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Funding

Listed below are some of the Past Funding Calls (mainly grants) ending in 2026 that have been available to companies in UK healthcare.

Past funding calls ending in:

2025 can be found here and

2024 can be found here.

Future and Current Funding Calls can be found here. 

For more information, please contact us.

Past Funding Calls 2026
Innovative Health Initiative 12th Call For Proposals

Funder: Horizon Europe

Opened: 21 January 2026

Closed: 21 April 2026

Sector: Healthcare

​International consortia can apply for this single-stage funding to support projects to tackle unmet public health needs with ambitious public-private partnerships. Topics within the call include, but are not limited to, boosting innovation for a better understanding of the determinants of health and boosting innovation through better integration of fragmented health R&I efforts.

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The call contains five topics, each focusing on one of the five IHI Specific Objectives (SOs) as set out in the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA): 

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For full details of the topics, including the budget breakdown, read the call text. All documents relating to the call can be found via the Funding and Tenders Portal and the IHI call documents page. You are advised to read these documents, in particular the guide for applicants, carefully.
 

Important information on eligibility for funding

Applicants should note that legal entities based in the following countries are not eligible to receive funding for some of the topics in this call:

Canada and UK: Legal entities are eligible to receive funding under topics 1, 2, 3 and 5, but not eligible to receive funding under topic 4.

James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnerships rolling funding opportunity (PHR Programme)

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 16 December 2025

Closed: 1pm, 21 April 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

​​The JLA Priority Setting Partnerships facilitate patients, carers and clinicians to work collaboratively to identify research priorities in particular areas of health and care. The Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is inviting outline applications to its commissioned workstream.

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Write a maximum of 5 A4  pages for your research plan. When reviewing applications, NIHR will not consider any additional information over this 5 page limit.
 

Applicants should clearly state how their proposed research addresses a current evidence gap and how the research adds value to the existing NIHR research portfolio.

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The top 10 priorities (for multiple years and countries) of the JLA priority setting partnerships are shown here. 2025 priorities include:

  • Bone marrow transplantation in paediatrics

  • Burn injury

  • Co-existing dementia and hearing conditions

  • Diverticular disease

  • East London Pandemic PSP for Ethnic Minority Communities

  • Epidermolysis Bullosa

  • Faecal Incontinence in Adults

  • Mental Health and the Body Clock

  • Midwifery Practice and Maternity Care

  • Palliative and End of Life Care Refresh

  • Perianal Crohn’s Disease

  • Prehabilitation for Hip & Knee Replacement Surgery

  • Premature Babies born <25 weeks' gestation

More information here.

​NICE rolling funding opportunity (PHR Programme)

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 16 December 2025

Closed: 1pm, 21 April 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

​The Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is inviting outline applications via the commissioned workstream. NIHR is interested in receiving applications to meet recommendations in research identified in NICE guidance that has been published or updated in the last 5 years.   
 

Applications must be within the remit of the PHR Programme, and the primary outcome measure must be health related. The following research programmes are also participating in this funding opportunity: 


After checking the programme remit, you should apply directly to the relevant programme funding opportunity.
 

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.

More information here.

Men’s mental health

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 15 July 2025

Closed: 1pm, 21 April 2026

Sector: Healthcare

​​NIHR's Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is looking to fund research which evaluates the health and health inequality impacts of interventions aimed at promoting good mental health or preventing poor mental health among men.

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.

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Research question: What are the health and health inequality impacts of interventions aimed at promoting good mental health or preventing poor mental health among men?

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This funding opportunity focuses on research evaluating mental health interventions (excluding individual-level mental health treatments) for men at different stages of the life-course. NIHR's Public Health Research (PHR) Programme prioritises interventions at a population or group level, rather than individual interventions, with a focus on addressing health inequalities and the wider determinants of health. 

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Suggested research areas include, but are not limited to, evaluations of:

  • interventions that utilise lifestyle behaviours or changes to improve men’s mental health

  • community-based interventions

  • programmes adopting a whole-community approach to men’s mental health. This could include interventions:

  • based in specific settings, such as schools, colleges, universities, workplaces, leisure venues, places of worship, community groups and services, health centres, or criminal justice settings

  • focused on specific population groups, such as men from particular ethnic minority groups, men from sexual and gender minorities, or men experiencing different forms of disadvantage

  • for which the primary focus of the intervention is not necessarily on improving mental health, but the activity or mechanism might impact mental health (positively or negatively)

  • interventions that address the multiple, interacting disadvantages affecting the most marginalised men

  • trauma-informed and trauma-specific interventions

  • interventions or initiatives aimed at proactively addressing help seeking behaviour among men at risk of perpetrating violence and their impact on mental health

  • interventions related to the influence of societal and cultural norms, gender roles and beliefs across diverse male populations

  • evaluation of public health campaigns and educational initiatives designed to challenge harmful gender stereotypes and to support healthy relationships

  • intergenerational interventions

  • Interventions that take a holistic, person-centred approach

  • peer support interventions

  • interventions related to social media, or online images, messages, or digital content

  • the impact of drugs and alcohol

More information here.

Veterans' health

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 15 July 2025

Closed: 1pm, 21 April 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

This scheme aims to support research which evaluates the effects of interventions on the mental, physical, or both aspects of Veterans' health.

 

NIHR is seeking research that evaluates interventions which can have an impact on the mental and physical health outcomes of veterans through community-based public health approaches. This can include both targeted, small-scale initiatives and larger community-level strategies that enhance access to health and well-being services for veterans, as well as other policy decisions in areas outside of health that may impact health. NIHR is particularly interested in interventions that address key barriers to healthcare access, promote early intervention, and support veterans' transition to civilian life.

 

Evaluations should clearly define the nature of the intervention from the outset, avoiding broad generalisations and ensuring a precise understanding of the mechanisms at play.

More information here.

i4i THRIVE - March 2026

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 12 March 2026

Closed: 1pm, 17 April 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

​The Invention for Innovation (i4i) THRIVE (Translate Healthcare Research through InnoVation and Entrepreneurship) funding and training programme funds early stage innovations which tackle health inequalities. This is a full researcher-led funding opportunity. 
 

THRIVE supports clinicians and researchers to accelerate the translation of healthcare innovations tackling health inequalities from bench to bed, speed up patient benefit and concurrently expand the entrepreneurial mindset of researchers and clinicians.
 

THRIVE offers up to £150,000 over 9 months to support the development of a technology-based product or service, and a structured programme of entrepreneurial training, mentoring, peer support and networking. Through the programme the innovators will explore the market for their innovation and identify potential routes for commercialising (spin-out vs licensing) or sustaining their innovation (Intrapreneurship) and leave the programme with a plan to achieve their goals, a network of support and with the skills for the next steps of commercialisation.

