Stage one: expression of interest
The expression of interest stage is mandatory. You must submit an expression of interest to MRC using the Expression of interest template (DOCX, 58 KB) by 22 January 2025 at 4.00pm UK time (you will not be able to apply after this time). You must then email your completed template to exmednd@mrc.ukri.org
To manage demand, you may only submit one expression of interest as a project lead, however you may be involved as part of the research team on other applications. At the expression of interest stage, the research team does not need to be confirmed. Further team members will be allowed at the full application stage.
Stage two: full application
Following completion of your expression of interest, you will be notified and invited to apply to the full application stage.
We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
Applications must include industry partners at the full application stage. If you are not able to finalise the industrial collaboration framework with your industry partner by this point, then you may submit your application to the MRC Experimental medicine stage one funding opportunity (closing date16 April 2025 at 4:00pm UK time).
The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
If the lead research organisation is an NHS organisation, check it is available in the Funding Service. You are encouraged to check this early as there may be additional steps for the organisation to be set up before you can apply.
To apply
You can only apply for the ‘Full’ application stage of this funding opportunity if you have submitted your expression of interest (before the advertised closing date and time) and been invited via email to apply. We will also share with you the start application link to apply through the Funding Service within the invitation email.
- Confirm you are the project lead.
- Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org
Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this funding opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
- Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
- Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
- Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
- Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. You should:
- use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words
- insert each new image onto a new line
- provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)
- ensure files are smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Watch our research office webinars about the Funding Service.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
References
Applications should be self-contained, and hyperlinks should only be used to provide links directly to reference information. To ensure the information’s integrity is maintained, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers should be used. Assessors are not required to access links to carry out assessment or recommend a funding decision. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application and be easily identifiable by the assessors for example (Smith, Research Paper, 2019).
You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI)
Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.
For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment.
Deadline
MRC must receive your application by 6 March 2025 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Personal data
Processing personal data
MRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.
Sensitive information
If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email exmednd@mrc.ukri.org
Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].
Typical examples of confidential information include:
- individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
- declaration of interest
- additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
- conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
- the application is an invited resubmission
For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.
Publication of outcomes
MRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at board and panel outcomes.
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Summary
Word limit: 550
In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.
We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:
- opinion-formers
- policymakers
- the public
- the wider research community
Guidance for writing a summary
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
- context
- the challenge the project addresses
- aims and objectives
- potential applications and benefits
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
- project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
- specialist
- grant manager
- professional enabling staff
- research and innovation associate
- technician
- visiting researcher
- researcher co-lead (RcL)
Only list one individual as project lead. If you include more than one project lead your application will fail at the checking stage.
Public contributors should be added to your application under the ‘specialist’ role within the core team (if applicable).
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Application questions
Vision
Word limit: 1,100
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your proposed work:
- aligns to the aims of the funding opportunity
- is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
- has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field of neurodegeneration
- is timely given current trends, context, and needs
- impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment
Within the Vision section we also expect you to:
- provide details of the current clinical challenge or knowledge gap
- summarise the current state of understanding about the relevant mechanisms of disease
- identify the current gap in mechanistic understanding
- state the mechanistic hypothesis to be tested
- identify the potential direct or indirect benefits and who the beneficiaries might be, including outlining the value to industry research and development
- describe the nature and added value of the industry partnership
- identify potential improvements in human or population health, whether through contributing to relieving disease or disability burden, improving quality of life or providing benefit to the health service or health-related industry
- if applicable, describe the route to patient benefit
