Funding

Early Career Researcher Funding call 3

Now open! Deadline to apply 31 January 2025.

Full details below
Neuromod+ members can bid for funding for projects that support our aim of instigating new collaborative research partnerships and developing novel new technologies and approaches. Find out about the projects we have funded so far.

Funding types

Early Career Researcher Funding - now open!

Neuromod+ Early Career Researcher (ECR) awards aim to support ECR training and development, encourage collaboration between Neuromod+ members, and further network research goals.

Scope

We invite ECRs to apply for awards of up to £2,000 to fund activities that align with network aims or priorities. Please note that funding is not intended to cover research studies or research costs.

Some examples are provided below, but we welcome proposals for alternative activities: 

  • a visit to another Neuromod+ affiliated research group or organisation, to acquire new skills or use techniques that they would not normally be able to use at their home research group, or to collaborate on a project that aligns with network goals,
  • attendance at a UK or international conference to present research within the network’s remit,
  • organising a talk/workshop on a topic relevant to the network
  • arranging/attending a training session on a neuromodulation technique within the network’s remit.

Eligibility

The scheme is open to ECR members of Neuromod+ who work or study at a UK organisation that is normally eligible to receive funding from EPSRC. For this funding call, Neuromod+ considers an ECR as a member who is:

  • within eight years of their PhD viva, or
  • within three years of their first academic appointment (where research or teaching is the primary role)
Unfortunately, due to funding restrictions we are not able to support students in this call.

Conditions

  • Funding is not intended to cover research studies or research costs.
  • Activities must normally be paid for up-front by the applicant, and costs claimed back via expenses. In some cases it may be possible for Imperial College to pay costs directly. We cannot reimburse or transfer funds to your institution.
  • Any travel/subsistence included should be at your organisation’s standard (economy) rate.
  • If you plan to visit an organisation, it can be in the UK or overseas. Organisations do not have to be academic institutions but must be affiliated with Neuromod+
  • Activities should normally be completed, and all funds claimed by 30 September 2025.
  • Activities must align with the network’s research goals and priorities.
  • Applicants are responsible for arranging the activity, including obtaining any applicable insurance.
  • Awardees must submit a short report on their activity which may be used in Neuromod+ publications.
  • Any outputs arising from the activity must reference the Neuromod+ Network.

How to apply

Feasibility Studies & Flexible Funding - all calls now closed

OUR FEASIBILITY STUDY CALLS ARE NOW CLOSED.
You can find out about the projects funded in our feasibility study calls here, and learn about previous calls below.

Feasibility Studies Call

Two types of award were available in our Feasibility Studies Calls:
 

1. Multi-investigator feasibility study awards: max project cost £80,000 (at 100% FEC)

These should aim to investigate potential new neuromodulation techniques or applications, or improve our understanding of the neuroscience underpinning existing techniques.

2. Smaller flexible awards: max project cost £20,000 (at 100% FEC)

These may cover research costs for a small pilot study, or fund another activity towards the network aims, such as a public engagement project, networking activity, or demonstration.

 

Scope

Proposals must address the remit of Neuromod+: to address the challenge of minimally invasive treatments for brain disorders, and should align with the network’s priorities. Projects should involve non-invasive or minimally invasive neuromodulation. A project involving a reduction in invasiveness of a neuromodulation technique might be within remit, but one that simply involves invasive neuromodulation, with the novel aspect being some other aspect such as e.g. closed loop, would not be within remit. We aim to prioritise projects which involve modulation of the central nervous system (CNS), as opposed to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) (while recognising that there are different routes to CNS modulation). Research to be carried out must also be within the EPSRC remit.

In support of the network’s aim of co-creation, we encourage proposals that involve a mix of network members, eg clinicians, academics, industry, charity, public/patient groups, as well as researchers at different career stages.

For further guidance on scope and network priorities, see our About Us page, check our previously funded projects, read the FAQs below and check the guidance notes attached to the Neuromod+ funding call 3 May 2024 – application form

Eligibility

Please read the EPSRC eligibility criteria before applying

  • Applicants must be based at a UK institution and be eligible to apply for EPSRC grant funding. However projects will ideally involve collaboration with a range of colleagues (eg clinicians, early career researchers, those from industry/charity/patient groups, those with lived experience) who may not meet these criteria. Please include these contributors in the “Collaborators” section of your proposal. Please visit our members directory to find colleagues you may wish to work with
  • Postdocs (or equivalent) may be eligible to be co-investigators if they meet the EPSRC researcher co-investigator criteria. Please check the EPSRC eligibility criteria for full details (see also FAQs). They can otherwise be included as collaborators
  • We encourage early career researchers who are not eligible to lead a proposal or be included as researcher co-investigators to discuss with their academic line manager about how they can be involved as collaborators.
  • Applicants can be involved in a maximum of three proposals per funding round and can lead only one
  • The call is open to Neuromod+ members only. Non-members can sign up for free