More information here.

Impact Challenge: AI for Science

Funder: Google

Open

Closed: 11.59pm (PT), 17 April 2026 

Sector: Social impact orgs

Award size: $500K – $3M per organisation.
Eligibility: Nonprofits, academic/research institutions, social enterprises

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What they're funding

Projects that use AI to accelerate scientific breakthroughs in two primary domains:

  • AI for Health & Life Sciences - genomics, cellular/tissue biology, neuroscience, drug discovery, disease understanding & resistance

  • AI for Climate Resilience & Environmental Science - chemistry/synthetic biology, food & agriculture, biosphere/climate, materials discovery, advanced energy

An "Other" category exists but most funded projects are expected to fall within the two main areas.
 

Key criteria

  1. Scientific ambition - must address a critical, unresolved question; clear quantifiable outcomes at 12–18 months and 24–36+ months

  2. Responsible AI - AI must be core to the methodology; IP must be open-sourced under a permissive licence

  3. Feasibility - credible team, realistic plan, budget, and access to data/compute

  4. Scalability - clear path to broader impact beyond the initial scope; knowledge-sharing plan
     

Beyond the grant

Selected organisations are invited to join the Google.org Accelerator (optional, autumn 2026):

  • 6 months of pro bono support from Google engineers and experts

  • Dedicated AI Coach and Project Success Manager

  • Google Cloud credits

  • Two in-person gatherings plus virtual programming

  • ~2–4 hours/week commitment

More information here. 

FAQs (PDF)

A PDF copy of the application questions here.

Enhancing and enlarging the European Partnership on Personalised Medicine

Funder: Horizon Europe

Opened: 10 February 2026

Closed: 5pm (CET), 16 April 2026

Sector: Life Sciences

This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing to one or several expected impacts of destination “Ensuring equal access to innovative, sustainable, and high-quality healthcare”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim to deliver results that are directed at, tailored towards and contributing to all the following expected outcomes:

  • European countries and regions, along with international partners, are engaged in enhanced collaborative research efforts for the development of innovative personalised medicine approaches regarding prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

  • Healthcare authorities, policymakers and other stakeholders develop evidence-based strategies and policies for the uptake of personalised medicine in national or regional healthcare systems.

  • Health industries, policymakers and other stakeholders have access to efficient measures and investments to allow swift transfer of research and innovation into market.

  • Health industries and other stakeholders can accelerate the uptake of personalised medicine through the adoption of innovative business models.

  • Healthcare authorities, policymakers and other stakeholders use improved knowledge and understanding of the health and costs benefits of personalised medicine to optimise healthcare and make healthcare systems more sustainable.

  • Healthcare providers and professionals improve health outcomes, prevent diseases and maintain population health through the implementation of personalised medicine.

  • Stronger and highly connected local/regional ecosystems of stakeholders, including innovators, are in place and facilitate the uptake of successful innovations in personalised medicine, thus improving healthcare outcomes and strengthening European competitiveness.

  • Citizens, patients and healthcare professionals have a better knowledge of personalised medicine and are better involved in its implementation.

  • Stakeholders cooperate better and establish a network of national and regional knowledge hubs for personalised medicine.

More information here.

Robotics adoption hubs

Funder: Innovate UK

Opened: 24 February 2026

Closed: 11am, 15 April 2026

Sector: ALL

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £38 million for creating one-stop shops to help end-users adopt robotics and autonomous systems with expert guidance. For this competition, robotics is defined broadly. It includes drones operating on land, sea and air; autonomous plant and service robots; and industrial robots or automated machinery that use sensors, actuators and control software. Robotics does not include systems that are only software based.

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The aim of this competition is to bridge the knowledge gap to impact productivity, safety and growth, and deliver public benefit through accelerating adoption of robotics. ​Your project’s total eligible grant funding request must be between £2 million and £7.5 million.

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Hubs will be located within a region, may have single or multi end user sector focus and are expected to build on strengths and capabilities within the existing ecosystem.
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Hubs will at a minimum:

  • advise end users on robotics benefits, costs and integration needs, help identify applications, and connect them with vendors, integrators and finance providers

  • showcase robotics technologies and capabilities at the Hub and in representative environments

  • build in a mechanism to be self sustaining beyond the end of the programme

  • work with the central convening body to share lessons learned, develop national adoption resources, and triage enquiries to the most suitable Hub

  • focus on adoption led activity rather than low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) or fundamental research

  • reuse existing facilities rather than building new or significantly refurbishing physical infrastructure

  • purchase limited robotic demonstration equipment for showcasing, with primary use of existing hardware

More information here.

Experimental medicine stage one

Funder: MRC

Opened: 2 October 2025

Closed: 4pm, 15 April 2026

Sector: Life Sciences

Apply for funding to investigate the causes, progression and treatment of human disease.

Your project must:

  • focus on a mechanistic hypothesis

  • include an experimental intervention or challenge in humans

 

You must be a researcher based at a research organisation eligible to apply for MRC funding. If you are taking the next step towards becoming an independent researcher, you may be eligible to apply as a ‘new investigator.

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There is no limit to the amount of funding you can apply for (Total fund is £10m) or the length of your project. The MRC will fund 80% of your project’s full economic cost.

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This is an ongoing funding opportunity. Application rounds close every April and October.

More information here.

Digital cluster call 1

Funder: Horizon (EU)

Opened: 15 January 2026

Closed: 15 April 2026

Sector: Digital (ALL)

The expected impacts of this cluster are contained in the Horizon Europe strategic plan.

Areas of intervention

  • manufacturing technologies

  • key digital technologies including quantum technologies

  • emerging enabling technologies

  • advanced materials

  • artificial intelligence and robotics

  • next generation internet

  • advanced computing and Big Data

  • circular industries

  • low carbon and clean industries

  • space including earth observation

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The destinations within this call are as follows:

  • Developing an agile and secure single market and infrastructure for data-services and trustworthy artificial intelligence services.

  • Achieving open strategic autonomy in digital and emerging enabling technologies

  • Digital and industrial technologies driving human-centric innovation

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Total funding available is 222 million Euros.

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See more information and apply here.​​

Contracts for Innovation: industrial human relevant drug models

Funder: Innovate UK

Opened: 2 March 2026

Closed: 11am, 15 April 2026

Sector: Life Sciences

This competition is part of the Innovate UK Alternative Industrialised Models for ethical Drug Discovery (AIM) programme and is delivered in partnership with the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs).
 

