Opportunity status:
Upcoming
Funders:
,
Funding type:
Grant
Total fund:
£4,700,000
Maximum award:
£4,700,000
Publication date:
16 March 2026
Opening date:
1 April 2026 9:00am UK time
Closing date:
17 June 2026 4:00pm UK time
Apply for funding to host the National PET Imaging Platform (NPIP) Data Platform.
You must be a member of the consortium bid developed and approved by NPIP and based at a UK research organisation eligible for Medical Research Council (MRC) funding.
The Data Platform will make NPIP’s imaging and research data findable, accessible, interoperable and reuseable, provide services and tools to users and support sensitive data linkage.
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £4.7 million. MRC will fund 100% of the FEC.
Funding is available for 42 months with a fixed start date of 1 October 2026.
You must be invited to apply for this funding opportunity.
Who can apply
You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited you to do so.
This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. .
Who is eligible to apply
To be eligible to apply to host the NPIP data platform you must:
* be a member of the Data Platform consortium bid developed and approved by NPIP
* be employed by an
* show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work
* have the relevant infrastructure development expertise and experience to evidence you can deliver the NPIP Data Platform. Evidence of successful development of infrastructure will be prioritised over research success
* be collegiate in your approach to bringing together NPIP’s data assets and resources for the benefit of NPIP and the UK total-body PET imaging research community
* be collaborative in your approach to ensuring the data platform has the capability to connect to other data assets, such as other sources of sensitive health data
* be inclusive to support wider engagement with the research and infrastructure community in the UK and overseas to prioritise agile development approaches in meeting NPIP’s and other users’ needs
* there is no limit to the number of co-leads per application, but it must be clear from the application what unique contribution each co-lead will make to the success of NPIP’s Data Platform
For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application the research organisation is confirming, if it is successful:
* contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the project
* all necessary support for the project and the applicants will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career staff
The initial leadership team must convene and represent consortium members across a partnership of eligible organisations.
Who is not eligible to apply
The project lead for the NPIP Data Platform funding opportunity is not expected to be a director of an affiliated NPIP PET scanner site (irrespective of funding source for that site).
If you are employed by these organisations you cannot apply as project lead or project co-lead, but can participate as project partners on an application led by an eligible UK organisation such as:
* businesses
* charity and third sector organisations
International infrastructure developers
While international organisations cannot lead an application, it is possible for international infrastructure developers to apply as part of the leadership team, as an international co-project lead. We expect international co-leads to make a major intellectual and technical contribution to the design or conduct of the project and to provide clear indicators of commitment to the NPIP data platform.
Read the for more details.