Scope

You can apply for academically-led translational projects that aim to either:

• improve prevention, diagnosis, prognosis or treatment of significant health needs
• develop research tools that increase the efficiency of developing interventions

All human diseases and medical interventions are eligible for support, both in the context of UK healthcare and addressing global health issues.

Your project can start and finish at any stage on the developmental pathway from early development, through pre-clinical refinement and testing to early-phase clinical studies and trials (up to phase 2a). You can submit follow-on proposals where you can justify the need for continued support.

You can apply for funding for smaller scale or earlier-stage translational projects generating critical data and confidence to de-risk further development via the Developmental pathway funding scheme (DPFS) through:

• MRC Impact Acceleration Accounts available at certain research organisations
• Medical Research Council (MRC)’s Developmental Pathway Gap Fund

Activities we support

You can apply for funding for work on novel:

• candidate therapeutic entities (for example, drug discovery)
• vaccines for infectious or non-infectious disease
• biologics (antibodies, peptides, proteins)
• advanced therapeutics (for example, gene therapy and cell therapy)
• regenerative medicine approaches
• medicines repurposing studies (clinical studies or pre-clinical activities, where these are required for regulatory purposes), using existing therapies for new indications
• medical devices
• digital healthcare and app development
• diagnostics (including biomarker validation and development of clinical decision-making tools)
• medical imaging technology
• surgical techniques or tools
• behavioural and psychological interventions
• radiotherapy and radiation protocols

Activities we do not support

This funding opportunity will not support:

• fundamental or investigative research not linked to a development plan, supported by the MRC science areas
• technology development not aligned to a medical or clinical developmental plan, likely Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) or Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) remit
• clinical studies where the main aim is to investigate disease mechanism, supported by the MRC Experimental Medicine Panel
• late-phase clinical trials, supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) efficacy and mechanism evaluation, health technology assessment and global health research programmes
• development of technologies or interventions that aim to improve health service delivery rather than meeting a specific clinical need
• development of population-level and societal solutions to healthcare challenges.

Learn about:

• MRC’s remit, programmes and priority areas
• NIHR’s efficacy and mechanism evaluation programme
• NIHR’s health technology assessment programme
• NIHR’s global health research programmes

Duration

There is no limit to the duration of your project. You should justify the timescale of the project in the context of the proposed work.

Projects should start one to six months after the funding decision date.

Funding available

There is no limit to the amount of funding you can apply for. You should justify the resources needed in the context of the proposed work.

We will fund 80% of the full economic cost and 100% of permitted exceptions.

Find out more about full economic costing.

What we will fund

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
• research consumables
• equipment
• travel costs
• 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 costs.

The total of such costs requested for international applicants from high-income countries (HICs) (those not on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list of official development assistance 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.

What we will not fund

We will not fund:

• costs for PhD studentships
• publication costs
• funding to use as a ‘bridge’ between grants
• costs associated with applying for IP protection, for example, patent filing

Collaborations

We encourage working with charities or industry partners where these partnerships can add value to the project.

Collaborators may add value by giving access to:

• expertise
• technologies
• reagents
• funding

Please note that collaboration is not a prerequisite for application. You should make a clear case for the DPFS award being academic-led and requiring MRC funding to support the work proposed.

Be clear about any conflicts of interest and how they will be managed through the conflict of interest policies at the project lead’s research organisation.

Project partner

You may include project partners that will support your research project through cash or in-kind contributions, such as:

• staff time
• access to equipment
• sites or facilities
• the provision of data
• software or materials
• 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.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

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.

Further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants 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.

To apply

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

1. Confirm you are the project lead.
2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org 

Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.

3. 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.
4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

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 may be rejected if you include:

• sentences or paragraphs of text
• tables (note, embedded tables are permitted)
• 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

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.

Deadline

We must receive your application by 19 November 2025 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 the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

Personal data

Processing personal data

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.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email dpfsanddcs@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.

