Community, Event, Funding, Newsletter

Weekly roundup 28/03/24: events, funding, & opportunities in mental health research

Welcome to your weekly roundup of funding, events, and webinars we’ve shared with our followers over on the Mental Health Research Incubator Twitter. Here's what's coming up on the horizon for mental health research:

Weekly roundup 28/03/24: events, funding, & opportunities in mental health research
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APRIL

3 April

Programme Grants for Applied Research - Competition 44

Opportunity: Research Funding -  awards average £2-2.5m over 5 years, but can be larger

Who's it for?: Researchers addressing local and/or national priorities in health, public health or social care

Organiser: NIHR

Eligibility: Researchers in the UK, based at either an NHS authority or an HEI if appropriate (new scheme remit)

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 3 April.

16 April

Wellcome Discovery Awards

Opportunity: Research Funding -  awards of between £700k-£8m over up to 8 years (average award £3.5m/7 years) for established researchers looking to make a major contribution to their field. 

Who's it for?: Lead applicant must be a significant researcher in their field and can be in any area of research as long as it is making a contribution to improving human life and aligns with the Wellcome remit

Organiser: Wellcome

Eligibility: Researchers in the UK, Republic of Ireland or a Low or middle income country (excl. India or mainland China)

Deadline: Apply by 17:00 16 April.

23 April

Wellcome Neuroscience and Mental Health Neuromatch registration

Opportunity: Research Collaboration Registration-  Register to be matched with a neuroscientist to develop an application for a new Wellcome grant focusing on anxiety, depression and/or psychosis - full details of grant released in mid April

Who's it for?: Clinical professionals working on mental health challenges.

Organiser: Wellcome

Eligibility: Clinical professionals such as psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, counselors, mental health nurses, etc.

Deadline: Register on Neuromatch by 16:00 UTC 23 April.

Essential Guide to Grant Applications

Opportunity: Online Training- Three day online masterclass on writing strong, convincing grant applications

Who's it for:  Anyone considering writing a grant application who needs some support to get started or may have been unsuccessful in the past/

Organiser: NIHR RSS

Location: Online - apply here

Date/Time:  23 - 25 April, full day sessions

Cost: Free

Men's mental health

Opportunity: Research Funding -  Research Question: What interventions are effective in promoting good mental health, or preventing poor mental health, among men?

Who's it for?: Researchers looking at group or population level interventions in men's mental health. If from England and not had PHR funding before, must contact PHRADA first.

Organiser: NIHR PHR

Eligibility: Researchers from any of the devolved nations of the UK

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 23 April. Webinar on 6 February

Interventions to support women in prison or post-release commissioning brief

Opportunity: Research Funding - Research Question: What interventions are effective in promoting the physical and mental health of women in prison or post-release?

Who's it for: Researchers looking at mental (and physical health) interventions in women in prison and after release, either for issues arising from incarceration or the reasons for imprisonment. If from England and not had PHR funding before, must contact PHRADA first.

Organiser: NIHR PHR

Eligibility: Researchers from any of the devolved nations of the UK

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 23 April. Webinar at 1015-1130 on 6 February

Faith-based groups and the impacts on health and health inequalities

Opportunity: Research Funding - Research Question: How can engagement with faith-based groups impact health and health inequalities?

Who's it for: Researchers looking at the positive impact faith-based groups might have on mental health, on a population of group level. If from England and not had PHR funding before, must contact PHRADA first.

Organiser: NIHR PHR

Eligibility: Researchers from any of the devolved nations of the UK.

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 23 April. Webinar at 1015-1130 on 6 February

Healthy homes

Opportunity: Research Funding - Research Question: What are the health and health inequality impacts of interventions affecting the physical quality of UK housing?

Who's it for: Researchers looking at a range of aspects of housing conditions and the impact they have on mental (and/or physical) health. If from England and not had PHR funding before, must contact PHRADA first.

Organiser: NIHR PHR

Eligibility: Researchers from any of the devolved nations of the UK.

