Apply for funding to support new partnerships between diverse groups of researchers within the remit of Medical Research Council (MRC).
You must be employed by a research organisation eligible to apply for MRC funding.
The grant will allow you to:
- establish new, high-value collaborative activities or capabilities
- add value to high-quality scientific programmes that are already supported by grants from MRC and other funders
Funding is available for between one and five years.
You must complete the pre-application stage and be invited to the full stage. This is an ongoing funding opportunity.
Who can apply?
You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited you to do so following a successful pre-application. See ‘How to apply’ for more information.
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible.
Who is eligible to apply
To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must:
- be aiming to create a novel partnership between a diverse group of researchers
- plan to establish new, high-value collaborative activities or capabilities that add value to high-quality research programmes already supported by MRC or other funders
- show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work, or contribute to the academic leadership of the partnership
- have completed the pre-application stage and been invited to the full application stage
You must focus your application within the research area of:
- infections and immunity
- molecular and cellular medicine
- neurosciences and mental health
- population and systems medicine
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
Who is not eligible to apply
You are not eligible to apply for a partnership grant if you want funding for a research project. You should instead consider a research grant or programme grant.
If you are based at an MRC institute, you are not eligible to apply for a partnership grant as the project lead. You can apply in any other role such as project co-lead.
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.
International researchers
As MRC is a lead funder for this funding opportunity, international researchers, can apply as project co-lead (international).
Project co-leads (international) make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the project. Their contribution and added value to the research should be clearly explained and justified in the application, see ‘Applicant and team capability to deliver’.
Read the UKRI project co-lead (international) eligibility for more details. Please contact us if you are uncertain about eligibility.
You should include all other international collaborators 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
UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.
What we’re looking for?
We are looking to fund new partnerships between diverse groups of researchers in:
- infections and immunity
- molecular and cellular medicine
- neurosciences and mental health
- population and systems medicine
We want to support new, high-value collaborative activities or capabilities that add value to high-quality research programmes that are already supported by MRC or other funders.
We fund partnerships working to transform our understanding of human health.
Partnership grants are expected to support research areas in the MRC remit, although research itself is not supported through this route.
Infections and immunity
The Infections and Immunity Board (IIB) aims to develop scientific knowledge that extends our understanding of human infectious disease and the role of the immune system in inflammation, immune-mediated disease, and cancer. This includes research into human pathogens and their mechanisms of infection, diseases of the human immune system, and conditions where altered immune regulation leads to pathology.
The board seeks to support a diverse portfolio of research that is relevant to the UK and the wider world and spans the full remit of the board, addressing established questions and areas while catalysing investigation of emergent opportunities.
We are looking to fund partnerships in areas including, but not limited to:
- human pathogens
- immune-mediated disease and multimorbidity
- immunology and inflammation
- antimicrobial resistance
- chronic infections
- co-infection
- epidemiology and transmission
- vaccines
- biomarkers and diagnostics
- therapeutics
Molecular and cellular medicine
The Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board (MCMB) funds research into basic biological mechanisms or technologies relevant to human health and disease.
We aim to increase understanding of:
- the structure and function of molecules and complexes
- the cellular environment during development and mature states
- how biological systems respond to challenges (for example, drugs and toxins) and diseases
We lead MRC’s investments in cancer, from fundamental discovery science to epidemiology, experimental medicine and early translation.
Research focused on specific organ systems or diseases (with the exception of cancer and haematology) is normally supported through our other research boards.
We are looking to fund partnerships in areas including, but not limited to:
- cell biology
- structural biology and biophysics
- molecular and functional genetics, epigenetics, genomics
- developmental and stem cell biology (excluding neurobiology)
- regenerative medicine
- molecular haematology development of new tools and technologies relevant to MCMB remit, such as nanotechnology, chemical biology and synthetic biology
- medical bioinformatics, including biostatistics, computational biology and systems biology
- cancer
- toxicology and adverse health effects of environmental exposures
- pharmacology
Neurosciences and mental health
The Neurosciences and Mental Health Board aims to transform our understanding of the physiology and behaviour of the human nervous system throughout the life course in health and in illness, as well as how to treat and prevent disorders of the brain.
The research we support includes the interactions between the nervous system and other parts of the body, the brain, mental health and physical health. We are also interested in how episodes throughout life impact on lifelong mental and neurological health.
