The latest in funding, opportunities and resources relating to research and evidence-based practice in the speech and language therapy profession.
Last updated: January 2025.
Introduction
This page includes the latest in funding, opportunities and resources relating to research and evidence-based practice in the speech and language therapy profession.
The opportunities listed here will usually be updated bi-monthly, but relevant closing dates and deadlines are included where relevant.
For feedback on the content of this page, or if you would like to include something on this webpage in the next update please contact elaine.ashton@rcslt.org.
We also send out a bi-monthly research newsletter with the latest news and updates relevant to research and evidence-based practice. You can sign up by emailing info@rcslt.org.
Resources
Professor Yvonne Wren, Chief Investigator of The Cleft Collective ““Leading the way in cleft research for better lives and futures” on YouTube to find out more about the inspirational research being conducted in this area.
Check out the new CAHPR website and read about the CAHPR Conference 2024. You can also view conference slides, which are available from the presentations in the past events page.
This blog on patient and public involvement in research may be interest: ‘Conjuring PPI’ – the unseen labour of patient and public involvement”
This blog on writing about patient and public involvement in your research articles may be interest: ‘Reporting PPI in research publications is the exception and not the rule’
Inclusive research opportunities and resources
Catch up on a recent NIHR ARC webinar on ‘Exploring equality monitoring data in research’, where over 100 participants discussed the role of equality monitoring data in enhancing research practices.
A team at the NIHR have created a new diagram to explain how young people can get involved in research. Whilst developed with young people in mind, it offers a very accessible approach to explaining the research cycle and opportunities for involvement. Find out more online.
Some recent publications which may be of interest:
- Kover, S., Arora, N., Barton, H. and Roberts, C. (2024). First Steps Toward a Participatory Research Program: Early Intervention Perspectives on SLP Services for Children of Diverse Backgrounds. Seminars in Speech and Language. DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1791718
- Scott, R.D. and Mahowald, M. (2024). The Culture Flex: Advancing Social Justice in Educational Speech-Language Practices. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, DOI: 10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00118
Project / programme grants and funding
National Institute of Health Research (NIHR)
- NIHR NICE Rolling Call HSDR Programme. Closes 18 March 2025
- HSDR researcher-led call. Closes 18 March 2025.
- Research for Patient Benefit. Closes 5 March 2025.
- NIHR Work and Health Development Awards Round 2. Closes 12 March 2025.
- Australia-UK platform studies in areas of unmet clinical need. Closes 23 July 2025.
- Ambitious data-enabled ‘e-trials’. Closes 2 April 2025.
- Unstructured activities (play) for children and young people. Closes 25 April 2025.
- Team Science Award Round 2 – Applied Health and Social Care Research Methodology. Closes 5 February 2025.
Medical Research Council (MRC)
- Developmental pathway funding scheme: stage one. Closes 19 March 2025.
- Researching motor neurone disease: highlight notice. No closing date.
- Researching ME/CFS: highlight notice. No closing date.
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
- ESRC responsive mode: research grants round two. No closing date.
- ESRC responsive mode: new investigator grants round two. No closing date.
- ESRC responsive mode: secondary data analysis round two. No closing date.
Wellcome
- Wellcome Early-Career Awards. Closes 25 February 2025.
- Wellcome Career Development Awards. Closes 30 April 2025.
Leverhulme Trust
- Research Project Grants. Closes 21 March 2025.
Nuffield Foundation
- Research, Development and Analysis Fund. Outlines due Spring 2025.
- Racial Diversity UK Fund. Outlines due Autumn 2025.
Fellowships and clinical academic opportunities
National Institute of Health Research (NIHR)
- NIHR INSIGHT South West Central Programme MRes studentships and stipends: Applications will open from January 2025 for entry in September 2025.
- Advanced Fellowship Round 13. Deadline 23 January 2025.
- Health and Care Professional Internship Programme round 1. Deadline 13 February 2025.
Medical Research Council (MRC)
- Pre-doctoral Clinical Research Fellowship. Deadline 15 January 2025.
- Post-doctoral Clinical Research Fellowship. Deadline 15 January 2025.
- Career development award. Deadline 16 April 2025.
- Daphne Jackson Fellowship. No deadline.
Health and Care Research Wales
- Senior Research Leaders Scheme. Deadline 9 January 2025.
Chief Scientist Office (Scotland)
- CSO NHS Researcher Development Fellowship. Deadline 5 February 2025.
Other funders
The Wellcome Trust supports a range of PhD fellowships in Health Professions, awarded to specific institutes across regions. Check out the fellowships, institutions, and PhD topics available.
The Stroke Association Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Fellowships and Lectureship awards (each with options for a Clinical-Academic pathway) are currently open to applications. Find out more and apply online. Closes 31 January 2025.
PhDs
We now share only funded project-based PhD opportunities, sourced from findaphd.com
Note, that there may be opportunities to apply for funding with institutions to pursue other PhD topics and we encourage you to contact relevant universities and browse Find a PhD to explore this.
Latest opportunities:
- Developing a Deep Learning-Based Model to Predict Rehabilitation Outcomes in Underserved Groups Living with Multiple Long-Term Conditions, University of Leicester, Closing date: 7 February 2025.
- Measuring the Impact of Advanced Practice Roles of AHPs in Northern Ireland NHS, Ulster University, Closing date: 7 February 2025.
- Implementing and Evaluating Person-Centred Key Performance Indicators in Nursing Homes, University of Leicester, Closing date: 7 February 2025.
- An Exploration of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experience of Palliative Care Among Refugees Living in the United Kingdom, University of Leicester, Closing date: 7 February 2025.
- Blurring the Boundaries Between Knowledge and Practice: Mixed Methods Study Into the Application of Implementation Science Knowledge by Healthcare Researchers and Practitioners Within Collaborative Research Partnerships, Northumbria University, Closing date: 24 January 2025.
- Evaluating Complex Innovations in Health and Social Care, Northumbria University, Closing date: 24 January 2025.
- Adaptations to Low-Intensity Interventions for Autistic Girls, Northumbria University, Closing date: 24 January 2025.
- When Trials Fall Short of Answering Their Research Question: Exploring the Consequences and Next Steps in Health Research, University of Exeter, Closing date: 13 January 2025.
- Implementation of Optimisation Trials of Complex Health and Social Care Interventions, University of Exeter, Closing date: 13 January 2025.
- Programmes of Cluster Randomised Trials for Optimising Learning Healthcare Systems, University of Exeter, Closing date: 13 January 2025.
- Advancing Inclusivity in Child Health Trials: Investigating Recruitment, Retention, and Communication Methods, University of Exeter, Closing date: 13 January 2025.
- Making Trials More Equity-Focused for Minority Ethnic People: Assessing Differential Treatment Effectiveness and Under-Inclusion, University of Exeter, Closing date: 13 January 2025.
- Rupture and Resilience in Post-Pandemic Education: Rebuilding and Reframing Positive Experiences of Learning Through the Home Education of Neurodivergent Children, University of Cambridge, Closing date: 31 January 2025.
- Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND): Challenges, Support, and Trends, University of Exeter, Closing date: 31 January 2025.
- Supporting Students with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities as They Transition from School to Postsecondary Settings Through Enhancing Self-Determination, University of Exeter, Closing date: 29 January 2025.
- Culturally Responsive Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder, University of Exeter, Closing date: 30 January 2025.
- The Impact of Co-Speech Gestures on Communication and Learning, University of Exeter, Closing date: 30 January 2025.