External funding (UK): Grants and Healthcare Funding — 2026 cycle

2. What we fund

Grants/Healthcare Funding

Grants/Healthcare Funding aim to support projects and initiatives from healthcare stakeholders to improve healthcare and/or advance scientific/medical knowledge, consistent with Novartis’ mission, without the intent of receiving any benefit in exchange. It can be related to medical/scientific research, healthcare education, policy initiatives, patient engagement related activities, and healthcare system strengthening.

We consider grants/healthcare funding to legitimate UK organisations for activities that:

Directly benefit patients, improve patient care, or strengthen healthcare systems (e.g., service improvements, patient education, pathway innovations).

Advance independent medical/scientific research and education or quality improvement. 

Support policy, advocacy, and community engagement that help address access and health equality (non-promotional). 

Therapy areas of interest: cardiology, immunology, neuroscience, solid tumours, haematology. Crosscutting proposals that address health inequalities are encouraged. 

3. How our funding supports patients in the UK (our advocacy priorities)

In 2026, Novartis UK will prioritise funding that advances:

1. Access: practical solutions that improve timely, equitable access to high quality care, services and information, quality care, services and information.
2. Health equality: initiatives that reduce inequalities (by geography, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability or other factors), especially for underserved communities.
3. Patient voice and partnership: co-designed projects with patient organisations and communities, ensuring materials and services are accessible and inclusive.

These priorities guide how we assess applications and how we communicate impact externally.

4. Who can apply (eligibility)

Eligible UK‑based organisations include:

• Healthcare organisations (e.g., NHS trusts, Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), primary care networks, academic health science centres).
• Patient organisations or registered charities.
• Academic or educational institutions and non‑profit healthcare quality or education bodies. 

All applicants must:

• Be legitimate organisations (we do not fund individuals or political parties).
• Request support for future activities (no retrospective funding).
• Keep the proposed activity independent of Novartis (we cannot design, control, or direct content or delivery).
• Agree to transparency and post‑funding reporting (see “After funding” below).

5. What we don’t fund (exclusions)

To ensure independence and compliance, Novartis UK cannot fund:

Individuals, personal awards, stipends, or political parties. 

Activities already completed or expenses incurred before the request/approval date.

Promotional activities or anything intended to influence prescribing, purchasing, or use of medicines. 

Core operating costs such as routine utilities, office supplies, rent, maintenance, salaries/wages, or general overheads not directly tied to the project. 

Social/fundraising events, capital expenditure, or equipment/roles used solely for a single company’s products. 

Clinical trials or investigator‑initiated studies (IIS) via this route—see our separate IIS process.

6. How we evaluate applications (standards and scoring)

We assess each complete application against the criteria below. Strong proposals will have:

1. Independence and compliance – activity remains independent; complies with ABPI/EFPIA funding principles.
2. Patient impact – clear, measurable benefits for patients and/or carers.
3. Health equality and access – targeted actions to reduce inequalities and reach underserved groups.
4. Quality and feasibility – robust plan, governance, and delivery capability (incl. safeguarding and risk management).
5. Measurement and learning – measurable outcomes, data collection plan, and how insights will be shared.
6. Value for money – proportionate budget with transparent breakdown.
7. Sustainability and scale – potential to sustain, replicate, or scale if effective.

All decisions are made by our internal review committee (arm’s‑length from commercial functions).

Please note: We receive more applications than we can fund each year.  As we work within a limited annual budget, not all eligible or high‑quality applications will be approved. Funding decisions depend on the overall strength of proposals against our published criteria, the balance of projects across therapy areas and priority themes, and the availability of funds within the 2026 cycle.

7. Key dates (2026 cycle)

Applications open: 1 March 2026

Applications close: 31 May 2026 (23:59 UK time). Applications submitted outside the stated window are automatically rejected.

Eligibility and completeness screening: rolling during the window

Committee review window: June–July 2026

Outcome notifications (approved/declined): by 31 August 2026

Contracting and set‑up: September 2026

Earliest project start date: after countersigned agreement is in place (no retrospective funding).

8. How to apply – Grants/Healthcare Funding

Submit via the Novartis GEMS portal (select United Kingdom).

What to include (checklist):

Please upload a formal letter of request and the full program proposal to the portal. Please ensure to include the registered name and address of the organisation for contracting purposes.

Project title and summary (goals and objectives, need, beneficiaries, co‑design with patients).

Plan and timeline; roles and governance; safeguarding and risk controls.

Cost breakdown (incl. any other funding sources and in‑kind support). Budgets should be itemised and specific, not general descriptions.

Outcomes and measurement plan (KPIs, data collection, reporting).

Accessibility and inclusion plan (formats, languages, reasonable adjustments).

Conflict‑of‑interest statement and confirmation of independence.

For repeat applicants: brief outcomes and learning from prior Novartis funding. Check that you have no overdue reports in GEMS.

9. For approved applications: What we’ll ask of you after funding 

Agreement: A signed funding agreement must be in place before the activity starts. This will be issued via DocuSign.

Evidence and reporting: On completion, share evidence of delivery (e.g., materials, attendee data, outcomes, and a simple financial reconciliation). 

Use of funds: You will be required to return unused funds if not all funds were required to execute the activity or event.

Transparency: Novartis will publicly disclose transfers of value to patient organisations in line with the ABPI Code (and EFPIA where relevant). We encourage recipients to disclose support on their own websites, following ABPI best‑practice guidance. 

10. Data privacy

We will use the personal information you provide only to evaluate and administer your request and to fulfil our disclosure obligations, in line with our Data Privacy Policy and applicable laws.

11. Further information

Funding does not imply endorsement of any product or service. Novartis will not influence project content, participation, or outputs.

If your project could capture medicine‑related safety information, you must follow the adverse event reporting steps set out in your agreement.

For any further questions email [email protected] (subject: UK Grants 2026 query) and we’ll be happy to help.

UK | February 2026 | FA-11612071