Partnership grant - MRC

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Who can apply for partnership grant

To lead a Medical Research Council (MRC) partnership grant, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible.

Eligibility criteria

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

Research focus

The focus of your application must be within one of the four MRC research board science areas:

Employment contracts

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 employed by 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.

How to apply

There is a pre-application stage for new MRC partnerships. For details, see the ‘How to apply’ section of the MRC: partnership funding opportunity.

Last updated: 15 April 2025

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