Regional accounts for clinical researchers
Multi-institutional partnerships in regions across the UK can apply for regional accounts for clinical researchers (RACR). These provide flexible funding to local clinical researchers at key career pinch points for research on mechanistic understanding of human health and disease.
- Opening date:
- Closing date:
Contents
Summary
Apply for funding as a regional consortia of eligible research organisations, working in partnership, spanning medical schools, institutions and NHS trusts.
Regional accounts for clinical researchers (RACR), are intended to provide your regional consortia with the flexibility to identify and address gaps in support for clinical researchers, providing funding to address critical career pinch points to enable an individual’s longer-term success.
Your application can range from £800,000 to £1.4 million for 48 months and we will fund 100% of the justified costs.
You must complete the mandatory expression of interest stage to inform our planning, prior to submitting your full application. See ‘How to apply’ for more information.
Eligibility
You can only apply for this funding opportunity if you have completed the mandatory expression of interest. See ‘How to apply’ for more information.
To apply, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible.
Applications must be led by a single applicant on behalf of a consortium of eligible UK ROs and NHS organisations (including NHS trusts, boards or equivalents: referred to as NHS trusts for ease throughout the rest of this text) working in partnership. There is no limit on the number of consortium partners in a RACR application, but any RO or NHS trust cannot be involved in multiple RACR applications.
Consortia should self-define appropriate partnerships with clear justification and strong rationale. They are encouraged to consider regional groupings and are expected to draw upon local synergies and development within the region to enable and or expand local opportunities.
Who is eligible to benefit from RACRs
RACR awards are intended to provide flexible support for those combining academic research with UK clinical training or clinical duties at the following critical career points:
clinical researchers at the post-PhD transition
clinicians returning to research after training or an extended break
RACR consortia will have the flexibility to identify and fund clinical researchers who are eligible to benefit from RACRs through conducting research within MRC remit.
Who is not eligible to benefit from RACRs
Individuals not eligible to benefit from RACR support are:
students (including undergraduate, masters or PhD)
researchers who are not registered or active healthcare professionals
current holders of postdoctoral level fellowships
International researchers
You are not eligible for this funding opportunity if you are based at an international research organisation.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants.
Applications will be assessed on their plans to support a diverse range of researchers and support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:
career breaks
support for people with caring responsibilities
flexible working
alternative working patterns
UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.
Objectives
Aim
Regional Accounts for Clinical Researchers (RACR) is a pilot initiative designed to address gaps in support for clinical researchers at critical career pinch points. Through multi-institutional consortia with NHS trusts, the ambition of these awards is to create more local opportunities for clinical researchers, with the aim of providing flexibility, encouraging early mobility, and reducing clinical pressures to enable an individual’s long-term success as a clinical researcher.
Scope
RACR was designed in response to the Clinical researchers in the UK: reversing the decline report recommendations to address identified gaps in support for clinical researchers at the following critical career pinch points:
enabling research activity while completing clinical training after completion of a PhD
enabling clinicians to re-enter research
We will provide funding to regional consortia across the UK to operate in flexible and responsive ways, supporting the needs of clinical researchers locally.
Key features of RACRs are as follows:
enable clinicians at key career pinch points to engage with research that directly aligns with MRC core remit of research into human health and disease, from fundamental discovery science through to the development and testing of new diagnostics, therapeutic interventions and preventive measures
a strong regional partnership or clear plans to develop one, involving relevant institutions and NHS trusts including, where appropriate, collaborations between newer and long-established medical schools
targeted plans to address the identified career pinch points of post-PhD transition, research re-entry, or both
complementarity with existing local and regional initiatives, with clear strategies to enhance, expand and, where necessary, develop new offers across the regional partnership
robust management and governance plans, incorporating best practice in equality, diversity and inclusion, to ensure transparent allocation and distribution of funds across partnering organisations to multiple individuals
strong support for individual clinical researchers, with clear plans to nurture individuals and enable their future career progression across academic and NHS settings
a commitment to sharing best practice, both within the partnership and the wider community
Applications for an RACR must be led by a single eligible research organisation, but should be collaborative in nature and co-created within the consortium, spanning relevant academic institutions, medical schools and NHS trusts.
