Opportunities Update

Funding: The LEGO Foundation FellowshipJuly

31/07/2026 12:00 am The LEGO Foundation Early career; Mid-career; Ends in 6 days

The LEGO Foundation Fellowship is a global initiative supporting researchers working to deepen our understanding of how children thrive. Spanning disciplines from education and psychology to public health, data science, and humanitarian studies, the fellowship brings together early- and mid-career scholars whose work has the potential to generate evidence that matters for children’s lives.

Fellows receive three years of flexible support to pursue rigorous, practically relevant research, and join a cohort of peers working across the fellowship’s themes. In addition to funding research, the program fosters a community of scholars engaged in meaningful exchange with one another and with research, policy, and practice audiences.

The LEGO Foundation Fellowship is developed in partnership with the LEGO Foundation, and administered by SSRC as part of its commitment to supporting scholars whose work bridges research and real-world impact. To learn more about the fellowship and apply, visit our application details page.

Funding: MQ Schizophrenia Fellowship 2026/27August

12/08/2026 2:00 pm MQ Mental Health Research Early career; Mid-career; Open - 19 days to go

MQ Mental Health Research is now accepting expressions of interest for the MQ Schizophrenia Fellows Award 2026/2027. This three-year fellowship programme is designed to support outstanding early-career researchers whose work has the potential to advance understanding of schizophrenia and improve outcomes for people affected by the condition.

MQ Fellowships provide up to £250,000 over three years, with funding available for salary, research staff support, direct research costs, travel and subsistence, training and development, and other eligible project costs.

The programme is open to researchers and clinical academics with 3 to 7 years of postdoctoral research experience who are based at a university, university-affiliated hospital, research institute, or other independent research organisation.

MQ is seeking projects that improve understanding, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for people affected by schizophrenia.

Priority areas include research that:

Builds on advances in biological, psychological and social factors contributing to development and treatment of schizophrenia to inform intervention, prediction or care.
Addresses areas of high unmet need, including cognitive and negative symptoms, inadequate response to existing treatments, and early intervention;
Demonstrates a clear route to improving outcomes for people diagnosed with schizophrenia, including clinical outcomes, everyday functioning, and quality of life, or to improving approaches to early detection and prevention in at-risk populations.
Is patient-centred and genuinely engaging with people with lived experience throughout – from identifying the research question through to designing and delivering the study and disseminating the results.
Please note: Early-stage drug discovery requiring long development timelines is out of scope.

The call is intended to support research with a clear pathway to short- to medium-term scientific, clinical, or service-level impact.

Eligibility

Open to global applications.
Must have a minimum of 3 and no more than 7 years of postdoctoral research experience.
Need to be based at a university, hospital, or research institution.
Demonstrate a strong research track record and plans for an independent career.
The fellowship requires a 50-100% time commitment over three years starting 1st May 2027.
You cannot hold other substantial research funding (over £100,000/year).

Funding: Main grants – Tackling Child Abuse & NeglectSeptember

08/09/2026 12:00 am RS Macdonald Mid-career; Open - 45 days to go

We support organisations that provide services for children whose lives have been affected by physical, mental or sexual abuse. We also fund work that seeks to reduce the risk of abuse and create a positive environment for children growing up.

Of particular interest are targeted programmes that aim to prevent abuse and neglect, and work that addresses the behaviour of perpetrators.

We award our main grants twice a year. These are grants of more than £20,000, and are typically multi-year. For our next round, Autumn 2026, our Trustees will be looking to make 3-year grants of up to £55,000. This means that applicants can split the total request of up to £55,000 over 3 years, e.g. £18,250 per year, if this level of funding is required. We are still very happy to assess grant requests up to this figure, if that is a better fit with your costs/funding profile.

Eligibility

We provide around £4m in grants every year to charities working in Scotland.

Funding: UKRI policy internships 2026September

08/09/2026 4:00 pm UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Doctoral; Open - 46 days to go

An opportunity for UKRI-funded doctoral students to undertake a three-month internship at one of a selected group of influential policy organisations, as part of the existing doctoral studentship.

This opportunity is only open to existing doctoral students funded by the research councils of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) (AHRC, BBSRC, ESRC, EPSRC, MRC, NERC and STFC).

