FUNDING CALLS
FUNDING CALLS
Information
This page details various funding calls that are relevant for child health technology. Funding calls are updated on a monthly basis.
Funding calls are split into:
- Time-limited funding calls, with a set deadline
- Rolling funding calls, which are open all year round
- Fellowships and career development awards
The document below provides an overview of potential funding opportunities. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of all funding opportunities.
Time-Limited Funding Calls
UKRI Translation: Medical Research Council (MRC) Impact Acceleration Awards
Funder: Medical Research Council (MRC)
Maximum Amount: £300,000
Closing Date: 11 November 2026
Maximum Duration: 18 months
The MRC are accepting applications for projects that generate critical preliminary data to build confidence in the development strategy for a new medicine, repurposed medicine, medical device, diagnostic test, or other medical intervention development. The Impact Acceleration Award strategically bridges the smaller Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) and the larger Proof of Concept funding opportunity.
Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Application Development Awards
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: £150,000
Closing Date: 12 November 2026
Maximum Duration: 8 months
The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme is looking to fund Application Development Awards. These are expected to support and inform a subsequent outline application to the HTA Programme.
The aim of the HTA Programme is to ensure that high quality research information on the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and broader impact of healthcare treatments and tests are produced in the most efficient way for those who plan, provide or receive care from NHS and social care services. In this researcher-led workstream, separate grants are available for primary research and evidence synthesis on topics proposed by the researchers.
Speech and language therapist-led interventions for school-aged children with developmental language disorder
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: 18 November 2026
Maximum Duration: Not stated
The NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme is looking to fund research about developmental language disorder. This is a 2-stage, commissioned funding opportunity. To apply for the first stage you should submit an outline application.
Interventions for school-aged children with a developmental stammer
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: 18 November 2026
Maximum Duration: Not stated
The NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme is looking to fund research about developmental stammer. This is a 2-stage, commissioned funding opportunity. To apply for the first stage you should submit an outline application.
Interventions for children and young people with nonprogressive motor disorders affecting their speech
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: 18 November 2026
Maximum Duration: Not stated
The NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme is looking to fund research about nonprogressive motor disorders affecting speech. This is a 2-stage, commissioned funding opportunity. To apply for the first stage you should submit an outline application.
Early surgical intervention compared to standard care in neonates with symptoms of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC)
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: 18 November 2026
Maximum Duration: Not stated
The NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme is looking to fund research about early surgical intervention in neonates with symptoms of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). This is a 2-stage, commissioned funding opportunity. To apply for the first stage you should submit an outline application.
UKRI Translation: Medical Research Council (MRC) Proof of Concept: stage one
Funder: Medical Research Council (MRC)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: 18 November 2026
Maximum Duration: Not stated
This funding opportunity was previously titled ‘Developmental pathway funding scheme: stage one’. Apply for funding for an academically-led translational project that aims to either improve prevention, diagnosis or treatment of significant health needs or develop research tools that increase the efficiency of developing interventions.
You can apply for funding for work to develop and test novel therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and other interventions across any stage of the developmental pathway, from prototype development, through pre-clinical refinement, to early-phase clinical studies (up to phase 2a).
Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: 25 November 2026
Maximum Duration: Not stated
The Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme supports translational research evaluating a wide range of novel or repurposed interventions and technologies. These may include but are not limited to diagnostic or prognostic tests and decision-making tools, drugs or biological compounds, behavioural therapies, medical devices, and public health initiatives delivered within the NHS.
There are multiple funding opportunities within this programme that are currently inviting applications. Please use the link below to find out more.
Researcher-led (BMBR programme)
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: £625,000
Closing Date: 01 December 2026
Maximum Duration: Not stated
The BMBR Programme is a collaboration between the Medical Research Council (MRC) and NIHR. It aims to ensure that optimal research methods are used to advance biomedical, health and care research, policy and delivery. This is a 1-stage, researcher-led funding opportunity.
Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) – October 2026
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: £3.5 million
Closing Date: 02 December 2026
Maximum Duration: 6 years
NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) funds substantial, high-quality, and long-term programmes of applied research focused on priority health and social care needs.
The PGfAR Programme is partnering with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to invite programmes of research which can make a transformative stepped change in CYP’s health, care and wellbeing. This funding opportunity builds on the success of previous NIHR-RCPCH-Programme Development Grants (PDG) competitions and is seeking to support sustainable research partnerships that bring together knowledge and expertise from across multiple sectors.
