Finding funding

Research Funding

The National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) was created to hold all the research funding for research studies funded by the department of health. Research grants range considerably in size from programme grants and the Health Technology Assessment (large) to smaller grants such as Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB). Allied health professionals are in a strong position to apply for RfPB awards as part of the front-line services to patients. Other sources of funding can be found at the Medical Research Council (MRC) and charity organisations such as the Dunhill Medical Trust and Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Finding funding for research can be challenging, however with the right proposal and team to lead the research funding can be achieved.  There are various sources of funding which can be explored, this will depend on your research question, clinical area and amount of funding you require. If you are new to research it would be a good idea to have peers and experienced researchers review the proposal.

Several links to funding bodies can be seen to the right side of this page.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Funding Opportunities with the Health Services and Delivery Research(HS&DR)Programme

The HS&DR Programme aims to produce rigorous and relevant evidence to improve the quality, accessibility and organisation of health services.

We support many types of research, including primary research and evidence synthesis.

We are particularly keen to support ambitious evaluative research to improve health services. For more information on our programme remit, please visit the remit page. Our research serves a variety of key stakeholders including: NHS managers, Clinical Research Networks (CRNs), clinicians and researchers, service users and carers, and the public.

All of our funded projects are eligible for publication in the new NIHR Journals Library. This open access resource is freely available online, and provides a full and permanent record of NIHR-funded research.

Apply for our funding

To see the latest funding opportunities, please visit our funding opportunities page.

Useful resources

Download the NIHR HS&DR Programme information leaflet (pdf, 963.71 KB).

Download the HS&DR New Evidence on Management and Leadership (pdf, 5618.48 KB) publication.

Download the HS&DR Programme Directors' Word (pdf, 5477.43 KB), reflecting on the first year's achievements of the HS&DR Programme. It also includes useful advice on developing an application to the programme.