The aim of the competition is to support organisations developing disruptive and innovative alternatives for improved pharmacokinetic (PK) and cardiac safety studies to:

  • further qualify the methods towards broad adoption

  • or improve their applicability in a drug development setting


Your project must focus on developing new approaches or further developing existing approaches that can be deployed within a drug development setting. It must enable progress towards the government targets of:

  • more than 35% reduction in dedicated PK studies using dogs or non-human primates (NHPs)

  • more than 50% reduction in dedicated cardiovascular safety studies using dogs or NHPs by 2030

 

This is phase 1 of a potential 2 phase competition. In applying to phase 1 of this competition you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding budget of up to £2 million, so Innovate UK may not be able to fund all the proposed projects.Phase 1 projects can range in size up to total eligible costs of £200,000, inclusive of VAT.

More information here.

​Quarterly Research Grant Funding Programme

Funder: Cure Parkinson's

Open: 

Closed: 13 April 2026 

Sector: Healthcare

This scheme is providing grants for scientists and clinicians from universities, hospitals and commercial organisations to help them fund preclinical and clinical research focused on slowing, stopping, or reversing Parkinson’s.

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There are grants of up to £250,000 which prioritise projects that are likely to lead to clinical trials in people with Parkinson’s within 5 years. For clinical research, CP funds clinical trials and sub-studies of trials in people with Parkinson’s. The grant amount is flexible but please contact CP ahead of submission if you are thinking of applying for a clinical trial.

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2025/2026 application deadlines:

  • Monday 3 November 2025

  • Monday 12 January 2026

  • Monday 13 April 2026

  • Monday 22 June 2026

  • Monday 12 October 2026

More information here.

RfPB Under-represented disciplines and specialisms: Nurses and Midwives 2025/26

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 19 November 2025

Closed: 1pm, 8 April 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

This Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) funding opportunity is part of ring-fenced funding in support of the NIHR strategy to strengthen the careers of under-represented disciplines and specialisms in health and care professions.

 

Applicants must submit an expression of interest form by 2 March 2026

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To support capacity building, all applications to this funding opportunity must be led by a nurse or a midwife at an early stage of their research career. For this funding opportunity, an early career researcher is a researcher who has not yet been the lead investigator for a substantial project award (>£100,000). 

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The early career nurse or midwife is expected to apply as lead applicant supported by a senior colleague fulfilling the role as joint-lead applicant. The joint-lead mentor can have any relevant professional background as long as they are experienced researchers in a field relevant to the proposed research. The mentor is expected to have led at least one large research project (at a value of >£100,000) to completion and have relevant experience of mentoring an early career researcher.

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The RfPB programme is researcher-led and does not specify topics for research, so applications can be primary, secondary and include quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods designs. The topic of the projects funded in the previous funding opportunity supporting nurses and midwives can be found in the news story on the website.

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More information here.

Expression of interest: NHS fit for the future dementia challenge

Funder: MRC

Open

Closed: 4pm, 2 April 2026  

Sector: Healthcare & Life sciences

Submit an expression of interest if you have a clinical intervention or technological innovation that could:

  • shorten the time it takes to diagnose dementia in the NHS

  • enhance early detection of clinical change following diagnosis

  • be deployed in the NHS from 2029

Healthcare professionals, businesses and researchers can take part.

Successful interventions will receive a fully funded real-world evaluation to generate the evidence needed for wider adoption across the NHS. Support will also be provided to help with regulatory clearance.
 

Successful innovations will receive a fully funded real-world evaluation tailored to generate the evidence required for widescale adoption across the UK.

This includes:

  • partnership with clinical research lead and clinical infrastructure

  • collaborative protocol development

  • evaluation monitoring, data collection and analysis support

  • write-up and dissemination

  • access to the evaluation data generated for analysis and modelling to drive product and service enhancement

  • support for fast-track regulatory clearance in the UK

  • guidance on commissioning, procurement and the development of a market access strategy for the NHS across the devolved nations

  • publication and presentation of evaluation results as part of a national campaign to raise awareness for the dementia challenge

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Clinical interventions must have been evaluated in at least a single-site pilot.

They must deliver at least one of the following:

  • shortened time from referral to dementia diagnosis

  • improved staging of disease state

  • improved prognostic data to guide patient and carer support

  • reduced resource requirement

  • enhanced efficiency

  • better patient outcomes

Technological innovations

Technological innovations must:

  • be intended for dementia diagnosis or tracking disease progression in people already living with dementia

  • be medical devices and have, or be near to, regulatory clearance (UKCA or CE mark)

  • have evidence of clinical safety and efficacy through randomised controlled trial data or clinically robust real-world evidence


All interventions and innovations must:

  • have been tested with user groups

  • be suitable for routine use across the NHS

  • have a roadmap for implementation in the NHS

  • have support from a clinical champion to support real-world evaluation and rollout across the UK if agreed milestones are met

  • demonstrate an understanding of the resources required to train and support adoption

  • show the value of the innovation for stakeholders

Evidence of efficiency gains or health economic benefit is desirable.

More information here.

NICE rolling funding opportunity (EME Programme)

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 3 December 2025

Closed: 1pm, 1 April 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

The Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme is inviting outline applications to their commissioned workstream. NIHR is interested in receiving applications to meet recommendations in research identified in NICE guidance that has been published or updated in the last 5 years.  
 

Applications must be within the remit of the EME Programme and the primary outcome measure must be health related. This funding opportunity is also open in the following:

which fall within the remit of those programmes. Applicants should apply directly to the relevant programme.

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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.

More information here.

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Knowledge Transfer Partnership: 2026 to 2027 round one

Funder: Innovate UK

Opened: 2 February 2026

Closed: 11am, 1 April 2026

Sector: ALL

The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme allows a UK registered business, which is referred to as the business partner from now on, to partner with a knowledge base partner. This can be either a UK higher education (HE) or further education (FE) institution, research and technology organisation (RTO) or Catapult.

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The KTP partnership brings new skills and the latest academic thinking into the business partner to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project. The knowledge base partner recruits the associate to work on the project. The associate has the opportunity to lead a strategic development within the business, developing new skills and gaining valuable experience.

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Each application must be led by a knowledge base, working with a business partner and supported by a Knowledge Transfer Adviser. If you are a business and do not yet have a relationship with a knowledge base partner, the Knowledge Transfer Adviser can help you to identify one.

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A project’s total eligible costs are typically £8,500 per month. Projects must be between 12 and 36 months. Some of the knowledge base partners costs will be funded by Innovate UK. The rest of the eligible project costs are paid by the business partner.

More information here.

Discovery Awards

Funder: Wellcome

Open

Closed: 31 March 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

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. Maximum grant of £5m over a maximum duration of up to 8 years.

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The lead organisation must be a not-for-profit and can be a:

  • higher education institution

  • research institute

  • healthcare organisation

  • charity or social enterprise

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Your research must:


Your research can:

  • be in any discipline - including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), experimental medicine, humanities and social science, clinical/allied health sciences, and public health

  • be in a single discipline or multidisciplinary.
     

