Irish Cancer Society Cancer Survivorship Seed Funding Award 2026

The Irish Cancer Society Survivorship Seed Funding Award offers motivated cancer survivorship researchers the opportunity to drive forward a research project which has the potential to be both highly competitive and impactful.  

The 2026 award will provide funding to research which seeks to address unmet needs in cancer survivorship.   

The award is intended to support research activities which, without seed funding, would not have otherwise been possible. Successful proposals awarded seed funding will a) advance research capability, b) inform social, economic, and political policy, or c) further cancer service provision at local and national levels.  

For full details on this call, please consult the associated application guidelines. 

There are two distinct funding streams in 2026:  

Award type I- Survivorship Non-HSCP 

This award is open to all cancer survivorship researchers excluding HSCPs. This includes academic and clinical researchers (post undergraduate level) and medical doctors working with those affected by cancer.  

Award type II- Survivorship Health & Social Care Professionals (HSCPs) 

This HSCP-led award is open to cancer survivorship researchers from health and social care backgrounds working in oncology. This includes professionals of social sciences and allied health, working with those affected by cancer.  

Please ensure that you are applying to the correct funding call stream. If you have a query regarding the stream of funding you should apply for, please get in touch with the research team at grants@irishcancer.ie. 

Further details on eligibility can be found in the Application Guidelines document (below). 

Applications must be completed and submitted through the Irish Cancer Society’s new online grant management system. To submit an online application, you are required to register at the following address: https://irishcancersociety.optimytool.com/en.

Milestones:

• Wednesday, 15th July 2026; Grant Call opens for applications
• Wednesday, 26th August at 3pm; Deadline for Applications
• September 2026; Review
• October 2026; Awardees Announced

For any questions about this call, please email grants@irishcancer.ie .

If you require assistance with the online grant management system or have any questions about the grant call, including questions regarding initiative eligibility, please contact the Irish Cancer Society Research Department: 

Email: grants@irishcancer.ie  

FAO: Dr Niamh McCabe