Find Internal Funding

About Northern Accelerator

Northern Accelerator supports translational research stages T1-T3 along the Translational Pathway.

We have already funded 50 opportunities, investing over £2.1m to progress the commercial potential of promising research.

Size/schedule

Funding is available in two forms – feasibility awards and proof of concept awards – up to:

• £50,000 of Proof of Concept Funding
• £10,000 of Feasibility Funding

If you’re interested in applying for this funding you need to contact your relevant Business Development Manager or you can contact Company Creation Manager Lizzie Withington.

Contact

Visit the Northern Accelerator webpage or email Lizzie Withington, Company Creation Manager.

About NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre

NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) supports stages D2-D3 and T1 along the Translational Research Pathway.

Our vision is to improve lives through world-class research in ageing and long-term conditions. We offer infrastructure funding for early translational and experimental medicine research.

This funding is provided through five research themes:

• dementia
• liver disease
• musculoskeletal disease
• neuromuscular disease
• skin and oral disease.

And through two cross-cutting themes:

• ageing syndromes
• training.

BRC funding supports research infrastructure across the Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle University partnership. We bring together academics and clinicians to translate lab-based scientific breakthroughs into potential new treatments, diagnostics, and medical technologies. 

This underpinning infrastructure funding supports a wide range experimental medicine projects and we provide direct project funding to over 45 projects and to both biomedical and clinical trainees to support their research. We also offer innovative, interdisciplinary training opportunities to support novice and experienced researchers. Our active BRC Training network provides advice and support to our trainees. 

We provide funding for the national NIHR Dementia Translational Research Collaboration (Dementia-TRC), NIHR BioResource Centre Newcastle, and Newcastle Brain Tissue Resource.

Size/schedule

Project funding has ranged from £5k to £250k. The current NIHR Newcastle BRC award runs until 30 November 2022 and the majority of funding is committed. However requests for infrastructure support can be considered at all times. Calls for projects and studentships will be announced in advance of the application deadline.

Contact

Visit the NIHR Newcastle BRC webpage or email Martin Dixon, Chief Operating Officer.

About NHS Newcastle Hospitals Charity

Newcastle Hospitals Charity funding supports researchers throughout all of the stages of the Translational Research Pathway from D1-D3 to T1-T3.

We support the careers of junior researchers, especially with pump-priming projects, that will then lead to external funding and fellowship applications, or to fund a higher degree.

The research project should benefit patients and families in the North East.

Size/schedule

The size and frequency of funding depends on the specialty area. Typically, Newcastle Hospitals Charity funds projects up to £60k in an annual round (this is subject to change and review over the coming years).

Contact

Visit the Newcastle Hospitals Charity webpages or email the admin address or Malcolm Brodlie.

About EPSRC Impact Accelerator Account

The EPSRC Impact Accelerator Account (IAAs) support stages D1-D3 of the translational pathway.

IAAs are block awards made to research organisations to accelerate the impact of research. The EPSRC IAA supports impact acceleration within the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council research themes by providing funding to our academic community to:

• help bridge the gap between the lab and the marketplace
• develop ideas and collaborate with industry
• allow research to be communicated, translated and accelerated to users, and moved further along that pathway.

Newcastle University EPSRC IAA funding currently targets: 

• the commercialisation of EPS research outputs
• researcher/user business engagement activities
• the personal development of Early Career Researchers.

Size/schedule

Newcastle University has received £595k from the EPSRC to spend before March 31, 2022. We are currently applying to EPSRC for an additional three years of funding which will begin in April 2022.

Contact

Visit the EPSRC IAA web page or email Carl Samuel, the EPSRC IAA Manager.

The Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme supports translational research stages D2, D3 and T1. 

