MS Society Skills Development Awards

MS Society Skills Development Awards

Provides short grants for early career researchers building advanced multiple sclerosis skills in the United Kingdom.

The Multiple Sclerosis Society UK's Skills Development Awards provide grants of up to GBP 2,000 to early career researchers (ECRs) working in MS research in the United Kingdom, with the specific aim of supporting professional development activities that build independent research skills. The scheme runs three rounds per year, with 2025 rounds opening in January, April, and August respectively. Since the programme launched in 2022, 18 awards have been funded, with recipients using grants for activities including international research group visits to institutions in Denmark, Spain, France, and Australia, specialist training courses run by organisations such as NIHR and the British Society of Immunology, and workshops on advanced statistics, machine learning, and implementation science.

Eligibility extends to PhD students and postdoctoral researchers who are working on projects directly relevant to MS research and who are based at UK institutions. Applicants apply as lead applicants rather than through a supervisor or senior investigator, making this one of the few MS Society funding instruments where an ECR holds sole responsibility for the application. Eligible activities are defined broadly as any career-related pursuit that helps the applicant build their skillset and advance professional development — spanning laboratory techniques, analytical methods, clinical research competencies, and leadership or communication skills relevant to a research career.

Applications are submitted through the MS Society's Symplectic Grant Tracker system at research.mssociety.org.uk. The three-round annual structure means applicants rarely wait more than four months between available submission windows, and the modest award size is intentionally designed to lower the barrier to access for researchers at the earliest career stages. The programme is part of the MS Society's broader ECR support framework, which also includes Early Career Fellowships, Catalyst Awards, and Data Discovery Awards at larger funding scales.