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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant aims to support a coordinated, long-term programme of research in molecular and cellular medicine. The core objective is to advance understanding of basic biological mechanisms and technologies relevant to human health and disease. This includes increasing knowledge of molecular and cellular structure and function, cellular environments, and biological responses to challenges and diseases. The target recipients are UK-based research organizations with a proven track record, capable of delivering a major research programme. This opportunity is SECTOR-SPECIFIC, focusing on life sciences, particularly medical and biological research. Geographically, the lead organization must be in the UK, though international researchers can participate as project co-leads. Key filtering criteria for initial screening include the mandatory pre-application stage, the specific focus on molecular and cellular medicine, the requirement for a lead applicant with a substantial research and funding track record, and the project's nature as a coordinated, long-term programme rather than a collection of disparate studies. This is an ongoing funding opportunity and represents a significant investment by the Medical Research Council (MRC).

Financial Structure

The financial structure for the 'Molecular and cellular medicine: programme' grant is based on Full Economic Cost (FEC) principles with specific funding rates and eligible/ineligible cost categories. Funding Amounts

There is no specified upper limit to the funding you can apply for.
Applicants typically apply for £1 million or more.
The requested amount must be appropriate to the project and fully justified to deliver the proposed research objectives.

Co-financing Requirements

The Medical Research Council (MRC) will typically fund 80% of your project's full economic cost (FEC).
100% of permitted exceptions will be funded.
Your research organization is responsible for securing the remaining 20% of the FEC from other resources.

Eligible Cost Categories Costs must be justified and fall into one of the following categories: * Directly Allocated Costs (funded at 80% FEC): * A contribution to the salary of the project lead and co-leads (if charged based on estimates). * Estates costs (e.g., building and premises costs, utilities). * Other estimated direct costs, such as charge-out costs for major facilities or existing equipment, pool staff, and animal costs. * Directly Incurred Costs (funded at 80% FEC): * Support for research and technical staff salaries (if actual, auditable, and verifiable). * Research consumables. * Equipment: Items costing £25,000 or more (or £10,000 for grants published before April 1, 2025, if specified in the funding opportunity). Minor items below this threshold should be listed under 'Directly incurred: other'. Equipment for instrument development can be 100% FEC. * Travel and subsistence (standard class train/economy air, conference attendance, additional caring costs directly related to project). * Data preservation, data sharing, and dissemination costs. * NHS research costs (when associated with NHS studies). * Visa fees and immigration health surcharge for directly incurred staff employed 50% or more on the project. * Relocation costs for named staff (if institutional policy and justified). * Consultancy fees and subcontractor costs. * Payments and incentives for healthy volunteers in clinical research. * Exceptions (funded at 100% FEC): * Costs for international collaborating organizations including international project co-leads. For co-leads from high-income countries (not on OECD DAC List) and India/China, these costs must not exceed 30% of the total resources requested. There is no cap for co-leads from DAC list countries. * Costs for public partnerships and related activities, including payments to public contributors. * DNA sequencing costs, if undertaken by an institution or organization ineligible to apply for UKRI funding. * Specific sub-contracts over £50,000 for activities meeting regulatory standards in the Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS) or experimental medicine (requires prior discussion with programme manager). Ineligible Cost Categories

Randomised trials of clinical treatments.
PhD studentships.
Publication costs (e.g., Article Processing Charges - APCs, book chapters) for peer-reviewed research articles.
Funding to use as a 'bridge' between grants.
Visa fees or immigration health surcharge for staff working less than 50% of their time on the project.
Visa fees for family members.
General printing or postage costs not specific to the project.
Basic computing equipment for directly allocated staff already employed (unless justified).
General miscellaneous expenditure or contingency costs.
Carbon offsetting costs from project-related travel.
Patent costs and other Intellectual Property (IP) costs (as universities receive separate funding for these).
Any costs not sufficiently justified in the application.

Financial Reporting and Audit

Applicants must provide clear justification for all requested resources and costs.
If clinical research using NHS resources is proposed, a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT) is required.
For audit purposes, formal collaboration agreements must be put in place if an award is made. The UKRI conducts funding assurance checks.

