Restricted Call: Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard Award 2026: Round 12 (internal deadline: 13 April, 2026)

The Academy of Medical Sciences has invited institutions to begin their internal triage processes for the Academy’s competitive Springboard Awards – Round 12.

Springboard offers a bespoke package of support to biomedical researchers at the start of their first independent post to help launch their research careers. This scheme is targeted at those who are in the early stages of their first independent research position and have not yet obtained substantial research funding support from other sources, such as large research grants or large fellowships. Proposals are accepted across the full breadth of biomedical research as long as the research aims to improve human health.

The award for Round 12 will provide funding of up to £125,000 over two years to support research costs (excluding applicant salary) and professional development. The award also gives access to the Academy’s one-to-one mentoring scheme and a programme of events and activities developed for awardees’ benefit. Please note that all applicants who successfully make it through internal selection receive an invite to take part in AMS’s Mentoring programme, regardless of the outcome of their application.

For more information, please see the AMS website, the Springboard Round 12 application guidance and Frequently Asked Questions document.

About the award

Eligibility criteria:

To be eligible, applicants must:

• Hold a salaried academic position that incorporates research.
• Have sufficient time remaining on their contract to complete the proposed Springboard project.
• Be in their first independent (salaried) position (i.e. group-leader level who is line managed not supervised).
• Have been appointed to this position within the last 5 years, i.e. 5 years from 3 June 2026 (FTE; exceptions made for career breaks).

Candidates must not:

• Currently hold a clinical contract of any kind (including honorary contracts).
• Be in receipt of substantial research funding as the Principal or Co- Investigator exceeding £150,000 for the two-year Springboard award (excluding your personal salary, overhead and indirect costs). See the worked-out example provided by AMS here for reference.
• Have already secured a significant fellowship. Candidates who have already secured significant fellowships are not considered to be in the spirit of the scheme. Please see the list in the attached form under question 4.
• Be a postdoctoral researcher employed on a grant awarded in the name of another Principal Investigator.
• Hold a Research Associate position where they are under someone’s supervision.
• Have already secured a promotion onto a second independent post (there is an exception for those who can demonstrate that their second position was a side-ways step).

Please note that AMS permits only one resubmission to this scheme. A resubmission is classified as the second time that a candidate has been nominated by their HEI and submitted a full application to the Academy.

An applicant’s eligibility with respect to career stage and length of contract must be confirmed in the Head of Department letter for the internal selection step. If you are uncertain about any aspects of eligibility, please contact the Research Strategy Office at researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk

University Internal selection:

The University can make up to four nominations for Round 12. Therefore, this call is managed according to the University’s restricted calls policy. Your Department’s Research Grants Team and/or Departmental Administrator (or equivalent) must be made aware of your internal application, and a support letter signed by the Head of Department is required.

To take part in the internal selection process, please complete the online AMS Springboard Round 12 form by 13 April 2026 (NB, if asked to log-in, please use your crsid/Raven details; note that a Form cannot be saved and returned to). For your convenience, the attached document outlines the questions asked in the form.

Internal Assessment Criteria:

Please note that the assessment of internal applications will focus on the following core funder criteria:

• Applicant: Applicant’s track record

• Applicant: Potential benefit to applicant’s career
• Applicant: Career aspirations
• Research quality: Importance and relevance of the research
• Research quality: Quality and appropriateness of research methodology
• Research quality: Degree of innovation

Funder deadlines:

• 13 April 2026: internal deadline for internal selection process
• 24 April 2026: deadline for the University to notify the Academy of the outcome of the University’s triage process.
• 3 June 2026: deadline for submission to the funder

If you have any questions, please contact researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Posted on 11/03/2026