The funding details will depend on the student’s research council, and which host partner is chosen. Some research councils provide additional funding to cover internships costs while students of other research councils should access funds from their existing training grant.

Eligibility

This opportunity is only open to existing doctoral students funded by the research councils of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) (AHRC, BBSRC, ESRC, EPSRC, MRC, NERC and STFC).

Funding: Supporting Mental Health for People with Arthritis Research ConsortiumSeptember

09/09/2026 4:00 pm Arthritis UK Early career; Mid-career; Open - 47 days to go

Up to £3 million is available for Arthritis UK’s sixth research consortium investment.

Arthritis UK consortium funding aims to bring different groups together to work with integrated thought and ambition. Creating a community of shared expertise, to deliver a cohesive series of research packages that work towards unlocking a problem area at pace.

This investment is focused on mental health and aims to support improvements in the holistic management of growing and living well with arthritis, from childhood into adulthood and through later life, including end-of-life care.

In summary this funding call will support:

Implementation of existing evidence-based mental health solutions for people with arthritis in new settings alongside or outside the NHS,
Development of novel interventions where current interventions are insufficient or not adaptable, to be designed to be delivered within relevant settings,
Pharmacological and psychological interventions, with an emphasis on the interaction between them.

Areas of focus include, but are not restricted to, supporting mental health for people with arthritis such as:

Underserved communities particularly in rural and coastal areas,
Children and young people with chronic pain,
Women experiencing the menopause.

Please submit a Notice of Intent to Apply by 16:00 on Wednesday 29th July 2026.

Eligibility

The lead applicant must be based at an eligible UK institution.
One applicant must have a substantive position at the host (lead) institute.

Funding: Sector transition – UKRI policy fellowships 2026September

10/09/2026 4:00 pm UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Early career; Open - 48 days to go

Apply for this sector transition fellowship to transfer knowledge and skills across academic and policy sectors and increase sector porosity. You will spend 18 months as a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) core policy fellow, a Natural Hazards and Resilience policy fellow or a What Works Innovation fellow to inform policy to address pressing national and global challenges.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to:

£180,000 for Core Policy fellowships
£220,000 for What Works Innovation fellowships
£280,000 for Natural Hazards and Resilience fellowships

UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC.

Eligibility

This funding opportunity is open to academics who hold a doctorate or who can evidence equivalent research experience, can demonstrate relevant subject matter or methodological expertise, and are aiming to transfer knowledge and skills across academic and policy sectors to enable new approaches.

The requirement for applicants to demonstrate that they hold a doctorate or equivalent experience is to extend eligibility to individuals who have been in a research focused role for a substantial period but have not obtained a doctorate. Being enrolled in a doctorate programme or close to finalising one is not sufficient on its own to demonstrate equivalence. Applicants who wish to make a case for equivalency will need to demonstrate that they have achieved a postdoctoral level of research expertise and experience while working in a professional research role, whether they are also engaged in a doctorate programme or not.

Funding: SHAPE Involve and EngageSeptember

15/09/2026 5:00 pm The British Academy Early career; Mid-career; Open - 53 days to go

The British Academy is pleased to offer this funding scheme to support ambitious projects to engage the public with the humanities and social sciences.

These awards, up to £8,000, offer an exciting opportunity for humanities and social sciences researchers to push boundaries and seek imaginative new ways to engage with the public. We are looking for researchers from across the UK to deliver innovative public engagement projects working in partnership with a gallery, archive, library or museum (GLAM organisation) or a performing arts organisation.

This programme offers the opportunity to think outside the box, test a new approach and be ambitious in your approach to engaging a public audience with your research. As part of the programme, a ‘community of practice’ workshop will be hosted for successful applicants in mid to late January. Alongside sessions on evaluation and working with your audiences, award holders will have the opportunity to share their plans with other workshop attendees. You will act as critical friends and sounding boards, sharing ideas, giving feedback and troubleshooting possible challenges, and forming a network of support through the duration of the project development and delivery.

