Funding for R&D projects that provide digital therapeutics for mental health solutions.
Projects must undertake industrial research (as defined in the guidance on categories of research) and must focus on the following:
- The application of extended reality (includes creative technologies, virtual reality, networked or augmented reality, mixed reality, haptics, holograms, immersive software and immersive audio).
- Solutions for moderate and severe mental health conditions (i.e. that positively improve the impairment, disability and distress experienced by those living with mental health difficulties at any point in their life course, especially where difficulties have an impact on education, employment and daily life).
- Solutions that can be applied at all clinical levels (with the ambition to seek regulatory approval, adoption and scale, as and where appropriate).
Proposals must include the design and features of your solution and how it will be applied.
Solutions will optimally be applied and trialled following an R&D cycle of between 12 to 18 months and must have the potential to be adopted at scale to form part of the UK’s formal mental healthcare ecosystem.
ELIGIBLITY
Project leads must be a UK registered business of any size.
Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone but can collaborate with business leads.
Also eligible to collaborate are:
- Businesses of any size
- Charities
- Not for profits
- Public sector organisations
- Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs)
VALUE AND DURATION
Projects must have total eligible costs between £200,000 and £300,000 and must last 12-18 months.
KEY DATES
Call opens: 28 October 2024
Online briefing event: 29 October 2024 (register to attend an overview of the programme, competition scope, eligibility and the application process)
Online collaboration building workshop: 12 November 2024 (network with experts across the immersive technology sector and mental health providers to facilitate new collaborations and strengthen your potential application for this competition)
Deadline: 15 January 2025 (11am)
Start date: by 1 July 2025
End date: by 31 December 2026
Further details on scope, eligibility and how to apply can be found on the opportunity webpage.