Collaboration & Innovation Awards

This opportunity is open only to current members of the Mental Health Platform (MHP). The main applicant must be:

This opportunity is open only to current members of the Mental Health Platform (MHP). The main applicant must be:

• MHP researcher at any career stage, including Early Career Researchers and those with lived experience.
• MHP Associate Member

Industry partners involved in applications for this award must be part of the MHP Industry Alliance. 

We encourage the parties involved to co-lead the  project instead of selecting only one lead, given the collaborative nature of these awards. However, it’s not a requirement.

The project must: 

• Connect at least two of the Hubs. Leads of the Hubs involved must provide a letter of support to the project.
• The research must address one of the Cross-Hub collaboration themes described below. (See next section.)
• The project must be completed by 31 December 2028. Projects are expected to start within 6 months of the decision being made.
• The proposed budget is between £10,000- £300,000 (100% FEC, cost to funder) and excludes ineligible costs.
• Include PPIE in all stages of the project, including its design.

Applications above £100,000 must demonstrate that they are uniquely suited to the aims of the MHP and could not compete for funding elsewhere, such as through regular UKRI  routes or other funding agencies.

The award aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and generate real-world impact through innovative and inclusive research. 

MHP funding priorities are focused on three strategic areas: 

Translational Research –that develops our mechanistic understanding of severe mental illness or helps bridge the gap with clinical applications  

Molecular and Standardised Assessment Tools – to better characterise severe mental illness risk, symptoms, progression or treatment response  

Diversity & Inclusivity – enhancing representation and equity in research 

The proposed budget is between £10,000- £300,000 (100% FEC, cost to funder) and excludes ineligible costs.  

Eligible costs:  

• Direct Project Costs: 100% directly incurred and directly allocated project costs can be claimed, including staff time, travel and subsistence on individual projects.
• Costs of networking activities and events, engagement and knowledge exchange, including travel and subsistence.
• Equipment valued < £10,000. 

Ineligible costs:   

• Duplication of other sources of funding that would be more appropriate for the activity to be funded.
• Indirect or estates costs at the research organisation.
• Any costs relating to Intellectual Property protection including but not limited to registering, maintaining, or supporting patents or property rights.
• Equipment valued ≥ £10,000.
• Undergraduate or postgraduate activities or training, or core PhD training including tuition or bench fees.
• Contributions to existing knowledge transfer partnerships.
• The salary costs of investigators and staff employed on existing funded Hub awards are also not eligible for inclusion. 

Applications can be submitted twice a year around February/March and July/August. 

Exceptionally, emerging opportunities may be identified by the Leadership team and proposals may be invited for submission between funding rounds if offering significant strategic value to the MHP. Projects may be invited outside the standard funding cycles but will go through the same review process depending on their budget. 

Initial applications will be screened by the MHP Coordinating Team for peer review within 4 weeks of the submission date.  

Project leads must submit a completed application form and all required supporting documentation by email to the Mental Health Platform Coordinating Team.

Applications must be submitted by the published deadline to mhp@ed.ac.uk. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted.

Please save your application form using the following file naming convention:
YYYY MHP CandI Awards Full Name (for example: 2026 MHP CandI Awards Jane Smith)

All application materials, including the application form and supporting documentation, must be merged into a single PDF file (maximum total file size 25MB) and submitted by email with the subject line:
“MHP C&I Awards Application”

The application form can be downloaded from this page below.

Supporting documentation

Supporting documentation must be included within the single merged PDF submission and must comply with the page limits set out below.

1. Lead Applicant Cover letter (maximum 1 page)
   The cover letter must include: the project title; project leads, co-leads, collaborators and participating organisations; the aims of the project; its importance and feasibility; and the relevant expertise required to deliver it. It must also explain how the proposal aligns with the MHP Cross-Hub collaboration strategic areas and how it adds value beyond individual Hub research.
2. CVs (maximum 2 pages each) and lists of selected publications (maximum 1 page each)
   CVs and publication lists must be provided for all project leads, co-leads and collaborators, using the UKRI format.
3. Letters of support (1–2 pages each)
   Letters of support are required from all Hub leads and collaborators involved in the project, and from industry partners where applicable. Letters must clearly describe the level of commitment and nature of the contribution. Letters from collaborators must also confirm that they have read and agreed to the MHP Privacy Policy and the use of their data. Where applications are submitted under the MRC Industry Collaboration Framework, industry letters must follow the published guidance.

The Coordinating team will assess if candidates’ applications are complete, meet the minimum eligibility criteria. 

Applications requesting < £20,000 will undergo only one step review process, where a review panel will review and score the applications based on the scoring criteria below and decide which ones are fundable in each round.  

Applications requesting ≥ £20,000   will be firstly reviewed by independent peer reviewers and PPIE members. All applicants will receive feedback on their application and will have the opportunity to respond within ten days. 

Download the Review process and scoring criteria document on this page below 

The Mental Health Platform encourages applicants to consider whether involvement from industry partners could add value to their project.

Any industry partners involved in an application must be members of the MHP Industry Alliance and must be declared within the application form.

Where an application includes industry partners, applicants are required to complete Part 4 – Industry Involvement of the application form. Applicants must confirm whether the collaboration is being submitted under the MRC Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF).

If the application includes industry partners but is not being submitted under the MRC Industry Collaboration Framework, applicants must clearly explain why the Framework does not apply, as set out in Part 4 of the application form.

If you are considering industry involvement and are unsure how this applies to your proposal, please contact the MHP Coordinating Team at mhp@ed.ac.uk with a brief outline of your project and the proposed role of the industry partner prior to submission.

Funding decisions are made at the Collaboration & Innovation Review Committee meeting and are subsequently reviewed by the Leadership Team. The final outcomes are communicated to UK Research and Innovation Medical Research Council and to all applicants.

For successful applications, the MHP Coordinating Team, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh Research Office, will issue the appropriate MHP Subaward template and coordinate the signing process with the relevant project leads and participating institutions. Projects are expected to start within six months of the funding decision and within one month of the subaward letter being signed, in line with the awards process.

All award holders are required to comply with the  MHP values, Data Sharing policy, and the Terms and Conditions of the MHP Subaward letter. All research data generated through the project must be deposited in DATAMIND’s Trusted Research Environment.

Successful projects will also be subject to MHP monitoring and reporting requirements for the duration of the award.

You can download the Collaboration & Innovation Review Process and Scoring Criteria document on this page below.