UKRI Translation: MRC Impact Acceleration Awards

UKRI Translation: MRC Impact Acceleration Awards is sponsored by Innovate UK. UKRI Translation: MRC Impact Acceleration Awards. Funding opportunity from Innovate UK.

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UKRI Translation: MRC Impact Acceleration Awards – UKRI Funding opportunity: UKRI Translation: MRC Impact Acceleration Awards Medical Research Council (MRC) Award range: £50,000 - £300,000 16 July 2026 9:00am UK time 11 November 2026 4:00pm UK time Apply to the MRC Impact Acceleration Award for single-step support in developing a new or repurposed medicine, medical device, diagnostic, or other medical product.

Projects must target a high-risk development step backed by prior funding, generating critical data to de-risk onward progression or determine failure. The Impact Acceleration Award strategically bridges the smaller Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) and the larger Proof of Concept funding opportunity. You must be based at a Medical Research Council (MRC) eligible research organisation.

This funding opportunity was formerly known as ‘Gap Fund: single-step support for medical product development’. This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible .

To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must: show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work be looking to generate critical preliminary data to build confidence in the development strategy for a new medicine, repurposed medicine, medical device, diagnostic test, or other medical intervention development 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 you and the project will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers You can only submit one application as project lead to this funding opportunity.

We will not accept uninvited resubmission of applications that were submitted after 1 April 2026 to MRC, the rest of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) or any other funder. An uninvited resubmission is an application that was previously unsuccessful and has been submitted again without being invited by MRC. This includes applications that are unchanged, minimally revised, or substantially the same as the original submission.

Uninvited resubmissions will be rejected. You should contact us if you are unsure whether your application is a resubmission. Find contacts in the ‘contact details’ section Who is not eligible to apply You are not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity as a project lead if you are based at an international research organisation.

This does not include the MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) or MRC/UVRI (Uganda Virus Research Institute) and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit.

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: charity and third sector organisations However, charities and third sector organisations that are approved UKRI Independent Research Organisations are eligible to apply as project lead or project co-lead.

International researchers As MRC is a lead funder for this funding opportunity, international researchers can apply as ‘project co-lead (international)’. You should include all other international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners. Project co-leads (international) make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the project.

Their contribution and added value to the research collaboration should be clearly explained and justified in the application, see ‘Applicant and team capability to deliver’. Read the UKRI project co-lead (international) eligibility for more details. Please contact us if you are uncertain about eligibility.

Equality, diversity and inclusion We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers. We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances.

This includes: support for people with caring responsibilities alternative working patterns UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

You can apply for academically led translational projects that aim to undertake a single-step package of development work that will bridge the gap between the inception of a new idea and substantive funding through schemes such as the MRC Proof of concept funding opportunity (formerly Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme, DPFS).

The Impact Acceleration Award supports our strategic priorities including: precision prevention to reduce disease risk in targeted populations early and accurate diagnosis to improve speed and accuracy of disease detection advanced treatments offering novel therapeutic approaches improve outcome monitoring of patients receiving treatment better management of diseases and conditions through innovative technologies All human diseases and medical interventions are eligible for support, both in the context of UK healthcare and addressing global health issues.

You should note the Impact Acceleration Award will only support single-step projects, focusing on one goal rather than multiple steps. We recommend requesting only the funding needed for this specific goal, unless applying for the maximum amount is scientifically justified. Your project should have already explored a new concept and generated some data in support of the approach.

Your application should clearly articulate: the core concept of the project the critical one-step gap that needs to be addressed an explanation of how the proposed plan will address this critical gap the challenges and issues involved in onward development This fund will provide small scale funding to generate critical data needed prior to seeking more substantive funding.

A non-exhaustive list of examples of the types of projects that could be supported include: high-risk elements of therapeutic discovery, quantification and validation high-risk stages of prototype development initial biomarker validation vector identification or optimisation hit expansion medicinal chemistry In exceptional circumstances, you can submit follow on applications where you can justify the need for continued support.

However, in most cases a positive outcome of the proposed work should be sufficient to allow submission of a longer and larger application, potentially to the MRC Proof of Concept funding opportunity. For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the ‘Additional information’ section.

Applications from research organisations who are not recipients of an Impact Acceleration Account may use this funding opportunity to apply for more preliminary studies. The scale and scope of the request should reflect a project more in line with earlier stages of development. You should highlight within the application that you are applying for an IAA-like project and that your research organisation does not provide this opportunity.