Eligibility Requirements

These are the hard, non-negotiable formal criteria that determine qualification for the 'Molecular and cellular medicine: programme' grant:

Organization Type: Applicants must be employed at a research organization eligible to apply for Medical Research Council (MRC) funding. This typically includes:
- Higher Education Providers
- Research Institutes
- Public Sector Research Establishments
- NHS Bodies
- Independent Research Organizations
- Catapult Centres
Location: The lead applicant's organization must be based in the UK. The only exceptions are specific MRC international units: MRC Unit The Gambia and MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. International researchers from other countries can participate as project co-leads but cannot be the project lead.
Lead Applicant Status: The project lead must:
- Be employed by the eligible research organization for the entire duration of the proposed project.
- Show that they will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work.
- Have a substantial record of securing funding and delivering high-quality research.
Pre-application Stage: It is mandatory to complete a pre-application stage and be invited to the full application stage by the MRC. The latest date to contact the MRC for pre-application discussion for this opportunity is 7 July 2025.
Previous Programme Grants: Generally, you are not eligible to apply for another programme grant if you already hold an MRC programme grant, as the MRC expects you to focus on leading only one programme. Exceptional reasons for multiple programmes may be considered upon contact with the MRC.
Scope Exclusion: The proposed research must focus specifically within the science area of molecular and cellular medicine and should not primarily be focused on specific organ systems or diseases (with the exception of cancer and haematology), as these are typically supported through other research boards.
Project Type Exclusion: Funding will not be provided for research involving randomised trials of clinical treatments.
Cost Exclusion: The grant will not fund PhD studentships.

Application Process

The application process for the 'Molecular and cellular medicine: programme' grant involves a mandatory pre-application stage before a full submission. Application Timeline and Deadlines

Opening Date: 6 May 2025 9:00am UK time.
Latest Pre-Application Contact Date: 7 July 2025. You must contact MRC ([email protected]) by this date with a brief description of your proposed programme to check its suitability.
Full Application Closing Date: 4 September 2025 4:00pm UK time.
Assessment Period: UKRI aims to complete the assessment process within six months of receiving your full application.
Project Start: Successful projects should start one to six months after the funding decision date.
Grant Duration: Programmes usually last five years, but you can contact MRC if you wish to apply for a shorter or longer duration.

Application Procedure and Steps

Pre-application (Mandatory): Contact MRC ([email protected]) to discuss your proposal. Submit a brief description (up to 4 pages) outlining the proposed programme, project lead/co-leads, collaborators, estimated cost, justification for programme funding, strategic fit with MRC, and team's track record.
Invitation to Full Application: Only if invited by email after a successful pre-application, you can proceed to the full application stage.
UKRI Funding Service: Applications must be submitted through the new UKRI Funding Service. Ensure your organization is registered on this platform.
Application Completion: The project lead is responsible for completing the application, but all team members and project partners are expected to contribute.
Submission: The lead research organization must submit the completed application to UKRI by the deadline. Applications cannot be changed after submission.

Required Documentation and Materials For Pre-application: * A brief description (up to 4 pages) including: * Title of the potential programme. * Project lead and co-leads and their organizations. * Collaborators (if known). * Estimate of the likely cost to MRC. * Justification for why programme grant funding is needed, strategic fit, suitability for major investment, and team's track record. For Full Application (via UKRI Funding Service): * Summary (550 words): Plain English summary for public release and reviewer selection. * Core Team: List key members and assign roles (e.g., project lead, co-lead, specialist). * MRC Research Area: Select primary alignment (e.g., cancer, cell biology). * MRC Grant Type: Justify why this work needs programme funding (100 words), confirm pre-application completion, and name the MRC programme manager who approved submission. * Vision (550 words): What you hope to achieve, its quality, importance, potential for advancement, timeliness, and impact. * Approach (5,500 words): How you will deliver the work, including methodology, risk management, project plan (Gantt chart), diversity and inclusion approach, use of male/female animals/tissues, public partnerships. * Reproducibility and Statistical Design (500 words): Details on reliability, robustness, statistical analyses, experimental design. * Data Management and Sharing (1,500 words): A data management plan following the MRC template. * Applicant and Team Capability to Deliver (1,650 words): Evidence of experience, skills, leadership using the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format. * Project Partners: Details of contributions (direct/in-kind) from collaborating organizations. * Project Partners: Letters (or Emails) of Support: Single PDF upload of letters/emails from each project partner, confirming commitment and value (max 2 A4 pages each). * Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF) (1,500 words): If applicable, details of collaboration with industry/company partners, including IP arrangements and restrictions. * Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) (100 words): If international collaboration in sensitive areas, details on countries involved and relation to UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act. * Facilities (250 words): If requiring external facility support, provide name, usage/costs, and confirmation of agreement. * Ethics and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) (500 words): Identification and management of ethical implications. * Genetic and Biological Risk (700 words): If applicable, details of risks, implications, and mitigation. * Research Involving Animals: Upload a completed Animals Scientific Procedures Act template (PDF). * Conducting Research with Animals Overseas (700 words): If applicable, statement on welfare standards and specific checklists (PDF). * Research Involving Human Participation (700 words): If applicable, details on approvals, justification of numbers/diversity. * Research Involving Human Tissues or Biological Samples (700 words): If applicable, details on approvals, nature/quantity/source of material. * Resources and Cost Justification (1,000 words): Justification for all requested resources and costs. * Clinical Research Using NHS Resources (250 words): If applicable, requires completion and upload of Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT) funder export. * Related Applications (500 words): Details of any related previous or current applications to MRC or other funders. * MRC Unit Transition Grant Applications (1,000 words): Only if transitioning from MRC unit support. * International Agreements (50 words): If using lead agency agreements (FAPESP, FNR, RCN), details and required documentation. Types of Support Offered This grant primarily offers monetary funding for research programmes. Post-Award Requirements