Wider partnerships with local charities, industry, SMEs and digital technology companies are encouraged to support mobility opportunities for clinical researchers. MRC is not defining partnerships or local clusters.
For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the Additional information section.
Duration
The duration of this award is four years.
Your award must start by 1 July 2026.
Funding available
The FEC of your project can range from £800,000 to £1.4 million.
We will fund 100% of the justified costs and all costs should be entered as exceptions.
You will be expected to submit annual reports and undergo light-touch annual monitoring and a mid-term review to receive successive funding instalments, which could include a funding uplift or reduction.
What we will fund
It is anticipated that four to six RACR awards will be made as part of this pilot phase. We expect groupings containing limited numbers of partners to request funds at the lower end of the award range, with larger scale, broad consortia able to bid for funds at the higher end. Proposals and funding requested should be proportionate to the size and number of consortia partners.
Each RACR award will last up to four years and funds will be used by the consortia to support individual clinical researchers.
The majority of support for individuals is expected to be short term (six to12 months) and small scale (up to £50,000 to £150,000) to position them for subsequent opportunities.
Funding can be used to enable a wide range of activities that support the scheme aims. For example, funds can be used to cover a salary contribution (20-50%) to support protected research time as well as modest direct costs of specific research activities that cannot be met via the partnerships. Mobility activities within the partnership and training courses may be appropriate with strong justification.
It is expected that consortia draw on existing mechanisms for administrative processes, with no or minimal additional administrative costs requested. Where additional administrative costs are essential, these must be included in the overall cost requested value and must not exceed £20,000 FEC. Justification of these costs must be included in the justification of resources and will be considered as part of the assessment.
What we will not fund
We will not fund:
costs for PhD studentships or anyone who is not eligible to benefit from RACRs
publication costs
costs for senior staff included under any role
Project partner
A project partner is a collaborating organisation in the UK, who will have an integral role in enabling the proposed research. You may include project partners that will support your consortium, through cash or in-kind contributions, such as:
staff time
access to equipment
sites or facilities
the provision of data
software or materials
recruitment of people as research participants
providing samples, such as human tissue, for the project
Each project partner must provide a statement of support. If your application involves industry partners, they must provide additional information if the relationship falls within the industry collaboration framework.
Find out more about subcontractors and dual roles.
Who cannot be included as a project partner
Any individual included in your application core team cannot also be a project partner.
Any organisation that employs a member of the application core team cannot be a project partner organisation, this includes other departments within the same organisation.
If you are collaborating with someone in your organisation, consider including them in the core team as project co-lead, or specialist. They cannot be a project partner.
Supporting skills and talent
Awards must align to the principles and obligations of all UK institutions and clinical trainees in receipt of competitive funding for clinical academic research training: UK clinical academic training in medicine and dentistry
We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)
UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.
As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.
See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.
Dates
Assessment process
Expression of Interest
Information provided as part of the expression of interest will not be formally assessed.
We will use this information to:
inform internal planning
anticipate expected submission levels
However, we reserve the right to reject an application based on the appropriateness for the opportunity if an EOI is not submitted prior to a full application.
Full application
We will assess your full application using the following process.
This funding opportunity will consist of a two-stage assessment process.
Expert panel review and shortlisting
We will invite experts to assess the quality of your application and rank it alongside other applications. The panel will be composed of members with relevant expertise of clinical careers, knowledge exchange, training and development, and intersectoral mobility. Panel membership will consist of members of the research and innovation community.
Highly ranked proposals will be invited to the interview stage based upon two factors i) performance against all assessment criteria and ii) consideration of regional distribution across the UK. This is to avoid excessive clustering of investments in any one geographic area.
We will use the recommendations of the panel along with the overall funding opportunity requirements and the available budget in making the final funding decisions.
Interview
For shortlisted applications, an expert interview panel will conduct interviews of a leadership group (up to four representatives) for the application, after which the panel will make a funding recommendation.
We expect interviews to be held on 3 and 4 March 2026.
MRC will make the final funding decision.
For more information about MRC’s assessment process, see:
Feedback
We will give feedback with the outcome of your application.
Principles of assessment
We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.
Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.
Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review
Reviewers and panellists are not permitted to use generative AI tools to develop their assessment. Using these tools can potentially compromise the confidentiality of the ideas that applicants have entrusted to UKRI to safeguard.
