Researchers across Northern Ireland will benefit from Health and Social Care Research and Development (HSC R&D) funding thanks to the Enabling Research Awards (ERAs) Scheme.
Open to researchers and health professionals based in Northern Ireland working on health and social care topics, funding is provided to support the completion of preparatory and/or developmental work that will improve the likelihood of success of a subsequent grant application to help support future research.
The ERAs scheme has awarded funding of almost £300k to support six research projects within Northern Ireland.
Aiming to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in Northern Ireland through research collaborations, the research will address healthcare challenges and inequalities in areas such as physical activity, mental health and health protection.
Announcing the 2026 awards, Dr Rhonda Campbell, Assistant Director, Health and Social Care Research and Development said:
“The HSC R&D Enabling Research Awards provide funding to researchers across Northern Ireland to support research ideas informed by Personal and Public Involvement (PPI), and which build partnerships, enabling the collaborative completion of preparatory and/or developmental work that improves the outcome of researchers securing future external research funding.”
“The Enabling Research Awards serve as a catalyst, fostering a positive research culture and supporting research active career pathways, building research capacity, capability and growth within the research ecosystem.”
The 2026 Enabling Research Awardees are:
- Dr Adam Glass (QUB). Classifying surgical patients by level of inflammation. (Host Organisation – QUB)
- Prof Laurence Taggart (QUB). Making Walk Buds work in special schools: Understanding how ready schools are, what changes are needed, and how to ensure it lasts long-term. (Host Organisation – QUB)
- Prof Mark Linden (QUB). Developing Brain Injury Awareness Training with Social Care Practitioners. (Host Organisation – QUB)
- Dr Mary Lavelle (QUB). CReST: Co-designed Restraint Reduction strategies for Safe mental health Treatment. (Host Organisation – QUB)
- Dr Micheal Corr (QUB). Developing a blood test to detect rejection in kidney transplant patients. (Host Organisation – QUB)
- Dr Maria O'Kane (Ulster University). Families: Together We Move: testing whether a family physical activity programme is practical and works well for local families. (Host Organisation – UU)
The next date for annual funding of ERAs opens in August 2026. More information on the programme is available here.