Alzheimer’s Research UK Network Funding Call: Questions Answered

Alzheimer’s Research UK is changing how it funds research networks, and expressions of interest close on 1 September. That leaves about two and a half weeks, so we asked Dr Jackie Hanley, Head of Research Funding at Alzheimer’s Research UK, to join us live, explain what is changing, and take questions from the community.

The Network Centres started in 1998. Twelve centres, a hub and spoke model, nearly three decades of pump priming grants, travel awards, PPIE and EDI activity, and a great deal of early career support. Most people watching will have benefited from them in some way, and you can get a sense of what they delivered in our recording of talks from the ARUK Northern Networks Meeting. But researchers inside and outside the centres had been telling ARUK the same thing: the structure that once enabled collaboration had started to limit it. Small sums were difficult to move between institutions, every centre was running similar activities in parallel, and geography was quietly deciding who could work with whom.

What the new model funds

The replacement funds networks rather than centres. A network here means a researcher led community built around a shared theme, focus or scientific area. It might be a disease area, a technique, a capability, or an aspect of research culture. Geography can still be the theme if that makes sense, but it is no longer the boundary. Networks must be led from the UK, can include international collaborators, and need a leadership team with named PPIE and EDI leads. If you are pulling a leadership team together from scratch, our guests have plenty to say about how good researchers actually build their networks.

Grants run for up to five years, and shorter applications are welcome if that suits where your collaboration is. The indicative figure is up to £200,000 a year, and Jackie was clear that this is guidance for budgeting rather than a ceiling, so a well justified case for more can be made. Funds cover activities and events, travel to support them, infrastructure the network needs, and salary costs including an administrator. It does not fund research itself.

The part worth reading twice

Travel grants, pump priming grants and equipment grants come out of the networks entirely and will be administered centrally by Alzheimer’s Research UK. That budget sits separately, so it does not come out of your £200,000. Jackie promised a streamlined process with money reaching people quickly, opportunities throughout the year rather than one annual window, and a commitment to keep the early career review and committee experience that the centres were good at providing. With application volumes rising everywhere, she was asked directly whether ARUK can absorb that workload, and pointed to proportionate review as the answer.

How to apply

Applications run in two stages. The expression of interest is light touch and asks for the theme, the rationale, the connections it would create, the proposed activity and impact, and the leadership team. Partners do not need to be confirmed at this point, public co-applicants are not required though they are welcomed, and detailed budgets can wait for the full application. Successful EOIs will be invited to submit in full, with outcomes expected late September into October and funding anticipated early in 2027, though Jackie was careful not to promise January. If you have not written this kind of application before, start with our 12 top tips for writing a grant application and this blog on building a successful grant application.

Two answers stood out. First, if you already run a successful network, apply. Jackie’s words were not to be put off by having succeeded in the current model. Second, the two stage process exists partly so that five separate applications for something like a biomarkers network can be looked at together and, where appropriate, brought together rather than simply rejected.

A few things were left open. Whether academic leadership time can be costed, what the full application form looks like, how success will ultimately be measured, and how existing network members and data will transition all need confirming. On the named leads, Jackie pointed people towards existing good practice rather than starting from nothing, so our resources on practical approaches to patient and public involvement and building accessible and inclusive research environments are a reasonable place to start. She also hinted more than once at an announcement to come about connecting the networks to each other under a wider “one connected community” ambition, so watch for that.

If you have an idea but not yet a team, get in touch with us at Dementia Researcher and we will try to connect you with others thinking along similar lines. There is not much time, but the EOI stage is deliberately light, and this is expected to be the first of several calls rather than the only chance.

Frequently asked questions

Answers taken from the session. Where Jackie flagged something as still to be confirmed, we have said so.