For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI.
We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.
Assessment areas
The assessment areas we will use are:
RACR partnership
proposed activities
operations and governance
research environment, training and support
equality, diversity and inclusion
resources and cost justification
Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.
Webinar for potential applicants
We will hold a webinar at 12:00 on 6 November 2025. This will provide more information about the funding opportunity and a chance to ask questions.
How to apply
Click https://funding-service.ukri.org/OPP1071/apply/1098 on the UKRI Funding Service to apply.
To apply
Stage one: expression of interest
We are running a mandatory light touch expression of interest (EOI) stage for internal planning purposes that will not be used for assessment.
We will request details of:
the key consortia partners which will remain central to the application. Additional partners may evolve until the full submission
an indicative value
We reserve the right to reject a full application based on the appropriateness for the funding opportunity, if an EOI is not submitted prior to a full application.
Stage two: full application
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.
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
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
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.orgPlease 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 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.
When including images, you must:
provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)
insert each new image on a new line
use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include:
sentences or paragraphs of text
tables
excessive quantities of images
A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
References
References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:
references are easily identifiable by the assessors
references are formatted as appropriate to your research
persistent identifiers are used where possible
General use of hyperlinks
Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.
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
We must receive your full application by 18 December 2025 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 fellows@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 and regional partnership
the challenge the RACR addresses and how it complements existing local and regional initiatives
expected impacts and benefits to clinical researchers at the relevant career points
how you will manage the award and share best practice
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
project lead (PL)
project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
grant manager
Only list one individual as project lead. If you include more than one project lead your application will fail at the checking stage.
RACRs require a consortium approach and a joint management approach should be taken. This should be described in the monitoring, management and governance section.
The consortium should choose one of the project lead’s organisations to be responsible for submitting the grant application and administering the grant should the application be successful.
The project lead shall be the representative of the lead research organisation (RO) and who will submit the application. The project co-leads shall be the representatives of the other ROs involved in the consortium. No costs for any of the project leads may be included in the application.
It is strongly recommended that where not leading a proposal, NHS trusts are engaged as a project partner and supply the required letters of support to enable their contribution to a RACR application to be fully articulated.
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Application questions
RACR partnership
Word limit: 1,000
Who are the proposed consortia partners applying for the award and what are the benefits that will be achieved from working together through an award.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain who the proposed consortia partners are, and the benefits each of them will bring to the RACR partnership, by demonstrating:
a strong regional consortia already exists or your clear plans to develop one, involving relevant partner institutions and NHS trusts including, where appropriate, collaborations between newer and long-established medical schools
a diverse range of partners appropriate to the proposed activities and local needs
how non-academic partners will broaden experience and enhance mobility
how the award will add value to existing regional activity and investments, with clear strategies to enhance, expand and, where necessary, develop new offers across the regional partnership
the contribution of each academic and non-academic partner
a commitment to sharing best practice, both within the partnership and the wider community
details of your strategy for developing effective relationships with partners
References may be included within this section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Proposed activities
Word limit: 1,000
What are the types of activities you will support with this award and how they will align with the objectives of the funding opportunity.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain the types of activities the RACR award will support and how they will align with the objectives of this funding opportunity, by demonstrating:
how the activities, will deliver the aims and objectives of RACRs while using funds appropriately
direct alignment with MRC core remit to improve human health through discovery and early translation research
the activities that might be supported with the award, including targeted plans to address the identified career pinch points of post-PhD transition, research re-entry, or both (detailed descriptions of every individual activity is not needed)
identification of the potential local, regional and or national impacts, both direct and indirect
References may be included within this section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Operations and governance
Word limit: 1,000
What is the governance, management and reporting processes which will be in place for the RACR.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain the governance, management and reporting processes you will have in place for the RACR award by demonstrating:
strong governance (who is responsible for oversight and delivery within the consortia), coordination, monitoring, and evaluation
clear, robust processes for the assessment and selection of individuals that will benefit from RACR
your plans of how funds will be allocated and distributed to individuals locally
your plans for embedding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) principles at all levels and in all aspects of the RACR (providing full details in the corresponding EDI section).
how the consortia will ensure that research plans align with MRC core remit
how you plan to monitor outputs, outcomes, and impacts
the metrics of success you will use to benchmark the impact of the RACR, that can be reported, monitored and evaluated via annual reporting and as part of a midterm review. For example, more clinicians staying research active, submissions to personal awards, involvement in and longer-term success
Provision of the fully executed collaboration agreement will be required ahead of the start of any awards made.