Eligibility

Please note that the funding provided through this scheme cannot be used to cover the cost of replacement teaching, payment in lieu of salary or computer equipment or hardware. The scheme is not covered within the FEC regime – the £8,000 awards are available to the award holder only for direct expenses to deliver the public engagement project. For full details of eligible costs, please see the scheme guidance notes and terms and conditions.

Funding: Experimental medicine stage oneOctober

30/04/2026 9:00 am → 07/10/2026 9:00 am UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Medical Research Council (MRC) Mid-career; Underway

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.

There is no limit to the amount of funding you can apply for or the length of your project. We will fund 80% of your project’s full economic cost.

Eligibility

To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible.

To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must:

show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work
be looking to investigate the causes, progression and treatment of human disease

For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application the research organisation is confirming that, if it is successful:

contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the project
all necessary support for the project and the applicants will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers

Funding: Housing, place and the built environment for an ageing populationDecember

08/12/2026 1:00 pm NIHR Mid-career; Open - 137 days to go

The NIHR’s Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is looking to fund research into the health and health inequality effects of housing and the physical and social aspects of place, on older people’s health, including mental health.

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.

To be eligible for funding, proposed studies must:

- evaluate the impact of real-world interventions on health and health inequalities in the UK
- include interventions that are provided, delivered or funded outside of the NHS

be generalisable and have the potential to create impact at population-level

focus on the wider determinants of health with health-related outcomes
evaluate the impact of an intervention on the population

We frequently fund the following methods:

natural experiments
randomised controlled trials
non randomised studies (where justified)
mixed methods studies
feasibility studies
modelling studies
health economics modelling
cohort studies
intervention optimisation before evaluation

We will screen all applications to ensure that they are in remit and competitive. Any applications that do not fit the criteria will not be considered. We will let you know if this is the case.

To be within remit of the PHR Programme applications must be within the scope of the programme and give robust evidence for the need, value and importance of the research to the public. The primary outcome of a study should be a meaningful and justifiable health-related outcome.

Eligibility

You can apply to an PHR funding opportunity if you are:

a researcher with skills and experience relevant to the proposed study
based in the UK

Funding: AHRC responsive mode – Curiosity Award
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Any; Open-ended
Flexible awards to fund fundamental research that leads to new research agendas, networking activity and idea generation, which enables the development of further research opportunities and new research agendas.

Awards are available for projects up to £100,000 full economic cost (FEC) and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) will fund 80% of this. Funding is available for projects up to five years in duration.

Applications are welcomed from researchers across all career stages, from early career to established researchers.

Eligibility

The project lead and any project co-leads must be employed and supported by an eligible organisation for at least the duration of the UKRI support. It is not a requirement that a contract be in place at the point of application submission. It is also not a requirement to have a permanent employment contract to apply for funding.

Funding: ESRC responsive mode – research grants round two
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Any; Open-ended
This opportunity funds researcher-driven basic, applied, and strategic research from any disciplines and on any topics in ESRC’s remit. This includes standard research projects, methodological development, large-scale surveys or other infrastructures.

Proposals can draw from the wider sciences, as long as the social sciences are more than 50% of the research focus and effort.

Applications are via the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service and will run as consecutive rounds with closing dates.

The full economic cost of your project can range from £350,000 to £1 million. ESRC will fund 80% of the full economic cost.

Eligibility

The project lead for this funding opportunity can be based at any organisation eligible for ESRC funding throughout the duration of the grant.

You can be at any stage of your academic career; but the project team must have a level of skills, knowledge and experience that is appropriate to the proposed project.

Applications may be submitted jointly by more than one applicant. In such cases, one person must be regarded as the project lead taking the lead responsibility for the conduct of the project and the observance of the terms and conditions. Correspondence regarding the proposal and grant will be addressed to the project lead only and, in the case of any offer letter, to their research office.

Funding: Professional doctorate clinical research training fellowship
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Medical Research Council (MRC) Doctoral; Open-ended
Apply for funding to undertake a PhD. Your research can focus on any area of Medical Research Council (MRC)’s remit to improve human health. You must:

be a registered healthcare professional

be at an appropriate point in your training to undertake a PhD

show plans to pursue a research career

We will fund your salary and project costs for three years. We will fund 100% of the justified costs.