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 23 April. Webinar at 1015-1130 on 6 February

Climate change and health

Opportunity: Research Funding - Research Question: What are the impacts of local authority led interventions aimed at climate change mitigation and/or adaptation on health and inequalities?

Who's it for: Researchers looking at the impact on mental (and/or physical) health of local level policies and interventions for managing climate change. If from England and not had PHR funding before, must contact PHRADA first.

Organiser: NIHR PHR

Eligibility: Researchers from any of the devolved nations of the UK.

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 23 April. 

What are the health and health inequality impacts of being outdoors for children and young people?

Opportunity: Research Funding - Research Question: What interventions lead to children and young people spending more time outdoors in ways that improve their health and reduce health inequalities?

Who's it for: Researchers looking at mental (and physical health) impacts of outdoors time, and whether opportunities and benefits are equal. If from England and not had PHR funding before, must contact PHRADA first.

Organiser: NIHR PHR

Eligibility: Researchers from any of the devolved nations of the UK

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 23 April.

Workforce health

Opportunity: Research Funding - Research Question: What are the most effective interventions that organisations can adopt to improve the physical and mental health of the UK workforce?

Who's it for: Researchers looking at any form of intervention which might improve the mental health of employees. If from England and not had PHR funding before, must contact PHRADA first.

Organiser: NIHR PHR

Eligibility: Researchers from any of the devolved nations of the UK

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 23 April.

Continuing areas of research interest to the PHR Programme

Opportunity: Research Funding - various programmes with a public health focus which have a mental health aspect to them. Many have been previously posted but applications were low and so are still open.

Who's it for: If from England and not had PHR funding before, must contact PHRADA first.

Organiser: NIHR PHR

Eligibility: Researchers from any of the devolved nations of the UK

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 23 April.

24 April

RfPB Under-represented disciplines and specialisms highlight notice: Allied Health Professionals

Opportunity: Research Funding -  proposals up to £500,000 for a period of up to three years. Please note that all applicants are required to submit an expression of interest by 26 March 2024 before proceeding to Stage 1 application submission.

Who's it for: AHPs who are early career with novel ideas for research and have the backing and support of established researchers.

Organiser: NIHR

Eligibility: Researchers in any UK country

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 24 April. Webinar 14:00 15 January

Machine Learning in Mental Health Research workshop

Opportunity: Webinar - The 4th MQ and DATAMIND workshop for Early Career Researchers (ECR) focusing on machine learning, starting with fundamentals and progressing to running basic machine learning analysis on synthetic mental health data.

Who's it for:  ECR's in Mental Health Research: aimed at beginners and curious learners with a basic familiarity with R

Organiser: MQ and DATAMIND

Location: Awen Institute Swansea University, Singleton Park, Sketty, Swansea, SA2 8PP - Get Ticket here

Date/Time:  1000 - 1600 24 April.

Cost: £15

 

May

8 May

Health Inequalities in Early Life - NIHR ARCs National Webinars One

Opportunity: Webinar - NIHR ARCs national #ARCseminar on health inequalities in early life. Topics include maternity, ethnicity, mental health and care-leavers.

Who's it for?: Anyone interested in health inequalities in early life

Organiser: NIHR ARC's

Location: Online - Register here

Date/Time: 1300-1400 Wednesday 8 May

Cost: Free.

Launchpad Grants in Mental Health

Opportunity: Research Funding -  funding up to £100k over up to 2 years for mid-career researchers to help support their research and/prepare for larger funding

Who's it for: Researchers focusing on increasing understanding of mental health, and improving diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

Organiser: Medical Research Foundation

Eligibility: Researchers with a doctoral level qualification at an eligible institution (UK HEI, Research councils, hospitals, other independent research institutions)

Deadline: Apply by Noon Wednesday 8 May

21 May

Wellcome Early-Career Awards

Opportunity: Research Funding -  funding for your salary and  up to £400k research costs over usually 5 years for early-career researchers to get them ready to lead their own independent research programme. Thrice yearly advertisement.

Who's it for: Researchers from any discipline, but mental health is one of their strategic programmes.

