Mundësi financimi

Please find the funding opportunities available from the NHS Gloucestershire and NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB Research Team.

You can find information about eligibility, application deadlines, guidance and application forms in each funding opportunity drop-down below.

For further information or if you have any questions, please email bnssg.research@nhs.net

Responsive Call

This is funding provided to support the development of a research project. We are looking to support the co-development of a specific research question relevant to health and care into a strong NIHR grant application.

The NHS Gloucestershire and NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB Research Team is committed to supporting health and care research that addresses the needs of our local population and reduces health inequalities.

We are inviting applications for the following priority areas through the Themed Call, as part of our Responsive Call.

  • Theme 1: Improving Men’s Health Outcomes Through Community-Based Approaches
  • Theme 2: Housing Conditions, Affordability and Security as Drivers of Health Inequalities

For more information, please read the Themed Call guidance

There are three types of Responsive Call opportunities that you can apply for:

Early ideas (Type 1)

£3,000 to start co-development of research ideas, such as stakeholder engagement and PPI (Patient and Public Involvement) work.

NIHR grant preparation (Type 2)

Up to £20,000 for NIHR grant application writing. This can include activities that will help write a high-quality NIHR application, such as preliminary data collection and literature review.

Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) for Fellowship applications

Please submit completed application forms to bnssg.research@nhs.net.

Further guidance

 

Health Inequalities Innovation Implementation (HI3) Fund

Next deadline: 30 November 2026

Funding is available for projects that embed evidence into primary care practice, improve patient outcomes and demonstrate sustainable improvements to primary care that address health inequalities. The fund is intended to support implementation and service improvement activity rather than ongoing service provision.

Projects should support primary care organisations to implement evidence, adopt innovation and improve services in ways that reduce health inequalities. The fund aims to generate practical learning that can be shared across the Integrated Care System and beyond.

 

Bridging Funding

Next deadline: 1st of each month

Covering salary costs of researchers between NIHR grants, to ensure they do not face redundancy whilst waiting for the next NIHR-funded post to be set up. You can download the application form below.

 

Studiues rezidentë

Rolling call

Evidence suggests that creating better relationships between researchers and commissioners is the most influential factor in getting research into practice. To help foster these relationships, NHS Gloucestershire and NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB cluster offers the Researcher in Residence scheme. 

The Researcher in Residence role facilitates the Mobilizimi i Dijes initiative in primary healthcare.

Hulumtuesi/ja Rezident/e do të ketë një rol kyç në:

  • Identifying NHS research questions that are relevant to commissioners’ interests.
  • Acting as a conduit between NHS staff with research ideas and the academic community.
  • Developing ideas into grant applications, focusing specifically on National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded schemes.

Researchers can be seconded for 3-12 months part-time, to be negotiated on successful appointment. The role will be based in the SHK Gloucestershire ICB and NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB Sistemi i Integruar i Kujdesit (ICS).

If you are an ICS employee with an opportunity for a Researcher in Residence, please complete the application form and email it to the NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB Research team at bnssg.research@nhs.net.

Researcher in Residence posts are a great way to create direct impact, build networks for future work and be a part of how evidence is used in the new health and care system. To learn more about the opportunities, email bnssg.research@nhs.net.

Find the latest Researcher in Residence opportunities

Informacion i mëtejshëm

If you are an ICB employee with an opportunity for a Researcher in Residence, please complete the application form and email it to the NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB Research team at bnssg.research@nhs.net.

 

Maternity Cover/Sickness

Next deadline: 1st of each month

Back-filling key NIHR-grant funded posts left temporarily vacant during the award period by staff taking maternity, paternity, or long-term sick leave, where absence will seriously compromise the success of NIHR-funded research.

 

Requests for extensions to existing RCF awards

Next deadline: 1st of each month

Providing shorter-term support for researchers whose grant application was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.

For no-cost extensions, please contact bnssg.research@nhs.net.

 

Career Development Posts

Next deadline: N/A Internal University process

Funding for an academic to develop and establish a specific area of work within one of our partner University departments. The ICB receives proposals from the University of Bristol and UWE Bristol.

If you are interested in this kind of funding please speak to your relevant contact below:

  • University of Bristol: CAPC = Katrina Turner
  • University of Bristol: PH = Rona Campbell
  • Primary Care Mental Health = Nicola Wiles
  • UWE Bristol = Boudewijn Dominicus

 

Departmental Development Posts

Next deadline: N/A Internal University process

Funding for methodologist posts within departments who will support a wide range of academic colleagues across a range of research interests with their research – recent examples are a Health Economist, a Medical Statistician, and a Realist Methodologist.

The ICB receives proposals from the University of Bristol and UWE Bristol. These are strategic investments to build capacity within University departments and within the local Health Services.

 

Academic Career Award

Next deadline: November 2026

This award is for academics from the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England.

University internal deadlines may be sooner. Please speak to your line manager about this award if you are interested.

This award supports academic colleagues who are a Research Fellow or Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, or an individual in a senior academic/research position at UWE Bristol, who are not core funded by their University employer. This award will enable academics to dedicate time to activities that support their career stability e.g. applying for research grants or Advanced Fellowships.

These awards are intended to help reduce the pressures of short-term contracts by awarding funding of £60,000 over 18 months.

Please speak to your line manager about this award if you are interested.

 

Launching Fellowships

Next deadline: 5pm, 31 July 2026

This scheme supports early-career, post-PhD researchers to establish their academic career, enhance their publication record and develop their first research grant application, for example an NIHR Fellowship or RfPB.

We are very proud to be associated with our Launching Fellows who are outstanding individuals who we believe will become research leaders of the future.

We offer up to £60,000 in funding for applicants from University of Bristol and UWE Bristol.

More information can be found in the guidance:

 

Responsive Call Practitioner Review

Practitioner reviewers help us to prioritise research topics and ensure we fund the best applications. Reviewers have a vital role in maintaining and improving the quality of our research. 

This is an opportunity to contribute directly to improving the NHS, social care, and public health by helping to shape the research we support.

Our funding initiatives seek to address the most pressing questions in health and social care, and your input will help ensure that the most impactful research is funded. 

You will also benefit from gaining insight into best practice in health and social care research and learning more about the standards and characteristics of successful funding applications. 

If you are interested to become a reviewer, please complete this expression of interest form. 

 

Grant support from the research team

RCF contributes to the salary costs of various research-related, administrative and research support staff who work to deliver high-quality grant applications and research.

We have joint posts with our partner Universities with staff working for the ICB and the University of Bristol or UWE Bristol.

Our job is to make academic health science thrive locally, and we always seek to improve our services, so if you have ideas about how we can support you better, please let us know by emailing bnssg.research@nhs.net.