You may also choose to apply for joint funding from one of the collaborating organisations. This is an ongoing funding opportunity. Application rounds close every January, April and September.

Eligibility

You can apply if you’re a registered healthcare professional. This includes, but is not limited to:

nurses
midwives
allied health professionals
healthcare scientists
pharmacists
clinical psychologists
doctors
dentists
general practitioners
veterinarians

Funding: Capacity building – clinical research training fellowship
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Medical Research Council (MRC) Early career; Open-ended
Apply for funding to reacquire research skills. Your research can focus on any area of Medical Research Council (MRC)’s remit.

You must:

be a registered healthcare professional

be a PhD graduate working outside of research, usually five or more years

show plans to pursue a clinical academic research career and be at an appropriate point in your clinical training to undertake the fellowship

We will fund your salary and project costs for three years. We will fund 80% of the full economic cost (FEC).

You may also apply for joint funding from one of the collaborating organisations.

This is an ongoing funding opportunity. Application rounds close every January, April and September.

Eligibility

You can apply if you are a registered healthcare professional. This includes, but is not limited to:

nurses
midwives
allied health professionals
healthcare scientists
pharmacists
clinical psychologists
doctors
dentists
general practitioners
veterinarians

Funding: ESRC responsive mode: research grants round two
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)Open-ended

This opportunity funds researcher-driven basic, applied, and strategic research from any disciplines and on any topics in ESRC’s remit. This includes standard research projects, methodological development, large-scale surveys or other infrastructures.

Proposals can draw from the wider sciences, as long as the social sciences are more than 50% of the research focus and effort.

Applications are via the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service and will run as consecutive rounds with closing dates.

The full economic cost of your project can range from £350,000 to £1 million. ESRC will fund 80% of the full economic cost.

Eligibility

The project lead for this funding opportunity can be based at any organisation eligible for ESRC funding throughout the duration of the grant.

You can be at any stage of your academic career; but the project team must have a level of skills, knowledge and experience that is appropriate to the proposed project.

Additional applicants making a significant contribution to the conduct of the project should be identified as project co-leads.

Funding: BBSRC new investigator award
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Early career; Open-ended
Apply for funding to support excellent investigator-led research across the breadth of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) scientific remit.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for BBSRC funding. Standard research grants are available for researchers at eligible research organisations.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £2 million. Funding is available for up to five years. BBSRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

Funding is available for:

research projects, including data intensive and technology development projects

equipment or use of existing facilities

community resources, new facilities, or infrastructure

research networks and coordination

summer schools

You can apply to undertake biotechnology or biological research in:

plants

microbes

animals and humans

tools and technology underpinning biological research

Eligibility

Researchers who have been project co-leads (previously co-investigators) on successful grant applications are eligible to apply for a new investigator award.

You must not have received, or currently be in receipt of, competitively obtained research or support funding from any source as a project lead (previously principal investigator) where such funding includes or included research and innovation associate (previously postdoctoral research assistant) staff support costs. This includes grants associated with fellowships. If, however, research and innovation associate support has been provided by an institution as part of an internal support agreement or as part of the applicants start up package, this must be declared but would not render the applicant ineligible.

Funding: BBSRC new investigator award
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Early career; Open-ended
Apply for funding to support excellent new investigator-led research across the breadth of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) scientific remit.

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

This scheme is designed to assist newly employed university lecturers, researchers (at a level equivalent to lecturer) in research council institutes, and fellows (at a level equivalent to lecturer) to secure their first major element of research support funding.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £2 million. Funding is available for up to five years. BBSRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

Eligibility

Researchers who have been project co-leads (previously co-investigators) on successful grant applications are eligible to apply for a new investigator award.

Associate Principal Investigator (PI) Scheme
NIHR Early career; Open-ended
The Associate Principal Investigator Scheme aims to develop health and care professionals to become the Principal Investigators (PIs) of the future.

It is a six month in-work training opportunity, providing practical experience for health and care professionals starting their research career. People who would not normally have the opportunity to take part in clinical research in their day-to-day role have the chance to experience what it means to work on and deliver an NIHR portfolio trial under the mentorship of an enthusiastic Local Principal Investigator (PI). A Principal Investigator is an individual responsible for the conduct of a research study at a site.

