MRC Centre of Research Excellence

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. We expect to fund one or two MRC CoREs every year.

Who can apply?

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

Who is eligible to apply

To be eligible to apply for MRC CoRE funding, you must:

• show that you will direct the project or be actively engaged in the work
• have the relevant expertise and experience to lead or contribute to an MRC CoRE and its research culture
• focus your application on tackling complex and multi or interdisciplinary health challenges
• at the outline application stage, be a member of the proposed MRC CoRE leadership team

The leadership team should have the relevant expertise and experience to lead or contribute to an MRC CoRE and support its research culture. The team can be from a single eligible organisation or a partnership of eligible organisations.

Due to the long duration of MRC CoREs you do not require a contract for the full duration of the award. By submitting the application, the research organisation is confirming its support for the named applicants, that they are capable of leading the MRC CoRE, and it will accept its relevant terms and conditions.

Demand management

An organisation may lead one outline application in round five that addresses a challenge across any part of MRC remit.

Applications from existing MRC units may be submitted in addition to other applications from the organisation and do not count towards the lead organisation limits.

Organisations may freely participate as a partner in applications led from other organisations.

Who is not eligible to apply

If you are employed by these organisations you cannot apply as project lead or project co-lead, but can participate as project partners on an application led by an eligible UK organisation:

• businesses
• charity and third sector organisations
• international research organisations

This does not include MRC Unit The Gambia or MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, employees of these organisations are eligible to apply as project lead or project co-lead.

International researchers

While international organisations cannot lead an application, it is possible for international researchers to apply as part of the leadership team, as an international co-project lead. We expect international co-leads to make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the project and to provide clear indicators of commitment to the MRC CoRE.

The contribution and added value to the research collaboration should be clearly explained and justified in the application, see ‘Applicant and team capability to deliver’.

You should include all other international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

• career breaks
• support for people with caring responsibilities
• flexible working
• alternative working patterns

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

Diversity is one of the core MRC values and we are committed to creating inclusive environments that encourage excellence in research through good equalities practice. We strongly encourage applications from currently underrepresented groups including female and ethnic minority researchers, and researchers with disabilities or long-term conditions.

We expect MRC CoREs and their leadership to be diverse. We encourage the leadership model to be inclusive, diverse, and creative, with rotation or succession of positions as appropriate.

What we’re looking for

Demand management

Demand management is being applied to this funding opportunity. Further details are provided in the ‘Who can apply’ section

Scope

MRC CoRE funding aims to tackle complex and interdisciplinary health challenges. As such, MRC CoREs should support bold and ambitious research focused on a defined challenge. Tackling such challenges will be transformative to biomedical research, health research or both within 14 years, and will enhance approaches to the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, improving health and wellbeing for all.

MRC CoREs will be beacons of excellence in research culture, equality, diversity and inclusion, leadership models and innovation.

A MRC CoRE should be distinct in the context of other national and international activities and its research positioned in the context of ongoing investments across MRC and the broader landscape, synergising with or capitalising upon existing knowledge and investments where relevant.

These major investments should be outward facing, harnessing the best talent in the UK to deliver upon their proposed vision and providing a stimulating environment to train the next generation of researchers and technologists.

Applications can be from a single research organisation or in partnership across multiple organisations. Applications may include project partners.

We expect to fund one or two MRC CoREs every year.

Unsuccessful applications declined at the outline stage cannot be resubmitted unless invited by the panel.

For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the ‘Additional information’ section.

What types of challenges should MRC tackle?

MRC CoRE challenges are expected to:

• be bold, ambitious, innovative, and address a gap or opportunity 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, and contribute to UK government priorities
• require coordinated and flexible, major long-term funding

MRC CoRE challenges will be achieved through:

• fostering innovation and engagement to establish the capability and capacity to place the UK at the international forefront of impactful health research
• an outward facing position, harnessing and networking the best expertise in the UK
• bringing together creative and diverse approaches for cross-sectoral and multi or interdisciplinary, and novel ways of working
• distinct and disruptive research that drives breakthrough advances and addresses specific bottlenecks through knowledge generation, technological or methodological innovation, with clear translational relevance
• pursuing a compelling vision around specific questions of importance or critical knowledge gaps, not through open-ended research programmes
• developing a stimulating and supportive research environment

What areas of research should the challenge address

For round five we welcome outline applications to address challenges across any part of MRC remit, including discovery, understanding mechanisms, and the development of concepts or interventions for prevention or treatment.

