Funding for research that evaluates the health and health inequality impacts of community initiatives that aim to address loneliness at a population level.
Research areas of interest could include, but are not limited to:
- community-centred initiatives aiming to prevent loneliness
- community-centred initiatives (including interventions not explicitly set up to target loneliness) which have an impact on alleviating or increasing loneliness (as an unintended consequence)
- interventions utilising community-assets, neighbourhood and place-based approaches to reduce loneliness (this may also include structural initiatives, transportation and lack of access to services)
- evaluations of the role of anchor institution’s in addressing loneliness
- evaluations of cross system multi-level interventions to tackle loneliness
- evaluations of interventions designed to gain (social) skills, confidence and build resilience in people to prevent loneliness
- evaluation of interventions aimed at developing and maintaining connections with the local community, for example Community Navigators and community connectors
- the impact of virtual communities on loneliness (positive or negative)
Note on scope: Although social isolation and loneliness often come together, they are conceptually and empirically distinct from each other, and this funding opportunity is focused on loneliness.
The funder recognises that for some proposals, underpinning or development work to understand the epidemiology and inform the evaluation of interventions might be beneficial, and is therefore willing to consider applications that include a maximum six-month period of underpinning or development work.
KEY DATES
Webinar: TBC June 2026 (registration will open in the spring – until then, see the Public Health Research webinar held on Tuesday 7 October 2025 for general tips for applying – email phr@nihr.ac.uk for the recording and slides)
Outline application deadline: 18 August 2026
Full application opening date: Early October 2026
Full application deadline: Early January 2027
Full details, including research specification and application guidance, can be found on the opportunity webpage.
See the Public Health Research homepage for more information about what will be funded under this programme.