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Innovation Fund to Reduce Demand for Illicit Substances (Phase 3) 2025 – UK

Deadline: 23-Apr-2025

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is launching Phase 3 of the Innovation Fund to Reduce the Demand for Illicit Substances, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in partnership with the Joint Combatting Drugs Unit (JCDU).

The funding opportunity aims to fund projects that address demand for recreational drugs and are thereby likely to lead to reduced drug use and dependency.

Funding Information
  • Funding available amount: £500000.00.
Eligibility Criteria
  • They are keen to hear from all organisations that have a proposal for primary prevention and early intervention activities that could credibly help reduce demand for drugs.
  • They recommend that organisations that don’t have an established R&D function apply in partnership with a researcher. Organisations and individuals looking for potential collaborators can email NIHR including a short description of the proposed intervention to be developed, the type of collaborators sought and the kind of contribution needed from those collaborators. The NOCRI team at NIHR can then look to match up appropriate organisations to discuss ideas.
Assessment Criteria
  • Your application must:
    • Demonstrate the potential for the work to develop unique and innovative primary prevention and deterrent interventions to prevent experimental drug use, and early intervention approaches to prevent use and/or dependency.
    • Include a clear rationale for the choice of intervention and evidence for the intervention’s ability to reduce use of so-called recreational substances. 
    • Explain the expected societal impact and plan for effective rollout in England (England and Wales where the intervention is focused on policing and/or criminal justice).
    • Focus on implementation and evaluation of implementation in a larger cohort than the intervention is currently available in. This may, but does not necessarily need to, include a larger geographical area. This does not need to be a national rollout but must show an expansion of availability.

For more information, visit NIHR.