PPIE Awards

All projects need co-leads or collaborators from different Hubs. You can join up with collaborators in any way. 

As a team, you’ll go through the process together. You can have up to two Co-leads (people who share responsibility for the Award) and as many Collaborators (people involved in the project) as you feel is needed.

If you want to find someone to work with, you can:

Use the MHP PPIE Awards Bulletin Board. 

Here, you can:

• Post your idea for others to read
• Post your interest in being part of any project
• Contact people who’ve already posted on the board

Contact your PPIE Lead/Coordinator

The PPIE Lead or Coordinator of your LEAP/LEAG/Coproduction Council may be able to offer support or advice on finding Collaborators. The MHP will be supporting them to build connections across the Hubs.

You will also need to contact the PPIE leads or Hub Leads from each of the Hubs involved, to let them know you want to run a project as a representative of the Hub. 

Once you have found your team, you should work together to fill in your Expression of Interest Form (EoI form). The form is very short. This work is not remunerated.

• Describe the project in under 200 words
• List the individuals on your team 
• Confirm you’ve spoken to a PPIE Coordinator from each Hub.
• Indicate whether your project involves research

You can download the EoI form at the bottom of this page. You’ll submit this form to mhp@ed.ac.uk. 

You can submit this at any time, but you may wish to align with the times when EoIs are reviewed:

• January 2027 (submit before 31st December)
• June 2027 (submit before 31st May)

Twice a year, the MHP Coordinating Team will collect the Expressions of Interest (EoIs) submitted so far for review. This is a competitive process and only a limited number of projects can progress to application stage.

First, the EoIs will be checked for eligibility. Then, they will be shared with  independent PPIE reviewers, Each reviewer will score each project based on specific criteria. The scores will be used to create a ranking of all the EoIs. The ranking will be used to decide which ideas can proceed to full application.

You can download the EoI scoring criteria at the bottom of this page.

Everyone who submitted an EoI is contacted to let them know whether they are successful or not. If your project involves research, you will be also informed at this stage of the additional steps involved in the rest of the process. 

Teams who have submitted a successful Expression of Interest (EoI) work together to write a full application. 

You can download the EoI form at the bottom of this page. You’ll submit this form to mhp@ed.ac.uk. 

When you receive confirmation of your successful EoI, you will be informed the deadline for the submission of your full application.

This work is remunerated at a fixed rate. You can submit a claim following application submission for £500 per Co-lead, plus up to an additional £500 total for all other Contributors. The maximum claim for a project application is £1500.

If your project involves research, during the application process you will need to write to your host institutionEthics board to find out if you need to apply for Ethics approval. Projects led by independent PPIE members will apply to the University of Edinburgh ethics board. We advise doing this at the beginning of the application process, as it can take time to process and approve an Ethics application.

After the submission deadline, all the applications will be reviewed by an expert PPIE panel. This is a competitive process and only selected projects can be funded.

Each reviewer will score each project based on specific criteria. The scores will be used to create a ranking of all the full applications. The ranking will be used to decide which projects will be funded.

If your project involves research, it will also be peer reviewed, which means independent researchers will assess the research.

You can download the Full Application scoring criteria at the bottom of this page

Everyone who submitted an application is informed whether or not they were successful. 

Projects selected for funding will meet with the MHP Coordinating Team to find out the next steps in starting their project.

Lead Applicant

• You must have lived experience of severe mental illness (SMI). 
  • You could have a personal or a carer's perspective.
• You must be a member of one or more of the MHP hubs.
  • You could be a member of the MHP Steering Group, or part of a Lived Experience Advisory Panel or Group (LEAP or LEAG). 
  • You could be a researcher at one of the Hubs who also has lived experience of SMI.
• You do not need any previous experience of applying for research grants/awards.

You should plan the project yourself and/or with your co-leads/collaborators.

Co-Lead

Co-leads share responsibility for the Award, throughout the submission of the Expression of Interest, application and the delivery of the project. 

There can be up to two Co-leads on a PPIE Project. If they are from another Hub, this shows the Cross-Hub aspect of your project, and will also provide peer support throughout.

Collaborators

Collaborators are involved in the project and have a specific and defined contribution. You can have as many Collaborators as you feel is necessary for the project.

The project must connect at least two of the Hubs, bringing together its representatives, and must be linked with severe mental illness. They may be:

PPIE Practice and Innovation Projects: Projects focused on improving PPIE practice, developing new creative methods, engagement activities, resources, events or other innovations that benefit people with lived experience of SMI and do not involve conducting research. 

This could include hosting an event, creating a piece of art, communicating research in a creative way, or anything else you think the SMI community would benefit from. 