References may be included within this section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Research environment, training and support
Word limit: 500
How will the academic and NHS partnership demonstrate strong support for individual clinical researchers, with clear plans to nurture individuals and enable their future career progression across academic and NHS settings.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain the clear planning you will devise to nurture and demonstrate strong support for individual clinical researchers, enabling their future career progression across academic and NHS settings, by demonstrating:
how the environment will contribute to the success and career progression of the clinical researchers
how the consortium will align to the UK clinical academic training in medicine and dentistry: principles and obligations for those supported via the RACR and in receipt of competitive funding for clinical academic research training
how you will support academic staff (including ensuring high quality supervision and mentorship) and engagement with non-academic partners or networks
added value of cohort building, networking and professional development activities across the local partnership
References may be included within this section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Word limit: 800
What are the plans for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) including how you will embed EDI principles at all levels and in all aspects of the RACR.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain your plans to embed EDI principles and in all aspects of the RACR, by demonstrating:
your commitment to promoting EDI through the proposed partnership and to championing equality, diversity and inclusion by removing barriers in the research and clinical environment and promoting an open and inclusive research community
clear links between activities, governance and workplan to ensure integration of EDI principles throughout
your commitment and plans to ensure support is accessible and selection processes are fair and transparent
your clear plans to support a diverse range of researchers and support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances, taking account of career breaks, caring responsibilities, flexible working and alternative working patterns
how and what EDI data will be captured and how this could be used to influence the award over its lifetime
how you will ensure alignment with UKRI principles: equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI.
Contextual information
Please note that we will be monitoring the diversity of people funded for placements and exchanges through the RACRs, as part of the post-award reporting process for this funding programme. We will request equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) data of the people supported across the award. At a minimum this should include the number of supported individuals with the following characteristics:
ethnicity (Asian/black/mixed/not disclosed/other/white)
gender (female/male/not disclosed)
age (29 or less/30 to39/40 to49/50 to59/60+/not disclosed)
disability (disabled/not disabled/not disclosed)
role
EDI information provided will be used in part of a broader assessment by us to understand the effectiveness of our policies and procedures in eliminating unlawful discrimination and promoting opportunities. We will treat this information in confidence.
Project partners
Add details about any project partners contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.
A project partner is a collaborating person or organisation who will have an integral role in your consortium. This may include direct contributions for example cash, donated equipment and resources, or staff seconded to the project, or indirect and in-kind contributions for example use of project partner’s equipment, datasets, or facilities Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.
A project partner is not anyone in your core team or anyone from your organisation or any of the other organisations represented by core team members.
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 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.
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.
Important information
If you are adding a project partner to this section, you must ensure they provide you with a letter or email of support and you upload it to ‘Project partners: letters or emails of support’.
If your project partners are from industry or a company, you must also complete the ‘Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)’ section.
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
Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the ‘Project partners’ section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
What supporting statements we are looking for
We are looking for you to provide letters or emails of support from all your identified project partners.
What we are not looking for
We don’t want any other letters (or emails) of support, from people who are not your identified project partners, such as those simply expressing general support for your project. If these are included by you, they will be ignored by us and will not be used in the assessment process.
Important information
You should only provide letters or emails of support from people you have identified in the project partner section of your application, who will have an integral role in your consortium and proposed research.
What each project partner letter or email of support must include
Each project partner letter or email you provide should:
include the name of the project partner organisation and contact information
explain the project partners’ commitment to the project
explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the proposed work, to them
describe any additional value they will bring to the project
detail any existing local strategies or initiatives that will be built on and expanded by the RACR
not exceed two sides of A4 per project partner
Project partner letters and emails of support are not required to be on headed paper or include handwritten signatures (electronic signatures are acceptable).
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
Project partners from industry or a company
Industry or company project partners are required to download and complete the industry or company letter of support template. You must also complete the ‘Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)’ section. Find out more about ICF.
