Healthcare technologies investigator-led grant

Opportunity status:: Open
Funders:: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Funding type:: Grant
Publication date:: 20 September 2020
Opening date:: N/A
Closing date:: Open - no closing date

Last updated: 28 October 2020

Healthcare technologies investigator-led research grants are for researchers at UK higher education institutions, research council institutes, UKRI-approved independent research organisations and NHS bodies.

We strongly encourage collaboration with relevant healthcare professionals, other researchers, industry, the public sector and other relevant partners.

We are looking for researchers in engineering, physical sciences, information and communications technologies (ICT) and mathematical sciences who want to apply their expertise to healthcare challenges.

Projects can range in size from small short-term grants to multi-million-pound research programmes lasting several years. There is no limit on the size of the grant or length of the project.

We will award 80% of the full economic costs of the project, and your organisation must agree to find the balance.

Who can apply

Research grants are open to UK higher education institutions, research council institutes, UKRI-approved independent research organisations and NHS bodies with research capacity.

Find out more about institutional eligibility.

You can apply if you are resident in the UK and meet at least one of these criteria:

are employed at the submitting research organisation at lecturer level or equivalent
hold a fixed-term contract that extends beyond the duration of the proposed research project, and the host research organisation is prepared to give you all the support normal for a permanent employee
hold an EPSRC, Royal Society or Royal Academy of Engineering fellowship aimed at later career stages
hold fellowships under other schemes (please contact EPSRC to check eligibility, which is considered on a case-by-case basis).

Holders of postdoctoral level fellowships are not eligible to apply for an EPSRC grant.

Clinical applicants must be employed or be on a fixed-term contract longer than the proposed project at an NHS trust, hospital, board, primary care trust or general practice.

Find out more about individual eligibility.

Applications from new investigators are welcome.

Find out more about eligibility for new investigator awards.

We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI or any other funder.

This funding opportunity is also subject to our policy on repeatedly unsuccessful submissions.

What we're looking for

We are seeking a range of investigator-led proposals from researchers working in engineering, physical sciences, ICT and mathematical sciences who want to apply their expertise to a defined healthcare challenge.

We particularly want to encourage research projects in line with our strategies and in the under-represented fields of ICT, mathematical sciences and physical sciences.

We would expect strong proposals to be working with clinical, business, charitable or public sector partners.

Your application should be in line with the grand challenges of our healthcare technologies theme:

developing future therapies with technologies that enhance efficacy, minimise costs and reduce risks to patients
frontiers of physical intervention, restoring physical function and optimising surgery and other physical interventions with high precision and minimal invasiveness
optimising treatment through effective diagnosis, patient-specific prediction and evidence-based intervention
transforming community health and care by using real-time information to support patients managing their own health and wellbeing and to allow healthcare professionals to make timely interventions.

Your application should also show how you will advance any cross-cutting research in:

advanced materials
disruptive technologies for sensing and analysis
future manufacturing technologies
medical device design and innovation
novel computational and mathematical sciences
novel imaging technologies.

We are particularly encouraging research projects that seek to:

transform community health and care
improve prevention and public health.

Find out more about our healthcare technologies theme.

We fund a wide range of projects ranging from small, short-term grants to multi-million-pound research projects including:

high-risk or high-return research embracing new concepts or techniques
feasibility studies
instrument development
collaborative projects that cross different disciplines.

We will fund 80% of the full economic costs of your project. You may request funding for staff costs, equipment and other items required to carry out the project, costs related to impact, and travel and subsistence.

We recognise that the development of healthcare technologies is complex and can take longer than in other areas of research.

Your proposal should consider very carefully how you will maximise impact, and you are strongly advised to include a request for resources to support these elements of your work.

Find out more about our healthcare technologies impact and translation toolkit.

How to apply

You must apply using the Joint Electronic Submission system (Je-S).

We are always open for applications for investigator-led research projects in healthcare technologies. Proposals will be batched and healthcare technologies prioritisation panels held up to four times a year.

When adding a new proposal you should select:

council: EPSRC
document type: standard research
scheme: standard, or new investigator if relevant
project details: healthcare technologies investigator-led research or, for new investigators, healthcare technologies investigator-led research (NIA)

Your application should include the following attachments:

case for support: eight pages – two on your track record and six on the scientific case
workplan: one page
justification of resources: two pages
CVs: up to two A4 sides each only for named postdoctoral staff, researcher- co-investigators (research assistants who have made a substantial contribution to the proposal and will be employed on the project for a significant amount of time), and visiting researchers
letters of support from all project partners included in the Je-S form: no page limit
quotes for equipment above £25,000: no page limit
equipment business case for any items of equipment or combined assets with a value above £138,000: up to two pages
technical assessments for facilities listed as requiring one in the Je-S guidance: no page limit
cover letter: optional attachment, no page limit, not seen by peer review
host organisation statement (for new investigator awards only): no page limit.

You should attach your documents as PDFs to avoid errors. They should be completed in single-spaced 11 font Arial or similar sans serif typeface.

We recommend you start your application in good time. You can save completed details in Je-S at any time and return to continue your application later.

When you submit the application, it will first go to your host organisation for review. You should hear the result of your application within 26 weeks of submission by your host organisation.

See the Je-S handbook for full advice on completing applications.

Find out more about completing your application.

How we will assess your application

Your application is assessed by peer review. It will be sent electronically to at least three reviewers, including at least one nominated by you.

You will have the opportunity to respond to reviewer comments if your application gains enough support.

The proposal, reviewers’ comments and your response will then go to a panel that will score it against our assessment criteria and rank it with other proposals. Panels are organised by the healthcare technologies theme and meet up to four times a year.

When applications are few in number, the healthcare technologies theme will work with our capability-themed panels to assess your proposal.

If your proposal does not clearly meet a healthcare challenge, it will be assessed in the same way as other standard research proposals by the appropriate theme.

Your application is assessed first and foremost on quality (primary), followed by national importance (secondary major). It is also assessed on applicant and partnerships (secondary) and resources and management (secondary).

Find out more about the assessment process.

Contact details

healthcare@epsrc.ukri.org

01793 444120

Additional info

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