Funding call for evidence generation on NICE early use technologies in England

On April 8, 2026, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) opened a new call under its Invention for Innovation (i4i) Product Development Awards (PDA), focused on supporting technologies recommended by NICE for early use in the NHS, conditional on evidence generation.

The scope of the call is focused on producing real world evidence, or other relevant evidence, required by NICE early use assessment (in line with NICE early use recommendations and evidence generation plans) to achieve a full NICE evaluation, generation of real world evidence required by commissioners to encourage increased uptake and use of technologies within the NHS and social care settings, and capturing learnings for generalizable guidance for innovators.

Eligible products are those already approved for early use in the NHS through NICE early use guidance (early value assessment). Technologies that have received negative or research-only recommendations from NICE are not eligible for this funding opportunity.

Applications must be submitted by consortia that include an analytical partner acting as the lead applicant, a technology partner (the product provider), and at least one NHS site or service adopting the technology. Projects can run for up to three years and are expected to generate the required evidence within the timeframe specified by NICE.

Funding is flexible, with no fixed upper or lower limit, provided costs are well justified and demonstrate value for money. SMEs and NHS organizations may receive up to 100% of the requested funding, with no requirement for matched funding from commercial partners. Higher Education Institutions are entitled to up to 80% of the full economic costs. Large enterprises are expected to provide in-kind contributions.

The application process is structured in two stages:

• To apply for the first stage, an outline application should be submitted by May 27, 2026. 
• Successful applicants will then be invited to submit a full application from August 5 to September 23, 2026.
• Notification of the final funding decision is expected from December 2026 at the earliest.

To support applicants, NIHR will host a webinar on April 15, 2026, providing an overview of the PDA scheme and this specific funding opportunity, along with details on scope, requirements, and the application process, followed by a live Q&A session.

See the full details here.

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