Collaboration & Innovation Awards

• The main applicant(s) must be a current member of the MHP, including PPIE members, Early career researchers and Associate members.
• 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 compulsory requirement.
• Industry partners involved in applications for this award must be part of the MHP Industry Alliance.  

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.
• The project must be completed by 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 research project must address one of the Cross-Hub collaboration themes aligned with strategic priorities of the MHP. See "What should the project focus on?" below for more information.

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 

We also encourage applications that support or build upon our cross-cutting themes of biomarkers and social inequalities research. 

Cross-Hub Collaboration fund (£1.4 million): Awards from £10,000 to £300,000 cost to funder 

Funding for Cross-Hub collaboration and PPIE projects will be awarded at 100%FEC cost to funder. Estates and indirect costs are not eligible for inclusion.  

• Eligible costs: 100% Directly incurred and directly allocated costs, including staff time, travel and subsistence, networking activities and events, engagement and knowledge exchange.  

• Ineligible costs: Duplication of other sources of funding, indirect and estate costs, intellectual property related costs, equipment valued over £10,000, undergraduate and postgraduate activities or training and contributions to existing knowledge transfer partnerships. The salary costs of investigators and staff employed on existing funded Hub awards is also not eligible for inclusion 

Applications can be submitted twice a year. The estimated opening times are January/February 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 should submit an application form and supporting documentation as attachments in an email to the Director and Coordinating Team.

Please save your application form with the title YYYY_MHP_CandI application_firstname_surname and submit it to mhp@ed.ac.uk with the subject line “MHP C&I application” and your name. Please submit all required documents listed in Part III merged as a single PDF file and submitted by email to mhp@ed.ac.uk.  

Download the application form on this page below 

Supporting documentation

1. Cover letter (2 pages): with the title of the project, co-leads, collaborators and organisations involved, aims of the project, importance of research, project feasibility and relevant expertise necessary to deliver the project. It should also explain how it aligns with the MHP Cross-Hub collaboration themes and expands the value of individual Hubs research.  

    

2. CVs (2 pages) and Lists of selected publications (1 page) from leads, co-leads and collaborators – UKRI format  

    

3. Support letters (each 1 page) from Hub leads and collaborators involved: Letters must include information on the level of commitment and type of contribution provided from the Hubs or collaborators to the project. If the application involves industry partners, they must provide additional information if the relationship falls within the industry collaboration framework. 

    

4. Research plan and timeline (4 pages): must present the project approach to deliver objectives, its methodology, risk management, and a timeline. It should show how the project builds on previous work, uses the research environment, and ensures access to necessary infrastructure. The plan must also detail how the cross-hub partnership will be managed and benefit research. 

    

5. Data management plan (2 pages): must indicate the type of data, format and scale. Information must also be provided on data collection, quality assurance and security. Any data access restrictions or sharing details between collaborators must be indicated. Applicants are expected to comply with the MHP Data Sharing policy and all data generated must be deposited on DATAMIND’s Trusted Research Environment.  

    

6. PPIE plan (2 pages): must include how PWLE are involved in the design and delivery of the application and detailed breakdown of activities. 

    

7. Budget plan (1 page): Breakdown of project costs, including PPIE budget and any collaborators associated costs 

The Coordinating team will assess if candidates’ applications are complete, meet the minimum eligibility criteria. The MHP Coordinating Team will submit the applications for review within 4 weeks of the submission date. 

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 withing ten days. 

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

After the Leadership team decides which project to award, this decision will be communicated to MRC and the successful candidates.  

The Coordinating team, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh Research office, will update the MHP Subaward template and forward it to the different institutions and leads leading the project. The project is expected to start within 6 months of the decision being made and within one month of the subaward letter being signed.  

Upon becoming part of the MHP, awardees are expected to comply with the MHP values and Data Sharing policy. All research data generated by the Project must be deposited on DATAMIND’s Trusted Research Environment.  

Awardees are also expected to comply with the Terms and Conditions of the MHP Subaward letter.  

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