Formal collaboration agreements are required for audit purposes if an award is made.
Adherence to UKRI's standard terms and conditions and MRC's additional terms and conditions for the duration of the award.
Compliance with MRC data management and sharing policies throughout the project lifecycle.
Publication of outcomes by MRC/UKRI, with a public summary of your work potentially available on external websites and the UKRI Gateway to Research.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications for the 'Molecular and cellular medicine: programme' grant are rigorously assessed based on several key areas, indicating what assessors are looking for to rank competing applications:

Vision of the Project:
- Quality and Importance: Is the proposed work of excellent quality and significance within or beyond its field?
- Advancement of Knowledge: Does it have the potential to advance current understanding or generate new knowledge, thinking, or discovery?
- Timeliness: Is the research timely given current trends, context, and needs?
- Impact: How will it impact world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment?
- Benefits: Clear identification of potential direct or indirect benefits and beneficiaries, especially improvements in human or population health, relief of disease burden, improved quality of life, or benefit to health services/industry.
- Strategic Alignment: How well does the programme fit within the MRC strategy, and what difference will it make?
Approach to the Project (including reproducibility and statistical design, and data management):
- Effectiveness and Feasibility: Is the design effective and appropriate to achieve objectives? Does it comprehensively identify and manage risks?
- Methodology: Is the methodology clearly written, transparent, and justified? Does it build upon and progress previous work?
- Translation and Impact Maximization: How will outputs be maximized for translation into outcomes and impacts?
- Research Environment: How will the research environment contribute to the work's success?
- Resources and Infrastructure: Demonstrated access to appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment.
- Project Plan: Inclusion of a project plan with clear milestones and timelines (e.g., a Gantt chart).
- Diversity and Inclusion: Explanation and justification of the approach to diversity and inclusion in the study population, adhering to the MRC embedding diversity in research design policy (if applicable).
- Sex in Research: Justification for the use of male and female animals or tissues/cells from female and male donors, or a clear justification if not.
- Public Partnerships: Justification of public partnerships and their added value.
- Reproducibility: Strong focus on reliability, robustness, and reproducibility of the proposed work, including statistical analyses, methodology, and experimental design. Professional statistical advice is expected.
- Data Management: A detailed data management plan demonstrating compliance with MRC's published data management and sharing policies, ensuring data quality, sharing, and security.
Capability of the Applicant and Project Team to Deliver:
- Experience and Skills: Evidence of relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) and the right balance of skills and expertise within the team.
- Leadership and Development: Appropriate leadership and management skills, with an approach to developing others.
- Research Environment Contribution: Contribution to a positive research environment and the wider community.
- This section should utilize the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase contributions.
Ethical and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Considerations:
- Demonstration of identified and evaluated ethical/RRI implications and how they will be managed, adhering to MRC guidance on ethics and approvals.
- For genetic and biological risks, assessors will evaluate identification of risks, their implications, and mitigation plans, ensuring benefits outweigh risks.
Resources Requested to do the Project:
- Justification: Resources must be comprehensive, appropriate, and fully justified.
- Optimal Use: Demonstrated optimal use of resources to achieve intended outcomes and maximize potential impacts.
- Cost Effectiveness: The overall value for money of the proposed research, including full economic costs.
Cross-cutting Themes: The application's impact on scoring will be influenced by how effectively it integrates:
- Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI): Both in team composition and study design.
- Public Partnerships: The strategic inclusion and justification of public partners.
- Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I): Especially for international collaborations, demonstrating adherence to TR&I principles and risk management related to sensitive areas (e.g., UK National Security and Investment Act).
- Innovation: Expected inclusion of innovative and ambitious elements within the programme.

