Department of Health

Website of the Department of Health

Please note that this website has a UK government access keys system.

Other funders

The Department is not the only funder of health and social care research in the UK. Whilst it is the largest single contributor in the public sector, the funding councils, research councils and research charities all play significant roles. Industry is also a major investor in health care R&D. Health Departments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also support health and social care R&D. The Department for Education and Skills (Dfes) provides research infrastructure funding for the science base in Universities via the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The Office of Science and Technology (OST) within the Department of Trade and industry (DTI) provides for basic research allocated via the Research Councils.

Research councils

Concordats with research councils have been developed on behalf of all four UK Health Departments.

Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)

The HEFCE aims to promote and fund excellent research that will increase knowledge and contribute to the social, cultural and economic wealth of the nation.

Government departments

The Office of Science and Technology (OST) within the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) aims to develop publicly funded science and technology to meet the country's future needs. Find out more about this and the other health departments in the UK.

Charities

There are currently 114 charities including the world's largest charity, the Wellcome Trust, within the Association of Medical Research Charities, covering a wide range of diseases. Their combined expenditure on medical research is over £650m per annum.

European Commission

The Research Framework Programme is the European Union's main mechanism for funding research in Europe and offers substantial funding opportunities for the UK health research community.

Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI)

The SBRI is designed to increase the success of smaller firms (as well as charities and other independent organisations) in obtaining contracts from Government bodies to conduct research and development.

Access keys