Funding & Opportunities

Are you considering a career as a clinical academic but want to experience life as a researcher before you decide? Clinical primers are aimed at medical, veterinary and dental graduates. They are designed to give outstanding early career clinicians the chance to experience a world-class research environment for the first time.

Clinical Primer Scheme

Support offered: Applications from suitably qualified clinical graduates are invited for six month biomedical/health research “primer” projects to be undertaken at the University of Bristol. These are supported by a Wellcome Trust ‘Institutional Strategic Support Fund’ award to the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute and the University of Bristol. The funding will cover clinical salary and associated project costs. For information, to date we have funded 17% of applicants to this scheme.

Stage of innovation: Clinical primers are aimed at medical, veterinary and dental graduates.

Open to: This opportunity is aimed at clinically qualified medical, veterinary and dental trainees who are at an early stage of their career.

Application deadline: 14/11/2019

This is stage 1 of a 2-stage competition. A total fund of up to £1.5 million is on offer for stage 1 to conduct research and develop a business plan for a healthy ageing ‘trailblazer’. This funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund: Healthy Ageing Trailblazers

Support offered: You can apply for a grant of up to £100,000 to conduct research and develop a business plan.

Stage of innovation: Research and Development

Open to: For stage 1 of the competition you can apply as a single applicant. Stage 2 proposals must be collaborative.

Application deadline: 27/11/2019

If you are interested in Health Economics, Transformational Leadership, Collaborative Management, Efficient Working and Entrepreneurship then you are an ideal candidate for The HELM Programme.

Health Economic Leadership Management

Support offered: Training and support surrounding Health Economics, Transformational Leadership, Collaborative Management, Efficient Working and Entrepreneurship.

Stage of innovation: No innovation necessary.

Open to: NHS Employees

Application deadline: Ongoing

Together with the University of the West of England, we run the Health Tech Accelerator Programme to provide up to 12 hours of free business support to small and medium-sized enterprises in the health and life science sector.

Health Tech Accelerator Programme

Support offered: Mentoring and business support (including planning and strategy, financial advice, market research, IP advice and bid writing); sector specific expertise; networking & academic/ industry collaboration opportunities

Stage of innovation: Any

Open to: Start-ups and SMEs based in the West of England who are looking to further develop novel products or services for the health and life science sector

Application deadline: Ongoing

UK registered SMEs can apply for a share of £1.2 million to support the evaluation of innovative medical devices, diagnostics and regulated digital health products.

SME support to evaluate innovative medical technologies: round 5

Support offered: You can choose from 2 options: Planning and preparation for a study, for which total eligible project costs can be up to £100,000. A study to collect clinical performance and cost-effectiveness data, for which total project costs can be up to £500,000.

Open to: UK based small-to-medium sized businesses

Application deadline: 11/12/2020

The Bristol Industrial PhD Placement Fund is supported by the EPSRC National Productivity Investment Fund. It encourages innovative, creative and collaborative ways for PhD students to experience working within industry and gaining new skills.

Bristol Industrial PhD Placement Fund

Support offered: PhD students who take on a placement will be able to apply their technical, research and professional skills across different contexts outside of academia.

Open to: Any external organisation aligning with the EPSRC Industrial Strategy challenge in one of the 9 selected areas.

Application deadline: Ongoing