Associate Principal Investigators receive formal recognition of engagement in NIHR Portfolio research studies through the certification of Associate PI status, endorsed by the NIHR and Royal Colleges.

Eligibility

The scheme is open to any health and care professional willing to make a significant contribution to the conduct and delivery of a study at a local level over a period of six months.

Funding: Grindley Grant
Experimental Psychology Society Any; Open-ended
The purpose of the fund is to finance travel that supports the applicant’s work falling within the domain of EPS interests as defined by the content of the Society’s journal. Preference will be given to attendance at meetings of the Experimental Psychology Society.

Grants to attend non-EPS conferences are awarded only to those making a presentation and are available only after the applicant has presented at an EPS meeting. An EPS meeting is considered to be one of the three scientific meetings of the Society each year, presentations at EPS supported Research Workshops do not count toward this requirement. Only one application can be made to attend a non-EPS conference; once applicants have received a Grindley grant to attend a non-EPS conference they are no longer eligible to apply for future non-EPS conferences.

Applicants can apply to attend a maximum of two Grindley Grants per calendar year (including EPS meetings, EPS supported Research Workshops and non-EPS conferences), one application in order to present and one with no presentation requirements for EPS meetings and supported workshops. For non-EPS conferences, applicants must provide evidence that they will be presenting work at that conference.

Grants are strictly limited to a maximum of £500 per application.

Eligibility

To apply for an EPS Grindley Grant, you must be an EPS postgraduate member or a retired EPS member. In addition, recipients of an Undergraduate / New Graduate Research Bursary are eligible to apply for a Grindley grant to present the work resulting from their research project at an EPS meeting within one year of the bursary.

A condition of the award is that travel must originate from, or be destined to, the UK and it is understood that travel will be to / from the applicant’s normal residential address whilst attending or working at the institution where they have their primary affiliation. Where this is not the case, prior approval must be sought from the EPS administrator.

Funding: EPS Carers Fund
Experimental Psychology Society Any; Open-ended
The Society recognises that many of its members have caring responsibilities, whether this is for children, elderly or disabled relatives or friends. As a result, they are sometimes prevented from attending conferences and meetings because there is no provision for the extra costs incurred in paying for the additional care needed while they are away at the meeting and this can be a motivational hurdle in contributing to research meetings.

The EPS Carers Fund has been established to provide members with a grant to support them in attending EPS meetings and related events (e.g. workshops), that they might not otherwise be able to go to because of their care responsibilities. The aim of the fund is to contribute towards these additional costs of care when attending meetings.

The total grant fund available each year for awarding to successful applicants is limited.

We appreciate that the arrangements members have in place may be varied and we do not wish to place restrictions on how the grant will be used, except that:

It must be used towards the costs associated with additional care for the person or people that the member cares for (i.e. not care that would be in place irrespective of the meeting)

It must be an EPS meeting or EPS-funded workshop

2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-07-2409:05:05 2028-07-01 00:00:00

Funding: MRC new investigator research grant: applicant-led
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Medical Research Council (MRC) Early career; Open-ended
Apply for funding to take the next step towards becoming an independent researcher. Your research must be in the remit of the Medical Research Council (MRC).

You must have:

the skills and experience to ‘transition to independence’

the support of an eligible host research organisation

There is no limit to the funding you can apply for, but the typical full economic cost (FEC) of a project is under £1 million. MRC will usually fund 80% of the FEC. This funding usually lasts three years and covers up to 50% of your salary.

This funding call operates on a rolling basis; shortlisting decision meetings will be held twice a year (or more frequently), and funding decision meetings will be held twice a year. Applicants will be informed of funding decisions within 10 working days of the funding decision meeting.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply as a new investigator you must:

have research organisation support
be able to show that your skills and experience match those in the ‘transition to independence’ stage of the MRC applicant skills and experience table
use this grant to support your long-term career goals and chosen career route
be able to demonstrate you are the sole intellectual leader of the application and the proposed work

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can also apply if you:

are employed as a postdoctoral research assistant, although this grant cannot start until your current work finishes
hold a lecturer appointment, a junior fellowship or another research staff position
hold, or have held, an early career training fellowship such as an MRC skills development fellowship
are not currently based at the eligible research organisation that has agreed to host your new investigator award
are either a non-clinical or clinically active researcher
have any number of years of experience

Funding: MRC research grant: applicant-led
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Medical Research Council (MRC) Early career; Mid-career; Open-ended
Apply for funding to support research within the remit of the Medical Research Council (MRC).

