Small Research Project Funding
Full Applications

Background

Dementia is projected to affect 1.2 million people in the UK by 2030

People living with dementia, and those who support them, want care that helps them to live a meaningful life, particularly when requiring greater support as dementia progresses.

The challenge: There are unfair and avoidable inequalities in access to dementia care. People from ethnically diverse groups, living alone, in poorer areas, rural areas, those with multiple health conditions and more advanced dementia struggle to access the care they need to pursue the things that matter to them. This causes distress to them and their families and affects their quality of life.

The EMPOWER Dementia Network+ aim: to identify, promote and sustain high-quality care for people with dementia and complex needs, and their families, for them to live as well as possible with dementia, including into end of life. Our network involves people with dementia, family carers, researchers, health and social care professionals and charities from across the UK. We are working together to make things fair and equal for everyone with dementia needing support.

The purpose of the Small Research Project Fund

The purpose of the Small Research Project Fund is to:

1. Support the development and pump-priming of small, collaborative research projects that address inequalities in dementia care and research, especially for people who need greater support. By “greater support,” we mean the important moments in a person’s dementia when they go from being able to manage on their own to needing extra help and care, whether from professionals or family and friends.

2. Bring together and nurture collaborations between community partners, lived experts, and researchers to support learning and development through funded projects. We are keen to fund research projects that reflect a wide geographical spread across the UK.

Funding tiers

The funding available for a small research project is up to £22,000 encompassing two tiers:

• Tier 1: £12,000 (fund 80% fEC)
• Tier 2: £22,000 (fund 80% fEC)

Tier 1: £12,000 (fund 80% fEC)

This is best suited for testing new ideas or exploring a new topic at an early stage to lay the groundwork for a larger funding application. Examples of activities include workshops, interviews, or pilot studies to test or explore a new idea.  

Tier 2: £22,000 (fund 80% fEC)

This is for larger or more developed projects that may build on existing work. These projects are expected to show stronger impact and produce more detailed findings, both now and in the future. Examples include mixed-methods studies or projects including the voices and experiences of a wider range of people.

Full Economic Costs and Project Lead

The EMPOWER Dementia Network+ will provide 80% full economic cost (fEC) funding for the research projects commissioned. The remaining 20% will be met by the recipient grant Research Organisation. When costing your application, please read carefully the guidance section on ‘Costing and Funding Rules’. The project lead must be based at a UK research organisation that is eligible for UKRI research funding. All projects must include community organisations and lived experts as a co-lead and/or co-applicants.

Priority areas

We are looking to fund small research projects that bring people together and focus on long-term impact. Our goal is to support work that creates real, positive change for people affected by dementia – across the UK and beyond – that can grow to help even more communities over time. The four priority areas for our small project fund are:

1. Raising public awareness and addressing stigma and social exclusion.

2. Supporting families, friends, and unpaid carers.

3. Building a compassionate, skilled, and supported workforce.

4.Inclusive uses of technology (e.g., digital tools, online platforms, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence).

Projects should address at least one of the priority areas and are encouraged to explore links between them. We also welcome projects that focus specifically on using and developing innovative methods of co-production with people affected by dementia who need greater support.

More information on each of these priority areas, alongside example project ideas our Network could fund under each area, are provided in the ‘SRPF Priority Areas‘ document. Please note that the examples detailed are starting points. We are open to all ideas that fit within the scope of this call. We encourage applicants to be creative in shaping their own solutions and ideas.

Who can apply and who should be in project teams?

We invite full applications from those whose initial Expressions of Interest applications fell within the scope of our priority areas for funding. All research projects must be developed in partnership with, and include in their teams, community organisations, lived experts and researchers who work together as equal partners in the development and delivery of their proposed project.

The project lead must be based at a research organisation that is eligible for UKRI research funding. Eligible organisations include universities, research institutes, NHS bodies, public sector research establishments, and independent research organisations. We welcome a nominated co-lead who can be, for example, a community partner or a lived expert.

Co-production needs to be at the heart of research projects

Co-production is central to everything we do in the EMPOWER Network. We expect all proposals to be developed and delivered using inclusive co-produced principles. Funded research projects must meaningfully involve and fairly remunerate community partners and lived experts for their time, expertise, and contributions.

To support you with co-production our Network members have:

• Developed Co-production Training to work in partnership with people with dementia
• Created a library of Co-production Resources on our website
• Constructed a Co-production Support Fund to enable meaningful collaborations within and between teams.

Acknowledgments

The processes, priority areas, and forms in this Small Project Fund have been co-developed with the invaluable guidance and insights of grassroot and community organisations, lived experts, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners across primary, social, dementia, and palliative care. Their contributions have ensured our call reflects the real-world priorities and needs of people affected by dementia requiring greater support. We are grateful for their time commitment and expertise that has contributed to this call.

Thank you for considering applying to the EMPOWER Dementia Network+ Small Project Fund.