Organiser: Wellcome

Eligibility: Researchers with a doctoral level qualification and with minimal postdoc experience.

Deadline: Apply by 1700 Tuesday 21 May

27 May

Mental Health Research UK - PhD Scholarship Competition 2025

Opportunity: PhD Scholarship Funding -  funding for 2 PhD Scholarships in maternal mental health

Who's it for: Universities with relevant faculty members who wish to apply for funding to host a student to study maternal mental health

Organiser: Mental Health Research UK

Eligibility: Universities in the UK

Deadline: Apply by Midnight 27 May

Machine Learning in Mental Health Research

Opportunity: Workshop- 4th  MQ and DATAMIND workshop for ECRs focusing on ML in mental health research, from the basics through to implementation. Part of a series of sessions which included R, Python, Data Management and Epidemiological methods using R.

Who's it for?: Beginners to ML and curious learners, some background with R is helpful. There is some prep work to cover ahead of the session

Organiser: MQ: Mental Health Research and DATAMIND

Location:  Awen Institute, Swansea University

Date/Time: 1000 - 1600 Wednesday 24 May

Cost: £15.

 

June

7 June

NIHR ARC OxTV Internship

Opportunity: Research Internship -  funding up to £20k for public health, health or social care workers to kickstart a research-focused career by experiencing the process within an established team of leading health researchers

Who's it for: Health and social care professionals who are in the Oxford and Thames Valley region

Organiser: NIHR ARC OxTV

Eligibility: Any registered professional working in the health or social care sector in Oxford and the Thames Valley region with at least one year post-registration practice experience.

Deadline: Apply by 1700 Friday 7 June

 

July

9 July

Create a successful hybrid working community

Opportunity: Webinar- focused on learning the best ways of creating a hybrid working community that works for you based on the needs of your role, team and life outside work.

Who's it for:  Anyone who is either a NIHR Academy Members/leaders or working at a publicly funded organisation which is conducting and supporting clinical research within the UK.

Organiser: NIHR

Location: Online - apply here

Date/Time:  1300 Tuesday 9 July

Cost: Free

24 July

Facilitated access to mutual aid for adults with problem alcohol and drug use

Opportunity: Research Funding-  funding to develop an intervention offering participation in mutual aid groups for adults undergoing treatment and support for alcohol and drug dependency.

Who's it for: Researchers in England who are intending to work with groups in underserved areas of the country.

Organiser: NIHR

Eligibility: Researchers working in England

Deadline: Apply by 1300 Wednesday 24 July

 

August

9 August

The health of children and young people in contact with the criminal justice system

Opportunity: Research Funding -  Research question: What interventions have an impact on the physical or mental health of children and young people in contact with the criminal justice system?

Who's it for?: Researchers focused on children and young people and the criminal justice system, looking at either mental health or substance abuse

Organiser: NIHR

Eligibility: Researchers in the UK

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 9 August. Informational webinar at 13:15-14:30 on 5 June

Application Development Award (ADA): Digital Health Inclusion and Inequalities

Opportunity: Research Funding -  Funding of between £10-£150K for up to 12 months to support work on the development of a larger application and underpins current work on digital health issues.

Who's it for?: Researchers focused on digital technology and its impact on health outcomes, supporting many different approaches, including the impacts on mental health.

Organiser: NIHR

Eligibility: Researchers in the UK

Deadline: Apply by 13:00 9 August. Informational webinar at 13:15-14:30 on 5 June

September

26 September

Application Development Award for Health and Care Professionals

Opportunity: Application Development funding -  funding of up to £150k for up to 10 ADA's to help support work needed to submit a competitive research application for larger funding

Who's it for: Health and Care professionals: Nurses, Midwives, Pharmacists, Healthcare scientists and Allied Health Professionals.

Organiser: NIHR

Eligibility: Applicants must hold or be about to be awarded a PhD or have equivalent demonstrable research knowledge and experience.

Deadline: Apply by 1300 26 September. WEBINAR - 20 March 1000-1100, email crossprogramme@nihr.ac.uk to register

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