This is a two-stage, researcher-led funding opportunity and will open 07 October 2026. The amount awarded and length of the funding period will depend on the nature of the proposed work.
i4i – LeapX joint funding opportunity – October 2026
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and National Health Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC)
Maximum Amount: £500,000
Closing Date: 02 December 2026
Maximum Duration: 2 years
The NIHR and the National Health Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC) are inviting applications to support collaborative, late-stage development (TRL 5 or higher) and evaluation of healthcare innovations. This joint funding opportunity focuses on generating target-market evidence to accelerate regulatory approval and clinical adoption in the UK and Singapore. This is a two-stage funding opportunity.
Using ‘big data’ to impact health and health inequalities
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: 08 December 2026
Maximum Duration: Not stated
The NIHR Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is looking to fund research into the health and health inequality impacts of:
- data linkage and ‘big data’ usage in local and/or regional government, and/or
- interventions that address barriers to, or risks associated with, big data usage.
This is a 2-stage funding opportunity. To apply for the first stage you should submit an outline application.
Public Health Research (PHR) Programme
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: 08 December 2026
Maximum Duration: Not stated
The Public Health Research (PHR) Programme funds research which aims to improve public health and reduce health inequalities, by testing how interventions outside of the NHS affect the health of the population.
There are multiple funding opportunities within this programme that are currently inviting applications and with highlight notices on specific areas of research. Please use the link below to find out more.
Health Technology Assessment Programme (HTA)
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: 06 January 2027
Maximum Duration: Not stated
The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme funds research that assesses the impact of healthcare treatments, tests and other interventions, where there is already some evidence that they can be effective. The aim of this research is to provide additional evidence for these new technologies to potentially become standard care.
There are multiple funding opportunities within this programme that are currently inviting applications and with highlight notices on specific areas of research. Please use the link below to find out more.
Knowledge Transfer Partnership: 2026 to 2027 round 4
Funder: Innovate UK
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: 27 January 2027
Maximum Duration: Not stated
The KTP partnership brings new skills and the latest academic thinking to the business partner to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project. UK registered academic institutions, research and technology organisations (RTO) or Catapults can apply for a share of up to £12.5 million to fund innovation projects with businesses.
NIHR Strategic Infrastructure Partnerships (SIPs)
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: £15 million
Closing Date: 10 February 2027
Maximum Duration: 5 years
This funding opportunity brings together multidisciplinary expertise from across existing NIHR infrastructure to deliver change at scale that no single organisation could achieve alone. Applications must be led by two Co-Directors representing different NIHR infrastructure schemes. For this round of SIP funding, one Director should represent a HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) while the other represents an Applied Research Collaboration (ARC).
Important: Expression of Interest submissions are requried by 04 November 2026.
Transition from education to employment
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: 20 April 2027
Maximum Duration: Not stated
The NIHR Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is looking to fund research into the health and health inequality impacts of interventions that support young people as they transition from compulsory education into further education or employment. This is a 2-stage funding opportunity. To apply for the first stage you should submit an outline application.
Rolling Funding Calls
Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity Small Grant Funding
Funder: Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity
Maximum Amount: £10,000
Maximum Duration: Not stated
Sheffield Children’s is inviting applications for Small Research Grants (providing funds ranging from £500 – £10,000) to support the pump-priming and advancement of research activity at Sheffield Children’s with a particular focus on supporting Early Career Researchers and Nursing and AHP staff. This funding is supported by the Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity.
This is a rolling, annual call and aims to provide funding for:
- Grant development support (e.g., dedicated time, expert advice from statisticians/health economists).
- Pilot data collection for future larger research projects.
- Patient and Public Involvement (PPIE) activities to support research.
- Small-scale research projects within a limited budget.
Please contact scn-tr.research.governance@nhs.net with the subject “SCHC Small Grant Application Submission” for more information
Medical Research Council (MRC): research grant: applicant-led
Funder: Medical Research Council (MRC)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Maximum Duration: 5 years
This funding opportunity is to drive important insights into causes and mechanisms of disease and help accelerate diagnosis, advance treatment and prevent human illness. You must be employed by an eligible research organisation and the project must involve more than one research group or organisation.
Action Medical Research Grants
Funder: Action Medical Research
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Maximum Duration: Not stated
Action Medical Research is a charity that aims to prevent and treat disease and disability by funding vital medical research in hospitals or research institutions across the UK.
Their remit focuses on child health to include problems affecting pregnancy, childbirth, babies, children, and young people. Within child health, they support a broad spectrum of research with the objective of preventing and treating disease and disability.