It is not our expectation that a single MRC CoRE will address the challenge of the field as a whole within 14 years. Your challenge should be built around a defined gap or opportunity, a major barrier or bottleneck that needs to be surmounted, or the breakthrough advance that is pivotal for our understanding and ability to prevent, diagnose and treat disease.

Your outline application should explain how the proposed MRC CoRE will be positioned in the context of ongoing investments and activities across MRC and the broader UK and international landscape, synergising with or capitalising upon existing knowledge and investments where relevant.

You should consider what is needed to promote or achieve equity of access to resulting knowledge, technologies, interventions, and therapies.

MRC CoRE research environment

The success of the research system depends on the people working within it. A positive working environment and culture are essential for researchers and, in turn, for research to thrive.

MRC CoREs provide an opportunity to create a collaborative and stimulating multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary research and training environment that nurtures a positive research culture.

MRC CoREs are expected to embed positive research culture throughout their ecosystem, adopting and maintaining the highest standards in research conduct and open communication. MRC CoREs will:

• support creative leadership approaches and a team science ethos
• develop and nurture career paths and support career progression
• include public partnerships in research strategy and delivery
• integrate equality diversity and inclusion into all aspects of their activities

Further information and guidance on research culture can be found in in the ‘Additional information’ section.

Public partnerships

MRC expects the people who will potentially benefit from your research to be involved in shaping it. All new MRC CoREs should include public partnerships to support the development of their research strategy and activities.

Public partnerships are how people and the research community can come together to shape and share scientific research. Public partners include the public, patients, carers, and voluntary and community groups, and they can be based in the UK and internationally.

Sharing knowledge and experience through public partnerships improves the relevance of research, making it more likely that everyone will benefit.

MRC’s public partnerships strategy outlines our ambitions for creating effective collaboration and genuine partnerships. The strategy applies to all the research that MRC supports, including non-clinical research.

Further information on including public partnerships in MRC-funded research can be found in the ‘Additional information’ section.

Host research organisations

Applications can be from a single eligible organisation or a partnership of organisations.

When there are two or more eligible organisations involved, for administrative purposes it is necessary to identify a single project lead who must be affiliated with the lead research organisation.

Support from research organisations

While there is no requirement for matched funding from the institution(s) hosting the MRC CoRE, beyond any 20% FEC contribution, considerable, sustained and clearly defined support from the research organisation is essential to a successful application and will be an equal part of the assessment of applications for MRC CoREs. We expect research organisations to provide:

• laboratory space
• access to facilities and equipment
• access to necessary digital support infrastructure
• support to manage estates
• human resources services
• finance services
• underpinning of key staff positions
• access to additional sources of funding and support available to other researchers across the research organisations

Duration

We will support MRC CoREs for up to 14 years. The duration of this award is for seven years, with a review point in year six to approve release of the second period of funding.

You should enter the duration of the project as 168 months (14 years). This reflects the maximum duration of an MRC CoRE.

The MRC CoRE start date can be from 1 April 2028 to 30 October 2028.

Funding available

You will be asked to indicate outline costs for the first funding period of seven years.

The FEC of your project for the first seven years can be up to £26.25 million.

MRC will fund 80% of the FEC. Any identified exceptions will be funded at 100%. The maximum MRC contribution, including any identified exceptions funded at 100%, is £21 million.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) indexation will be applied at the time of award. We will not supplement awards for inflation after they have started.

We will provide all the awarded funding to the lead organisation, to manage and distribute accordingly. Awards spanning multiple organisations will require a clear plan addressing award governance and management to ensure funds can be used flexibly to support changes in research delivery and opportunity across the course of the award.

We will support a limited number of interlinked research activities or themes, with funding focused on key strategic objectives, achievable during the 14-year lifespan. The MRC CoRE award should provide a platform to win additional grant support from MRC and other funders.

A minimum expectation is for doubling of the MRC CoRE associated budget through external funding by the mid-term point (year seven).