You must be employed by an eligible research organisation.

You can involve more than one research group or organisation in the project.

There is no limit to the funding you can apply for, but it should be appropriate to the project. We will usually fund up to 80% of your project’s full economic cost (FEC). Funding is available for between 18 months to five years.

This funding call operates on a rolling basis; shortlisting decision meetings will be held twice a year (or more frequently), and funding decision meetings will be held twice a year. Applicants will be informed of funding decisions within 10 working days of the funding decision meeting.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work.

For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application, the research organisation is confirming if it is successful:

contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the project
all necessary support for the project and the applicants will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers

Funding: MRC partnership grant: applicant-led
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Medical Research Council (MRC) Mid-career; Open-ended
Apply for funding to support partnerships to carry out novel collaborative activities between a team of researchers, with interdisciplinarity encouraged where appropriate. You must be employed by an eligible research organisation.

The grant will allow you to:

establish novel high-value collaborative activities or capabilities

add value to high-quality research activities supported by existing funding, or underpin future funding in our remit build capacity in an area of unmet need

Funding is available for between 18 months and five years. You are strongly encouraged to contact us before applying for advice. Applications out of scope will be rejected.

This funding call operates on a rolling basis; shortlisting decision meetings will be held twice a year (or more frequently), and funding decision meetings will be held twice a year. Applicants will be informed of funding decisions within 10 working days of the funding decision meeting.

Eligibility

This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible.

To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must:

show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work, or contribute to the academic leadership of the partnership
demonstrate that you and your team have the right expertise and experience to deliver the aims of the partnership, using interdisciplinary approaches where appropriate

For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application the research organisation is confirming, if it is successful:

contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the project
all necessary support for the project and the applicants will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers

Funding: Daphne Jackson fellowship
Daphne Jackson Trust Early career; Mid-career; Open-ended

These fellowships are for those looking to return to a research career after a break of two or more years for family, health or caring reasons. The aim is to give participants the confidence and skills they need to make a successful return to research.

They provide an opportunity to balance a personalised retraining programme with a challenging research project, in a supportive UK university or research establishment.

They are flexible, with at least 100 hours retraining per year, and part-time – usually completed over three years at 0.5 full-time equivalent.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, you must fulfil the basic criteria as outlined below:

you should currently be on a research career break of at least two years’ duration from a paid research position taken for family, health or caring reasons
you need to be resident in the UK at the time of application and have the right to work in the UK for at least 12 months with a clear route to subsequent visa progression
- please contact us first if you are planning to apply for a fellowship in the Republic of Ireland
you should hold a research doctorate
- or alternatively, have had at least three years’ research experience before your career break, with evidence of research impacts and outcomes
- we define a doctorate to be completed on the date of its successful examination/viva
- qualification and experience requirements vary for Research Technical Professional Fellowships

You should not have undertaken the following during your career break from research:

paid research work of any number of hours per week or duration
lectured to undergraduate degree level for more than six hours a week
studied for a Master’s or any form of professional qualification in a field related to the proposed fellowship as this could be defined as retraining even if it did not involve a research component

Limited voluntary and unpaid research during your career break will be considered on a case-by-case basis

Funding: MRC partnership grant applicant-led
Medical Research Council (MRC) Early career; Mid-career; Open-ended

Opening date to be announced soon

Apply for funding to support partnerships to carry out novel collaborative activities between a team of researchers, with interdisciplinarity encouraged where appropriate. We are looking to fund applicant-led partnerships between a team of researchers carrying out novel collaborative activities or capabilities that add value to high-quality research activities. These can be already supported by existing funding or will underpin future funding within the remit of the Medical Research Council (MRC).