Funding rules and guidelines

  • Projects are expected to cost no more than £80,000 (multi-investigator) or £20,000 (flexible) at 100% FEC, but will be awarded at 80% FEC (ie for a project costing £80,000, Neuromod+ will award £64,000)
  • Investigators must complete their institution’s standard costing process and have their costings approved before submitting the proposal
  • Funds are awarded by Neuromod+ to the lead investigator/institution only.  They are responsible for distributing funds to co-investigators (where relevant), therefore co-investigators who are expecting to receive funding from the award should also discuss with their RO/finance team before submission
  • A formal agreement will usually need to be drawn up between participating institutions before funding can be transferred
  • PROJECTS MUST BE COMPLETED AND ALL FUNDS SPENT AND INVOICED FOR BY 30 SEPT 2025. Therefore if you wish the project to run for 12 months, you must start your project by 1 August 2024 latest.

Review process

  • Proposals will be reviewed and ranked by a panel of Neuromod+ members comprising the PI team plus additional members chosen to ensure diversity of experience
  • Applications will be evaluated on the problem being proposed, project plan, project team, impact, EDI plans and fit to the network aims.

FAQs

Unless otherwise indicated, these FAQs relate to the Feasibility Studies & Flexible Funding Call.  If your question is not answered here, please get in touch. 

No, adding staff time is not mandatory.  However, adding staff time (either Directly allocated PI time, or Directly Incurred RA time) will usually generate overheads for your institution, which can help them to cover the additional 20% of the project costs not covered by Neuromod+.

Neuromod+ will not add inflation to awards, so it is acceptable to include inflated salary costs in your budget calculations, as long as your overall costs (at 100% FEC) remain within the £80K/£20K maximum limits.

The cost of your project at 100% FEC should be max £80,000. Neuromod+ will award at 80% FEC, ie for a project costing £80,000, we will award £64,000. Your institution will be expected to cover the additional 20% of the cost.

No, the awards of up to £20K only require one investigator.

We welcome involvement from our non-academic members (eg those in industry, charity, patient representatives, etc) on proposals as collaborators. Unless you are eligible to apply for standard EPSRC grant funding you cannot be a named investigator or directly receive funding.

Lead investigators must meet the <a “=”” href=”http://www.ukri.org/councils/epsrc/guidance-for-applicants/check-if-you-are-eligible-for-funding/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>EPSRC eligibility criteria. If you are in receipt of a fellowship above postdoc level, there may be flexibility for you to lead on a proposal but please get in touch with EPSRC/us to check. If you do not meet the eligibility criteria, we would suggest that you discuss with your line manager who could be lead investigator.

You may be able to be included on the proposal as a Researcher Investigator. Please check the qualifying criteria for this on the UKRI funding page. Note in particular that if <50% of your time is costed on the proposal, you must include in your application justification as to how you will be significantly contributing towards the proposal and research.

Funding is awarded to the lead investigator’s institution and they are responsible for distributing any funding to co-investigators.  If you are a co-I and are expecting to receive funding, you must discuss the proposal with your own Research Office/finance team to ensure there is a mechanism in place for you to receive your share of the funding.

You can be involved in up to 3 proposals but only lead one per round.

Neuromod+ will fund at 80% of FEC, therefore your institution will need to cover the additional 20%.

If staff time (either Directly Allocated PI time, or Directly Incurred staff time) is included in your proposal, this will normally generate overheads to cover the remaining 20%.

If staff time is not included, you/your department will need to cover the additional costs from another source.

Projects awarded in call 3 should start by 1 August latest and must be completed, with all expenses having been invoiced by 30 September 2025 (or within max 12 months of start date).

We may be able to consider such a proposal, if it can successfully argue that investigating the periphery could lead to an understanding or modulation of the central nervous system, but otherwise it would be outside the remit of the network.

Yes this is allowed, as long as the process follows your  standard institution rules and you can provide a breakdown of costs. 

Yes, certainly! We encourage collaboration with colleagues from industry/companies. As mentioned though, non-EPSRC eligible members cannot be lead investigators or receive funding directly from the grant but can be listed as collaborators.

If you need to make changes to your submitted form, please contact Kate Hobson.

No, costs related to students cannot be included (under EPRSC regulations for this funding).

No, this is the final call for Feasibility Studies. There will be further ECR Calls.

No, these costs would need to come from your institution’s block grant, as with standard EPSRC proposals.