Transformational Impact Awards
Introduction
Start planning your application now!
Our Transformational Impact Awards support large-scale research investments covering high-quality discovery science, through to translational and clinical research.
These awards will deliver research which cannot be achieved through our other funding schemes (namely our Research Innovation Awards), with the aim of significantly expanding our understanding of the disease, maximising the scale and speed of progress in prostate cancer research and, crucially, delivering a positive impact on the lives of men with prostate cancer.
This may be by:
- directly delivering evidence that leads to practice change and patient benefit;
- significantly accelerating the progression towards that patient benefit;
- delivering a transformational step change in our understanding of the disease
How to apply
Later this year, we'll be launching a new Grant Management System which will be home to all of our online application forms.
While we’re getting everything ready, the guidance and question set for this scheme is available below so you can start planning your application! We anticipate the new system being ready for you to use in late July.
Remit and eligibility
This scheme is designed to support individual clinical studies, as well as programmes of research (preclinical, clinical or a combination) consisting of highly interconnected workstreams that offer added benefit when delivered collectively.
Smaller-scale proposals for more focused, stand-alone research projects will be more suited to our Research Innovation Awards.
Budget
We anticipate that proposals will be around £1.5m in value and up to five years in duration (although they can be longer). Proposals valuing up to £2m will still be accepted, however if you wish to apply for more than £1.5m you must discuss your study with us in advance of the submission deadline. Proposals under £750k are likely to be better suited to our Research Innovation Awards scheme.
Leadership and collaboration
Proposals must be led by a designated Lead Applicant who's an established researcher with a strong track record in their field, and holds a tenured or tenure-track academic appointment.
For clinical applicants, they should hold an honorary academic contract, at a recognised academic institution in the UK.
Up to four additional 'senior' Joint Lead Applicants can also be named on the proposal, where each person will play an active role in the management and delivery of the proposed study. These individuals can be based in the UK or internationally.
We're open to bringing new expertise and ideas into the prostate cancer field, so academics not currently working on prostate cancer are welcome to apply to this scheme.
Career Development and Mentorship
We're keen to see these awards provide training and development opportunities for early career researchers.
Proposals must include at least one experienced Early Career Researcher as a named Joint Lead Applicant on the grant, who will play an active role in the delivery of the programme/study and who will be responsible for a particular element(s) of it (NB: this is in addition to the four 'senior' Joint Lead Applicants mentioned above).
We define an experienced Early Career Researcher as someone who has (at 1 January 2026) between 5-10 years' post-doctoral experience if a non-clinical researcher, or 0-5 years' post-doctoral experience if a clinical researcher.
Also, where it supports the delivery of the proposed research, we encourage the inclusion of PhD Studentships or Clinical Fellows working towards a PhD qualification.
Application and guidance documents
We strongly advise applicants to read all the accompanying Application and Finance Guidance Notes as these are specific to the funding round you are applying for. They are there to assist you with the completion of the application form.
While you wait for our online application system to open, you can start planning your application using the Word version of the question set below!
Application Form
Information on the Transformational Impact Award scheme.
2026 TIA Application Form Template
Application Guidance notes
Information on what to include in your application form.
Important Guidance Notes - please read
Finance guidance notes
Funds must be in accordance with our current finance guidance.
Finance GuidanceResearch Themes
All proposals must be in line with our Research Strategy and focus on tackling one or more of the research themes summarised below.
Full details on each theme can be found in the guidance notes.
As new diagnostic approaches emerge, they will inevitably require refinement and validation in additional and larger patient cohorts. By complementing and leveraging other efforts and resources in this space, we wish to progress these novel diagnostic approaches to the point where they are ready for large-scale prospective clinical validation.
Through a better understanding of the biology of high-risk localised prostate cancer, and how it may evade treatment, we can start to bring more tailored therapeutic approaches into the localised disease setting to more effectively treat these men.
We need better informed and personalised treatment decision making for men with localised disease, as well as further trials investigating novel primary therapeutic approaches which reduce the likelihood of recurrence and the occurrence of side effects.
Many men see their cancer return after primary treatment and so we need; more effective ways to detect treatment resistance and localised recurrence early, a better understanding of why this happens, and more effective approaches to treating localised recurrence.
Programmatic funding is needed to revolutionise our understanding of metastatic prostate cancer in order to make transformational steps towards more targeted and effective treatments for advanced disease.
Supporting translational and clinical research to enhance the treatment of hormone sensitive metastatic disease, further delaying (or even preventing) the progression to the castration-resistant disease state.
Supporting translational and clinical research to enhance the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, delaying further disease progression and giving men valuable extra time with their loved ones.
Expanding our understanding of how treatment resistance occurs and investigating approaches to more effectively detect resistance and disease progression early.
Public and Patient Involvement
If you would like support to involve people affected by prostate cancer in your research, we can put you in contact with members of our Patient Representative Network.
Assessment process
LAUNCH: Online application system available from late July 2026.
DEADLINE: Applicants must submit their application and ensure that all online declarations and approvals have been completed by the relevant parties before 1pm on 22 September 2026.
PEER REVIEW: Submitted applications will then be subject to external peer review (in line with AMRC guidance). The peer reviewers' comments will be sent to the applicants (anonymously) in late November 2026 via our online system. Applicants will be given the opportunity to submit a response to the reviewers' comments.
SHORTLISTING: Applications will then be considered by our Scientific Advisory Board in mid-January 2027, who will decide which applicant groups will be invited for interview.
INTERVIEWS: Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview with our Scientific Advisory Board. Interviews will take place in mid-February 2027 via video conference. Further details of the interview process will be provided to the shortlisted applicants, but please keep this period free in case you are invited to interview.
NOTIFICATION: Applicants will be notified as to the outcome of their submission via email in March 2027. We appreciate your patience during this time.
All awards made will be in line with our terms and conditions (please note - these terms may be subject to change).
Further details will be available in the accompanying guidance notes.
To keep up to date with the latest information on this call, connect with us on Twitter or Bluesky @ProstateUKProfs or join us on our LinkedIn page for researchers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thinking about or already started applying to one of our funding schemes? Here are some frequently asked questions to assist you with your queries
Contact us
If you have any questions or would like to discuss an application with the Research team, please email [email protected].
For all the latest news about funding calls, events and much more straight to your inbox - sign up to our newsletter, connect with us on Twitter or Bluesky @ProstateUKProfs or join us on our LinkedIn page for researchers.
Meet our awardees
Find out more about the Transformational Impact Awards we're currently funding.
Application success rates
- 2024/25: 50% success rate, 6 applications received
- 2023/24: 56% success rate, 9 applications received
- 2022/23: 33% success rate, 6 applications received
Researcher Mentoring Scheme
Our mentoring scheme pairs early career researchers with experienced mentors who can support their career progression, or personal development goals. Read more on our mentoring webpage about how you could join the scheme to mentor the next generation of prostate cancer researchers.
