Health Data Research Uk

Quick Stats

• Annual Income: £11.2 million (FY 2023-24)
• Core Funding 2023-2028: £72.3 million over 5 years
• Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
• Decision Time: Varies by program
• Grant Range: Up to £30,000 (DAA adoption) to £300,000 (fellowships)
• Geographic Focus: UK-wide (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)

Contact Details

Website: https://www.hdruk.ac.uk/

Email: enquiries@hdruk.ac.uk

Phone: 020 3950 3715

Funding Opportunities: https://www.hdruk.ac.uk/research/funding-opportunities/

Overview

Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) was established in 2017 as the UK's national institute for health data science. Registered as a charity (No. 1194431), HDR UK operates as an independent organization supported by nine major UK research funders including the Medical Research Council, NIHR, British Heart Foundation, and Cancer Research UK. Following an international review, core funding increased from £52.7 million to £72.3 million for 2023-2028. HDR UK's mission is to "accelerate trustworthy use of health data to enable discoveries that improve people's lives." The organization operates through 31 locations across the UK, spanning academia, healthcare, industry, and patient groups. In 2023, HDR UK won first place in the Best Diversity and Inclusion category from CorpComms Magazine for their Black Internship Programme.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Big Data for Complex Disease Fellowships: £300,000 per fellowship (£1.8 million total awarded to six fellows in 2024)

• Three or four-year fellowships including salary, on-costs, and up to £15,000 per annum in research costs
• Equal numbers of clinical and non-clinical fellows supported

DAA Template Adoption Funding: Up to £30,000

• For Trusted Research Environment/Secure Data Environment host organisations
• Applications accepted on a rolling basis
• Projects must complete by August 2026

Take the Lead Community Grants: Micro-grants (amount not specified)

• For community-led health data activities
• Rolling deadlines

Health Economics Fellowship: Up to £250,000 over three years

• Cross-Driver programme funding
• Launched 2024

Data and Connectivity Projects: £2 million total

• Nine projects funded to address COVID-19 questions
• Focus on pandemic preparedness

Priority Areas

• Large-scale health data infrastructure development
• Trusted Research Environments (TREs) and data access improvements
• Health data science in complex diseases (cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory conditions)
• Inflammation and immunity research
• Social and environmental impacts on health
• Real-world evidence networks
• FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable)

What They Don't Fund

HDR UK is primarily a research institute rather than a general grant-maker. They fund:

• Specific targeted calls aligned with strategic priorities
• Researchers and teams using health data at scale
• UK-based organizations (public sector, not-for-profit, and some commercial partnerships)

They do not fund:

• Research outside health data science
• Projects without clear data-driven methodology
• Non-UK based organizations (typically)

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Governance and Leadership

Board of Trustees

Dame Julie Moore, Chair (appointed September 2023) - Former CEO of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. Dame Julie stated: “HDR UK has been ahead of the curve in demonstrating how future health research will happen.”

Board Members (as of 2025): Anita Charlesworth, Haseeb Ahmad, and Robina Shah (Non-Executive Trustees), plus other members including Sir Mark Walport, Ara Darzi, Claire Sadler, Andrew Macaulay, and Alison Wilcox.

Senior Leadership Team

Professor Andrew Morris, Director - “I am convinced that we are at the beginning of an important journey to create a unified UK Institute that will power the country to the cutting edge of health data science internationally, with rapid translation into patient benefit.” Elected President of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2024.

Professor Emily Jefferson, Chief Technology Officer and Interim Director of DARE UK

Liz Lovejoy, Chief Operating Officer

Cassie Smith, Director of Legal, Trust and Ethics

Rhoswyn Walker, Director of Strategy

Jonathan Wood, Director of Communications and External Affairs

Professor Cathie Sudlow, Strategic Advisor

Dr Reecha Sofat and Professor Simon Ball, Senior Science Advisors (interim)

Morris emphasized on public engagement: “We need to hear from people from all walks of life and we all need to be represented, so I want to see HDR UK continue to strive for this in our PPIE activities and ways of working.”

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Applications are submitted through specific funding calls announced on the HDR UK website. Each call has its own application portal and requirements:

• DAA Template Adoption: Rolling basis, online application through HDR UK
• Fellowships: Specific deadlines (e.g., February 2024 for Big Data fellowships)
• Community Grants: Rolling deadlines via designated portals
• Commercial organisations: Must contact procurement@hdruk.ac.uk before applying to some schemes

Decision Timeline

Timelines vary significantly by program. Fellowship programs typically involve:

• Multi-stage review process
• International expert panels for major awards
• Decisions within 3-6 months of deadline (estimated based on typical research council timelines)

Success Rates

HDR UK does not publicly disclose success rates for their funding calls. The Big Data for Complex Disease Fellowship Programme funded six fellowships from a competitive pool, indicating selective but not specified success rates.