PPIE Research Projects: Projects that collect new information to answer a research question, such as conducting interviews, surveys or focus groups to create evidence-based recommendations, guidance or other resources for researchers, PPIE coordinators, Industry and healthcare partners or the public in general. 

The focus of the project should align with at least one of the themes:

• Improving PPIE best practices 
• ​​Measuring PPIE impact 
• ​​Increasing understanding of people with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) 

Your project can take as long as you need to complete it, as long as it starts after September 2027 and finished by December 2028.

You will need to show a predicted timeline in your full application.

You can reach out to PPIE members at other Hubs through existing contacts – perhaps after meeting them at an event, or through a mutual contact.

You may also find using the MHP PPIE Awards Bulletin Board helpful.

1. Prepare a short description of your project
2. Identify your Co-Leads and Collaborators. You may use the MHP PPIE Awards Bulletin Board for this.
3. Inform PPIE Coordinators and/or Hub leads from each Hub you’d like to submit an Expression of Interest (EoI) as a representative of the Hub. Share your project idea with them. They don’t need to formally support your EoI with a letter or email but should be aware it is being submitted.
4. Download the form at the bottom of this page 
5. Work with your Co-Leads to fill out the form 
6. Submit form to mhp@ed.ac.uk

Preparing the Expression of Interest is not remunerated. This includes finding your team and contacting the Hubs. 

Preparing the full application is remunerated at a fixed rate. You can submit a claim following application submission for £500 per Co-lead, plus up to an additional £500 total for all other Contributors. The maximum claim for a project application is £1500. Only submitted applications will be renumerated.

Once you have been told your Expression of Interest (EoI) can progress to application stage, you can work with your co-leads and collaborators to prepare the full application. When you receive confirmation of your successful EoI, you will be informed the deadline for the submission of your full application.

Fill out an application form, which you can download further down on this page.

You will also need to attach letters or emails of support from each of the Hub leads. Letters must include information on the level of commitment and type of contribution provided from the Hubs or Collaborators to the project. This means you’ll need to be in touch with Hub leads before you apply to confirm they’re happy to support your project.

Save your completed application form with the title "Year MHP PPIE CandI PPIE Awards Full Name" (e.g. 2026 MHP CandI PPIE Awards Jane Smith) and submit it to mhp@ed.ac.uk with the email subject line “MHP C&I PPIE Awards Application”. 

Your project budget must be a minimum of £2,000 and a maximum of £20,000.

What you can include in your budget

• Staff time – costs for staff working directly on the project.
• Travel and subsistence – reasonable costs for travel, accommodation and meals related to the project.
• Networking and events – costs for activities that bring people together, including travel and subsistence.
• Engagement and knowledge sharing – activities that involve sharing learning, ideas and findings with others.
• Equipment costing less than £10,000.

What you cannot include in your budget

• Costs that could be covered by another, more appropriate source of funding.
• Indirect or estates costs charged by the research organisation.
• Intellectual property (IP) costs, such as registering, maintaining or supporting patents or other intellectual property rights.
• Equipment costing £10,000 or more.
• Undergraduate or postgraduate activities or training, including core PhD training, tuition fees or bench fees.
• Contributions to existing Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs).
• Salary costs for investigators or staff who are already employed through an existing funded Hub award.

This is a competitive process, and not all projects which are submitted can be funded.

Your application will go through a review process alongside the other projects submitted in the same round. An independent review panel will assess your application. The panel will review all eligible projects and score to decide on which will receive the Awards.

You can download the scoring criteria at the bottom of this page
 

The MHP Coordinating Team in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh Research Office (ERO), will initiate the contract exchange with the successful PPIE lead applicant (hereafter, referred as the awardee) and host institution.

If your project receives funding, you will be fully supported throughout the delivery of your work. Our aim is to help you stay on track, meet your project goals, and manage your budget confidently.

Onboarding and Support

At the start of your project the MHP Coordinating Team, will meet with you for an onboarding session.

In this meeting, we will talk through:

• The support available to you
• Any mentoring you may find helpful
• How project meetings and communication will work
• What reporting is needed and when

Together, you and the MHP Coordinating Team will agree how often to meet during the project. These check-ins will help monitor progress against your project plan and identify and address challenges early. It’s also an opportunity for you to ask questions and get advice and support.

You can contact the team mhp@ed.ac.uk at any point if you need additional support.

Project Reporting

To help keep your project running smoothly, you will be asked to submit brief written reports. 

At the end of your project, you will submit a final report (one month before the project end date). This will be shared with the MHP Leadership Team and the MHP PPIE Steering Group.