Your research must not:

  • fall outside of what Wellcome support in Discovery Research. Check what Wellcome don't fund.

  • start earlier than seven months after the application deadline.

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More information here.

Launchpad Grants in Children & Young People's Movement and Balance disorders

Funder: MRF

Opened: 10 December 2025

Closed: 12pm, 27 March 2026

Sector: Healthcare

This scheme is designed to support research that will increase understanding of movement and balance disorders in children and young people, improve diagnosis, and develop better treatments and interventions. For the purposes of this funding scheme, the term ‘children and young people’ (CYP) refers to anyone below the age of 25.

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Applicants may apply for up to £100,000 over a maximum of a 2-year period (pro-rata for part-time positions). There will be at least £500,000 available in this competition.
 

Research proposals are encouraged that include the following themes:

  • Increased understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the causes of movement disorders

  • Further understanding of mechanisms of action of any available therapies

  • Development of treatments and interventions, including pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions (such as orthotics, splints, physiotherapy, speech and language therapies)

  • Mental health impacts of movement and balance disorders in children and young people

More information here.

Early Detection and Diagnosis Primer Award

Funder: Cancer Research UK

Open: 

Closed: 26 March 2026

This scheme aims to support new and pioneering research ideas and pilot studies of high scientific risk to stimulate and develop the early detection field. Funding is for up to £100,000 for projects lasting up to 1 year led by a scientist, clinician or healthcare worker based in a UK university, medical school, hospital or research institution. 

More information here.

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

Robotics Adoption Programme skills development

Funder: SIT

Opened: 2 February 2026

Closed: 11am, 25 March 2026

Sector: ALL

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, delivered through Innovate UK, is providing up to £2.5 million to develop vocational robotics skills courses across the UK. 

Your project must:

  • have a grant funding request of between £100,000 and £500,000

  • start by 1 August 2026

  • end by 31 January 2027

  • last between three and six months

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Research Aims and Scope

Projects must develop vocational robotics skills courses to build the workforce needed for UK robotics adoption. This aligns with the broader Robotics Adoption Hubs programme (a £40 million initiative announced with delivery starting early 2026) which aims to enable SMEs and manufacturers to access and implement robotics technology effectively.​

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Lead Organisation Eligibility

UK registered organisations can lead applications. This includes universities, businesses, and public sector organisations, reflecting a broad-based approach to skills development across different institutional types.​

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Project Scope and Opportunities

Projects can develop multiple types of skills initiatives to address the critical workforce gap in robotics adoption. Opportunities include but are not limited to:​

  • Apprenticeships and internships

  • Upskilling and reskilling of existing workforce

  • Technical courses and training programmes

  • Vocational qualifications aligned to industry needs

More information here.

Scaling Trust: Full proposals

Funder: ARIA

Open

Closed: 2pm, 24 March 2026

Sector: Gen AI

ARIA is now accepting applications for funding within its £50m Scaling Trust programme. The programme’s goal is to create the capability for AI agents to securely coordinate, negotiate, and verify with one another on our behalf. To kickstart Phase 1 of this programme, ARIA is seeking to fund teams to develop open-source coordination infrastructure and perform fundamental research that moves us from empirical to theory-driven guarantees in agentic coordination.

​

In advance of launching the Scaling Trust Arena, ARIA is looking to fund teams across the following programme tracks:
 

Track 2 | Tooling: Open-source agents and reusable components that enable secure requirement capture, negotiation, protocol generation, and verification in multi-agent settings. Must be usable by all Arena participants, built for adversarial environments, and designed to generalise beyond single tasks.
 

Track 3 | Fundamental research: Foundational work that turns empirical security into provable guarantees, and unlocks new cyber-physical trust primitives for agents. Focus areas include formal AI security, generative protocol design and verification, and cyber-physical trust anchors.


Full details of what is in and out of scope for each area can be found in the call for proposals.

More information here.​​​

Developmental pathway funding scheme: stage one

Funder: MRC

Opened: 20 November 2025

Closed: 4pm, 18 March 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

Apply for funding to develop and test novel therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and other interventions.

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Your project can start and finish at any stage on the developmental pathway from prototype development, through pre-clinical refinement and testing to early-phase clinical studies and trials (up to phase 2a).

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You must be based at a research organisation eligible for Medical Research Council (MRC) funding.

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There is no limit on the amount of funding you can apply for, but it should be appropriate to the project. We usually fund 80% of a project’s full economic cost (FEC).

More information here.

Step-up treatment for people with uncontrolled asthma

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 4 December 2025 

Closed: 1pm, 18 March 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

NIHR's Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme is looking to fund research into step-up treatment for people with uncontrolled asthma.

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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.

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Research question: What is the best step-up treatment for people aged 12 years and older diagnosed with asthma, whose asthma is uncontrolled on a low-dose inhaled corticosteroid/formoterol combination inhaler used as needed?

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More information here.

TechLocal: Connecting Local Talent to Local Tech Jobs

Funders: Innovate UK & DSIT

Opened: 4 February 2026

Closed: 11am, 18 March 2026 

Sector: ALL

This competition is open to collaborations only. To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business, research and technology organisation, charity, not for profit or public sector organisation.

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The aim of this competition is to develop impactful local initiatives that enable tech talent to secure entry level tech jobs by bridging the gap between training and employment.

 

Award range: £100,000 - £225,000
Total fund: £7.6m
 

Your proposal must:

  • be delivered and demonstrate impact in one or more of the specified geographic areas, addressing a local need or leveraging a local strength

  • demonstrate clear impact in one or more frontier technologies by enabling local talent into entry level tech jobs and helping SMEs adopt these technologies through skilled workforces

  • alignment with national and local economic growth plans and skills strategies, such as DWP Jobcentres, the Growth and Skills Levy, LSIPs and local defence plans

  • demonstrate contribution to the overall TechLocal target of 1,000 new tech jobs

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The six frontier technologies are:

  • Artificial Intelligence

  • Cyber Security

  • Engineering Biology

  • Semiconductors

  • Advanced Connectivity Technologies (ACT)

  • Quantum


The specific geographical areas are:

  • North West England

  • South West England

  • Yorkshire and Humber

  • North East England

  • East Midlands

  • West Midlands

  • South East England

  • East of England

  • London

  • Scotland

  • Wales

  • Northern Ireland

More information here.

Scaling Impact in Health and Care Fund

Funder: Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust

Open 

Closed: 12pm, 16 March 2026

Sector: Health and care

The Scaling Impact in Health and Care Fund supports charities and NHS organisations to expand proven health and care interventions and deliver them more widely. The Fund focuses on projects underpinned by real-world evidence of effectiveness, with strong potential for adoption and integration at scale. It prioritises initiatives that can demonstrate sustainability, system-level benefit, and measurable improvements for people and services. It is a two stage process. this is the first stage.

