MRC: partnership grant: applicant-led
MRC: partnership grant: applicant-led supports research teams to build collaborative capabilities, shared resources and skills that underpin research and advance understanding of human health and disease.
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates: Rolling (no closing date) | October 12, 2026, 9:00am UK time (opened)
Funding Amounts: No funding limit; 80% of full economic cost and 100% of permitted exceptions; up to five years
Summary: Supports ambitious research partnerships that build collaborative capabilities, shared resources and skills to advance human health.
Key Information: Partnerships must not primarily fund research, networking alone or infrastructure alone.
Description
The Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, supports novel partnerships that add value to existing research or underpin future research within its remit. The programme aims to transform understanding of human health and disease mechanisms, accelerate diagnosis, advance treatment and prevent illness. It welcomes team-science, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, including partnerships with global perspectives and potential to improve global health.
Activities can include consortia, knowledge sharing, unique shared resources, specialist data and software platforms, training, career development and capacity building in areas of unmet need. Small-scale, interdisciplinary, high-risk/high-gain pump-priming projects may demonstrate a partnership’s novel capabilities, but specific research questions must not be its focus. Partnerships should engage the wider research community, embed support for people and teams, and plan for sustainability beyond MRC funding.