Compliance & Special Requirements

This grant has several critical compliance requirements and special considerations essential for application and project implementation: Regulatory Compliance

Data Protection: Adherence to UK data protection legislation for handling personal data.
Medical Research Council (MRC) Policies: Strict compliance with all relevant MRC policies, including:
- MRC data management and sharing policies for how data collected/acquired will be managed and shared.
- MRC embedding diversity in research design policy (if applicable) for ensuring diversity in study populations.
- MRC's good research practice guidelines for the conduct of research.
Clinical Research: If conducting clinical research using NHS resources, completion and upload of a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT) is mandatory to be eligible for NIHR support.
Research Involving Animals: Proposed research must adhere to the Animals Scientific Procedures Act. If conducted overseas, it must meet welfare standards consistent with UK standards (as per 'Responsibility in the Use of Animals in Bioscience Research'). Specific templates/checklists may be required.
Research Involving Human Subjects/Tissues: Requires named approving bodies (e.g., ethics committees) and justification for participant involvement or tissue/sample use.
Longitudinal Population Studies: If your application is for a new or existing longitudinal population study, you must have prior approval from the Longitudinal Population Studies Strategic Advisory Panel (LPS-SAP).

Ethical Standards

Applicants must demonstrate they have identified and evaluated all relevant ethical or Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) considerations and how these will be managed.
For research involving genetic or biological risks, implications must be identified, and mitigation plans detailed, justifying that benefits outweigh risks.

Intellectual Property (IP)

Entitlement to project outputs and IP will be determined between the involved parties, in line with subsidy control regulation.
Formal collaboration agreements are required for audit purposes if an award is made.
Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF): If industry or company project partners are involved, strict adherence to the ICF is required. This includes providing detailed information on:
- Background IP: Existing IP contributed by each partner.
- Foreground IP: Expected IP developed during the project, including ownership and rights for industry partners (for internal R&D, commercial purposes) and academic partners.
- Dissemination Restrictions: Any restrictions on publishing or sharing results.
- Conflicts of Interest: Declaration and management of any conflicts related to industry partners.

Security and Data Protection

Your data management plan must clearly detail how you will comply with MRC's published data management and sharing policies, ensuring data quality, security, and appropriate sharing. ISO 27001 compliance is a plus.

International Collaboration

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I): For international collaborations, especially in sensitive research or technology areas, you must demonstrate how your project complies with UKRI's TR&I principles. This includes:
- Listing countries of international co-leads, partners, and collaborators.
- Stating if the project is relevant to any of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act and listing those areas.
- Outlining relevant controls to reduce identified risks.
Lead Agency Agreements: If applying through specific international agreements (e.g., FAPESP for Brazil, FNR for Luxembourg, RCN for Norway), specific documentation and adherence to those agreement's requirements are necessary.

Unique Aspects and Strategic Opportunities

Mandatory Pre-Application: Unlike many grants, this opportunity requires a mandatory pre-application discussion with the MRC to determine suitability before submitting a full proposal.
Programme Nature: This is a 'programme grant', meaning it is expected to be a coordinated and coherent group of related projects requiring long-term, extensive support, not just a collection of individual studies.
Restriction on Multiple Programme Grants: Generally, a lead applicant can only hold one MRC programme grant at a time, promoting focus on single large-scale initiatives.
Exclusion of Randomised Clinical Trials: This grant explicitly does not fund research involving randomised trials of clinical treatments.
Exclusion of PhD Studentships: Funding cannot be requested for PhD studentships.
Consideration of COVID-19 Impact: Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts of COVID-19 related disruptions on applicants' career development and capability to deliver, ensuring fairness in assessment.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI): MRC is committed to EDI and encourages applications from diverse researchers, supporting flexible working patterns and providing disability/accessibility support. EDI principles should be embedded in study design (e.g., diversity in study population).
Public Partnerships: The grant encourages and provides specific funding for public partnerships and related activities, allowing payments to public contributors as an 'exception' (100% funded).
Environmental Impact: Applicants are encouraged to consider the environmental impact of travel in their project planning.

Grant Details