We fund partnerships working to transform our understanding of human health and disease, to accelerate diagnosis, advance treatment and prevent human illness.

The grant will allow you to establish novel high-value collaborative activities or capabilities and add value to high-quality research activities supported by existing funding, or underpin future funding in our remit build capacity in an area of unmet need.

Funding is available for between 18 months and five years.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must:

show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work, or contribute to the academic leadership of the partnership
demonstrate that you and your team have the right expertise and experience to deliver the aims of the partnership, using interdisciplinary approaches where appropriate

Partnership grants are not designed to primarily support research. If you would like to apply for funding for a research project, you should instead consider a research grant.

You are also not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity as a project lead if you are based at an international research organisation. This does not include project leads from MRC Unit The Gambia or MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Funding: MRC new investigator research grant: applicant-led
Medical Research Council (MRC) Early career; Open-ended
Apply for funding to take the next step towards becoming an independent researcher. Your research must be in the remit of the Medical Research Council (MRC).

You must have the skills and experience to ‘transition to independence’ and the support of an eligible host research organisation.

There is no limit to the funding you can apply for, but the typical full economic cost (FEC) of a project is under £1 million. MRC will usually fund 80% of the FEC. This funding usually lasts three years and covers up to 50% of your salary.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply as a new investigator you must:

have research organisation support
be able to show that your skills and experience match those in the ‘transition to independence’ stage of the MRC applicant skills and experience table
use this grant to support your long-term career goals and chosen career route
be able to demonstrate you are the sole intellectual leader of the application and the proposed work

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can also apply if you:

are employed as a postdoctoral research assistant, although this grant cannot start until your current work finishes
hold a lecturer appointment, a junior fellowship or another research staff position
hold, or have held, an early career training fellowship such as an MRC skills development fellowship
are not currently based at the eligible research organisation that has agreed to host your new investigator award
are either a non-clinical or clinically active researcher
have any number of years of experience

You are limited to submitting a maximum of two applications as project lead across MRC’s applicant-led responsive funding opportunities (research, partnership and new investigator) in a rolling 12-month period

Funding: UK Gut-Immune-Brain Axis Network Mobility Awards
UK Gut-Immune-Brain Axis Network (GIBA) Early career; Mid-career; Open-ended
Funds are available to encourage and support mobility between academic institutions and also with industry partners. The awards aim to promote the movement of researchers and technicians between different research settings to facilitate knowledge transfer between academics. Beneficiaries of the mobility awards can be at any career stage. The mobility award funds may be used to:

Initiate a new collaboration; Strengthen an existing collaboration; Learn a new technique; Make use of existing resources outside the host institute; Facilitate the integration of different GIBA-relevant techniques; Lead to a funding application; Explore new technology transfer projects

Mobility awards may be between £500 for short-term visits to facilitate in-person collaborative activities, and up to £5,000 for longer-term and/or bilateral visits. Maximum duration is 3 months.

This is a rolling call where applications will be reviewed bimonthly by the network leadership team. Successful applicants will be notified within a week of the review meeting.

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Funding: Sir Halley Stewart Trust Small Grants
Sir Halley Stewart Trust Doctoral; Early career; Mid-career; Open-ended
The Trust has three priority areas: Medical, Social and Religious, with education being a central theme that runs across all grants. The Trust funds projects that focus on the prevention (rather than the alleviation) of human suffering

Up to £5,000 in total, is available; this should cover the entire project or be the major funding contribution. The total project should cost no more than £5,000. This grant is aimed at small scoping or pilot projects. A limited number of Small grants are awarded each year.

Small Grant applications are considered all year round and there are no application deadlines.

All Trust funded projects must have strong dissemination plans, to ensure a positive impact on the immediate beneficiaries, service-delivery partners, wider stakeholders and policy-makers. Appropriate evaluation plans must also be integral to project designs, as should demonstrable outcome measures and longer-term impact aims capable of monitoring and measurement.

Evidence of strong Equality, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EEDI), together with appropriate Safeguarding, are fundamental requirements for applications to be successful.

