Open Grant Calls

We are pleased to announce that the 2025 Improving Quality of Life grant scheme opens on Tuesday 22 April 2025. The deadline for submission of the online application is 3pm on Tuesday 24 June 2025.

Before applying, please ensure you refer to the following:

• Guidance for Improving Quality of Life research applications
• Terms and conditions for the call
• Research Strategy

If you are unsure whether your research fits within our strategy and current criteria, contact us at researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org.

We’re currently offering funding for small projects of up to 12 months’ duration, and for consumables only of no more than £10,000. Research applications should specifically address an unmet need or offer an innovative solution to a problem that would improve the quality of life of people with neuromuscular conditions.

We appreciate that the pathway to deliver a product (or solution) to the target population is complex and that this funding alone will not be sufficient to take it ‘to market’. However, we expect applicants to outline the pathway that their product/solution will take to benefit lives of people with a muscle wasting condition and have a clear plan to achieve a specific a milestone on this pathway.

We will fund research across the breadth of conditions supported by the charity, including rare and very-rare conditions. Please refer to the list of conditions that we support. If you want to make an application for research into a neuromuscular condition that is not listed contact us on researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org.

Applications can relate to any aspect of research that may lead to an improvement in the quality of life of people with neuromuscular conditions. Our community has specifically highlighted the following areas of research as being important:

• Improving accessibility. This could include research that provides novel solutions to improves access to public or other spaces or public transport
• Mental health & psychological support
• Assistive Technology or physical aids
• Lifestyle (exercise or diet)
• Fatigue
• Physiotherapy
• Pain management
• Hydrotherapy

We’re interested in funding in these areas, but will consider any application for research in any area that will lead to improvements in quality of life for people with neuromuscular conditions. Please refer to our Research Strategy for further information about the aims and objectives of the charity, which must be reflected in your application. If you’re unsure whether your research fits the criteria or our remit, contact the research team at researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org.

Strong applications will engage people with lived experience of the condition(s) specified by the applicant.

The deadline for submission of the online application is 3pm on Tuesday 24 June 2025. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline. Applications can be submitted at any time prior to the deadline. After online submission you must send us a copy of your application signed by the principal- and co-applicants, by your Head of Department and your institute’s research/finance office. This should be sent by email to researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org no later than 15 July 2025.

We welcome applications from any researcher or allied healthcare professional who is engaged in research. Applications from early-career researchers (defined as researchers who possess a PhD who have not yet gained, or are transitioning to, an independent research career) are also welcome.

We’re only able to fund UK-based applicants for research in UK institutions or hospitals.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted using our online application form, which is accessed by a secure login.

If you have used our online system before, go to the Smart Simple login page. Please login and update your profile before starting your application.

If you are new to the system, register as an applicant on the registration page. After that you will be able to log in and select the grant round and type of grant you wish to apply for.

If you work at an institution that is not already listed on our system, you may need to contact us at researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org to help you create a profile.

Ensure you use the correct form for your application; we reserve the right to reject applications that are submitted using the wrong form type. If you are unsure of which form to use please contact us at researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org.

You should refer to our Terms and Conditions and guidance for applicants, which are also accessible when you are logged into the online system; please select Help – Support Documents from the home screen.

The decision-making process

Applications will initially be assessed for eligibility by members of our Research Team. Queries to applicants will be dealt with in the first two weeks following the application deadline. Applicants may be asked to make amendments to their applications.

Expert review of the applications will be provided by a sub-committee of our Medical Research Committee, made up of researchers with expertise in clinical and qualitative research into neuromuscular disease and people with lived experience of a neuromuscular condition (Committee members to be announced). The application process is split into three stages

• Stage 1. The Committee assesses applications and provides comments
• Stage 2. Applicants will be asked to respond to the Committee’s comments
• Stage 3. The Committee will meet to provide a final assessment of applications according to their quality, impact and potential for productivity. Each Committee member will score each application and these scores will be used to determine which applications are fundable. Applications that do not meet the quality threshold will not be funded. If the number of applications in the fundable range exceed the budget for the call the Committee will make recommendations for ranking the fundable applications.

The Committee will make recommendations to our Senior Leadership Team who will make the final decision on whether applications should be funded. Decisions on grant applications will be available in early-mid November 2025.

Acceptance of Awards

Once the final decision on funding has been made, applicants will receive an email notifying them of the outcome. All principal applicants will receive a summary of feedback. Successful applicants will receive an award letter.

Successful applicants will be provided with details of how to accept their awards via our online grant management system. Prior to starting the grant a grant activation form must be submitted online and a signed electronic copy sent to our research grants management team. The grant activation form must be completed prior to the start date of the grant and no monies will be backdated if this form is not received in time. Project grants must start within six months of receiving the award letter.

Grant monitoring

On termination of the grant, the Principal Investigator is required to complete an End of Project Report, which is to be received by us within two calendar months of receipt of the report template from MDUK. Failure to submit will result in the final payment being withheld until submission of the report and may affect future grant applications.

Principal Investigators are also required to submit outputs and impact data annually through the ResearchFish system (details to be provided by the MDUK Research Team).

Our Research Team monitors the content of annual and final reports and may contact the grant holder to request further information or clarification. The Principal Investigator will be required to provide follow-up information on the research after completion of the project as and when requested by us.

We are pleased to announce that we have partnered with the Medical Research Council (MRC) as part of their Clinical Research Training Fellowship Scheme. As part of this partnership, we will jointly award up to one clinical research training fellowship per year. The MRC accept applications throughout the year, see upcoming opening and deadline dates below:

This award is to support clinicians from relevant specialities looking to develop their long-term academic careers in the field of neuromuscular research.

How to apply

The clinical research training fellowships are administered through the MRC. As part of the application process, applicants must choose Muscular Dystrophy UK as a joint funder. For more information on the funding call and how to apply please visit the MRC’s website.