launching soon
Turning evidence into real-world change for people affected by dementia
Thanks to the support of Dementia Research UK, the Dementia Trust is launching a new and ambitious Impact Accelerator Award programme. The Dementia Trust Impact Accelerator Award is designed to help proven ideas go further, faster.
WHAT IS THE IMPACT ACCELERATOR AWARD?
The Impact Accelerator Award (IAA) programme supports projects that already have a strong evidence based project and are ready to scale, embed or influence wider policy, practice or service delivery. The focus is on tangible, measurable improvements to the lives of people living with dementia and their carers, not research for research’s sake.
Through the IAA, the Dementia Trust brings together academic insight, lived experience, and delivery expertise to accelerate what works, strengthen impact, and support long-term sustainability.
What the Impact Accelerator Award supports:
Projects may focus on improvements in services, environments, daily living, health, wellbeing, technology, or quality of life. They may operate in the public, private or third sector, and at local, regional, national or international level.
While academic involvement is encouraged to strengthen evidence and evaluation, non-academic organisations may lead applications where they are best placed to deliver change.
The IAA funds projects that can demonstrate:
Clear evidence that the approach works or shows strong promise
A credible plan to turn that evidence into real-world impact
Meaningful benefits for people living with dementia and/or their carers
The potential to influence wider systems, policy or practice
WHAT MAKES THE IMPACT ACCELERATOR AWARD DIFFERENT?
The Impact Accelerator Award sits between research and large-scale funding.
It is specifically designed to:
Bridge the gap
between evidence and
implementation
Support
collaboration
across sectors
Fund activity that
accelerates adoption,
scaling or influence
Prioritise measurable
impact rather than
outputs alone
Successful projects will be able to show how the funding will lead to demonstrable change, and how that change will be measured over time.
INTERESTED IN ApplyING for a 2026 IMPACT ACCELERATOR AWARD?
To assist any potential applicants and those interested in applying for the Impact Accelerator Awards Programme, the Dementia Trust will be hosting 2 online sessions to support questions and share more information about the Awards.
Please register for 1 of these sessions if you intend to submit an Expression of Interest Form.