- explain if the results will be valuable for discovery science through ‘reverse translation’
References may be included throughout the vision section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Intervention
Word limit: 550
What is the planned intervention?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain the planned intervention to be used in the proposed work, including:
- the type of intervention, which may include compound, biologic, psychological, physiological or infection
- relevant background information, including its established safety profile and use in other mechanistic studies
- if applicable, summarise the development history of the intervention
- if applicable, provide details of any existing intellectual property (IP) associated with this intervention
References may be included throughout the intervention section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Approach
Word limit: 3,500
How are you going to deliver your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Within the Approach section we expect you to provide a detailed and comprehensive project plan, including timelines in the form of an embedded Gantt chart or similar, including:
- the objectives of the proposed research in order of priority
- the primary and secondary experimental outcomes and how they relate to the experimental objectives
- how the proposed work packages will ensure the project objectives are achieved
- your explanation of how your approach is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
Please ensure that the provided Gantt chart is legible and includes:
- project tasks (these being short, achievable and measurable activities) with, where relevant, the party responsible for delivering the task and dependency relationships between tasks
- at least two progression milestones (to include the project end goal), these being major specifically-timed decision points
As part of your methodology, describe the nature of human participation in your proposed work, including:
- the characteristics of the participants (such as age, disease) and the rationale for their selection
- the specific population groups in relation to their diversity characteristics and the proposed analysis, following the MRC embedding diversity in research design policy
- target and acceptable levels of participant recruitment across the project timeline
- evidence of recruitment feasibility
- the human participant recruitment strategy, including the steps that will be taken if patient recruitment does not reach the set targets
- provide the name of any required approving body and whether approval is already in place
- if applicable, provide details of how any limited tissue or cell work will inform the human-centric proposed work. For any research involving tissues and cells, you must show how you will use both sexes. If you are not proposing to do this, a strong justification is required
- explain the inclusion of public and patient partnerships and the added value these offer
Demonstrate that your proposed approach is feasible, and comprehensively identify any risks to delivery and how they will be managed, including:
- how likely the risks are to occur
- what their impact would be on the success and deliverability of the project
- your risk mitigation strategy, giving particular consideration to any potential safety risks and how these risks will be controlled
- you may include a risk table to support your response
Describe how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work.
Demonstrate access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the proposed work, including:
- specialist equipment or infrastructure required to deliver the project objectives
- proposed use of existing joint research facilities or clinical infrastructure, including patient cohorts
- if not already in place, explain how you will ensure this infrastructure is accessible by the project start date
- describe how the approach builds on existing scientific, technical and clinical expertise and clinical research infrastructure, the nature of existing partnerships and the value these add
Describe how you will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts through your plans for engagement, communication and dissemination with:
- the research community
- industry
- patients and the public
We suggest you structure your response using the following headings, with approximate words limits for each:
- project plan: 1,650 words
- methodology and experimental design: 850 words
- risk management: 400 words
- infrastructure and equipment: 400 words
- engagement, communication and dissemination: 200 words
References may be included throughout the approach section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
You should detail any information regarding your statistical design in the ‘Reproducibility and statistical design’ section.
Reproducibility and statistical design
Word limit: 500
How will you ensure your proposed work is reliable, robust and reproducible?
What assessors are looking for in your response
Information about reproducibility and how you will ensure reliability and robustness of your proposed work, such as further details of statistical analyses, methodology and experimental design, not provided in your approach.
We expect you to seek professional statistical or other relevant advice in preparing your response, which should include, as appropriate:
- sample and effect sizes
- planned statistical analyses
- models chosen (for example animal model, cell line)
- potential sources of bias and how these will be mitigated during analysis
- how your approach to addressing diversity is reflected in the experimental design and analyses
Refer to the MRC guidance for applicants, for further information, examples and online tools.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
The length of your response will vary depending on the type of project, you may not need to use 500 words.
Project milestones
Word limit: 1,500
Provide details of your project milestones.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide at least two key progression milestones for your project, that:
- delineate the proposed work into costed project phases with clear Go or No-Go decision points
- establish key progression milestones with target and acceptable thresholds
Download and complete the following Experimental Medicine milestone template (DOCX, 62KB) and copy and paste it into the text box.