Publication of outcomes

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.

Summary

Word limit: 550

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:

• opinion-formers
• policymakers
• the public
• the wider research community

Guidance for writing a summary

Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:

• context
• the challenge the project addresses
• aims and objectives
• potential applications and benefits

Core team

List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:

• project lead (PL)
• project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
• project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
• specialist
• grant manager
• professional enabling staff
• research and innovation associate
• technician
• visiting researcher
• researcher co-lead (RcL)

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.

Application questions

Related applications

Word limit: 1,200

If this is a resubmission, provide a response to feedback from your previous Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS) application. Please include the feedback itself in this section.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If your application is not a resubmission, enter ‘N/A’ in the text box, mark this section as complete and move to the next question.

If your application is a re-submission to DPFS, please provide previous reference number and identify any invitations from us permitting your re-submission.

Ensure you describe:

• how this application differs from the previous application
• how previous feedback has been considered and addressed

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Opportunity and market

Word limit: 800

What is the opportunity or challenge you are seeking to address?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Ensure you describe:

• the health or clinical need you are seeking to address
• how your work could lead to the development of a new or improved prototype, product, service or technology
• how meeting this need could lead to significant health or patient benefit, or alleviate an important translational bottleneck
• the competing solutions and their status, including whether similar or complementary work is being undertaken elsewhere
• the key competitive advantages of your proposed solution
• the potential market for your proposed solution, in terms of the target product profile, patient numbers and financial parameters

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Scientific background and current stage of development

Word limit: 1,000

What is the background to this application and evidence to support the proposed solution?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Ensure that you provide:

• a brief description of the current stage of development
• an overview of the rationale and scientific background of your application
• information about your previous or current funding (if applicable) that has enabled and informed the proposed work, include any previous UKRI grant references. If you will have any funding concurrent to this project, explain any overlap and how that funding will support the proposed work
• in the case of applications involving institutes, units or centres with existing core funding, including those funded by UKRI and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), such as Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs), describe how the proposed work and resources requested builds on, but is distinct from, core funded programmes of research

In this section, you must also provide supporting data (including a selection of figures, tables and images where relevant) to demonstrate the current development stage of your project and proof-of-concept to support your application. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

References may be included within this section.

Small molecule supplementary information

Word limit: 1,500

If you are requesting funding for a hit to lead, lead optimisation or candidate selection project, please provide structures.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If your application is not about hit-to-lead and lead optimisation, enter ‘N/A’ in the text box, mark this section as complete and move to the next question.

Download and complete the DPFS small molecule supplementary information form (DOCX, 47KB), then paste the table into the text box.

Using the following headings, ensure that you provide: target product profile (TPP) or key target compound parameters of the proposed investigational new drug (IND):

• target name
• mechanism of action, such as agonist, antagonist
• route of administration, such as oral, IV, topical
• duration of treatment, such as acute, chronic
• dosage regimen, such as twice daily

Structure and data

You should provide structures for the most promising chemical series being actively developed. Failure to include chemical structures may negatively impact the ability to assess the suitability or strengths of your proposed chemistry plan.
Use the table as a template, summarise the available data in the same column for each series. Data are requested for any available assays for the lead molecule shown and the range seen within the chemical series, including (but not limited to):

• biological assays
• physicochemical properties
• liabilities and development risks for up to two chemotypes or chemical series

Project traceability

You should:

• summarise the main structure activity or property relationships for each chemical series
• highlight the key challenges to optimisation of the series towards the TPP and outline how these will be addressed
• describe the biological assays and models to be used in the project including their duration and throughput where relevant
• explain how risk associated with the translation between in vivo assays, in models, and activity in humans will be minimised

Development plan and route to patient benefit

Word limit: 500

What is the proposed approach for further development, and how will the project progress the innovation or technology towards achieving market or health or patient benefits?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Using the following headings, outline your current development plan and exit strategy.

