Wellcome Trust┋Mental Health AWARD

Funding for projects that robustly test the real-world effectiveness and assess implementation strategies of scalable transformative early interventions for anxiety, depression and psychosis in young people.

Overview

• Lead applicant career stage: Established researcher
• Administering organisation location: Anywhere in the world (apart from mainland China)
• Frequency: One-off
• Funding amount: £200,000 for the Foundation Phase and £5 million to £8 million for the Impact Phase
• Funding duration: 12 months for the Foundation Phase and up to 5 years for the Impact Phase
• Coapplicants: Required

Upcoming application stage

Information webinar: 3 September 2025, 10:30-11:30 BST

Application process timeline

This award is structured in two phases:

Foundation Phase (open to applications week commencing 28 July 2025) 

This first phase of the funding call will provide teams with £200,000 to build their teams and develop their detailed proposal for their research study over 12 months. We expect to make around 20 awards in the highly competitive Foundation phase of this funding call.

This research proposal must be for a definitive effectiveness study and assessment of strategies for implementation and scaling of a psychological and/or a social intervention. The research must take place in the UK or a low- and middle-income country (LMIC). The proposal must capture multiple outcomes that are relevant to people with lived experience and implementing partners, including mental health outcomes, functional outcomes and full economic evaluation.

Projects will be chosen for the Foundation Phase based on:

• the existing evidence of efficacy for the intervention
• potential for being taken to scale, with the cost of the intervention low enough to be sustainable in the proposed context
• potential for sustainable partnerships between research teams and implementing partners
• outline plans for real-world testing of the effectiveness and implementation of the intervention

Teams taking part in the Foundation Phase will be invited to be part of a community of practice to participate and share learning in key areas relevant to developing, implementing and scaling psychological and/or social interventions. Wellcome will provide support to teams during the Foundation Phase as they develop their research proposals.

Impact Phase (open to applications February 2027)

In the second phase of the funding call, all funded teams from the Foundation Phase will be invited to apply for the Impact Phase. We expect the award amount for the Impact Phase to be between £5 million and £8 million and the duration to be up to 5 years. The upper limits will be confirmed during the Foundation Phase.