Milestones must be SMART, that is: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-framed:
- detail robust Go or No-Go criteria (failure to meet these will result in early termination of the project)
- for all projects, it is advisable to structure the project so that the critical questions are addressed as early as possible in the plan
Success criteria should be based on project outputs that, at the given point, need to be achieved in order to justify further continuation of the studies. Success criteria should align to project aims and objectives; success criteria for the final milestone should reflect what success for the funded aspect of the project would equate to.
For each success criterion, please specify a quantified target value that you will seek to attain and a quantified acceptable value which, if achieved, would support project progression.
For clinical studies, this should include a summary of:
- study design
- study participants
- study endpoints
- dose (when applicable)
- analysis plans
Do not include project management meetings or other process-related tasks as milestone success criteria.
Your estimate of the milestone criteria being met should assume that the preceding milestone was achieved.
For the final milestone, the criteria should reflect outcomes representing successful completion of the project.
Applicant and team capability to deliver
Word limit: 2,200
Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Evidence of how you, and your team, have:
- the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
- the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
- the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
- contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
The word limit for this section is 2,200 words:
- 1,500 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references)
- 200 words to summarise the career stage of the core team (an example table will be provided within the Funding Service to assist you with your summary)
- 500 words for ‘Additions’ if necessary
Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and your team (project and project co-leads, project partners, researchers, technicians, specialists and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.
Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:
- contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
- the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
- contributions to the wider research and innovation community
- contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit, including public partnerships
Additions
Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).
Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.
References may be included within this section.
The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.
Project partners
You must add details about your project partner(s) contributions to this section.
A project partner is a collaborating third party organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.
This funding opportunity requires at least one industry or company partnership. Applications that do not include an industry or company project partner will be rejected. Therefore you will also need to complete the ‘Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)’ section. Find out more about ICF.
You must ensure that any third party individual or organisation you include within the Funding Service as a project partner, also provides you with a supporting email or letter of support (see next section ‘Project partners: letters or emails of support’).
The individual named as the project partner contact, cannot be included in your application as a member of the core team, in any core team role.
The project partner organisation cannot be an applicant organisation, where any member of the core team is based. For example, you cannot include a different department based within the applicant organisation as a project partner.
If an individual or organisation outside the core team is responsible for recruitment of people as research participants or providing human tissue for this project, list them as a project partner.
Add the following project partner details:
- the organisation name (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)
- the project partner contact name and email address
- the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value
If there are specific circumstances where project partners do require funding for minor costs such as travel and subsistence, these project partner costs should be claimed and justified within the resources and costs section of your application.
If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Project partners: letters (or emails) of support
Word limit: 10
Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you have named in the ‘Project partners’ section. Your application must include a minimum of one industry or company project partner, otherwise your application will be rejected. Your uploaded PDF must be in English or Welsh only.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box.
What supporting statements we are looking for
Important note: We are only looking for you to provide project partner letters or emails of support from the following:
- a third-party individual
- a third-party organisation
Third party means the individual and organisation must not be involved in the application core team. You must ensure that any project partners providing a supporting document, are also added to the ‘Project partners’ section within the Funding Service.
What supporting statements we are not looking for
We are not looking for you to provide any letters or emails of support from individuals or organisations included in your application core team (this includes other departments within the same organisation). Any individual or organisation included in your application with a core team role cannot also be a project partner.
Do not include any other statements or any other type of information we have not requested, including letter or emails of support from colleagues simply expressing supportive opinions. We only expect letters or emails of support from your third-party project partners uploaded to this section.
If you include any information not requested by MRC, your application will be rejected.
Supporting letter and email guidance for third party project partners
Each project partner letter or email you provide should:
- confirm the partner’s commitment to the project
- clearly explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the work to them
- describe any additional value that they bring to the project
- include the name of the project partner organisation and contact information (this should match the partner contact and organisation name details you must add to the ‘Project partners’ section)
- have a page limit of two sides of A4 per partner
Project partners letters and emails of support are not required to be on headed paper or include handwritten signatures (electronic signatures are acceptable from the nominated partner contact).
Industry or company project partner letter and email of support guidance
Industry or company project partners are required to complete the industry or company letter of support template by exploring the document download section of MRC Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF). This will ensure the letter or email they provide you, contains all the relevant information we need.
Project partner responsibility for the recruitment of people
If the project partner is responsible for the recruitment of people as research participants or providing human tissue their letter or email of support should include:
- agreement that the project partner will recruit the participants or provide tissue
- confirmation that what is being supplied is suitable for the proposed work
- confirmation that the quantity of tissue being supplied is suitable, but not excessive for achieving meaningful results (if applicable)
Multiple project partners
If you have multiple project partners, you should:
- ensure each separate partner letter or email of support, does not exceed two pages of A4
- consolidate all the supporting documents provided by each project partner into a single PDF file before uploading
- ensure the PDF does not exceed the maximum file size of 8MB
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the ‘Project partners’ section.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)
Word limit: 1,500
Include details of your collaboration with your industry or company project partner(s)?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
The assessors are looking for you to confirm that your proposed work involves collaboration with an industry or company project partner. You will need to follow the MRC industry collaboration framework (ICF).
By ‘industry or company’ we mean an enterprise that puts or has intention to put goods or services on a market.
You should explore the ICF decision tree and find out more about ICF which includes:
- collaboration agreements
- definitions of basic or applied research
- internationally based companies
- subsidy control
- intellectual property (IP) arrangements
- fully flexible and gated contributions
- the ICF assessment criteria
Enter ‘Yes’ in the text box that you have industry or company project partners and you are likely to follow ICF. You should also confirm your answers to the ICF questions one to nine in the text box for each ICF project partner.
Contact exmednd@mrc.ukri.org if you are unsure if your application should follow ICF.
In addition to the project partner information completed in the previous section, the assessors are looking for information relating to the nature, goals and conditions of the collaboration and any restrictions or rights to the project results that could be claimed by the industry or company project partner.
Confirm your answers to the ICF questions in the text box, repeat this process for each ICF project partner:
- Name the industry or company project partner considered under ICF.
- Indicate whether your application is basic research or applied research.
- Explain why, in the absence of the requested UKRI funding, the collaboration and the planned research could not be undertaken.
- State whether your application is under the category of fully flexible contribution or gated contribution (based on the IP sharing arrangements with the industry or company).
- Outline the pre-existing IP (‘background IP’) that each partner, including the academic partner, will bring to the collaborative research project and the terms under which partners may access these assets.
- Outline the IP that is expected to be developed during the collaborative research project (‘foreground IP’) and briefly outline how it will be managed, including:
- who will own this IP
- what rights industry or company partners will have to use academically-generated foreground IP during and after the research project, for internal research and development or for commercial purposes
- any rights of the academic partner to commercialise the foreground IP, including foreground IP generated by industry or company partners
- Outline any restrictions to dissemination of the project results, including the rights of the industry or company partner to:
- review, approve or delay publications (including the time period associated with such rights)
- request or require the removal of any information
- Declare any conflicts of interest held by the applicants in relation to the industry or company project partners and describe how they will be managed.
- Justify collaborating with an overseas industry or company under ICF (if applicable).
Failure to provide the information requested for industry or company partners under ICF could result in your application being rejected.
You are recommended to discuss the goals and conditions of any collaboration with an industry or company with your technology transfer or contracts office before applying.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made. You must provide us with a copy of the collaboration agreement, signed by all partners, before an ICF award starts.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Trusted Research and Innovation
Word limit: 100
Does the proposed work involve international collaboration in a sensitive research or technology area?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate how your proposed international collaboration relates to Trusted Research and Innovation, including:
- list the countries your international project co-leads, project partners and visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in
- if international collaboration is involved, explain whether this project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act
- if one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act are involved list the areas
If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
We may contact you following submission of your application to provide additional information about how your proposed project will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help manage these risks.
