Health and Care Research Wales Faculty Advancing Researcher Scheme – apply now

Health and Care Research Wales is pleased to announce the Advancing Researcher Scheme is now open for applications.

Submit your application

The Advancing Researcher Scheme is a personal award which intends to advance research careers for health and social care researchers in Wales. It offers funding to enable protected time to engage in developmental research activities and funding to allow for non-staff costs (such as travel and subsistence, public involvement costs and training costs). The scheme provides flexible and inclusive support for researchers in the middle stage of their research careers. All applicants are thus expected to clearly justify why the scheme is appropriate for them at their research career stage. Applicants should be mindful of the need to clearly justify how the protected time requested will enable them to develop in their research careers. 

The Advancing Researcher Scheme has been developed to facilitate the progression of mid-career researchers as they transition and progress to the next phase of their health and social care research career. This might include the development activities required to lead or co-lead any substantial programme of work for example, post-doctoral fellowships and large project grants including randomised controlled trials. 

We will also consider proposals which lead to the submission of PhDs by Published Works to be eligible for this scheme, if applicants have already completed relevant research and published the required number of individual research papers as first author.

The Advancing Researcher Scheme is open to mid-career researchers employed by Higher Education Institutes (HEI), or research active staff employed by NHS or social care organisations in Wales. 

Please note that the Advancing Researcher Scheme has been amended to incorporate research development activities which previously may have been funded through the Trials Development Award or Personal Award Accelerator.  Therefore, we would welcome any applications which were anticipated to be submitted to these two schemes, which are currently paused for review.

Award surgeries  

Join our Researcher Development Advisors at an award surgery for the opportunity to ask any questions about the Advancing Researcher Scheme.

• Monday 8 September 11:00 – 12:00 - Surgery full
• Friday 12 September 10:00 - 11:00
• Wednesday 24 September 10:30 – 11:30  

Complete the registration form to book your place at a surgery  

Application guidance and other information are available on our website.

Application window  

Opens: 15 August 2025  

Closes: 9 October 2025

Submit your application before 16:00 on 9 October.