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Previously known as the Innovation and Improvement in Health and Care Fund, it was refined in 2025 to better reflect its focus on bridging the gap between models of care that have been shown to work in practice and securing the resources needed to deliver them at scale.

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The Fund makes awards between £150,000 and £500,000, with successful applicants required to draw down the funding within two years of the award date.

Applications may address any area of physical or mental health, physical or learning disability, or end-of-life care.

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The Trust is seeking to fund projects that can meet all the following criteria:

  • Scale-tested models of care that have demonstrated effectiveness in real-world settings

  • Strengthen collaboration and integration across one or more care settings, including primary, secondary, or community care

  • Embed the partnerships, infrastructure, and evidence needed to sustain delivery at scale

  • Deliver practical improvements in outcomes for users, carers, and staff, and greater efficiency across services

The Fund will not support incremental service developments, funding to maintain existing services, or projects without demonstrated effectiveness or potential for wider impact.

More information here.

Genomics in Context Awards

Funder: Wellcome

Open

Closed: 16 March 2026

Sector: Genomics

The Wellcome Genomics in Context Awards fund interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research teams exploring genomics in combination with the humanities, social sciences, or bioethics. Projects must build novel collaborations and shape new research agendas at the intersection of genomics and its wider contexts, with stakeholder involvement encouraged throughout.

 

Teams should include at least one researcher from the life sciences, one from the humanities/social sciences/bioethics, and one wider stakeholder, and may be based anywhere in the world except mainland China.

​

Eligibility:

  • Lead applicant must hold a PhD or equivalent and be based at an eligible institution.

  • Teams must include 1–4 coapplicants from relevant disciplines and a wider key stakeholder.

 

Funding covers:

  • Up to £500,000 per award for 12–24 months.

  • Research costs, collaborative activities, stakeholder involvement, and dissemination.

 

The scheme seeks creative approaches to co-leadership and emphasises equity, engaged research, and the co-development of discovery-led research agendas. For full details and application guidance, see the official call here.

Gap Fund: single-step support for medical product development

Funder: MRC

Opened: 13 November 2025 

Closed: 4pm, 11 March 2026

Sector: Life Sciences

The MRC Gap Fund provides targeted, single-step support for researchers developing a new or repurposed medicine, medical device, diagnostic, or other medical product. The fund enables projects to address a high-risk development milestone, helping to generate critical data needed to advance or end a product’s development. It acts as a strategic bridge between the MRC’s smaller Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) and the larger Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS).

​

Eligibility:

Applicants must be based at an MRC-eligible UK research organisation.

​

Funding covers:

  • Key high-risk development steps

  • Activities to generate data essential for onward progression or decision-making

​

The Gap Fund supports MRC’s strategic priorities including:

  • precision prevention to reduce disease risk in targeted populations

  • early and accurate diagnosis to improve speed and accuracy of disease detection

  • advanced treatments offering novel therapeutic approaches

  • improve outcome monitoring of patients receiving treatment

  • better management of diseases and conditions through innovative technologies
     

All human diseases and medical interventions are eligible for support, both in the context of UK healthcare and addressing global health issues.

 

For full details and guidance on how to apply, visit the official call here.

Work and Health Research Awards Round 2

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 12 June 2025

Closed: 1pm, 11 March 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) invites applications for work and health research awards. The purpose of these awards is to enable research teams to receive funding for larger programmes of research or large scale and ambitious projects to tackle priorities in work and health research. These awards can cost up to £2 million over 3 years. 

This competition aims to:

  • bring together teams representing different disciplines, professions and sectors to submit plans for ambitious research and to catalyse future research capacity; 

  • fund large scale, ambitious and transdisciplinary projects or programmes of research addressing key priorities and substantial areas of need in work and health and occupational health. 

More information here.

Research for Patient Benefit - November 2025

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 12 November 2025

Closed: 1pm, 4 March 2026 

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

The NIHR Research for Patient Benefit programme funds high-quality, applied health and care research that aims to improve the health and wellbeing of patients, service users, carers and the public. Studies can take place in NHS, public health, or social care settings. Projects are expected to be designed with significant patient and public involvement, and show clear relevance to those directly affected by the research. This is a two-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:

Lead applicants must be based at eligible organisations, including NHS bodies, universities, local authorities, and social care providers across England. Multidisciplinary collaboration is encouraged.
 

Funding covers:

  • Research costs, support for patient/public involvement, and dissemination activities.

  • There is no fixed maximum funding per project, but awards are typically between £150,000–£500,000, lasting up to three years.


This round welcomes studies addressing important health and social care challenges, with a focus on benefiting patients and service users in England. For full details, refer to the official call here.

Notification of intent: Diet and health: collaborative research and development grants

Funders: BBSRC and Defra

Opened: 3 February 2026

Closed: 4pm, 3 March 2026

Sector: Healthcare

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have co-launched a £3 million programme supporting collaborative R&D projects that develop novel food products and innovations delivering healthy, sustainable, and resilient diets for the UK population. 

​

Research Aims

The programme accelerates translation of world-class bioscience into practical solutions by fostering academia-industry collaboration. Projects must improve nutritional quality of food, advance understanding of how food processing and product composition affect health, and promote circular economy approaches to reduce food waste and loss.

​

Priority Research Areas

Funded projects must address at least one priority area, including: improving nutrition for populations at higher risk of malnutrition or muscle loss (older people, those using GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs, and disadvantaged groups); assessing health impacts of food additives and emulsifiers and developing sustainable alternatives; biofortification; food reformulation; affordability and accessibility of nutritious food; consumer behaviour; and strengthening resilience of the UK food supply chain. Projects may also explore improving environmental outcomes through sustainable processing technologies and circular economy approaches.​

​

Lead Organisation and Partnership Requirements

Project leads must be based at UK research organisations eligible for BBSRC funding. Mandatory industry partnership is required—projects must include at least one industry partner contributing a minimum 30% of total project costs (cash, in-kind, or combination).

​

Funding and Duration

Maximum funding per project is £800,000 full economic cost (FEC), with BBSRC and Defra funding 80% of FEC. Projects last three years and are expected to start by October 2026.

​

More information here.

Notification of intent: Diet and health: collaborative research and development grants

Funders: BBSRC & DEFRA

Opened: 3 February 2026

Closed: 4pm, 3 March 2026

Sector: Healthcare

Apply for Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Defra funding to support collaborative R&D projects developing novel products and innovations delivering healthy, sustainable, and resilient diets for the UK population.
 

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for BBSRC funding.

Projects must include at least one industry partner and an industry contribution of 30% (cash, in-kind or both in-kind) is required.
 