You can apply for funding for work on novel: new small molecule medicines vaccines for infectious or non-infectious disease biologics (antibodies, peptides, proteins) advanced therapeutics (for example, gene therapy, cell therapy, RNA therapy, nucleic acid therapy and T-cell therapy) complex medicines for example PROTACS, molecular glues and antibody-drug conjugates regenerative medicine approaches repurposing clinical studies or using existing therapies for new indications digital healthcare and app development diagnostics (including biomarker validation but excluding biomarker identification) medical imaging technology surgical techniques or tools behavioural and psychological interventions radiotherapy and radiation protocols We note that many applications in each of these categories may include artificial intelligence (AI) methodologies.

A significant use of AI in an Impact Acceleration Award application refers to the integration of AI as a core enabling technology that fundamentally shapes the application’s functionality, development, and value proposition. This means that AI is not merely an add-on feature but a major technique that drives the application’s capabilities, automation, decision-making, or user experience.

This application form includes a question section dedicated to such applications and more guidance on this can be found below depending on the type of AI application you plan to submit. Training a model based on existing data The application should convey a clear and well-supported justification for the sufficiency of the available data in achieving the stated objectives.

It should also confidently articulate how the work extends beyond discovery science, framing it as translational research that addresses a high-risk, early-stage development challenge. The application should demonstrate both the feasibility and the significance of the proposed research. Clinical validation of a model The application should outline specific plans and success metrics for validating the model in a clinical context.

It should clearly detail the methodology, as well as the required expertise and clinical partners (if applicable). The application should demonstrate both the feasibility and the significance of the proposed approach in a clinical setting.

Repurposing existing models into new interventions The application should demonstrate a clear path from repurposing to patient benefit, focusing on the single high-risk step being addressed and its success criteria. Collecting new data and building a new model The application should clearly define the data to be collected and explain why and how this data will be sufficient to achieve the stated goals.

It should explicitly detail the methodology needed for the new model, along with the required expertise, providing strong justification for both. The application should also clearly justify why the work is not discovery science, but rather translational research that addresses a high-risk, early-stage development challenge.

Be aware of the following common mistakes and omissions: insufficient detail on data collection or use: applications often include good descriptions of methodology without a clear explanation of data origin, quantity, or quality.

Ensure you address all these aspects in your application insufficient detail on proposed methodology: if data availability is well-articulated, ensure your methodology and expertise are equally well-articulated lack of metrics and success criteria: clearly define measurable success criteria and explain how you will evaluate your progress multiple work packages: avoid structuring your project like a short grant application.

Do not include multiple steps or packages, focus on one high-risk step Activities we do not support This funding opportunity will not support: fundamental or investigative research that is not linked to a product development plan (supported by the MRC science areas) clinical studies where the main aim is to investigate disease mechanism (supported by the MRC Experimental Medicine Panel ) generation of preliminary concept data (supported by Impact Acceleration Accounts, IAAs) pre-clinical safety and toxicology studies (supported by MRC Proof of Concept) early-phase clinical trials (supported by MRC Proof of Concept); note that clinical feasibility studies within the cost limits of the Impact Acceleration Award may be considered for Gap funding.

(Contact the Impact Acceleration Award mailbox prior to submission) late-phase clinical trials (supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation and NIHR Health Technology Assessment programmes) interventions aiming to improve NHS service delivery (supported by NIHR) late-phase global health trials (supported by the NIHR) same or similar applications that have previously been rejected by other MRC funding panels in the last 12 months applications that involve multiple work packages.

The duration of this award is between six and 18 months. Justification of the timescale and resources needed in the context of the proposed work needs to be provided and duration of request should reflect this. Projects should start one to six months after the funding decision date.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be between £50,000 and £300,000. We will provide funding at 80% of the FEC and 100% of permitted exceptions. If this limit is exceeded, your application will be rejected by the MRC during the initial checks stage.

Find out more about full economic costing . We recommend requesting only the funding needed for this specific goal, unless applying for the maximum amount is scientifically justified.

You can request funding for costs such as: a contribution to the salary of the project lead and co-leads support for other posts such as research and technical staff travel costs (conference attendance costs are not acceptable for this award) data preservation, data sharing and dissemination costs estates and indirect costs public partnerships and related activities, including payments to public contributors You can also request costs for work to be undertaken at international organisations by international project co-leads.