We are looking to fund partnerships in areas including, but not limited to:
- neurodegeneration
- clinical neurology and neuroinflammation
- mental health
- addictions and substance misuse
- behavioural and learning disorders including autism
- cognitive and behavioural neuroscience and cognitive systems
- sensory neuroscience including vision and hearing
- neurobiology and neurophysiology
- underpinning support, such as neuroimaging technology, brain banking and neuroinformatics
Population and systems medicine
The Population and Systems Medicine Board (PSMB) funds research to unlock the complexity of human health and disease across the life course.
Our remit includes population health and the impact of environmental factors including the social environment on health outcomes.
PSMB supports research focused on the physiology and pathophysiology of all the major organs and systems, with the exception of the brain and the immune system which are normally supported through our other research boards.
We are looking to fund partnerships in areas including, but not limited to:
- cardiovascular
- respiratory
- musculoskeletal
- gastroenterology
- renal medicine and liver function
- endocrinology and reproductive health
- maternal health and the early origins of health and disease
- nutrition, metabolic regulation, diabetes and obesity
- trauma, acute medicine and surgery
- inflammation in relation to disease processes and the resolution of the inflammatory response
- medical sociology
- lifestyle, socio-economic and behavioural impacts on health
- health inequalities
- population and disease related cohorts
Collaborative activities can include:
- networking and partnership activities: establishing multidisciplinary collaborative partnerships or consortia, fostering or enabling a national or international strategy in an area, enabling knowledge sharing or creation across organisations
- infrastructure support for establishing a unique shared resource or helping to exploit it, for example, staff, systems, equipment, seminars and workshops. This could include networking activities, including outreach work and travel, with a defined output
- platform activities such as specialist data and software platforms or resources
- training, career development and capacity building in strategically important areas
- funds to support small scale, pump-priming projects may be included but specific research questions should not be the focus of the partnership. Any research projects should be interdisciplinary, high risk or gain projects which will demonstrate the novel capability of a new partnership
Typically, successful partnership applications include a combination of these components. Applications requesting support only for networking activities are not suitable and will be rejected.
Please see our case studies for examples of partnership grants and why they were funded by MRC.
Find out more about our areas of investment, which include:
- infections and immunity
- molecular and cellular medicine
- neurosciences and mental health
- population and systems medicine
We encourage you to contact us first to discuss your application, especially if you believe your research may cross MRC or research council interests. If your application fits another research board remit better, we may decide to transfer it there to be assessed.
Duration
We will fund partnerships lasting from one to five years.
Contact us for advice if you would like to apply for a short or long-duration project.
Projects should start one to six months after the funding decision date.
Partnerships are expected to reach maturity by the end of the grant, we will not consider requests for renewals or follow-on activities.
Funding available
There is no limit to the funding you can apply for. Resource requests will vary between partnerships, so you are strongly advised to discuss this with the relevant programme manager before applying.
Your application must be for an amount that:
- is appropriate to the project
- you can justify in order to deliver the objectives of the proposed research
We will fund 80% of the full economic cost and 100% of permitted exceptions.
Find out more about full economic costing.
What we will fund
You can request funding for costs such as:
- a contribution to the salary of the project lead and a small number of co-leads contributing to academic leadership of the partnership
- support for technical staff
- consumables
- equipment or infrastructure that is key to the aims of the partnership or provides a platform for activities associated with the partnership
- travel costs
- data preservation, data sharing and dissemination costs
- estates and indirect costs
- public partnerships and related activities, including payments to public contributors
You can also request costs for work to be undertaken at international organisations by international project co-leads. We will fund 100% of the eligible costs.
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.
For more information on international costs and what we will and will not fund see costs we fund and the Collaborate with Researchers in Norway guidance.
What we will not fund
We will not fund:
- resources for research, such as research and innovation associate positions unless to support small scale pump-priming projects
- contributions to the salary of co-leads unless critical to academic leadership of the partnership
- research involving randomised trials of clinical treatments
- costs for PhD studentships
- publication costs
- funding to use as a ‘bridge’ between grants
Team project partner
You may include team project partners that will support your research project 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, such as research participants
- providing samples, such as human tissue, for the project
Each project partner must provide a statement of support. If your application involves industry partners, they must provide additional information if the relationship falls within the industry collaboration framework.
Find out more about subcontractors and dual roles.
Who cannot be included as a team 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, 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.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)
UK Research and Innovation (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.
Further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support, can be found on UKRI’s website.
Visit funding web page
(https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/responsive-mode-partnership/)