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £800,000. BBSRC and Defra will fund 80% of the FEC. Projects will be expected to start by October 2026 and will last for 3 years.

More information here.

​Strategic Innovation Open Call

Funder: EIT Urban Mobility

Opened: 24 September 2025

Closed: 28 February 2026

Sector: Various

EIT Urban Mobility invites innovators from across Europe to submit a proposal to its Strategic Innovation Open Call, designed to accelerate the deployment of impactful solutions that address the most pressing challenges in urban mobility.

​

The call focuses on supporting ambitious, market-critical projects that tackle clearly defined problems faced by cities, public authorities, and mobility providers. EIT aims to de-risk development and enable large-scale deployment by backing solutions with a clear path to market and the potential to scale across Europe.

​

Through this call, EIT Urban Mobility fosters innovation and strengthens Europe’s competitiveness by encouraging collaboration across the EIT Knowledge Triangle—education, research, and business—alongside a fourth essential partner: cities.

​

The Call will focus on five sectors which have the potential to innovate and create impact: 

  • Urban logistics,

  • Public transport,

  • Mobility data management,

  • Electrification of transport and alternative fuels, and

  • Health and mobility. 

​

Each project may receive up to 2 million EUR of EIT funding. EIT Urban Mobility will reimburse up to 65% of the eligible project costs, while the minimum co-funding rate for all proposals is 35%.

​

"Solutions that promote active mobility as a foundation for healthier urban lifestyles, by improving safety, convenience, inclusivity and integration within the urban environment, facilitating a modal shift towards active modes."

​

More information here.

Translating Disruptive New Approach Methodologies into Practice

Funder: Horizon Europe

Opened: 3 December 2025

Closed: 5pm (CET), 26 February 2026

Sector:  Healthcare & Life Sciences

This Challenge supports ambitions to maintain and strengthen the health sector in Europe. It aims to accelerate the development and validation of disruptive NAMs for biomedical applications, including medicinal products and medical technologies. This is a two-stage Challenge competition with the ultimate ambition to deliver robust, validated NAMs that constitute a representative model or prototype system i.e. achieve TRL 6 after Stage 2. Applicants should apply to Stage 1 only where there is an outlook of the potential impact in the longer term.

​

Maximum award likely to be 300,000 Euros per project.

More information here.

Pump-priming Grant

Funder: Asthma + Lung UK

Open

Closed: 13 February 2026

These are small size grants to kickstart your research. These support proof of concept studies in new or original areas of research. Funding - up to £100,000 (£40,000 for mesothelioma research projects).

​

More information here.

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

Local Innovation Partnerships Fund

Funder: UKRI

Opened: 6 October 2025

Closed: 4pm, 12 February 2026

Sector: ALL

This programme earmarks at least £20 million for each of ten regions across the UK, including one in each of the devolved nations. The intention is to attract a further £1 billion additional investment, including from the private sector, and £700 million of additional value to local economies. The maximum duration of this award is for five years.

Partnership and co-creation are at the heart of the Local Innovation Partnership Fund. It is open to collaborative proposals co-created between UKRI and locally led triple-helix partnerships/consortia of civic authorities, industry and research organisations.

​

This is a closed funding opportunity, for applications from the places selected by the UK government:

  • Greater Manchester

  • West Midlands

  • South Yorkshire

  • West Yorkshire

  • Liverpool City Region

  • North East England

  • Greater London

  • Cardiff Capital Region

  • Glasgow City Region

  • an innovation corridor spanning Belfast and Derry/Londonderry

​

This will not run as a typical UKRI funding opportunity. Partnership and co-creation are at the heart of the Local Innovation Partnership Fund. It is open to collaborative proposals co-created between UKRI and locally led triple-helix partnerships/ consortia of civic authorities, industry and research organisations.

​

The programme is designed to support places that have an identifiable innovation ecosystem, with high-potential innovation clusters aligned to national policy priorities.

​

Proposals must build on local innovation strengths and opportunities giving places a strong role in determining their priorities, with UKRI providing a national perspective, technical expertise and support.

​

To apply on behalf of your triple helix partnership you must be based at an eligible organisation as follows:

  • higher education providers

  • research institutes

  • public sector research establishments

  • NHS bodies

  • independent research organisations

  • a Mayoral Strategic Authority, or other local government partner that has been granted non-standard eligibility for this funding opportunity

​

The primary objectives of the LIPF are to:

  • foster the growth of mature innovation clusters by deepening their capabilities and expanding their reach

  • support emerging clusters, to grow and mature their ecosystems enhancing their capability of generating substantial economic value

  • support the adoption, diffusion, and commercialisation of new technologies

  • strengthen local partnerships and governance to deliver place-based innovation

​

A competition will run for all other parts of the UK to bid for support to grow their innovation ecosystems. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will work with regional partnerships between civic authorities, businesses and research organisations to co-create a portfolio of investment in each region. 

More information here.

​BBSRC 2025 Transformative Research Technologies

Funder: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Opened: 26 November 2025

Closed: 4pm, 11 February 2026

Sector: BioTech

​Apply for funding to pursue early-stage development of cutting-edge research technologies with transformative potential in the biosciences. You must be a researcher or research technical professional based at a UK research organisation eligible for Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funding.

​

You can only apply as project lead (PL) on one submitted application. You can be project co-lead (PcL ) on multiple applications. The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £225,000. BBSRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

Applications must be between six and 18-months duration.
More information here.

Application Development Award for Health and Care Professionals

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 17 September 2025

Closed: 1pm, 4 February 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

NIHR is 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).

​

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.

 

Funding of up to £150,000, over a maximum of 12 months, is available for each ADA. Applicants will need to justify how funds are to be used.

​

ADA funding aims to create collaborative teams of health professionals (HCPs) to design a future research project. A key goal is to develop the research leadership of an underrepresented HCP by pairing them with experienced academics. The funding also supports building research networks and conducting preparatory work to inform a subsequent full application to a national research programme.

More information here.

​MRC Centre of Research Excellence: round four: outline application

Funders: MRC and MoD

Opened: 1 October 2025

Closes: 4pm, 4th February 2026

Sector: 

Total fund: £50,000,000
Maximum award: £26,250,000

​

Apply for MRC Centre of Research Excellence (MRC CoRE) funding to tackle complex and interdisciplinary health challenges. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for Medical Research Council (MRC) funding.

​

MRC CoREs will be funded for up to 14 years. Your award will initially last for seven years, with a further seven years based on successful review. The full economic cost (FEC) of your MRC CoRE can be up to £26.25 million for the first seven years.

 

MRC will fund 80% of the FEC. The maximum MRC contribution will be £21 million.

This is an annual funding opportunity. MRC expects to fund one or two MRC CoREs every year.

