Below are some of the many ways of finding funding streams appropriate to your research; remember, it can take months to pull together a funding application so factor that into this process.
Remember to consider:
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What are funders looking for?
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Does your application fit the funding call?
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Is your application in the required format with the required information?
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Have you involved patients/the public in your proposal? It is becoming more and more important for funders to see evidence that you have consulted with patients to ensure the relevance of your proposal (are you asking a question of importance to patients?), to ensure you have considered specific features of your target population (do you know how to reach them, how to attract them to take part in the study, what they may or may not be willing to do, what their language or other accessibility requirements are?) and to ensure you have considered disseminating information to patients after the study. Advice on patient and public involvement can be found on the archived INVOLVE website, including a series of briefing documents. You can also visit www.peopleinresearch.org. You can get advice on your institution engaging with the public here.
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Have you considered all the financial elements, including a full costing, an understanding of where you may need to apply for excess treatment costs, and what service support costs you will need from the CRN?
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When is the deadline? Make sure you submit on time – remembering that applications can take a long time to pull together, make sure you start early!
General opportunities
For a list of current opportunities please click here. Some key funding streams are:
EU funding is still available and UK partners are still able to apply for the moment with a UK government guarantee for Horizon funding for grants closing up to 31st March 2023: Apply for Horizon Europe guarantee funding – UKRI (also see for more information: Horizon Europe: help for UK applicants – UKRI). The government is continuing to pursue inclusion in EU programmes following Brexit, but this has not been concluded yet.
National Institute for Health and Care Research:
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RfPB Research for Patient Benefit - RfPB is a national, response-mode programme inspired by patients and practice to generate high quality research for the benefit of users of the NHS in England. Its main purpose is to realise, through evidence, the huge potential for improving, expanding and strengthening the way that healthcare is delivered for patients, the public and the NHS.
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PGfAR - Programme Grants aim to produce independent research findings that will have practical application for the benefit of patients and the NHS in the relatively near future. Programme Development Grants are a complementary scheme to allow investigators to undertake preparatory research that will position them to submit a competitive Programme Grant application.
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I4i Invention for Innovation - Invention for Innovation (i4i) is a translational funding scheme to advance healthcare technologies and interventions for increased patient benefit in areas of existing or emerging clinical need.
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HSDR Health Services and Delivery Research - The NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research (HS&DR) Programme funds research to produce evidence on the quality, accessibility and organisation of health services. This includes evaluations of how the NHS might improve delivery of services.
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PHR Public Health Research - The PHR Programme funds research to generate evidence to inform the delivery of non-NHS interventions intended to improve the health of the public and reduce inequalities in health. The scope is multi-disciplinary and broad, covering a wide range of interventions that improve public health.
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HTA Health Technology Assessment - The HTA Programme is the largest of the NIHR programmes. It funds independent research about the effectiveness, costs and broader impact of healthcare treatments and tests for those who plan, provide or receive care in the NHS. The term ‘health technology’ covers a range of methods used to promote health, prevent and treat disease, and improve rehabilitation and long-term care.
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EME Efficiency and Mechanism Evaluation (co-funded with the MRC) - The EME Programme funds clinical efficacy studies. The studies it supports usually test if an intervention works as expected in a well-defined population or group of patients. The Programme also provides an opportunity to use clinical studies to understand disease or treatment mechanisms, which may in turn lead to improvements in health and patient care.
Subject-specific funding opportunities
AMRC (the Association of Medical Research Charities) is a good place to look for very specific disease areas or patient groups. You can search the member directory for your topic area.
Funding Opportunities RSS feed
Local funding opportunities
Research Capability Funding (RCF)
To enable the continuance of research within the NHS the research arm of the Department of Health, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), funds a number of research programmes and initiatives to ensure that patients and the public benefit from the most up-to-date and cost effective health interventions and treatments. One such programme is Research Capability Funding (RCF) which is financial support provided by the NIHR to NHS organisations to enable them to maintain and develop research capacity. The aim is a quality-driven fund that allows for local discretion and management of people to support and develop patient and people driven research.
RCF is allocated by the NIHR to eligible research-active NHS bodies or NHS health care providers annually. The NIHR has stringent rules on the exact definitions of what RCF monies can and cannot be spent on and as such must have a robust and transparent process for allocating out the monies. The WY R&D team holds an annual decision making panel with representatives from the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership reviewing each application for RCF before collectively agreeing which applications will be granted funding.
You can read more on the NIHR website: Research capability funding | NIHR
Further advice
For further advice on gaining research funding, please see the following: