There are many opportunities to source funding to support projects and further training. Funds can be used to ‘buy out’ your time from clinical care, cover training or course costs, supervisory and/or research costs.
Funding opportunities include a wide range of internal and external schemes, from Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust funding to regional and national programmes such as those offered by:
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs)
- NIHR PenARC
- Other NIHR awards
- Professional bodies including the Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
- Wider scholarship schemes such as GW4 Clinical Academic Training (CAT)
These opportunities support different career stages, professional groups and levels of research experience. Please be aware that if you are putting in an application for a large personal funding research award, getting these applications together can take 6-12 months to fully develop.
NIHR funding opportunities
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has a range of funding opportunities to support health and care professionals at every stage of their research career.
Whether you are developing your first research idea, looking to build your skills, or ready to lead a larger project, there are opportunities available to help you grow your research experience and make a difference to patient care.
Explore the latest calls below:
Latest NIHR funding calls
Opportunity/link | Deadline | Who is this for? |
30 September 2026 | Postdoctoral-level NIHR Academy Member. | |
NIHR James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnerships rolling funding opportunity (HSDR Programme) | 16 September 2026 | You can apply to an HSDR funding opportunity if you are a research team in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales |
16 September 2026 | You can apply to an HSDR funding opportunity if you are a research team in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales | |
14 September 2026 | This includes, but is not limited to, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, pharmacists, healthcare scientists. | |
16 September 2026 | You can apply to an HSDR funding opportunity if you are a research team in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales | |
25 November 2026 | You can apply to an HTA funding opportunity if you are a researcher with skills and experience relevant to the proposed study, and based in the UK. |
Get in contact
If you would like further help and advice, please email us via rduh.researchacademy@nhs.net