Current development plan

You should describe:

• how the proposed work will enable its development
• the project’s primary objectives
• the project endpoint that would indicate that there is a reasonable chance of attracting onward investment
• the expertise or any consultancy required to deliver the proposed work
• how the proposed work will inform or deploy the product or technology using the most appropriate route to market or patient benefit

Exit strategy

You should describe:

• what further support you may need, following this funding, to deliver your product or technology, such as access to further funding, networks, partnerships, private investment and skills
• the criteria that would need to be met to access further support
• if you are ultimately seeking to develop a commercial product, the potential market value and how this will be realised, such as business development plans
• any engagement taken place or planned with potential downstream funders, partners or regulators, outlining who they are and the status of discussions
• the plans and strategy for further development, outlining the planned route to achieving patient benefits following the end of the DPFS project

Approach

Word limit: 2,000

How are you going to deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Provide an outline of your project plan, including your plans related to methodology and experimental design, along with your risk management strategy.

Project plan

Provide a summary of the project plan and an embedded ‘Gantt chart’, which should outline:

• your project specific deliverables
• your project’s starting point and approaches proposed to deliver the planned objectives
• a minimum of two key progression milestones, one being the project end
• for each milestone, the ‘Go or No-go’ criteria that will be used to allow robust decision-making on project progression, and an estimate of costs per milestone
• the overall timeframe of the project
• the resourcing necessary to deliver the proposed work, including access to facilities, infrastructure or equipment
• if applicable, any NHS costs (excess treatment and NHS support costs), exception costs and outsourcing activity that the project will require (a SoECAT is only required for stage two DPFS applications)
• if applicable, the inclusion of patient and public involvement, engagement or partnerships, and the added value these offer

Your project plan should also describe the project management requirements, including the commitment and involvement from your:

• research office
• translational research office, your technology transfer office or both

To support your project plan, you must embed a Gantt chart in the text box, that includes:

• project tasks (these being short, achievable and measurable activities) with, where relevant, the party responsible for delivering the task and dependency between tasks
• milestones which are major specifically-timed ‘Go or No-go’ decision points

Methodology and experimental design

As part of your methodology and experimental design, ensure that you outline:

• the use of animals or patients, including justification for why specific animal models or clinical populations have been chosen, following the MRC embedding diversity in research design policy
• the access you will have to statistical support during the project
• potential sources of bias and describe the strategies that will be adopted to minimise their effects
• for clinical studies, the recruitment and retention approach

Risk management

Outline the key risks to the project and your risk management plan, including:

• how likely the risks are to occur
• what their impact would be on the success and deliverability of the project
• how these risks will be managed, by whom and related escalation or mitigations procedures

You may use a risk table if preferred.

We suggest you structure your response using the following headings, with approximate word counts for each:

• project plan: 1,100 words
• methodology and experimental design: 400 words
• risk management: 500 words

References may be included throughout the approach section. We suggest you include your references under the most relevant heading. Any references you include count towards the approximate word limit indicated for each heading.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Reproducibility and statistical design

Word limit: 250

How will you ensure your proposed work is reliable, robust and reproducible?

What assessors are looking for in your response

You should provide a statistical analysis plan.

We expect you to seek professional statistical or other relevant advice in preparing your response, which should include:

• sample and effect sizes
• planned statistical analyses

Refer to the MRC guidance for applicants, for further information, examples and online tools.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

The length of your response will vary depending on the type of project, you may not need to use 250 words.

Applicant and team capability to deliver

Word limit: 1,650

Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:

• the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
• the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
• the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
• contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

The word limit for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:

• contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
• the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
• contributions to the wider research and innovation community
• contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit, including public partnerships

Additions

Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).

Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.

References may be included within this section.

The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.

Intellectual Property (IP) management and dissemination of project outcomes

Word limit: 800

What IP will be generated and how would it be managed during the project?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If your project will not generate any new IP, enter ‘N/A’ into the text box. A detailed definition of what DPFS considers to be IP is below.

