The NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) has opened its Involvement, Inclusion & Impact (3is) Enablement Fund for 2026-27. Awards of up to £10,000 support work that makes primary care research more inclusive, builds genuine partnerships with people and communities, and helps findings reach the people they are meant to benefit. Round 1 closes at midday on Tuesday 27 October 2026.
Around £150,000 is available across two rounds. The fund is open to researchers and staff in SPCR member departments, and one of its three streams is set aside for doctoral students, postdocs and other early career researchers who want to build involvement and engagement into their own projects.
Why this matters for dementia researchers
Much of the day-to-day care and support for people living with dementia, and for the family members who support them, happens through general practice, community nursing and community pharmacy. That makes primary care a natural home for dementia research, from diagnosis and prescribing to post-diagnostic support. If you work on dementia in a primary care setting at one of the member departments, this is a chance to fund the involvement work that so often gets squeezed out of a project budget.
The fund’s priority groups also overlap closely with people who are under-represented in dementia research, including older people from ethnic minority communities, unpaid carers from under-served communities, people living with multiple long-term conditions and people in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage.
Funding streams
Applicants choose one of three streams:
- Stream 1: Enabling Inclusive Research Careers in Primary Care (up to £10,000). Activities that improve inclusion, representation and opportunity in the primary care research workforce, such as mentoring or peer-support schemes, internships, placements and shadowing, outreach to widen access to research careers, or small projects exploring the barriers faced by researchers from under-represented backgrounds.
- Stream 2: Enabling Early Career Researchers to Work with People and Communities (up to £3,000). Led by a doctoral, postdoctoral or other early career researcher, to set up a public advisory group, run co-design workshops or community conversations, build relationships with under-served communities, or produce accessible materials. Eligible costs include public partner time, contributions to community groups, childcare or carer costs, translation and training.
- Stream 3: Enabling Inclusion, Partnerships and Impact (up to £10,000). Innovative work at any stage of the research pathway, from shaping research priorities through to dissemination and implementation, that strengthens links between primary care research and the communities it serves, particularly groups under-represented in research. No more than 20% of a Stream 3 budget can go on staff costs, as most of the money should support people and communities.
SPCR asks applicants to request only what the activity needs. Projects can last up to 12 months and must be finished by 30 June 2028.
Who can apply
The lead applicant must work in one of the SPCR member departments:
- Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol
- Exeter Collaboration for Academic Primary Care, University of Exeter
- School of Medicine, Keele University
- Centre for Primary Care, University of Manchester
- Division of Primary Care, University of Nottingham
- Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
- Centre for Primary Care, Queen Mary University of London
- School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, University of Southampton
- Research Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London
Co-leads can come from outside SPCR, including public and community members and organisations. Doctoral students applying to Stream 2 should discuss their application with their supervisor first. You can be a lead or co-lead on only one stream in each round.
Every application must show a clear link to primary care research. SPCR’s definition covers general practice, community pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, community nursing and integrated community services. Simply using data collected in primary care is not enough on its own, so if your project spans several settings, spell out the benefit to primary care research, practice, patients or communities.
Key dates
- Round 1 closing date: Tuesday 27 October 2026 at midday. Outcomes by early December 2026, with activities starting from 1 February 2027
- Round 2 closing date: Tuesday 2 February 2027 at midday. Outcomes by early March 2027, with activities starting from 1 May 2027
Applications that miss a deadline are reviewed in the next round. If funding remains after Round 2, SPCR may open a third round with a deadline in late April 2027.
How to apply
Applications are submitted through the SPCR online grant portal, where the lead applicant will need to register. An offline version of the application form is available for drafting, but all applications must go in through the portal. Read the guidance notes before you start.
Applications are reviewed by a panel that includes members of the SPCR Public Steering Group, so every section needs to be written in plain English. Reviewers will not follow hyperlinks, so anything important has to be in the form itself. Applications are scored on fit to the funding stream and relevance to primary care, need and rationale, the quality and feasibility of the activity, and its potential outcomes and benefit.
You do not need an evaluation or dissemination plan at application stage, but funded teams submit a short report within three months of finishing and may be invited to write a blog or present at an SPCR showcase.
SPCR has published a webinar recording and slides, and the call announcement links to previously funded projects in each stream for inspiration.
Support with your application
If you would like to talk through an idea before applying, contact Halle Johnson, SPCR Involvement & Inclusion Manager, at spcr@keele.ac.uk. Your local SPCR PPIE lead can also advise as you develop your application.
If you are newer to this kind of work, our guide to practical approaches to patient and public involvement, the EMPOWER co-production toolkit and these reflections from an early career researcher and public partner on co-production are good places to start. It is also worth reading why inclusion is now a key condition for NIHR funding. Looking for other options? Browse our latest funding calls.
Visit funding web page
(https://spcr.nihr.ac.uk/news/involvement-inclusion-impact-enablement-fund-2026-27/)
