You can submit to any 1 of the available deadlines in the year.
You may only submit to the new investigator scheme twice. You can submit a second application only if your first is not successful. You must wait at least a year after your first submission before submitting a second application.
You must apply using the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system.
You can find advice on completing your application in:
We recommend you start your application early.
Your host organisation will also be able to provide advice and guidance.
Submitting your application
Before starting an application, you will need to log in or create an account in Je-S.
All investigators involved in the project need to be registered on Je-S.
Any investigators who do not have a Je-S account must register for one at least 7 working days before the opportunity deadline.
When applying:
- Select ‘documents’, then ‘new document’.
- Select ‘call search’.
- To find the opportunity, search for: New investigator research grants (NIRG) only research boards May 2023.
This will populate:
- council: MRC
- document type: standard proposal
- scheme: research grant
- call/type/mode: new investigator research grants (NIRG) only research boards May 2023
Once you have completed your application, make sure you ‘submit document’.
You can save completed details in Je-S at any time and return to continue your application later.
Deadline
MRC must receive your application by 3 May 2023 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time. Please leave enough time for your proposal to pass through your organisation’s Je-S submission route before this date.
You should ensure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines that may be in place.
What to include in your application
In addition to the Je-S application, you will also need to include the following mandatory attachments:
- you must use the new investigator research grant CV and salary template (your CV should not exceed 2 two sides of A4)
- a CV is also required for each named researcher and co-investigator. Each CV should not exceed 2 sides of A4
- publications (up to 1 side of A4 per named person)
- a case for support. If your application duration is:
- 36 months or less, your case for support must not exceed 8 pages
- 37 months or more, your case for support must not exceed 12 pages
- a justification of resources (must not exceed 2 sides of A4)
- a data management plan (DMP). Page length can vary, see section 2.2.7 of our attachments guidance. Applicants must use the available DMP template form
If your research includes excess treatment costs of studies involving human participants you will need to include a schedule of events cost attribution template (SoECAT) form.
If there will be a researcher co-investigator on your project, you will need to include a statement of support for researcher co-investigators. This should not exceed 2 sides of A4 or equivalent on headed paper or a PDF of an email.
Optional attachments include:
- covering letter: this should not exceed 2 sides of A4 using a sans-serif typeface (Arial or equivalent) and font size of 11pt
- letters of support: each letter should not exceed 2 sides of A4 or equivalent on headed paper or a PDF of an email
You can find full details of what to include in mandatory and optional attachments in section 2.2 attachments guidance.
Guidance for applicants
The MRC guidance for applicants:
- helps you check your eligibility
- guides you through preparing a proposal
- shows you how to prepare a case for support
- provides details of any ethical and regulatory requirements that may apply
Industrial partner information
If you want to include 1 or more industry partners as a project partner, you must also complete the project partner section in Je-S.
Each project partner must provide a project partner letter of support, that should not exceed 2 pages on headed paper or a PDF of an email. The letter must:
- be an integral part of the application
- focus on the proposal it accompanies which includes the requirement to include a project partner letter of support
Full details of the content the project partner should include in their letter of support, are provided in section 2.2.6 of the MRC guidance for applicants.
Declaration
Your new investigator research grant application must include a declaration confirming that you have originated the research question and written the research application. The declaration is limited to 1 page.
Attach your declaration to the Je-S form using the ‘letter of support’ attachment type.
Host organisation statement of support
Research organisations must also attach a statement of support to all applications, signed by a senior authority. It should:
- support the application including through long-term financial commitment
- describe why the organisation considers you to be a suitable candidate for a new investigator grant
- lay out plans for how the organisation will mentor, guide and support your career development
- detail how they will financially support non-project time
- confirm that you are a recognised and valued part of their team, integrated into the research organisation, and able to develop your independence and the focus of your research
- detail the internal process the application has gone through before submission
- describe how the research organisation will support you following the end of the award
- provide details of a named senior academic who has supported you during the development of your application and who will continue to do so
This statement of support should also describe how the host organisation will support you, for instance by providing:
- guidance and training on setting up a research group, building partnerships and collaborations, or with public engagement
- rapid access to resources at the research organisation through knowledge of appropriate processes and systems
- access to career development support and advice to enable future career transitions
- support for any proposed leadership activities
- access to laboratory space or investment in equipment to establish the applicant’s laboratory, and access to communal departmental resources
The host organisation statement of support document should not exceed 2 pages.
When uploading the attachment to your Je-S form, please select the attachment type ‘host organisation statement’ and describe the uploaded document as ‘host organisation statement of support’.
MRC industry collaboration framework
If your application involves the collaboration of 1 or more industrial partners, you should review the information published within the MRC industry collaboration framework (ICF) to decide if you should submit your application under the ICF.
After reading the ICF information, if you decide that your application will include industry collaboration, you will need to include the following within your application for each collaborating industry partner:
The completed ICF form should be uploaded to the Je-S attachments section using the ‘MICA form’ document type. Please type ‘Industry Collaboration Framework form’ in the description box.
The company letter of support must use the available template and be uploaded to the relevant project partner entry you are required to add to your Je-S application.
Research disruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic
You have the option to include this 1-page annex to the case for support. You can use it to provide additional information explaining any disruptions you have encountered to previous or current research, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (where relevant to your pending application).
For further information relating to the annex, please see the MRC guidance for applicants (section 2.2.3.6).
