Opportunity status:
Upcoming
Funders:
Funding type:
Grant
Total fund:
£6,000,000
Publication date:
26 August 2025
Opening date:
14 October 2025 9:00am UK time
Closing date:
18 December 2025 4:00pm UK time
Applications must be from partnerships or consortia of eligible UK research organisations (ROs).
Regional accounts for clinical researchers is a £6 million trial initiative to address gaps in support for clinical researchers at critical career pinch points.
Funding up to four years will be provided at 100% full economic cost (FEC) to successful regional consortia spanning medical schools, institutions and NHS trusts. These consortia will have the flexibility to identify and fund clinical researchers at key career points, while providing support to enable their longer-term success.
This is a pre-announcement and the information may change.
The funding opportunity opens 14 October 2025. More information will be available on this page then.
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. .
Applications must be from partnerships or consortia of eligible UK ROs. There is no maximum limit on the number of partners. An eligible RO cannot be in multiple regional accounts for clinical researchers partnerships for this funding opportunity and therefore must only submit one application.
The partnership shall have an application lead, who will be responsible for submitting the completed application by the advertised funding opportunity deadline.
Regional Accounts for Clinical Researchers (RACR) will provide support to clinical researchers via multi-institutional partnerships between universities and NHS trusts. The initiative was designed in response to the report recommendations to address identified gaps in support for clinical researchers at the following critical career pinch points:
* the immediate postdoctoral period, enabling research activity while completing clinical training
* research re-entry, enabling clinicians to re-enter research and develop proposals for follow-on support
Successful RACR applications should demonstrate:
* direct alignment with Medical Research Council (MRC) core remit of biomedical discovery and early translation research
* 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.
It is anticipated that four to six RACR awards, each lasting up to four years, will be made as part of this pilot phase. Each award will undergo a midterm review to assess progress and determine the case for releasing subsequent funding for the remainder of the award period.
We are running this funding opportunity on the 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. We will publish full details on how to apply when the funding opportunity opens.
Assessment process
Panel
We will invite experts to assess the quality of your application. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview after which the panel will make a funding recommendation.
We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.
Assessment areas
The full criteria for assessment will be published when the full application funding opportunity opens.
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, 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 contact
For general questions related to MRC funding including our funding opportunities and policy email:
Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.