Please visit the ‘Apply for a research grant’ page on the AMR website to view their Project Grant and Research Training Fellowship opportunities.
GOSH BRC Accelerating Novel Therapies: Statistics Support Fund 2026
Funder: NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR GOSH BRC)
Maximum Amount: £3,000
Maximum Duration: Not stated
This call provides an opportunity for early career researchers to pay for statistical support for paediatric translational projects and is open to any speciality/profession across GOSH, ICH and the PEI partners.
Each applicant can apply for up to £3,000 worth of statistics support to prepare a grant applications, outsource specific data analysis, or attend a highly specialised statistics training course.
This call has a deadline every 3 months: 01 July 2026, 01 October 2026, 05 January 2027.
Public Health Research Programme Rapid Funding Scheme
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: £50,000
Maximum Duration: 6 months
The Public Health Research (PHR) Programme funds research to generate evidence to inform the delivery of non-NHS interventions, intended to improve the health of the public, and reduce inequalities in health.
The Rapid Funding Scheme (RFS) was launched in March 2018 and offers researchers the opportunity to apply for funds to conduct rapid baseline data collection, as well as other feasibility work, prior to intervention implementation, for unique, time-limited opportunities such as a natural experiment or similar evaluations of a new public health intervention.
This scheme is not intended to fund studies which provide definitive answers to questions to inform service provision – it is to prepare for such studies.
Using the ‘Our Future Health’ data resource for research
Funder: Medical Research Council (MRC)
Maximum Amount: £1 million
Maximum Duration: 2 years
The scheme aims to encourage MRC-supported researchers to discover and test more effective ways to predict, detect and treat major diseases using the Our Future Health dataset, which reflects the diversity of the UK population. The proposed research should be within the MRC remit to improve human health.
AHRC responsive mode: Curiosity Award
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Maximum Amount: £100,000
Maximum Duration: 5 years
Curiosity awards support early-stage ambitious and novel fundamental research which has the potential to act as a springboard towards new and exciting research agendas.
Knowledge Transfer Partnership
Funder: Innovate UK
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Maximum Duration: 3 years
This call supports partnerships that help businesses to innovate, develop, grow and become more productive by employing academic expertise that they do not have in-house. Your project can focus on any type of innovation in any sector but it must aim to deliver results that your business would not otherwise be able to deliver.
UKRI-SBE Lead Agency Opportunity
Funder: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Maximum Amount: £1 million
Maximum Duration: Not stated
This opportunity allows UK and US-based researchers to submit a collaborative proposal that will go through a single review process. The goal is to reduce some of the barriers that researchers and funding agencies encounter when trying to work internationally. This opportunity does not represent a separate research funding scheme – applications will be integrated into existing programmes at the relevant lead agency.
Collaborate with Researchers in Brazil, Norway or Luxemburg
Funder: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Maximum Duration: Not stated
Brazil
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support collaborative applications. It provides for a lead agency agreement whereby participant UKRI research councils receive and assess joint applications from eligible UK and Brazil-based researchers from the state of São Paulo on behalf of both organisations.
Norway
Norway co-investigators can be included in UK-led applications and receive funding from participating UKRI councils following a Money Follows Cooperation agreement between UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Research Council of Norway (RCN) to reduce barriers to cross-border collaboration.
Luxemburg
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to welcome and support collaborative applications. UKRI will receive and assess joint applications from eligible UK and Luxembourg applicants on behalf of both organisations.
EPSRC Programme Grant Outline Stage
Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Maximum Duration: 6 years
Programme grants provide flexible funding to world-leading research groups seeking to address significant research challenges across the EPSRC remit. EPSRC expects successful applications to be collaborative and address key challenges across single or multiple disciplines. Programme grants are not solely large grants but are strategic in nature and should meet all of the key features described below.
EPSRC Standard Research Grant, November 2023: Responsive Mode
Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Maximum Duration: Not stated
EPSRC fellowships are a prestigious individual award aimed at exceptional, ambitious and talented researchers and technical professionals who wish to develop, expand or establish a programme of research or technical development alongside personal and professional development. EPSRC fellowships present an accelerated pathway to progression and success on your career journey.
EPSRC Overseas Travel Grant: November 2023: Responsive Mode
Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Maximum Duration: 12 months
Overseas travel grants (OTGs) provide funding for visits overseas to learn new techniques, or form and develop collaborations in any field of research relevant to the EPSRC’s remit, for example, artificial intelligence, engineering and healthcare technologies.
