UKRI Translation: MRC Impact Acceleration Awards in Swindon

Opportunity status:

Open

Funders:

Funding type:

Grant

Award range:

£50,000 - £300,000

Publication date:

16 July 2026

Opening date:

16 July 2026 9:00am UK time

Closing date:

11 November 2026 4:00pm UK time

Apply to the MRC Impact Acceleration Award for single-step support in developing a new or repurposed medicine, medical device, diagnostic, or other medical product.

Projects must target a high-risk development step backed by prior funding, generating critical data to de-risk onward progression or determine failure.

The Impact Acceleration Award strategically bridges the smaller Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) and the larger Proof of Concept funding opportunity.

You must be based at a Medical Research Council (MRC) eligible research organisation.

This funding opportunity was formerly known as ‘Gap Fund: single-step support for medical product development’.

This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. .

Who is eligible to apply

To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must:

• show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work
• be looking to generate critical preliminary data to build confidence in the development strategy for a new medicine, repurposed medicine, medical device, diagnostic test, or other medical intervention development

For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application the research organisation is confirming, if it is successful:

• contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the project
• all necessary support for the project and the applicants will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers

Demand management

You can only submit one application as project lead to this funding opportunity.

Resubmissions

We will not accept uninvited resubmission of applications that were submitted after 1 April 2026 to MRC, the rest of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) or any other funder. An uninvited resubmission is an application that was previously unsuccessful and has been submitted again without being invited by MRC. This includes applications that are unchanged, minimally revised, or substantially the same as the original submission. Uninvited resubmissions will be rejected.

You should contact us if you are unsure whether your application is a resubmission. Find contacts in the ‘contact details’ section

Who is not eligible to apply

You are not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity as a project lead if you are based at an international research organisation. This does not include the MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) or MRC/UVRI (Uganda Virus Research Institute) and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit.

If you are employed by these organisations you cannot apply as project lead or project co-lead, but can participate as project partners on an application led by an eligible UK organisation:

• businesses
• charity and third sector organisations

However, charities and third sector organisations that are approved are eligible to apply as project lead or project co-lead.

International researchers

As MRC is a lead funder for this funding opportunity, international researchers can apply as ‘project co-lead (international)’. You should include all other international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners.

Project co-leads (international) make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the project. Their contribution and added value to the research collaboration should be clearly explained and justified in the application, see ‘Applicant and team capability to deliver’.

Read the for more details.