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The RCN Foundation helps to invest in the nursing and midwifery professions and improve patient care.

Every single day, nursing and midwifery professionals around the UK help to care for people when they are at their most vulnerable. That care improves the UK's health and wellbeing and deserves investment.

Currently open

The Amin Abdullah RCN Foundation Grant is open for applications that support a nurse-led project which explores issues relating to the wellbeing of nurses. Open to applications from nurses only, with grants of up to £1,000 available. The grant closes at 5pm on 15 October.

The Michelle Cox RCN Foundation Anti-Racism Award is open for applications from nurses and midwives that will support a nurse or midwifery-led project which aims to oppose racism and promote racial equality within nursing and midwifery. The deadline to apply is 5pm on 27 October.

Our research funding priorities 

We fund projects related to the two areas outlined below. Please note, we are not currently open for speculative applications.

1. Projects that invest in the nursing and midwifery professions

As health and social care become more integrated, nurses, midwives and health care support workers have to find more innovative ways to make sure they deliver joined up, effective patient care. At the same time, more people are living longer, many with long-term conditions such as learning disabilities, or mental illness.

This is why our current key priorities for organisational grants are:

2. Raising the profile of nursing and midwifery

Most patients know that nurses, midwives, and health care support workers are there to help them, but they may not fully understand the jobs they do. Raising the profile of nursing will help more people understand its contribution to improving the nation’s health. It’s why we fund projects that demonstrate how they increase the public profile of nursing.

Organisations need to be UK-based and could be:

  • Registered charities
  • Health care organisations
  • Higher education institutions

What our project partners say

"Beating the Virus was the first COVID-19 resource that we developed and made freely available to help people with learning disabilities and other communication difficulties to understand what was happening.

"We are so grateful to the RCN Foundation for their generous support for the digital resource, the printed book and its further development within the Beyond Words Story App." Nick Wright, Chief Executive, Beyond Words

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Frequently Asked Questions

Research Grants

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Research Grants: Extra Support

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Funded projects & success stories

Read more about RCN Foundation's previously funded projects