr.ac.uk.

NIHR are announcing a targeted prevention funding opportunity which is part of a co-ordinated response by NIHR to the DHSC Areas of Research Interest 1 (ARI1): Early Action to Prevent Poor Health Outcomes.

A focus on prevention will enable people to live healthier and happier lives, improve economic growth, and reduce pressure on the NHS.

NIHR want to generate high-quality research evidence into the evaluation of health and care interventions and services which address gaps in our understanding of preventative strategies, early diagnosis techniques, and effective interventions for individuals at increased risk of chronic diseases such as:

  • obesity
  • cardiovascular disease
  • type 2 diabetes
  • mental health disorders
  • hearing loss
  • musculoskeletal disorders (MSK)
  • cancer

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THe NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme funds evidence synthesis as well as primary research, into the clinical and cost-effectiveness, and broader impact of healthcare treatments, tests, and other interventions. The research helps those who plan, provide, or receive care from NHS and social care services.

The programme is funded by the NIHR, with contributions from the Chief Scientist Office in Scotland, Health and Care Research Wales, and the HSC R&D Division, Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland.

HTA-funded research can evaluate any intervention used in the NHS for the treatment, prevention, or diagnosis of disease. This is provided the primary outcome of a study is a health-related outcome and has the potential to directly benefit the wider NHS.

Find out more about the specific funding opportunities currently available HERE.

The NIHR Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme aims to produce rigorous and relevant evidence to improve the quality, accessibility and organisation of health and social care services.

The Health and Social Care Delivery Research Programme is funded by the NIHR with specific contributions from the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) in Scotland, Health and Care Research Wales and the HSC R&D Division, Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland.

Find out about the specific funding opportunities currently available HERE including:

The Wellcome Trust is funding experts to unlock the potential of longitudinal datasets and develop innovative ways of identifying anxiety, depression and/or psychosis early. Successful teams will integrate cutting-edge analytics of longitudinal data with experimental research so that, in time, people may benefit from better targeted early interventions.

Deadline: 22nd July 2025

Find out more HERE. 

Generic Calls

This scheme provides funding for established researchers and teams from any discipline who want to pursue bold and creative research ideas to deliver significant shifts in understanding related to human life, health and wellbeing. 

Criteria: You can apply for a Wellcome Discovery Award if you are a researcher who wants to pursue bold and creative research ideas. You must aim to make a major contribution to your research field by generating significant shifts in understanding and/or developing methodologies, conceptual frameworks, tools or techniques that could benefit health-related research.

An award can be held by an established researcher or a team of researchers led by an established researcher.

Research is funded in the following areas:

  • fundamental processes that underpin biology, to understand more about how human life works
  • complexities of human health and disease, including clinical and population-based approaches
  • burden of disease and its determinants, where this brings new and transformational knowledge
  • development of methodologies, conceptual frameworks, technologies, tools or techniques that could benefit health-related research
  • needs, values and priorities of the people and communities affected by disease and health disparities, and
  • social, ethical, cultural, political, economic and historical contexts of human health and disease.

Amount: A Wellcome Discovery Award provides funding for research expenses. The award usually lasts for 8 years, but may be less for some disciplines, such as humanities and social science. The award may be held on a part-time basis. When applying, you should cost the application at 1.0 (100%) full-time equivalent. We will then extend the duration of the award to reflect this. You should ask for a level and duration of funding that’s appropriate for your proposed research. You will need to justify these costs in your grant application.

Deadline: 29/07/2025, 17:00 (upcoming round)

More Information

This scheme provides funding for early-career researchers from any discipline who are ready to develop their research identity. Through innovative projects, they will deliver shifts in understanding related to human life, health and wellbeing. By the end of the award, they will be ready to lead their own independent research programme.

Criteria: 

You can apply to this scheme if you are an early-career researcher and you are ready to design, plan and deliver your 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.

