This Challenge is now closed. UKRI support for Our Future Health is led by the Medical Research Council (MRC).
This UKRI Challenge Fund investment aimed to create a new research organisation. This organisation would recruit up to five million volunteers to join a new research programme that will track their health records and potentially invite them to join further research studies.
The investment aims to:
A new research organisation, Our Future Health, has been established to lead this programme. UKRI Challenge Fund funding aimed to attract £160 million co-investment from industry and charity partners. The target level of co-investment was achieved.
Over time the project will become a new national resource to support the development of new diagnostic tools and technologies. To deliver this resource, volunteer participants provide a blood sample for analysis and consent for access to their health records.
The health of participants will be followed over many years by allowing access to their NHS and other health-related records. Participants may also be asked to complete repeat questionnaires or provide further samples in the future.
Following participants over time will support research on the early detection of disease.
De-identified data from this national resource will support approved research projects aimed at improving early detection, prevention and treatment of disease. Participants will be contributing to vital research even if they are not invited to join individual future studies.
Healthcare systems across the developed world are facing an increasing burden of managing chronic diseases and cancers seen in ageing populations. Many of these conditions are currently only detected at an advanced stage when they are much more difficult and costly to treat effectively.
The programme led by Our Future Health aims to combine health, lifestyle and other data for use by researchers to accelerate how diagnosis can be made earlier and more accurately.
The programme will support the development of preventative strategies and allow earlier and more effective treatments to be developed.
By the end of the Accelerating Detection of Disease Challenge, over 2.4 million adult volunteers had consented to join Our Future Health.
Among these volunteers, 1.33 million participants from England, Scotland and Wales had provided a blood sample and completed a health and lifestyle questionnaire.
Our Future Health had completed genetic analysis for 1.27 million participants and built a repository of NHS hospital healthcare data for over 1.3 million participants.
To become the most effective national resource to study the health of the nation, Our Future Health has aimed to increase participation from those under-represented in research. Our Future Health has already attracted the largest and most diverse group of participants compared to similar programmes. The programme remains committed to further encourage participation from across the entire population.
The data held by Our Future Health is already being used in research studies. When the ADD Challenge completed, 48 health-related studies had been approved to use the data held securely within the Trusted Research Environment set up by Our Future Health. The number of studies is expected to grow significantly.
Apply to access Our Future Health resources.
The final evaluation report for the Acceleration Detection of Disease ISCF Challenge reviewed the process and the impact of the Challenge based on a set of evaluation questions.
The following videos produced by Our Future Health provide more information on the organisation’s activities up to the end of the Challenge:
For further news and information visit Our Future Health.
For further information on the continuing support from UKRI to Our Future Health contact MRC:
Email: ofh@mrc.ukri.org
Last updated: 29 May 2026