Examples of projects include:

• developing a novel 3D human skin equivalent model for skin sensitisation and detection of adverse immune responses to novel compounds and drugs
• determining the link between mitochondrial DNA damage and skin cell function, allowing the capability and opportunity to screen a number of technology options
• determining the contributory effects of (IR) radiation on the skin in isolation and in combination with other regions of the electromagnetic spectrum
• confirming the activity of novel receptor agonists in cell culture models and developing a proof-of-concept formulation for the treatment of atopic eczema

Innovate UK has two funding schemes:

• Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme
• Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT) scheme

Both schemes place a supervised Associate in a host company which must partially fund the project. Projects must demonstrate that they will increase revenue/profits through:

• access to new markets
• new product development
• increased productivity
• better processes

Size/schedule

KTP calls are roughly every two months. Project budgets are typically £90,000/PA.

AKT calls are more limited, please contact the KTP Office for more information. Funding is limited to £24,000 per project. AKT supports four-month projects to allow a company to test a particular market opportunity or plan a pathway to adopt innovation. The grant is up to £24,000 with a company contribution of around £3,000. Supervision requirements are 0.05FTE (one day/month). An AKT is intended to lead to a full KTP. The scheme is not open to the public sector. 

The KTP scheme supports 18 to 36-month projects that enable researchers to translate research outcomes into a company. However, projects can run for a minimum of 12 months and projects are typically 24-36 months.

KTPs create a mutually beneficial industry/university partnership led by a suitably qualified graduate (known as the Associate) with the capability to lead a strategic project. The partnership embeds vital new expertise, stimulates business growth and powers innovation within the company. Companies are required to contribute towards the scheme. For example, a small-to-medium-sized enterprise (SME) must contribute 33% of the total project value with a 67% grant from IUK. Larger companies must contribute 50% as a minimum.

Contact

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss KTP opportunities.

Dr Claire Heron, KTP Manager or Sharon Cochrane, KTP Support Officer.

About Arrow

Newcastle University’s Arrow programme supports collaborative working in stages D1-D3 of the Translational Research Pathway, focussing on:

• supporting innovation in North East small businesses (SMEs) by matching with expertise in Newcastle University
• offering background research knowledge to receptive SMEs.

Arrow’s overall aim is to build local collaborations leading to real-world solutions.

Typical projects take 2-4 weeks of working time spread over a longer duration to complete, with:

• a project team drawn from the supported SME
• a Newcastle University academic
• an Innovation Associate deployed from the Arrow staff.

Arrow’s associates have specialist sector expertise spanning:

• life sciences/healthcare
• engineering
• material science
• digital/data
• business.

The Innovation Associate typically completes around 80% of the agreed project work (technical or desk-based). This deployment, supported by Arrow programme funding, is the resource given to the project. While the programme will cover project-specific costs, we don’t offer direct financial support to academics.

Indirect benefits for academics include:

• experience working with entrepreneurs
• potential follow-on opportunities for funding applications which require industry partner(s)
• a personal role in boosting local regional development.

Size/schedule

Applications for support from Arrow are reviewed weekly on an open call basis.

Contact

To test an idea for fit with Arrow scope, please contact Arrow. 

Visit the Arrow webpages (for external users and for Newcastle University staff).

About MRC Confidence in Concept

The MRC Confidence in Concept funding predominantly supports research in the D3 to T1 part of the translational pathway.

Confidence in Concept (CiC) is part of the Medical Research Council’s (MRC’s) translational research strategy to accelerate the transition of discovery research to translational development projects. 

Previous projects have been delivered in diagnostic technologies, drug discovery and early-phase clinical trials. These projects are in areas where Newcastle has internationally recognised research strengths, including: 

• rare diseases (mitochondrial and neuromuscular)
• liver disease
• cancer
• respiratory disease. 

Applications relevant to any area of translational research are considered. Projects deemed to have the greatest potential for near-term impact and the ability to attract additional investment will be given priority. The scheme also encourages the use of the award to develop academic-industry interactions.

Size/schedule

CiC funding calls are announced annually and funding is for projects in the region of £25-100k.

Contact

Visit the CiC Webpage or email CiC directly.