IP is a collective term for all intangible assets such as data, clinical trial results, software, know-how, materials, inventions, methods, designs and the associated intellectual property rights (including patents, copyright and trademarks).

The generation of protectable IP is not an essential requirement for DPFS. Projects that will not generate patentable materials but that will nevertheless have the potential to provide health benefits are accepted on an equal basis.

However, ownership and management of IP must be consistent with our funding requirements. Projects with no plausible route to exploitation and ultimate health benefit or impact are extremely unlikely to be supportable.

You should:

• describe any new IP or knowledge that the project is expected to generate
• outline how any intellectual assets generated will be managed throughout the project to enable further development and maximise the opportunity for patient benefit
• confirm the organisations or individuals who will own any arising IP and any live, pending or envisioned agreements governing ownership or exploitation of that IP
• outline if the applicants have freedom to operate for this project, for future development work, or for clinical use
• if access to background IP is required, explain this including the organisations or individuals that hold the relevant background IP rights. If this background IP is held by a third party (or a non-academic applicant), has access been agreed? If not, why do you believe you will be able to access the required IP on reasonable terms?

Project partners

Add details about any project partners contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.

A project partner is a collaborating person or organisation who will have an integral role in your proposed research. Their involvement may include direct (cash) and or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time, use of facilities or recruitment of research participants. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.

A project partner is not anyone in your core team or anyone from your organisation or any of the other organisations represented by core team members.

Add the following project partner details:

• the organisation name (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)
• the project partner contact name and email address
• the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value

If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.

If there are specific circumstances where project partners do require funding for minor costs such as travel and subsistence, these project partner costs should be claimed and justified within the resources and costs section of your application.

Important information

If you are adding a project partner(s) to this section, you must ensure they provide you with a letter or email of support and you upload it to ‘Project partners: letters or emails of support’.

If your project partners are from industry or a company, you must also complete the ‘Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)’ section.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Project partners: letters (or emails) of support

Word limit: 10

Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the ‘Project partners’ section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

What supporting statements we are looking for

We are looking for you to provide letters or emails of support from all your identified project partner(s).

What supporting statements we are not looking for

We don’t want any other letters (or emails) of support, from people who are not your identified project partner(s), such as those simply expressing general support for your project. If these are included by you, they will be ignored by us and will not be used in the assessment process.

Important information

You should only provide letters or emails of support from people you have identified in the project partner section of your application, who will have an integral role in your proposed research.

What each project partner letter or email of support must include

Each project partner letter or email you provide should:

• include the name of the project partner organisation and contact information
• explain the project partner(s) commitment to the project
• explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the proposed work, to them
• describe any additional value they will bring to the project
• not exceed two sides of A4 per project partner

Project partner(s) letters and emails of support are not required to be on headed paper or include handwritten signatures (electronic signatures are acceptable).

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

Project partner(s) from industry or a company

Industry or company project partners are required to download and complete the industry or company letter of support template. You must also complete the ‘Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)’ section. Find out more about ICF.

Project partner(s) responsible for recruiting research participants or providing human tissues or samples

If the project partner is responsible for the recruitment of people, as research participants or providing human tissue, their letter or email of support should include:

• agreement that the project partner will recruit the participants or provide tissue
• confirmation that what is being supplied is suitable for the proposed work
• confirmation that the quantity of tissue being supplied is suitable, but not excessive for achieving meaningful results (if applicable)

Agreement with your project partner(s)

Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the ‘Project partners’ section.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

Word limit: 500

What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work?  If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:

• the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
• how you will manage these considerations

Consider the MRC guidance on ethics and approvals.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Outline costs

What are the expected costs of the proposed work?

Provide the approximate total values in GBP (£) for the expected directly incurred, directly allocated, indirect costs and exceptions. View the guidance on the costs you can apply for.

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process.

Your application will be assessed in a two-stage process.