​

MRC CoRE challenges are expected to:

  • be bold, ambitious, and innovative, and address a gap or opportunity which is not being adequately addressed elsewhere

  • address substantial unmet needs in understanding or modifying human health and disease

  • be specific, with major strategic objectives achievable within the 14-year timeframe which, if achieved, will transform the research field or area of health research

  • align to the MRC mission

  • require coordinated and flexible, major long-term funding

More information here.

Knowledge Transfer Partnership: 2025 to 2026 round five

Funder: Innovate UK

Opened: 2 December 2025

Closed: 11am, 4 February 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

​The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme allows a UK registered business, which is referred to as the business partner from now on, to partner with a knowledge base partner. This can be either a UK higher education (HE) or further education (FE) institution, research and technology organisation (RTO) or Catapult.

​

The KTP partnership brings new skills and the latest academic thinking into the business partner to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project. The knowledge base partner recruits the associate to work on the project. The associate has the opportunity to lead a strategic development within the business, developing new skills and gaining valuable experience.

​

Each application must be led by a knowledge base, working with a business partner and supported by a Knowledge Transfer Adviser. If you are a business and do not yet have a relationship with a knowledge base partner, the Knowledge Transfer Adviser can help you to identify one.

​

A project’s total eligible costs are typically £8,500 per month. Projects must be between 12 and 36 months. Some of the knowledge base partners costs will be funded by Innovate UK. The rest of the eligible project costs are paid by the business partner.

More information here.

Women in Innovation Awards 2025/26

Funder: Innovate UK

Open: 26 November 2025

Closed: 11am, 4 February 2026

Sector: ALL

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is offering up to 60 Women in Innovation Awards for women founders or co-founders of UK-registered SMEs. Each successful applicant will receive up to £75,000 in grant funding plus 12 months of bespoke business support. A number of highly commended applicants who do not receive funding may still be offered a year of tailored business support.
 

The competition aims to back women leading late-stage start-ups with scalable, investment-ready innovations aligned to three high-growth sectors in the UK’s Industrial Strategy: Advanced Manufacturing, Digital and Technologies, and Life Sciences. Applicants should already have a prototype or MVP, evidence of early customer interest or revenue, an understanding of their market, and a growing team beyond the original founders.
 

Innovations must be new to market or a significant improvement over existing solutions. Projects must address a clear market need and demonstrate strong potential for commercial growth. Award holders must also contribute at least four hours of role-modelling activity to inspire other women innovators over the 12-month award period.
 

Innovate UK uses a portfolio approach to fund a diverse range of women innovators across regions and the three growth sectors. Priority areas include zero-emission vehicles, batteries, aerospace, space, advanced materials, agri-tech, AI, cybersecurity, quantum technologies, semiconductors, engineering biology, 5G/6G, biotechnology, MedTech, pharmaceuticals, and health data/AI.
 

Eligibility

Projects must request no more than £75,000, run for 12 months, and start on 1 July 2026, ending 30 June 2027. Work must be carried out in the UK, with exploitation of results intended in or from the UK. Only eligible project costs may be included, and applicants must not exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance limit.
 

To lead a project, applicants must be:

  • A woman founder or co-founder of a UK-registered micro, small, or medium-sized enterprise.

  • A UK resident.

  • Able to commit to 10+ hours of training and development and four hours of role-modelling.


Previous recipients of Women in Innovation Awards or certain other Innovate UK programmes are not eligible. Only one woman per organisation may apply. Subcontractors are allowed, with costs capped at 50% of the grant; overseas subcontracting must be robustly justified.
 

The success rate in 2024/25 was 3.4%, and a suitability checker is required before applying. 
More information here.

Growth Catalyst December 2025

Funder: Innovate UK

Opens: 10 December 2025

Closed: 11am, 3 February 2026

Sector: All

Innovate UK Growth Catalyst is an Innovate UK programme designed to help startups and scaleups with high growth potential to grow faster. This Innovate UK Growth Catalyst competition combines grant funding, aligned private investment and structured support services to help innovators progress through key growth milestones.

​

Up to £900k per company to support late-stage R&D and commercialisation, aligned with private investment from an Innovate UK Investor Partner.

​

You should have established traction with at least one Innovate UK Investor Partner. Your Investor Partner must be identified in your application and confirm their support through an Expression of Interest (EOI) before the application close date. See directory of Investor Partners.

​

Your project must fall into one of the following categories:

Feasibility studies

  • Total project costs: £50,000 to £300,000

  • Duration: 6 to 12 months

  • Grant funding: up to 70% of costs

Industrial research

  • Total project costs: £100,000 to £1million

  • Duration: 6 to 24 months

  • Grant funding: up to 70% of costs

For feasibility studies and industrial research projects, aligned private investment must be at least equal to the grant amount. This investment does not need to directly fund the project but must be committed to the business before the grant can be made.

Experimental development

  • Total project costs: £250,000 to £2million

  • Duration: 12 to 24 months

  • Grant funding: up to 45% of costs

More information here.

Polyphonic™ AI Fund for Surgery QuickFire Challenge

Funder: J&J

Open

Closed: 30 January 2026  

Sector: Healthcare

The Polyphonic AI Fund for Surgery QuickFire Challenge seeks innovators developing cutting-edge artificial intelligence solutions with potential to transform surgical care. Proposals may target clinical workflow, surgical decision-making, patient outcomes, or the broader surgical ecosystem through responsible AI technologies.

 

The programme is open internationally and welcomes entries from startups, SMEs, academic teams, and entrepreneurs aiming to address unmet needs in surgery through AI.

​

Funding:

Eligible innovators with the best potential solutions will have the opportunity to receive grant funding up to $100,000 and mentorship from experts across Johnson & Johnson. Awardees may also be eligible to receive computing tools and technologies to help advance their innovations, including access to: GPUs and related software for accelerated computing, cloud platform and application services, Machine Learning (ML) and AI modeling toolkits and other Software Development Kits (SDKs).

​

Eligibility:

  • Individuals or teams from startups, SMEs, academic institutions, and other relevant organisations.

  • Solutions must focus on integrating AI in surgical care.
     

Innovators interested in bringing responsible AI to surgical practice can view full details and apply to the challenge here.

Behavioral shifts for longevity

Funder: AXA

Opened: 24 November 2025

Closed: 30 January 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

AXA Research invites individual researchers and research consortia to submit innovative proposals that aim to:​​
-> Develop predictive markers that enhance program matching ​
-> Explore cost-effective and scalable solutions to improve therapies across intervention tiers ​
-> Leverage behavioral insights and technological advancements to drive long-term impact on individual metabolic health.​
​
Selected projects may be awarded grants of up to €150,000 for a duration of up to 18 months.​
​
Full Guidelines available here.