We will fund 100% of the eligible international costs. The total of such costs requested for international applicants from high-income countries (HICs) (those not on the OECD DAC List of ODA Recipients ), India and China must not exceed 30% of the total resources requested. There is no cap on costs requested for international applicants from DAC list countries.

For more information on international costs and what we will and will not fund see costs we fund and the Collaborate with Researchers in Norway guidance .

costs for PhD studentships funding to use as a ‘bridge’ between grants costs associated with applying for intellectual property (IP) protection, for example, patent filing A project partner is a collaborating organisation in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU, who will have an integral role in the proposed research.

You may include project partners that will support your research project through cash or in-kind contributions, such as: recruitment of people as research participants providing samples, such as human tissue, for the project Each project partner must provide a statement of support.

If your application involves industry partners , they must provide additional information if the team project partner falls within the industry collaboration framework . Find out more about subcontractors and dual roles . Who cannot be included as a project partner Any individual included in your application with a core team role cannot also be a project partner.

Any organisation that employs a member of the application core team cannot be a project partner organisation. This includes other departments within the same organisation. If you are collaborating with someone in your organisation, consider including them in the core team as project co-lead, or specialist.

They cannot be a project partner. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks. See further guidance and information about TR&I , including where you can find additional support.

We are running this funding opportunity on the new 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. The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI. If the lead research organisation is an NHS organisation, check it is available in the Funding Service. You are encouraged to check this early as there may be additional steps for the organisation to be set up before you can apply.

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page: Confirm you are the project lead. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers.

If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.

Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant. Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must: provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit) insert each new image on a new line use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words.

The following are not permitted, and your application will be rejected if you include: sentences or paragraphs of text excessive quantities of images A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see: how applicants use the Funding Service how research offices use the Funding Service how reviewers use the Funding Service References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application. Hyperlinks can be used in reference information.

When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that: references are easily identifiable by the assessors references are formatted as appropriate to your research persistent identifiers are used where possible General use of hyperlinks Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information.

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment . We must receive your application by 11 November 2026 at 4:00pm UK time. You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines. Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

MRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications. We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice .

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email gapfund@mrc. ukri. org Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include: • individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave) • declaration of interest • additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section • conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection • the application is an invited resubmission For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice .

Institutional matched funding There is no requirement for matched funding from the institutions hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond the standard 20% FEC. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations.

Direct and in-kind contributions from third party project partners are encouraged. This policy does not remove the need for support from host organisations who must provide the necessary research environment and infrastructure for award-specific activities funded by UKRI. For example, research facilities, training and development of staff.

MRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at board and panel outcomes . If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research . In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information.

Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example: the wider research community Guidance for writing a summary Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of: the challenge the project addresses potential applications and benefits relationship with MRC priority areas or highlights List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: project co-lead (UK) (PcL) project co-lead (international) (PcL (I)) professional enabling staff research and innovation associate Only list one individual as project lead.

If you include more than one project lead your application will fail at the checking stage. UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications . Background to application What is the background of this application and the evidence supporting the proposed solution? Describe the gap in funding as outlined in the description of this question.

What the assessors are looking for in your response Ensure that you structure your response to this question with the following headings: Provide a brief overview of the scientific background of your application.

Provide information related to any of your previously funded applications (including details of the funder), where this previous work has enabled and informed the work proposed in your application, specifying any previous UKRI application references.

If there is no relation between any of your previously funded work and your current application, you should still include the “Previous funding and funder” heading, indicating N/A to show a response to this question is not applicable. You are required to identify if your application is a resubmission and include any invitations from MRC permitting your resubmission and how the proposed work has developed.

Reference any other correspondence with MRC relevant to and regarding your current application. You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

We encourage applicants to use images including figures, diagrams, or visual representations in place of lengthy text. Effective visuals can convey complex ideas more clearly and concisely than words alone. Ensure that images are well-labelled, relevant, and enhance clarity, rather than being used to extend the word count.

Fit to funding opportunity How do you consider your project to meet the aims of this funding opportunity? What the assessors are looking for in your response You must respond to each of the following four compulsory questions: What is your ‘elevator pitch’ for this project?

Summarise your project in two or three impactful sentences, focusing on its purpose, the problem it addresses, and the transformative potential of the proposed work in terms of clinical impact. You should note that familiarity with the remit of the Impact Acceleration Award is essential and your wording should be tailored to our remit. What is the single high-risk development step your project addresses?