What we will fund

You can request funding for costs such as:

• directly allocated contributions to salaries of the leadership team and other established researchers, usually between 15% and 30% of their time, in line with their research contribution
• directly incurred salaries of research staff, technicians, and professional enabling staff, where there is a clear justification for their critical role in delivering the MRC CoRE
• recruitment of new researchers critical to addressing the research challenge, for example those switching disciplines or sectors, or from overseas, where up to 100% salary may be requested for up to three years before other grant support is established. The requested salary should reflect their time spent on the MRC CoRE
• research consumables
• if required, up to £500,000 start-up costs for routine equipment (items over £25,000 that constitute normal elements of a well-founded laboratory). All items will have to be fully justified at the full application stage and may not include generic departmental equipment
• by exception and with the permission of MRC head office, mid-range or large equipment critical to establish platforms or facilities. However, it is anticipated for most mid-range equipment MRC CoREs will apply to the MRC annual mid-range equipment opportunity in competition with the wider community. Mid-range or large equipment is a single item costing over £138,000 (£115,000 excluding VAT)
• travel costs
• data preservation, data sharing and dissemination costs
• costs for innovative training and capacity building required to address the research challenge, when not available elsewhere
• studentships support (an exception funded at 100%), including iCASE studentships, may typically be requested for up to two studentships starting each year across the duration of the award (maximum of 14 studentships). Numbers should not exceed the supervisory capacity of the MRC CoRE. Costs for the full duration of the studentship should be included in the resource request. See UKRI stipend and fees
• technology and data platforms to provide accessible facilities and capability essential to the mission and to promote open science, when not available elsewhere
• experimental medicine studies
• initiatives to underpin or strengthen positive research culture
• public partnerships and related activities, including public engagement and involvement, and payments to public contributors
• initiatives to improve environmental sustainability
• estates and indirect costs
• creation and maintenance of a website

Directly incurred costs for international co-leads (an exception funded at 100%) may be requested, although we expect most costs to be incurred by UK organisations. The total of such costs requested for international applicants from high-income countries (those not on the OECD DAC list of ODA recipients), India and China must not exceed 30% of the total resources requested. There is no cap on costs requested for international applicants from DAC list countries.

The leadership team will have flexibility over use of most of the funding to support changes in research delivery and opportunity across the course of the award. There will be constraints on the use of directly allocated and capital equipment funding. In addition, directly incurred or exceptions flexible funds can be requested to top-up the development and support of activities and new opportunities but must be appropriately justified with clear plans for financial management.

We do not expect exact costs to be known or specified at the time of outline application.

What we will not fund

We will not fund:

• open access costs: these must be covered by the UKRI open access grant
• training and capacity building that can be accessed through existing funding routes, such as existing doctoral training programmes, MRC or UKRI fellowships
• mid-range equipment other than agreed and assessed as necessary as part of the start-up requirements. All other mid-range equipment must be requested through the annual MRC equipment funding opportunity or other funding routes
• routine equipment (that constitutes normal elements of a well-founded laboratory) over and above the start-up fund of up to £500,000. MRC has other arrangements to modestly support ongoing routine equipment needs of its major investments
• additional or duplicative equipment that is already part of the existing research environment of the applicants
• generic computing platforms for data analysis or data storage, which should be part of wider research organisation data management activities
• buildings and other types of infrastructures
• clinical trials or longitudinal population studies, which have specific governance requirements and for which alternative funding routes are available. MRC CoREs may utilise existing cohorts or clinical trials funded through other routes

Project partner

A project partner is a collaborating organisation in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU, who will have an integral role in the proposed research. You may include project partners that will support your MRC CoRE through cash or in-kind contributions, such as:

• staff time
• access to equipment
• sites or facilities
• the provision of data
• software or materials
• recruitment of people as research participants
• providing samples, such as human tissue, for the project

Who cannot be included as a project partner

Any individual included in your application core team cannot also be a project partner.

Any organisation that employs a member of the application core team cannot be a project partner organisation this includes other departments within the same organisation.

If you are collaborating with someone in your organisation or an organisation of a core team member, consider including them in the core team as project co-lead, or specialist. They cannot be a project partner.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

Doctoral training

MRC’s vision for doctoral training is to support high-quality doctoral training programmes that take a student-centred approach, focusing on scientific excellence, positive research culture and wider training opportunities. Funding for studentships may be requested as part of your approach to training and capacity building in the challenge area.

Our expectation is that non-clinical studentships offered by an MRC CoRE would be four years in duration but may be shorter to account for a student’s relevant prior qualifications or experience.

Studentships will be fully aligned with an existing Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) or equivalent at the host research organisation(s). This ensures a consistent national standard for doctoral training and ensures that MRC CoRE students benefit from the best practice approaches, expertise and cohort element provided by the DTPs.

Resource awarded for MRC CoRE Studentships will be ring-fenced and the scientific agenda driven by the MRC CoRE.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.

See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.

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Visit funding web page
(https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/mrc-centre-of-research-excellence-round-five/)