Data management and sharing
Word limit: 1,500
How will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed research?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide a data management plan which should clearly detail how you will comply with MRC’s published data management and sharing policies, which includes detailed guidance notes.
Provide your response in the text box following the headings in the MRC data management plan template. You are not required to upload the document to your application.
The length of your plan will vary depending on the type of study being undertaken:
- population cohorts; longitudinal studies; genetic, omics and imaging data; biobanks, and other collections that are potentially a rich resource for the wider research community: maximum of 1,500 words
- all other research, less complex, the plan may be as short as 500 words
Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
Word limit: 500
What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:
- the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
- how you will manage these considerations
Consider the MRC guidance on ethics and approvals.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Genetic and biological risk
Word limit: 700
Does your proposed research involve any genetic or biological risk?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
In respect of animals, plants or microbes, are you proposing to:
- use genetic modification as an experimental tool, like studying gene function in a genetically modified organism
- release genetically modified organisms
- ultimately develop commercial and industrial genetically modified outcomes
If yes, provide the name of any required approving body and state if approval is already in place. If it is not, provide an indicative timeframe for obtaining the required approval.
Identify the organism or organisms as a plant, animal or microbe and specify the species and which of the three categories the research relates to.
Identify the genetic and biological risks resulting from the proposed research, their implications, and any mitigation you plan on taking. Assessors will want to know you have considered the risks and their implications to justify that any identified risks do not outweigh any benefits of the proposed research.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Resources and cost justification
Word limit: 1,000
What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:
- project staff
- significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)
- any equipment that will cost more than £10,000
- any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities
- all facilities and infrastructure costs
- all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’
- support for international co-leads, demonstrating this is within the 30% costs cap for co-leads from high-income countries, India and China. There is no cap on costs requested for international applicants from DAC list countries
- NHS research costs, when they are associated with NHS studies
- any work to be outsourced, including the reason for outsourcing, scope, provider and cost
- support for public and patient involvement and engagement. Costs for public partnerships including payments to public partners can be included under the exceptions fund heading
Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work:
- are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
- represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
- maximise potential outcomes and impacts
Clinical research using NHS resources
Word limit: 250
Are you applying to do clinical research in the UK?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Researchers applying to do clinical research in the NHS, public health or social care usually need to complete a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT).
We request the SoECAT because we want to know that you have taken the appropriate steps to request National institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) support and for the full costs of your research to be attributed, calculated and paid.
We want to see the expected total resources required for your project to consider if these are appropriate.
Enter ‘Yes’ and complete and upload a SoECAT if you are applying for clinical research and:
- you will carry out your research in the UK
- your research will use NHS resources
- the research requires approval by Health Research Authority (England) or its equivalents in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales
- you will need support from the NIHR Research Delivery Network, this may include studies in a social care or public health setting
It is important to complete a SoECAT to be eligible for NIHR support. You must complete a SoECAT even if you do not think your clinical research will involve excess treatment costs (ETCs).
See MRC guidance on who needs to complete a SoECAT.
How to complete a SoECAT
SoECAT guidance can be found on the NIHR website.
These are the steps you need to take:
- Contact an attributing the costs of health and social care Research & Development (AcoRD) specialist as early as possible in the application process.
- Complete an online SoECAT. Excel versions of the form have been discontinued. If you do not have an account for NIHR’s Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS) you will need create and activate one. See the NIHR user guide for instructions
- Request authorisation of your SoECAT.
- Once authorised extract the ‘study information’ and the ‘summary’ page from the ‘Funder Export’, combine them as a single PDF and upload it to your application.
Applications that require a SoECAT but have not uploaded the SoECAT funder export study information and summary may be rejected.
Ensure the AcoRD specialists name and date are included within the uploaded summary page. The SoECAT is invalid without this information.
Contact exmednd@mrc.ukri.org if you have questions about the UKRI aspects of this process or have concerns that your SoECAT may not be authorised in time for the application closing date.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