Clearly and concisely define the single step you aim to tackle. Why is it critical, and what challenges or barriers does it address in your field? You must not include more than one step and consider not requesting the full amount of the award, if not justified by scientific need.

How does the proposed work align with this funding opportunity’s objective to prepare you for substantive funding (DPFS or another funding opportunity) or direct patient benefit? Explain how completing this step will unlock further opportunities, such as attracting major funding, forming industry partnerships, or delivering immediate or downstream patient benefits.

What is the potential impact of your project in its respective field and on patient benefit? Highlight the significance of the anticipated outcomes, what your criteria for success are and how this will lead to the next steps in development. If you fail to respond to one or more of the four questions above, your application will be rejected.

MRC Impact Acceleration Account Does your research organisation (RO) have an MRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)? What the assessors are looking for in your response Contact your research office to enquire if your RO currently holds (or have previously held) an MRC IAA award.

If your RO has confirmed they hold an MRC IAA award, you must provide the following details in the text box: quote the MRC award reference (detailed within the offer letter sent to your RO) confirm the name of the RO awarded the IAA award describe why your proposed work is more suitable for a ‘Impact Acceleration Award’ rather than IAA support If your RO confirms they have not received an IAA award from MRC, you may apply to this funding opportunity as an earlier-stage project, noting that while your proposed project may not require extensive preliminary data, it will still be assessed with the same level of rigour.

Compete the section by detailing such as ‘IAA has not been awarded to [confirm host RO name]’ within the text box. Projects involving significant use of artificial intelligence (AI) Does your project involve a significant use of AI?

What the assessors are looking for in your response A significant use of AI in a Impact Acceleration Award project refers to the integration of artificial intelligence as a core enabling technology that fundamentally shapes the project’s functionality, development, and value proposition.

This means that AI is not merely an add-on feature but a major technique that drives the project’s capabilities, automation, decision-making, or user experience. If your application fits this description, respond to the questions in this section. If not, indicate ‘N/A’.

Specify which of the detailed categories your application falls under. You must indicate only one category from the following: training a model based on existing data clinical validation of a model repurposing existing models into new interventions collecting new data and building a new model You must also provide a brief description explaining why you have chosen the category you have selected (maximum 100 words).

You must provide a response to each of the four additional questions: justify why the available data or your plans for data collection are sufficient (maximum 100 words) justify why the proposed methodology is a sufficiently suitable approach (maximum 100 words) justify the AI and clinical (if applicable) expertise of the individuals involved in this application (maximum 100 words) outline the proposed success criteria and explain how these will demonstrate that your project has been successfully de-risked and is ready for the next stage of funding, once the current funding has been completed (maximum 100 words) This is a compulsory section for applications that include significant use of artificial intelligence.

If you fail to answer the questions above, your application will be rejected. These questions provide a high-level summary of key aspects of your AI-based application. The panel expects concise yet impactful responses rather than detailed explanations.

Full details should be included elsewhere in the application, while this section should set the overall tone of your submission. You should refer to the ‘Scope’ section of this application form for more guidance on constructing an effective application involving significant use of AI. Your research organisation’s support Provide details of support from your research organisation (RO).

What the assessors are looking for in your response The assessors are looking for you and your RO to interact with meaningful engagement and agree the strong support you will require to successfully undertake your proposed work.

The information you will provide within this section should be approved by an appropriate institutional authority, such as your RO’s ‘tech transfer office’ or ‘translational research office’ before submitting your application.

You must include the following information within the text box: a significant person’s name, their position and office or their department office address or web link describe the strong support your RO will provide you when you undertake your proposed work How has the idea or solution been developed to date and what is the proposed approach for further development?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how you have designed your approach so that it: is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable) will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work Ensure you describe how the idea or solution has been developed to date and what the proposed approach for further development is.

You should outline: the previous work and current status of the innovation or technology and how the proposed work will build upon and progress its development the critical data to be generated as the project endpoint that will maximise translation of outcomes and transform the chance of attracting onward investment the expertise or any consultancy required to deliver the proposed work Provide a summary of the project workplan, accompanied by an embedded Gantt chart or similar aide to support your application.

You should outline: project specific deliverables, including proposed success criteria the resourcing necessary to deliver the proposed work the overall timeframe of the project You should not use the project plan to include information which should be detailed in the other sections of your application. Ensure that you describe the methodology and experimental design.

This should include: the use of animals or patients, including justification for why specific animal models or clinical populations have been chosen,