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.
The EME Programme looks to attract studies with novel methodological designs that deliver results more efficiently, reduce the study timeline, and maximise the knowledge gained. The translational research it supports covers a wide range of new and repurposed interventions, such as diagnostic or prognostic tests and decision-making tools, therapeutics or psychological treatments, medical devices, and public health initiatives delivered in the NHS.
Find out more about the specific funding opportunities currently available HERE including:
- Post-acute infection syndromes, including long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (closes 02/12/2025 at 13:00)
NIHR announced its current themed funding is around shaping and supporting the health, public health and social care workforce of the future. This is part of a co-ordinated response to the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) Area of Research Interest 3.
This cross-NIHR theme includes both specific, commissioned and researcher-led funding opportunities.
NIHR are looking to fund research that will optimise a public health, NHS, social care and wider health workforce that is effectively structured, trained, deployed and supported to deliver future effective and efficient models of healthcare which meet the needs of the UK’s ageing population.
The three priority areas under AR3 include:
Our priority areas in ARI3 workforce research are outlined below.
Building a sustainable workforce: Understanding the barriers to recruiting and retaining staff in the NHS and social care settings. This includes identifying solutions to sustain a workforce that thrives in a supportive working culture.
Developing new ways of working: Identifying how to best structure the workforce to meet future health needs. We are keen to develop and evaluate interventions to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of staff and teams. This could involve, for example, skills-mix, task-shifting and service integration.
Growth through innovation and technology: Developing and evaluating technology-assisted workforce solutions to reduce burden on staff while maintaining health outcomes. This could involve, for example, diagnoses assisted by artificial intelligence, remote care through hospital at home and virtual wards.
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:
- Early action and prevention within Health and Social Care Services (closed 21 January 2026)
The Wellcome Trust is launching a funding opportunity for projects that robustly test the real-world effectiveness and assess implementation strategies of scalable transformative early interventions for anxiety, depression and psychosis in young people.
The funding opportunity is in two stages:
Foundation Phase (open to applications week commencing 28 July 2025)
This first phase of the funding call will provide teams with £200,000 to build their teams and develop their detailed proposal for their research study over 12 months. This research proposal must be for a definitive effectiveness study and assessment of strategies for implementation and scaling of a psychological and/or a social intervention. The proposal must capture multiple outcomes that are relevant to people with lived experience and implementing partners, including mental health outcomes, functional outcomes and full economic evaluation.
Impact Phase (open to applications February 2027)
In the second phase of the funding call, all teams from the Foundation Phase will be invited to apply for the Impact Phase. The award amount for the Impact Phase is expected to be between £5 million and £8 million and the duration to be up to 5 years. The upper limits will be confirmed during the Foundation Phase.
Find out more about the criteria for projects and application timelines here.
The UKRI has published a notification of intent for funding to undertake ambitious transdisciplinary research to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
You must be employed by a research organisation eligible to apply for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding.
Your team and research project will bring new perspectives crossing Councils’ remits to understand and provide solutions to tackle AMR.
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £3,000,000. UKRI will fund at 80% of the FEC.
The duration of the award is up to five years.
You must provide a notification of intent (NoI) at the pre-application stage to be eligible to make a full application.
Find out more here with further information available on 18 June 2025.
The NIHR Climate Change and Health Team (CCH) invites applications for research that addresses the challenges of climate change by building resilience into the delivery of health and social care services during severe weather events. Smaller development awards will be offered initially. Their purpose is to enable research teams to come together to develop ideas with potential to help UK health and social care services to operate efficiently during extreme weather events. After the development phase, holders of development awards will be invited to submit large scale and ambitious collaborative projects.
This funding opportunity aims to:
- bring diverse research teams together to develop plans for ambitious research and to catalyse future research capacity
- enable researchers to apply for larger Research Collaboration awards within this initiative
- support teams who are seeking support from other programmes within the NIHR.
Deadline: 10 March 2026 at 13:00
The NIHR Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is looking to fund research that evaluates the health and health inequality impacts of community initiatives that aim to address loneliness at a population level.
This is a 2-stage 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.
Deadline (outline): 18 August 2026
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: 25/11/2025, 15:00 (upcoming round)
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: 17/02/2026, 15:00
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: 20/11/2025, 3pm
More Information here.
This PGfAR funding opportunity is a ring-fenced call for programmes of applied health research designed to respond to NIHR PGfAR brief - ‘Research inspired by under-represented disciplines and specialisms to drive transformational changes for patients and the public’.
Through this ring fenced funding call, PGfAR is seeking to grow a portfolio of applied health and care research programmes with leadership/co-leadership from underrepresented disciplines, specialisms and/or methodologists:
Registered health and care professionals (HCPs), who are not doctors or dentists (i.e., proposals cannot solely be led by doctors or dentists but in alignment with the above, a co-lead arrangement is permitted given the scale and complexity of research programmes).
Research methodologists specifically the following disciplines: medical statistics, health economics, clinical trial design, operational research, modelling, bioinformatics, qualitative research, mixed methods and epidemiology.
This is a two-stage, researcher-led 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.
Deadline: 2 December 2025 at 13:00
NIHR are looking to commission up to 10 Application Development Awards (ADAs) to carry out development work prior to research applications, with a requirement for applicant teams to involve a specific group of Health and Care Professionals (HCP).
Through these ADAs and other HCP specific initiatives, we are offering more opportunities for HCPs to develop as highly skilled researchers and research leaders, and to move towards a more multi-professional approach to addressing the health and care challenges of today and the future.
These ADAs are intended to support future applications for funding from NIHR research programmes, however, they are not programme-specific in nature.
This is a 1-stage funding opportunity. You are invited to submit a full application.
Eligibility
To be eligible for this funding opportunity as an early-mid career researcher HCP, you must be a registered professional within 1 of the following eligible HCP groups:
- nurses (including nurses that work in social care)
- midwives
- pharmacists
- healthcare scientists
- allied health professions (as specified by NHS England)
In addition to this, you must have:
- recently been, or are about to be awarded a PhD, or have equivalent demonstrable years of research knowledge and experience
- not yet been the chief investigator for a substantial research award of £100,000+
Deadline: 4 February 2026 at 13:00
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.
A range of schemes supporting Early Career Researchers, International fellowships, major research fellowships and Emeritus Fellows.