Project partners responsible for recruiting research participants or providing human tissue or samples
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)
Agreement with your project partners
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
Does your application include collaboration with industry or company project partners?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
The assessors are looking for you to confirm if your proposed work involves collaboration with an industry or company project partner. If it does, 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.
For guidance to assist your decision if your proposed work requires you to follow ICF, you should explore the MRC Industry Collaboration Framework 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 if 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 fellows@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 partner).
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 (TR&I)
Word limit: 100
Does your proposed work relate to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation principles?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate how your proposed work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation principles including:
list any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research
if this project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, please list the area(s)
please read the academic export control guidance and confirm if an export control licence is required for this project and the status of any application(s)
if your project involves any items or substances on the UK strategic export control list, please provide a list
We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information later, in line with UKRI TR&I principles and funding terms and conditions (RGC 2.6.2, 2.7.1 and 2.7.2).
Resources and cost justification
Word limit: 500
What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?
What the assessors are looking for in your response:
justification of the amount requested within the award range to deliver the proposed activities
an estimate of how many individuals will be supported via short terms awards at the two identified career stages: postdoctoral transition and research re-entry
the anticipated duration of support for individuals (normally six to 12 months)
the anticipated overall costs for salary to provide protected research time
the anticipated overall modest direct costs of research activities for specific activities, that cannot be met via the partnerships
the rationale and overall costs for any proposed mobility activities and training courses within the partnership
administrative costs (we would expect consortia to draw upon existing mechanisms and structures with no or minimal additional administrative costs. If essential, these must be included within the overall award value and must not exceed the maximum permitted, £20,000 FEC).
Please provide details of the financial scale of existing or planned activities by consortia members that will be enhanced through this approach and any potential financial contribution from partners intended to support the consortia.
If your award is scalable beyond the current available award range, please indicate the optimal maximum scale and what additional impact could be achieved at this higher scale.
Funding can be used to support a wide range of activities that support the scheme aims, however we reserve the right to adjust based on the portfolio of outcomes after the interview stage.
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
Supporting information
Background
Clinical research drives innovation to make the NHS more sustainable and deliver better outcomes for all by:
enabling an NHS fit for the future: research active hospitals consistently deliver better patient outcomes
kickstarting economic growth: every £1 invested in medical research delivers a further 25p return for every year thereafter
However, the UK is currently not growing its clinical research capability in parallel to an expanding NHS and the increasing clinical need.
During 2024 to 2025, the Office for the Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR) convened broad stakeholder ‘Task and Finish’ groups to look at the barriers and opportunities for clinical academic careers in key professional groups, with sub-reports to date defining the required actions for:
medically qualified researchers: published January 2025 (PDF, 908KB)
nurses, midwives and allied health professionals: published July 2025 (PDF, 515KB)
with a report focussed on dental researchers to follow
Both published reports call for funders to identify and address gaps in support for clinical researchers. The RACR initiative was developed to trial a new approach designed in response to these recommendations and provide additional support to engage with research early in the clinical researcher pathway.
The design of this initiative was further informed by:
mapping of offers across funders (to be published on the Clinical Academic Training and Careers Hub) identifying the career priority gaps,
community consultation to develop MRC’s refreshed Training and Careers priorities,
insights from the review or our now discontinued Clinical Academic Research Partnership scheme (CARP), where award holders reported a lack of local support and a desire for more flexibly administered funding to enable long-term success
RACR awards are expected to enable long-term success in individuals by:
providing flexibility and agile support locally
protecting time for research at key career stages
ensuring local and regional support
As a secondary aim, RACRs aim to strengthen and build on existing partnerships, and develop new opportunities built on local insights to reverse the decline in clinical researchers in the UK.
Webinar for potential applicants
We will hold a webinar at 12:00 on 6 November 2025. This will provide more information about the funding opportunity and a chance to ask questions.
Related content
Get help with your application
If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page.
The helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility, content or remit of a funding opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.
Contact details
For help and advice on costings and writing your application please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.
For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact fellows@mrc.ukri.org
For general questions related to MRC funding including our funding opportunities and policy email: rfpd@mrc.ukri.org
Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.
Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org
Phone: 01793 547490
Our phone lines are open:
Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm
To help us process queries more efficiently, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.
For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.