UK Research and Innovation (MRC)

Centres of Excellence for Regulatory Science and Innovation

MRC, with the Office for Life Sciences and the MHRA, will fund four Centres of Excellence for Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSIs), each running a sustained, adaptive research programme on one of four strategic themes: data-driven approaches and AI; prevention, early detection and novel evidence approaches; personalised healthcare and pharmacogenomics; or novel platform technologies. Centres develop broadly applicable evidence, methods, tools and standards for regulating medicines, medical devices and other healthcare products, working with regulators, industry, the NHS and patients. The centre director must be at a UK research organisation eligible for MRC funding. Each centre can receive up to £5 million from the funders over five years (MRC pays 80% of full economic cost), confirmed for three years initially, starting 1 April 2027.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: £1 – £5,000,000
Deadline: 86 days left; 12 January
Effort: Heavy; budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

Open to UK organisations with standard eligibility for MRC funding: the nominated centre director (project lead) leads the application with a leadership team and the full support of their host research organisations, from a single eligible research organisation or a partnership of eligible organisations
Applicants must have the expertise to lead or contribute to a CERSI, show how they will strategically direct it and be actively engaged, and focus on one of the four themes
It is not restricted to those who held earlier CERSI seed funding
Project leads cannot be based at international research organisations, including MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM and the MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit
People employed by businesses, charities or third sector organisations cannot be project lead or co-lead but can be project partners; however, charities and third sector organisations that are approved UKRI independent research organisations can be project lead or co-lead
International researchers can be project co-lead (international)
Other international collaborators and UK partners not at approved organisations join as project partners; industry partners must follow MRC's Industry Collaboration Framework
If the project lead's contract does not cover the award, the research organisation confirms by applying that it will extend it and give full support
No institutional matched funding is required beyond the standard 20% FEC

What it funds

A coherent, adaptive programme of regulatory science research aligned to one of four CERSI strategic themes:

Theme one: data-driven approaches and artificial intelligence
Theme two: prevention, early detection and novel evidence approaches
Theme three: personalised healthcare and pharmacogenomics
Theme four: novel platform technologies
A contribution to the salary of the project lead and co-leads
Support for other posts such as research and technical staff
Research consumables and equipment
Travel costs
Data preservation, data sharing and dissemination costs
Estates and indirect costs
NHS research costs, when associated with NHS studies
Public partnerships and related activities, including payments to public contributors
Costs of cross-CERSI activities such as knowledge exchange, networking and dissemination
Work at international organisations by international project co-leads, at 100% of eligible costs (capped at 30% of total resources for high-income countries, India and China; no cap for DAC list countries)

regulatory science here means developing and applying scientific methods, tools, standards and approaches that support evaluation and regulation of medicines, medical devices (including software), in vitro diagnostics, combination products and other healthcare products, across the product lifecycle. Only one CERSI is expected per theme. Centres must work closely with the MHRA, join cross-centre activities such as annual symposia, and face a mid-point review at two and a half years that informs funding for years four and five. IP arrangements must not restrict the MHRA's use of outputs for regulatory purposes.

What it will not fund

Applications that do not align with at least one of the four CERSI strategic themes
Clinical trials
Costs for PhD studentships
Infrastructure only
Publication costs
Funding to use as a 'bridge' between grants
Research solely focused on an individual healthcare product without broad applicability
Regulatory advice to individual product developers, or replacing the MHRA's scientific and regulatory advice services
Theme-specific exclusions, for example development of individual AI products or algorithms that only improve clinical performance (theme one), development of a specific product, biomarker or diagnostic (themes two and three), and platform trial methodologies (theme four)

How to apply

Choose which one of the four CERSI strategic themes your centre will address, and make sure your research organisation is registered on the UKRI Funding Service (Je-S is not used)
If you have industry or company partners, discuss the collaboration with your technology transfer or contracts office and prepare the Industry Collaboration Framework answers and the industry letter of support template
If the programme involves research in the NHS, public health or social care, contact an AcoRD specialist early and complete and get authorisation for an online SoECAT
Start an application on the UKRI Funding Service (https://funding-service.ukri.org/OPP1354/apply/1379) and confirm you are the project lead (centre director)
Answer the questions: summary (550 words), core team, vision (1,000), approach (3,500, with an embedded Gantt chart), leadership, governance and agility (1,000), reproducibility and statistical design (500), data management and sharing (1,500), applicant and team capability (3,000, R4RI format), project partners and their letters, Industry Collaboration Framework (1,500), facilities (250), ethics and RRI, animals, genetic technologies, human participation, resources and cost justification (1,500), public partnerships (750), and Trusted Research and Innovation
Cost the application for the full five years
Send the application to your research office for checking; they submit it to MRC by 4pm on 12 January 2027

applications outside scope are not assessed. The applicant webinar on 13 October 2026 has passed; it was not compulsory. Applications are shared with OLS and the MHRA for assessment.

Have ready

Project partner letters or emails of support: a single PDF, in English or Welsh, no more than two sides of A4 per partner
Industry or company letter of support template, for industry or company project partners
SoECAT 'funder export', if the research involves human participation in NHS, public health or social care settings
Animal research forms, if the programme involves animals

partner letters are needed only if you have project partners; letters from anyone else expressing general support are ignored. If an ICF award is made, a collaboration agreement signed by all partners is needed before it starts.

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