Reapplication Policy

No specific reapplication policy is publicly stated. HDR UK follows standard research council practices where unsuccessful applicants may reapply to future calls with improved proposals.

Application Success Factors

Strategic Alignment

Projects must demonstrate clear alignment with HDR UK's 2023-2028 strategic objectives:

1. Making it easier and quicker for researchers to find, access and use high-quality, large-scale data
2. Fixing technical challenges for swift, safe and secure data use
3. Increasing health research efficiency through FAIR data principles

Key Success Elements

Use health data at scale: Successful projects utilize large datasets and demonstrate meaningful impact on health outcomes. Examples include the Welsh COVID-19 spatial analysis that informed regional lockdowns and the RECOVERY trial support.

Cross-sector collaboration: Funded projects often involve partnerships across academia, NHS, industry, and patient groups. Fellows come from HDR UK member universities across the UK.

Public and patient involvement: As Director Andrew Morris emphasizes: “It is essential that patients are engaged every step of the way.”

Innovation in methodology: The organisation seeks projects that advance data science approaches, like the Digital Innovation Hub in Manchester using pacemaker data to reduce emergency admissions.

Clear deliverables and impact metrics: DAA adoption funding requires specific implementation plans, timeline milestones, and quantitative/qualitative assessment measures.

Terminology to Use

HDR UK values language around:

• “Trustworthy data access and use”
• “Large-scale data analysis”
• “Translational patient benefit”
• “FAIR data principles”
• “TREs/SDEs (Trusted/Secure Data Environments)”
• “Real-world evidence”

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• Understand the model: HDR UK is primarily a research institute, not a general grant-maker. Target specific calls rather than approaching them for broad funding.

• Align with strategic drivers: Applications should clearly connect to one of their five strategic research driver programmes (Big Data for Complex Disease, Inflammation and Immunity, etc.) or infrastructure priorities.

• Demonstrate data scale and complexity: Projects must show sophisticated use of large-scale health data, not small pilot studies.

• Build strong partnerships: Successful applicants typically involve multiple institutions across the UK and engage diverse stakeholders including patients.

• Show pathway to impact: Clearly articulate how your work will translate to patient benefit, improved health outcomes, or enhanced research infrastructure.

• Engage early: For fellowships, connect with potential supervisors at HDR UK member institutions; for infrastructure projects, demonstrate existing relationships with data custodians.

• Monitor specific calls: HDR UK issues targeted calls throughout the year - success requires responding to specific opportunities rather than submitting unsolicited proposals.

Similar Funders

These funders frequently fund the same charities:

• Cancer Research UK
• British Heart Foundation
• GambleAware
• Academy of Medical Sciences
• The Michael Uren Foundation
• Greenwich Hospital
• Medical Research Council
• EYES ON THE FUTURE
• COMMON GROUND
• THE IAN FLEMING CHARITABLE TRUST
• People's Postcode Lottery
• People’s Postcode Lottery
• Bank of England

References

1. Health Data Research UK official website - https://www.hdruk.ac.uk/
2. “£70 million award to transform potential of UK health data” - HDR UK News, https://www.hdruk.ac.uk/news/70-million-award-to-transform-potential-of-uk-health-data/
3. Charity Commission Register - Health Data Research UK (No. 1194431), https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5167493/full-print
4. “Funding opportunity to support adoption of the UK Health Data Research Alliance Data Access Agreement template” - UK Health Data Research Alliance, https://ukhealthdata.org/news/funding-opportunity-to-support-adoption-of-the-uk-health-data-research-alliance-data-access-agreement-daa-template/
5. "Ambitious 'rising stars' programme to explore cardiovascular disease, cancer and other complex conditions" - HDR UK News, https://www.hdruk.ac.uk/news/ambitious-rising-stars-programme-to-explore-cardiovascular-disease-cancer-and-other-complex-conditions/
6. "Former CEO of University Hospitals Birmingham will oversee Health Data Research UK's work as Chair of the Board of Trustees" - HDR UK News, https://www.hdruk.ac.uk/news/former-ceo-of-university-hospitals-birmingham-will-oversee-health-data-research-uks-work-as-chair-of-the-board-of-trustees/
7. “Health Data Research UK wins prestigious diversity and inclusion award” - HDR UK News, https://www.hdruk.ac.uk/news/health-data-research-uk-wins-prestigious-diversity-and-inclusion-award/
8. HDR UK Strategic Plan 2023/24 - https://www.hdruk.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Strategic-Plan-Overview-2023-24.pdf
9. Our Senior Leadership Team - HDR UK, https://www.hdruk.ac.uk/about-us/who-we-are/our-senior-leadership-team/
10. Research Projects - HDR UK, https://www.hdruk.ac.uk/research/projects/