Organisations across healthcare, life sciences, mental health, and social care face growing pressure to find funding, build partnerships, and bring effective services and innovations into practice. Yet identifying the right opportunity can take time. Calls for businesses to apply for UK public funding and procurement opportunities are published across different websites, eligibility criteria vary, and deadlines can arrive before organisations have had a chance to assess whether a bid is realistic.
To help members navigate this landscape, UK Healthcare and Life Sciences Innovation (UKHLSI) is introducing a weekly funding and procurement report. Published each Friday, it will bring together relevant opportunities from across the UK and help members see what is available, who it is for and what action may be needed.
The report will cover grants, funding programmes, innovation competitions, and relevant finance schemes, alongside public-sector procurement opportunities. Its scope reflects the breadth of UKHLSI’s membership and the growing connections between health and care delivery, research, technology, industry and public services.
Opportunities may relate to clinical and health services, life sciences research, and development, medtech, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing. The report will also cover mental health, social care, prevention, public health, children, and young people, workforce and skills, community and primary care, digital health, and artificial intelligence.
For each opportunity, the report will set out what the scheme or contract supports, who is eligible to apply or bid, and any important requirements around location, partnerships or consortia. Where information is available, it will include the funding or contract value, key dates, current status and a link to the official source. This should help members make an early assessment of whether an opportunity is relevant and what the next step might be.
“Across healthcare, life sciences, mental health and social care, organisations are developing ideas and services that can improve people’s lives. But finding the right funding or procurement opportunity – and understanding how to pursue it – can be a real challenge. Our weekly report is designed to make that search easier for members, while UKHLSI’s tailored bid support can help them assess opportunities, build partnerships and put forward a stronger case.” Jo Bekis, Chief Executive, UK Healthcare and Life Sciences Innovation (UKHLSI)
Funding and procurement are different routes to growth, and the report will treat them accordingly. A grant or competition may support research, development, service improvement or adoption. A procurement opportunity is a commercial route for suppliers to provide services, products or solutions to a public-sector buyer. The report makes clear which type of opportunity is being presented, so members can consider the right route for their organisation.
It will also distinguish between open opportunities and early-stage pipeline notices. Some schemes may be newly announced but not yet accepting applications; some research awards may require an eligible academic or NHS partner; and some public funding may be allocated to local authorities rather than available for direct application. These distinctions matter when deciding whether to act immediately, build a partnership or prepare for a future call.
By bringing key information together in one place, UKHLSI aims to help organisations spot relevant opportunities earlier, understand the requirements and consider how a proposal could fit their capabilities and strategic priorities. Each organisation will still need to check the official guidance and assess the opportunity against its own objectives, capacity and eligibility.
UK public funding and procurement opportunities commercial bid support for members
UKHLSI can also help members assess and pursue suitable opportunities. Support can be tailored and may include reviewing eligibility and requirements, considering whether a bid is a good fit, strengthening the proposal’s case for healthcare and patient impact, identifying potential delivery partners, and advising on how to present an organisation’s capabilities to funders and buyers.
Where useful, UKHLSI can help members understand the policy and NHS context behind an opportunity, make relevant connections across its network and identify specialist support for detailed bid development. The scope of support can be agreed with each member according to their needs and the opportunity.
The weekly report is part of UKHLSI’s work to connect members with practical opportunities and support their contribution to better health and care. Members who would like to discuss an opportunity or explore bid support can contact enquiries@ukhlsi.co.uk.