James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnerships rolling funding opportunity

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 1pm, 14 October 2025

Closed: 1pm, 28 January 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

​The JLA Priority Setting Partnerships facilitate patients, carers and clinicians to work collaboratively to identify research priorities in particular areas of health and care. 

​

Write a maximum of 5 A4  pages for your research plan. When reviewing applications, NIHR will not consider any additional information over this 5 page limit.
 

Applicants should clearly state how their proposed research addresses a current evidence gap and how the research adds value to the existing NIHR research portfolio.

​

The top 10 priorities (for multiple years and countries) of the JLA priority setting partnerships are shown here. 2025 priorities include:

  • Bone marrow transplantation in paediatrics

  • Burn injury

  • Co-existing dementia and hearing conditions

  • Diverticular disease

  • East London Pandemic PSP for Ethnic Minority Communities

  • Epidermolysis Bullosa

  • Faecal Incontinence in Adults

  • Mental Health and the Body Clock

  • Midwifery Practice and Maternity Care

  • Palliative and End of Life Care Refresh

  • Perianal Crohn’s Disease

  • Prehabilitation for Hip & Knee Replacement Surgery

  • Premature Babies born <25 weeks' gestation

More information here.​​​

Early action and prevention within Health and Social Care Services

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 26 September 2025

Closed: 1pm, 21 January 2026

Sector: Healthcare, Social Care

The Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme is looking to fund high quality research about early action and prevention within Health and Social Care Services. This is a 2-stage, commissioned funding opportunity. To apply for the first stage you should submit an outline application. There are no specific eligibility requirements or restrictions for applicants to this funding opportunity.

​

Although not an exhaustive list, some examples of interest for evaluative research are:

  • the pathway, flow, and coordination of patients through prevention services and the broader configuration of prevention services for those with long-term conditions and rehabilitation following acute care

  • innovative ways of providing, commissioning, or streamlining prevention services, for example:

    • the integration of preventative approaches and initiatives within health and social care services (such as original/novel research on NHS vaccination programmes, social prescribing, smoking cessation, preventative clinics/hubs in hospital and primary care settings)

    • the effectiveness of service delivery models enabled by emerging technologies and the trade-off between administrative efficiency and patient/staff experiences 

  • how data can be used to proactively offer preventative support and how data can be linked across health, social care, and other systems

  • models of effective systems leadership and funding mechanisms to embed prevention into the commissioning and provision of health and social care.
     

We are looking to fund research which has the potential to inform prevention services at a national level, and therefore local or regional evaluations are unlikely to be fundable. 

More information here.

Major Projects Awards

Funder: Rosetrees

Opened: 3 November 2025

Closed: 4pm, 19 January 2026

Sector: Healthcare and Life Sciences

Rosetrees Major Project Awards provide up to £210,000 over three years (maximum £70,000 per year) to support advanced translational research with established proof-of-concept. Projects must demonstrate robust supporting data and aim for clinical translation to address a significant unmet need in the UK patient population. Applications focused on rare diseases may be considered if there is potential for broader clinical benefits. No dementia-related projects will be accepted.

​

Eligibility:
Lead applicants should hold a PhD (or equivalent), have a strong track record in research management, and normally a tenured position or confirmed salary for the grant period.
 

Funding Covers:

  • Salaries for post-docs/research assistants/technicians

  • Research consumables, sequencing, animal costs

  • Some small equipment costs

  • (Exceptionally) PhD stipends as part of wider research/programmes


Key Features:

  • Matched funding is required (secured grants or in-kind support). Applications with pending matched funding may be considered but Rosetrees funding is conditional on match confirmation.

  • Projects must have a realistic plan for patient benefit within 5–10 years post-grant.

  • Two-stage application: preliminary application, then full application if shortlisted; peer-review included.

  • Highly competitive; clear justification of costs and strong patient impact essential.

  • Applications for small patient groups must demonstrate broader applicability potential.

More information here.

UNITE Open Call

Funder: European Commission

Open

Closed: 15 January 2026

Sector: Scottish Healthcare

​​The first UNITE Open Call invites digital health innovators from seven participating European regions to develop high-impact solutions that can transform healthcare delivery, empower patients and strengthen European digital health ecosystems. With a total budget of €4 million, the call supports collaborative projects that advance personalised remote care and data-driven healthcare.

​

Maximum budget per project: €1,000,000. Maximum budget per organisation: €600,000. Support rate: 100 percent (lump sum model)

More information here.

​

Programme Development Grants - November 2025

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 19 November 2025 

Closed: 1pm, 14 January 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

NIHR Programme Development Grants (PDG) is inviting applications for funding (up to £250K) to undertake preparatory work to develop a future programme of research (stream A). PDGs are also available for researchers to develop and enhance the quality and value of an ongoing or recently completed Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) award (stream B).

​

This is a one-stage, researcher-led funding opportunity. To apply you will need to submit a full application.

​

The programmes are:

2025/440 PGfAR PDG researcher-led - stream A - pre-programme grant

2025/439 PGfAR PDG commissioned - stream A - NIHR NICE rolling funding opportunity

2025/438 PGfAR PDG commissioned - stream A - NIHR JLA rolling funding opportunity

2025/437 PGfAR PDG researcher-led - stream B - post-award programme grant

​

More information here.

​Quarterly Research Grant Funding Programme

Funder: Cure Parkinson's

Open: 

Closed: 12 January 2026 

Sector: Healthcare

This scheme is providing grants for scientists and clinicians from universities, hospitals and commercial organisations to help them fund preclinical and clinical research focused on slowing, stopping, or reversing Parkinson’s.

​

There are grants of up to £250,000 which prioritise projects that are likely to lead to clinical trials in people with Parkinson’s within 5 years. For clinical research, CP funds clinical trials and sub-studies of trials in people with Parkinson’s. The grant amount is flexible but please contact CP ahead of submission if you are thinking of applying for a clinical trial.

​

2025/2026 application deadlines:

  • Monday 3 November 2025

  • Monday 12 January 2026

  • Monday 13 April 2026

  • Monday 22 June 2026

  • Monday 12 October 2026

More information here.

NIHR/NICE rolling funding opportunity (HTA Programme)

Funder: NIHR

Opened: 4 September 2025

Closed: 1pm, 7 January 2026

Sector: Healthcare & Life Sciences

The Health Technology Assessment Programme (HTA) is inviting outline applications via the commissioned workstream. We are interested in receiving applications to meet recommendations in research identified in NICE guidance that has been published or updated in the last 5 years.   
 

Applications must be within the remit of the HTA Programme, and the primary outcome measure must be health related. The following research programmes are also participating in this funding opportunity: 


After checking the programme remit, you should apply directly to the relevant programme funding opportunity.
 

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.

More information here.

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