Excellence Network project grants scheme

We welcome applications for funding to support local, regional and national improvement projects. 

Your project can relate to a variety of themes that demonstrate direct community impact, so get in touch with us if you want to discuss your ideas.

We accept applications from any statutory health care or social care organisation in the UK including:

• NHS trusts

• NHS health boards

• NHS health and social care trusts

• other statutory healthcare-related organisations or authorities (for example, integrated care systems)

• statutory social care providers

• social enterprises contracted to provide statutory health or care services

UK universities, UK research institutions, voluntary organisations, social enterprises (not contracted to provide statutory health services) are also eligible to apply, and must partner or collaborate with at least 1 statutory health or care organisation. This is to make sure there is a clear pathway to improving statutory services for people with Parkinson’s. 

For further information on how to apply, please read the application guidance (PDF, 118KB). The guidance contains full details of the assessment criteria. 

For details on grants for pump priming specialist Parkinson’s nurse, or allied health or mental health professional posts, visit the dedicated pump priming page.

For details about research grants for early stage clinical research, clinical trials and non-drug research, visit the dedicated research grants page.

This is an annual scheme with 2 rounds. It has a 1-stage application process.

As an open scheme, applications will be evaluated by nominated reviewers as and when they are received. As soon as your application has been peer-reviewed, we'll schedule it for discussion at a Funding Panel meeting. The panel meets monthly, so most applicants will receive a decision about their application within 2 months of submission. 

Find out more in the small grants review process (updated May 2024, PDF 161KB).

To give you an idea of potential for success, here are the 2024 success rates:

• We invited 22 out of 27 expressions of interest to submit applications.
• 5 applications were recommended for funding, resulting in a 45% success rate.

Based on the high volume of interest and the competitive success rates from previous years, we encourage interested services to apply early. If applications are received over our capacity during the application stage, we may need to close rounds earlier than the scheduled deadline. If the funds are fully allocated in round 1, we may not proceed with round 2 as planned. 

We're now inviting expressions of interest for round 1 of the Excellence Network small grants scheme for 2025. 

Complete this online form to express interest in this round.

Your answers will tell us if your project idea is eligible for the scheme. We'll send you a grant application form if your project is eligible.

Round 1

• Monday 20 January 2025: Open 2025 grant round 1, invite expressions of interest. 
• Friday 2 May 2025, 5pm: Deadline to submit expressions of interest. 
• Monday 2 June 2025, 5pm: Final deadline for round 1 applications.

Round 2 (subject to change)

• Monday 7 July 2025: Open 2025 grant round 2, invite expressions of interest.
• Wednesday 10 September 2025, 5pm: Deadline to submit expressions of interest.
• Friday 10 October 2025, 5pm: Final deadline for round 2 applications.

The scheme runs once a year and has a 2-stage application process (if your project meets the eligibility criteria at the Expression of Interest stage). 

If you are successful at the pre-application stage, you'll be invited to the full application stage. The applications are reviewed by expert and lay reviewers at each stage. The final decision about which projects to fund will be taken at the Funding Panel meeting in November 2025. You will receive a final decision about your application after this meeting. 

Find out more in the large grants review process (updated May 2024, PDF 108KB).

To give you an idea of potential for success, here are the 2024 success rates:

• We invited 13 expressions of interest to submit pre-applications.
• 6 applications were invited to the full application stage.
• 2 projects were recommended for funding and 2 projects were offered a right to reply, resulting in an 18% success rate (subject to change, based on the right to reply decisions).

Based on the high volume of interest and the competitive success rates from previous years, we encourage interested services to apply early. If applications are received over our capacity during the pre-application stage, we may need to close rounds earlier than the scheduled deadline.

We've paused the opening of the 2025 Large grants round because some applications from 2024 are waiting for a 'right to reply' funding decision.

Check back here in February for announcements about when we'll start inviting expressions of interest.

• Monday 20 January 2025: Open 2025 grant round, invite expressions of interest (currently paused).
• Friday 11 April 2025, 5pm: Deadline to submit expressions of interest.
• Friday 16 May 2025, 5pm: Deadline for pre-applications.
• May to June 2025: Review and judging of pre-applications.
• July 2025: Applicants notified of the results of the pre-application stage. Successful applicants are invited to submit a full application. 
• Tuesday 23 September 2025, 5pm: Full application deadline (by invite only).
• September to November 2025: Review and judging of full, invited applications.
• November 2025: Applicants notified of the results of the full application stage.