Funding Routes

We fund high quality research with demonstrable impact in the field of Veterans’ Mental Health. Our Mental Health Research Programme (MHRP) funds research through 3 routes:

  1. Rolling Open Call
  2. Highlight Notices
  3. Commissioned Research

Open Call

We welcome applications to our rolling Open Call in any area of Veterans’ Mental Health, but are particularly keen to receive (and will prioritize) applications that respond to our Mental Health research priorities research priorities.

Highlight Notices

We periodically issue highlight notices to encourage applications in particular mental health-related areas. Applications go through the same process as the Open Call, and are evaluated by the same standards of research excellence. We will prioritize applications responding to a highlight notice where they meet our overall quality standards. Applications are reviewed by the MHRP Steering Group on a biannual basis.

Commissioning Research

We also commission research to answer a specific need in the mental health field which we or our researchers have identified as core to supporting our (FiMT’s) aims.

Please see Funding Opportunities for current and completed opportunities. If you are interested in applying, please view the How to Apply section of the Mental Health Research Programme.

Quality-related (QR) Research Funding

Our Mental Health Research Programme has been successful on many occasions in attracting QR funding for its projects.  We would like to raise awareness of the MHRP’s QR funding success to prospective applicants and request they consider QR funding when preparing applications to the Programme, as such funding allows the our limited resources to stretch further and achieve more.

QR funding was established by what was formerly the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), which closed in March 2018 and was replaced by Research England.  The aim of this funding is that it be allocated on a selective basis to recognize and reinforce research excellence in English higher education institutions.  In terms of charities, the funding represents financial underpinning to recognize that charities sponsor high value research in universities that brings benefits to scientific discovery and to society, but that charities cannot always meet the full costs of that research; the funding therefore also aims to encourage institutions to work with charities in this way.

NIHR non-commercial partner status

Our Mental Health Research Programme has also recently achieved NIHR Non-Commercial Partner status.  NIHR non-commercial partners are organisations that:

  • award research funds as a result of open competition across England with high quality peer review;
  • fund research that is of clear value to the NHS, social care or public health; and
  • take appropriate account of the priorities, needs and realities of the NHS, social care or public health in making decisions about the research that they fund.

Having this status means that MHRP studies we fund may be able to access a number of benefits, including faster access to the NIHR Study Support Service,  which is provided by the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN), and helps researchers to plan, setup and deliver clinical research in England. The NIHR CRN can now support health and social care research taking place in non-NHS settings, such as studies running in care homes or hospices, or public health research taking place in schools and other community settings. Read the full policy: Eligibility Criteria for NIHR CRN Support

We encourage you to involve your local NIHR CRN team in discussions as early as possible when planning your study. This will enable you to fully benefit from the support available through the NIHR Study Support Service. If your study involves NHS sites in England,you will need to apply for Health Research Authority Approval. For guidance on submitting an application please visit: www.hra.nhs.uk

Association of Medical Research Charities members also benefit from the provision of Research Part B costs as defined by AcoRD.