ARE YOU READY TO:
- Work on your professional goals?
- Be part of a network of early career mental health and addiction researchers who can support each other in 2026 and beyond?
- Be supported to achieve your goals in a fully funded programme?
- Develop your professional networks, skills and experience to work across sectors and disciplines and make a difference through mental health and addictions research?
TIMELINE:
Deadline for applications: Monday 2 March 2026, 11.59pm
Programme duration: May 2026 - December 2026. See schedule for exact dates
What can I expect from the GROW Programme?
- A two-night fully-funded welcome residential covering various topics related to ECRs, for example:
- securing funding
- building your own professional network
- forging connections and partnerships across disciplines and sectors
- Five 1-to-1 coaching sessions to identify and work on your own professional development goals
- Peer networking and support
- Opportunities to meet and connect with senior researchers/PIs
- Participation in the Incubator Gathering, a one day meeting with alumni of all previous Incubator programmes in attendance. Sessions will be run by alumni and coaches.
- Monthly virtual workshops on topics such as:
- making an impact – working with policy and practice
- collaborating with patients and the public in research
- looking to the future of mental health and addiction research
What costs are funded?
The GROW programme is fully funded (including the welcome residential). We will cover all your necessary costs, including travel expenses (driving or public transport), childcare costs, and caring costs, to enable you to attend and participate in the programme.
Testimonials from GROW Programme alumni
Who can apply to join the GROW Programme?
Essential criteria
- Working in a research role in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, or Wales
- Early career researcher in any discipline or sector
- The GROW programme is for those who consider themselves to be early career researchers. For the purposes of the GROW programme, this is researchers who have completed a PhD, are working in a research role and have the potential to develop more independence as a researcher.
- Have completed a PhD (or in exceptional circumstances gained equivalent research experience) and be working at a post-doctoral level so we can bring together a group of researchers at a similar career stage. We cannot accept applicants who are still completing a PhD.
- Passionate about mental health and/or addiction research that has the potential to improve lives
- Curious about working across disciplines and sectors
- Interested to meet peers, form new collaborations and support each other
- Able to commit to participating in all the programme activities including the welcome residential, face to face workshops and online sessions
- Be ready to reflect on your professional development and identify and work towards new professional goals
Desirable criteria
We particularly welcome applications from researchers whose backgrounds, disciplines, and regions are currently under-represented in mental health and addictions research.
Workshop dates and times
The dates for the online sessions and Incubator Gathering are provisional and subject to change; the date for the residential is final.
Wednesday 6 - Friday 8 May 2026
Residential
Location: York
A two-night fully-funded welcome residential, designed for participants to immerse themselves in the programme and step away from regular responsibilities. The residential begins at lunchtime on Wednesday 6 May and finishes at lunchtime on Friday 8 May, to allow for travel. Participants will have the opportunity to network and learn about 1-to-1 coaching. They will attend workshop sessions on topics such as: exploring and setting goals, career journey reflections, and seeking funding.
Monday 1 June 2026
Online workshop
Location: Online
Time: 11am - 12pm (midday)
This online workshop will take place on Zoom and gives participants the chance to virtually meet up and explore a specific topic.
Wednesday 8 July 2026
Online workshop
Location: Online
Time: 11am - 12pm (midday)
This online workshop will take place on Zoom and gives participants the chance to virtually meet up and explore a specific topic.
Tuesday 1 September 2026
Online workshop
Location: Online
Time: 11am - 12pm (midday)
This online workshop will take place on Zoom and gives participants the chance to virtually meet up and explore a specific topic.
Thursday 1 October 2026
Online workshop
Location: Online
Time: 11am - 12pm (midday)
This online workshop will take place on Zoom and gives participants the chance to virtually meet up and explore a specific topic.
Thursday 5 November 2026
Incubator Gathering 2026
Location: Manchester
Time: 10am - 3pm
This workshop and networking event brings together all of the alumni from previous MHR Incubator programmes from across the UK to network, establish research collaborations and attend skills workshops and also short sessions hosted by other ECRs.
Tuesday 1 December 2026
Online workshop
Location: Online
Time: 11am - 12pm (midday)
This online workshop will take place on Zoom and gives participants the chance to virtually meet up and explore a specific topic.
Frequently Asked Questions
In most cases, no.
We are particularly interested in applications from those who have completed a PhD and will, in very exceptional circumstances, consider applications from individuals who have equivalent research experience in any setting. Applicants must be working at a post-doctoral level so we can bring together a group of researchers at a similar career stage. We cannot accept applicants who are still completing a PhD.
One of the aims of GROW is to build a network of peers who are all at the same stage of their career so they can learn and develop together. The sessions will be pitched at providing the most use to this group and will have less impact for all those involved if the focus is split among different career stages. We have had feedback from previous cohorts who have highlighted the importance of this for their experience of the programme and in order to get the most out of their participation.
All applicants can use the questions we ask in the application form to set out what they will bring to the programme and how they meet the criteria.
The Mental Health Research Incubator and our partners have lots of activities planned in the year ahead for researchers at all levels and backgrounds so it is worth following our BlueSky and regularly checking our website to keep in touch with events and opportunities if you are not quite at the career stage for the GROW programme yet.
No – in fact we are keen to have participants join the GROW Programme from a broad range of disciplines and professional backgrounds. Previous cohorts have included researchers from pharmacy, nursing, social work, psychiatry, economics, and art.
Our research focus also includes early career researchers who focus on addiction. Addiction is an area which often overlaps with mental health research, but is under-funded and understudied by NIHR applicants.
No. If you are working in a research role and based in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland you can apply. For example, you might be working in a research role in a local authority, in a clinical setting, or for a charity or third-sector organisation. We would love to have participants from a range of sectors participating in the programme.
The programme is completely free to attend, including the welcome residential. We will cover the travel costs, and childcare costs - if necessary, to any in-person sessions. All aspects of the welcome residential (accommodation, travel, sustenance) will also be covered by us.
Applications are assessed anonymously by a group of senior mental health researchers with significant experience in research and academia, professional coaches, MHR Incubator staff and steering group members. They are are assigned to reviewers randomly and any conflicts of interest are avoided (such as knowing the applicant/coming from the same institution).
Applications will only be assessed once the application deadline has passed, not on a first come first served basis.
The GROW programme is for those who consider themselves to be early career mental health and/or addiction researchers. For the purposes of the GROW programme, this is researchers who have completed a PhD, are working in a research role and have the potential to develop more independence as a researcher.
Yes, this opportunity is open to any early career mental health and/or addiction researcher working in a research role in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, or Wales. There are no requirements to be funded by a specific organisation.
Our academic reviewers use the CVs to understand your career journey so far. Your academic CV should give overview of your career so far, the key roles and training you’ve taken on, and any career breaks you have taken.
They will also use the CV to check your suitability for the programme, e.g.: that you are at the career stage most suitable for GROW, ie: completed a PhD, working at post doctoral level with the potential to develop more independence as a researcher. It is a good idea to give examples of any recent publications and anything else that demonstrates the level you are working at as a researcher.
You can email the Mental Health Research Incubator team at mhresearch@psych.ox.ac.uk.
The GROW Programme is free to attend, including the welcome residential. The GROW Programme is funded under the NIHR's Mental Health Research Initiative via NIHR Research Infrastructure.
We will cover all your necessary costs, including travel expenses (driving or public transport), childcare costs, and caring costs, to enable you to attend and participate in the programme. If accepted onto the programme, your accommodation (if needed) and sustenance costs for the in-person events will automatically be funded by the Incubator.