
Applications for our 2025-26 Primary Care Research and Evaluation Funding awards are now open.
If you work within primary care in one of Scotland’s rural or remote areas1 then you could be eligible for research and evaluation funding from the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care. The Centre has been able to identify funding to support NHS primary care practitioners2 who wish to carry out research, evaluation, publication or related professional development activities pertinent to remote and rural health and care in Scotland. Applications for funding are invited for 2025-26 and this is offered without commitment or setting precedent for future financial years. This funding is offered through the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care; NHS Education for Scotland is not acting as a research sponsor, and successful awardees must seek appropriate ethics and governance approvals from their local RD&I node.
To be eligible, you must work within primary care that is located within and/or serves a rural or remote area in Scotland. We anticipate that each individual application will be for no more than £5,000 but higher value awards may be made depending on the project. You must be able to demonstrate that the work or activity will result in either/both of the following benefits:
Funding applications will be considered for:
Applications for funding should be submitted via our online application Form. Please make sure you have completed all sections of the form and included evidence of the amount being requested where appropriate (pro-forma, receipt, invoice etc.). Failure to include this may result in your application being disregarded.
The Funding Selection Panel will use the agreed selection criteria to review and assess each application. They will then discuss final assessment at the next available panel review meeting (please see our Turas page for dates) and all applicants will be notified of the outcome within five working days of the review meeting. In many instances, our Funding Selection Panel may invite you to meet with them to discuss your application in more detail prior to making a final decision. This may be to get some further clarity on your project to ensure it fully meets the selection criteria.
If you are thinking of applying for funding but would like to know more, or ask us questions about the funding opportunity, we are hosting information sessions throughout the year to give you the opportunity to do just that.
Register for the sessions via the following links:
[1] Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification 2020 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
[2] Primary care is the first point of contact with the NHS. This includes community-based services provided by general practitioners (GPs), community nurses, dentists, dental nurses, optometrists, dispensing opticians, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
Page last updated: 09 June 2025