Panel

Your stage one application will be considered by an independent panel of experts. If successful, you will be invited to submit a stage two application, which will undergo further assessment.

The decisions of the Developmental pathway funding scheme (DPFS) panel are not open to appeal.

Resubmission

You cannot re-apply with the same or a similar application to DPFS or other MRC funding opportunities if it is less than 12 months since you last applied, unless you have been invited to resubmit early.

Timescale

We aim to complete the process from stage one submission to stage two decision in approximately 24 weeks.

If you are successful at stage one, you will be invited to submit to the next stage two round planned to open 10 December 2025, with a closing date of 4 March 2026.

Please note if you are successful at stage one, you may defer your stage two application to the future round planned to open 6 May 2026, with a closing date of 1 July 2026.

Feedback

We will notify you of the outcome of your stage one application within 10 working days of the panel meeting and give feedback within eight weeks of the panel meeting.

In exceptional circumstances, the panel may give positive feedback, whereby the application is unsuccessful, but the 12-month moratorium on a resubmission is waived.

Principles of assessment

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.

Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review

Reviewers and panellists are not permitted to use generative AI tools to develop their assessment. Using these tools can potentially compromise the confidentiality of the ideas that applicants have entrusted to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to safeguard.

For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI.

We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

• fit to the funding opportunity scope
• opportunity and market
• scientific background and current stage of development
• development plan and route to patient benefits
• capability of the applicants and team to deliver the project
• intellectual property and its management
• ethical and responsible research and innovation considerations of the project

We will also assess your approach to the project, including:

• project plan and milestones
• methodology and experimental design
• reproducibility and statistical design
• risk management
• plans for patient and public involvement
• data management and sharing plans

Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page

IMPORTANT NOTE: 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 or content/remit of an 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 please 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 please contact the relevant DPFS programme manager or email dpfsanddcs@mrc.ukri.org

For general questions related to MRC funding including our funding opportunities and policy please contact rfpd@mrc.ukri.org

Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org

Phone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

• Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
• Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

To help us process queries quicker, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.

For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.

Background

Support for applicants

You are strongly encouraged to engage with your organisation’s research office or translational research office who will be able to offer guidance and support.

Ethics and regulatory approval

We do not require ethics permissions and regulatory approvals to be in place when you submit an application (stage one or stage two). However, given that research involving human subjects or requiring the use of human tissue or organs may raise various ethical and regulatory issues, you will be required to demonstrate that you have adequately considered these matters.

Early discussions with regulatory bodies are advised to ensure that all requirements can be met in a timely manner. Once an application is successful, it is the responsibility of the host organisation to ensure that the appropriate ethics and regulatory approval has been obtained and that no research requiring such approval is initiated before it has been granted.

Resources

You may find the following organisations and resources useful when preparing an application.

The MRC Regulatory Support Centre acts as a hub for advice and resources around research using human participants, their tissues, or data.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research provides a clinical trials toolkit that gives practical advice to those planning or running clinical trials in the UK.

Applicants considering a drug repurposing project may wish to explore the Repurposing Medicines Toolkit, developed by MRC and LifeArc.

The MHRA Innovation Office provides free advice to clarify regulatory requirements from an early stage of product development.

The NHS Innovation Service acts as an information gateway to support people developing new innovative products, services or initiatives in healthcare. This service includes specific advice for people developing AI and digital health technologies.

The MRC-LifeArc Innovation Hubs for Gene Therapies network supports academic-led early phase clinical development of gene therapies through manufacturing of GMP viral vector, translational and regulatory support, and manufacturing development support ahead of clinical development.

The Nucleic Acid Therapy Accelerator provides dedicated research capability, infrastructure and support to enable advances in the development of nucleic acid therapeutics.

Research and innovation impact

Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.

Research disruption due to COVID-19

We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:

• breaks and delays
• disruptive working patterns and conditions
• the loss of ongoing work
• role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic

Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.

Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.