You are not eligible to apply if:

  • You have an existing tenured (salaried) post for the duration of the award (unless based in a low- or middle-income country).
  • You can only relinquish an existing tenured (salaried) post to take up an Early-Career Award if your current post is not research-based.
  • You have made an application to this scheme and you are waiting for a decision.
  • You hold, have held, or have accepted an offer for an equivalent award at this career stage. An equivalent award does not include short-term funding.

Amount: Salary and up to £400,000 for research expenses

Deadline: 22/05/2025, 5pm

More Information

Watch the recorded webinar for early-career researchers here. 

This scheme provides funding for mid-career researchers from any discipline who have the potential to be international research leaders. They will develop their research capabilities, drive innovative programmes of work and deliver significant shifts in understanding related to human life, health and wellbeing.

Criteria:

You can apply for a Wellcome Career Development Award if you are a mid-career researcher and you are ready to lead a substantial and innovative research programme. You must aim to 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.

To be eligible, you will already be driving your own research. You must have:

  • completed one or two substantial periods of research after your initial research training
  • made important contributions to your area of research.

You will probably have experience of working collaboratively. You may have directed, or closely guided, the work of others.

You are not eligible to apply if:

  • you hold, have held, or have accepted an offer for an equivalent award at this career stage (an exception to this is that our current Wellcome grantholders at an equivalent stage can apply to this scheme)
  • you have made an application to this scheme and you are waiting for a decision.

You cannot apply to carry out activities that involve the transfer of grant funds into mainland China.

Amount: Salary and up to £250,000 for research expenses

Deadline: 27/07/2025, 5pm

More Information here. 

The MRC-NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme is inviting applications to evaluate the efficacy of novel non-pharmacological approaches to improve the diagnosis, treatment and/or management of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children and adults.  

This is a brief of broader scope, from which the programme may be interested in potentially funding more than 1 proposal.  

Areas of interest include (but are not limited to):

  • psychological interventions
  • non-invasive brain stimulation (including peripheral nerve and sensory stimulation)
  • digital therapeutics
  • neurofeedback and cognitive training
  • technology to increase the speed and accuracy of diagnosis
  • remotely delivered interventions (where the intervention is scientifically novel)
  • transdiagnostic mechanistic approaches to treatment
  • precision medicine
  • exercise, e.g. use of VR exercise and exergaming
  • immersive extended reality, including virtual reality and augmented realised intervention approaches
  • role of remote measurement and wearables in assessment and management
  • combining AI/machine learning and biomarker approaches to assessment and diagnosis


Applicants will need to give consideration to:

  • including recruitment from populations with high disease burden which have been historically underserved by research activity in this field
  • the need for blinded outcome assessment
  • evaluation of significant placebo/sham effects
  • the scalability of the intervention if shown to be clinically effective
  • addressing co-morbidities within the study population

Deadline: 05/08/2025, 1pm

More Information

NIHRs Global Health Research – Health Policy and Systems (GHR-HPS) programmes are inviting applications to this new annual funding opportunity. Through this opportunity, you can choose to apply to 1 of 3 funding bands. Funding ranges from £250,000 to £4 million, over a period up to 5 years, depending on the band you apply for.

This is a 2-stage (outline application then full application) researcher-led opportunity.

See the GHR-HPS programmes page for details about the remit and scope.

Deadline: 04/06/2025, 1pm

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Fellowships / Studentships

Do you have 3 years or less post-doctoral research experience and want to conduct innovative research of your own instigation?

Fellowships are held from 1 October in the year of award for a period of typically 3 years, and offers cannot be deferred to a later year.

Criteria: 

  • Intended for early career scientists and engineers of exceptional promise
  • Open to candidates looking to conduct research in any of the physical or biological sciences, in mathematics, in applied science, or in any branch of engineering
  • Candidates must have a recent PhD (or be completing one in year of application) and normally with no more than 3 years postdoctoral experience

Amount: Fellows can either be employed by institutuion or self-employed. Full payroll covered and expense allowance of £10,000pa. 

Deadline: Applications for 2026 open in October. 

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A range of schemes supporting Early Career Researchers, International fellowships, major research fellowships and Emeritus Fellows. 

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