EPSRC Discipline Hopping in ICT: November 2023: Responsive Mode
Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Maximum Duration: 2 years
This is an opportunity for ICT researchers to use their expertise in other disciplines, or for researchers from other fields to apply their expertise to ICT. You can apply for a discipline-hopping in ICT grant in any field of research relevant to the UKRI remit.
EPSRC network grant: Nov 2023: responsive mode
Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Maximum Duration: 3 years
Network grants aim to develop new interdisciplinary research communities and topics by supporting interaction between researchers and relevant science, technology and industrial groups. EPSRC supports high quality research in any field of research relevant to their remit including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence, engineering and healthcare technologies. EPSRC expects networks to lead to new collaborative multidisciplinary research applications in areas they support. Some may develop into virtual centres of excellence.
BBC Children In Need
Funder: BBC Children In Need
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Maximum Duration: Not stated
BBC Children In Need offer a range of funding opportunities to support the wellbeing of children and young people.
Fellowships & Career Development
Development and Skills Enhancement (DSE) Award (Cohort 11)
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: See below
Closing Date: 04 November 2026
Maximum Duration: 2 years
The DSE award is a post-doctoral level funding opportunity aimed at supporting early to mid-career researchers in gaining specific skills and experience to underpin the next phase of their research career.
You can choose a 12, 18 or 24-month duration and the amount of funding is dependent on duration.
AI/ML Fellowships
Funder: The Francis Crick Institute
Maximum Amount: Salary commensurate with the current clinical experience/stage of clinical training + UK home tuition fees
Closing Date: 11 November 2026
Maximum Duration: 4 years
A bespoke, fully-funded training pathway for clinicians that integrates formal training in AI and machine learning with discovery research training.
The Crick’s Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) Clinical Fellow programme combines formal MSc-level training in AI, machine learning and related computational approaches with either a doctoral (PhD) or a postdoctoral (post-PhD career development) research fellowship based at the Crick.
Clinician Scientist Innovation Fellowships
Funder: LifeArc and the Academy of Medical Sciences
Maximum Amount: £1.4 million
Closing Date: 23 November 2026
Maximum Duration: 5 years
The scheme aims to support clinician scientists to develop as cross-sector innovators who can accelerate the translation of research into better patient outcomes. The clinician scientist innovation fellowship typically offers up to £1.2 – 1.4 million to cover salary, support staff and research expenses over five years.
Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award (Cohort 4)
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: See below
Closing Date: 24 November 2026
Maximum Duration: 3 years
This award provides up to 3 years of funding for individuals at the postdoctoral level to engage in research activities. To be eligible you must be a registered senior clinician and/or senior practitioner and already been awarded a PhD/MD.
Research Professorships (Cohort 17)
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: See below
Closing Date: 09 December 2026
Maximum Duration: 5 years
This NIHR award is to address research leadership gaps by translating new discoveries into improved treatments and evaluating promising ideas for routine clinical and care practice. Each award will consist of a package of up to £2 million to support the professorship to be spread across a number of costs and they will award up to 5 professorships in this cohort.
Capacity building: clinical research training fellowship
Funder: Medical Research Council (MRC)
Maximum Amount: No limit
Closing Date: 06 January 2027
Maximum Duration: 3 years
Apply for funding to reacquire research skills. Applications are welcome from across all areas of the MRC’s remit to improve human health. This may range from basic studies with relevance to mechanisms of disease, to translational and developmental clinical research.
Early independence: clinician scientist fellowship
Funder: Medical Research Council (MRC)
Maximum Amount: No limit
Closing Date: 13 January 2027
Maximum Duration: 5 years
Apply for an early independence fellowship to support your career transition within the Fellowship Investment Framework, if your research focus is within Medical Research Council (MRC) remit.
Future Leaders Fellowship (Cohort 2)
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Maximum Amount: No limit
Closing Date: 14 January 2027
Maximum Duration: 7 years
If you are a senior postdoctoral academic, you can apply for a Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) to undertake funded research and a bespoke training and leadership development programme.
International Travel Award Scheme for the Biological Sciences
Funder: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Maximum Amount: £3,000
Closing Date: Open
Maximum Duration: 1 month
Apply for funding to visit international partners, to initiate collaborations, prepare joint funding proposals, visit overseas facilities or attend European consortia-building events.
Daphne Jackson Fellowship
Funder: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Maximum Amount: Not stated
Closing Date: Open
Maximum Duration: Not stated
These fellowships are for those looking to return to a research career after a break of two or more years for family, health or caring reasons. The aim is to give participants the confidence and skills they need to make a successful return to research.