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Funding call: Courses and conferences for early career researchers
NIHR MH-TRC Mission Doctoral; Early career; Pre-doctoral; Open-ended
The NIHR Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration Mission (MH-TRC Mission) Capacity Development workstream presents an exciting opportunity for early career researchers linked to the MH-TRC Mission. To support your training and development we are launching a rolling funding call for fees and travel expenses to enable attendance at relevant courses and conferences. Applications are also welcome from PhD candidates seeking co-funding for PhD tuition fees. You can apply for funding covering up to 50% of PhD tuition fees (up to £15,000) provided you have already secured the rest of the funding.

We ask you to complete an application form below with details of the funding you require and how the PhD/course/conference relates to the objectives of the MH-TRC Mission.

Successful applicants must use the best value for money method of travel. Accommodation and subsistence (meals, beverages and limited incidental costs) should be in line with value for money principles, and claimants should not benefit.

All applications will be reviewed and applicants notified of the outcome on a monthly basis. We intend to have this rolling funding call open until 31 October 2027.

Eligibility

Funding requests must be well aligned with Mission objectives.

Parent Carer Research Network
MHID and the Charlie Waller Trust Any; Open-ended
The Parent Carer Research Network (PCRN) was set up to champion the voices of parents and carers in children and young people’s mental health research. It connects researchers with interested parents and carers who have lived experience with children and young people’s mental health and would like to become involved in research.

If you are a mental health or addiction researcher, you are able to send any opportunities to be reviewed and featured in the PCRN’s next newsletter. The network has been founded by parents with lived experience, the Charlie Waller Trust, and research teams at the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford.

The PCRN is a useful way to establish collaborative relationships, incorporate lived experience to your research and develop safe, inclusive and accessible research. Working with the PCRN provides support in developing your project and exploring funding sources, support with your application to work with the network and resources on good practice e.g. advice around facilitation and communication with parents and carers.

📧 You can also email the team at parentcarerresearchnetwork@psych.ox.ac.uk if you’d like to have a chat or discuss a potential opportunity

Eligibility

The opportunities (research or PPI) must be targeted to parents or carers, and there are a few steps you’ll need to carry out. They have also created a Guide for Researchers, containing important points to consider and a checklist summary of key reminders.

Funding: Children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing
Rayne Foundation Mid-career; Open-ended
The Rayne Foundation funds project and salary costs of usually £10,000 to £30,000 per year for up to three years for projects that support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

They specifically focus on projects that offer mental health and wellbeing support to children and young people and their families/carers in challenging circumstances and where there is a lack of help. They fund work that:

– Supports early childhood (0-5 years including the perinatal period) with family/carer interventions that aim to reduce the impact of early childhood trauma.

– Supports children and young people who are care experienced, on the edge of care, or leaving care, with interventions that prioritise improved mental health and well-being.

Applications for creative and artistic approaches to achieving progress in this priority area are also strongly encouraged.

Eligibility

This is a rolling, open grants programme with no deadline. Individuals and/or organisations must be working or based inside the UK.

The Rayne Foundation are open to receiving Expressions of Interest from voluntary, statutory, and not-for-profit organisations (including CICs and CIOs).

Statutory organisations must consider how a grant will enable transformation over and above the funding required to deliver statutory obligations. For-profit organisations need to make the case that charitable funding is necessary to enable transformative change. Statutory and for-profit organisations are expected to work collaboratively with the wider voluntary sector.

Reviewer Development Scheme
NIHR Early career; Open-ended
An opportunity to hone your skills in peer reviewing and to review current research. Participants will receive constructive feedback on their reviews as well as receiving insights into how other experienced reviewers have approached pieces.

Membership of the scheme lasts for 5 years, or until participants have completed 5 reviews in the scheme/have been recruited as a Committee Member Development Scheme participant – whichever comes first. You may leave the scheme at any time or transfer to the NIHR’s community of reviewers as a peer reviewer once you feel ready.

Eligibility

You must be close to completing your PhD or within 10 years of completing your PhD, and have not yet held a grant as Lead Applicant (excluding fellowships) of over £100,000.

The Scheme is also open to all UK Speciality Registrars, Advanced Clinical Practitioners and Nurses and Midwives on Band 6 or above.

All of the latest and upcoming funding and career development opportunities for mental health and addiction researchers.

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