Wellcome Mental Health Data Prize now open to teams in South Africa & the UK
The Wellcome Mental Health Data Prize is open for applications from teams in the UK and South Africa.
We’re looking for multidisciplinary teams to analyse existing datasets and develop new digital tools for the mental health research community, to help address anxiety and depression in young people.
A total of £1.4 million will be awarded across three phases, with the top £500,000 prize to be shared between three winning teams.
The story behind the prize
We’ve partnered with Social Finance to deliver the prize, and over the past year we’ve engaged with mental health researchers, data holders, ethicists and young people with lived experience of anxiety and depression. Through many workshops, meetings and webinars, we’ve tried to understand their varied priorities and we’ve heard their ideas about how research and digital tools could make a difference to youth anxiety and depression.
Our goal is to look beyond the current interventions that are commonly offered in healthcare settings for treating these mental health conditions. We will support teams considering a range of ‘active ingredients’, by which we mean the aspects of an intervention that drive resolution or reduction of symptoms. These can range from the cellular to the societal, and from the individual to the relational.
Accessing data for the prize
We have identified datasets in South Africa and the UK that can offer insights on the biological, psychological and social determinants of mental health in young people, which participants will be signposted to if they wish to use them as part of their analysis. We’ll share a clear process regarding how to request access to these datasets.
These datasets are: SAPRIN, Birth to 30, Cape Area Panel Study and National Incomes Dynamic Study in South Africa, and ALSPAC, Millennium Cohort Study, Next Steps and Understanding Society in the UK.
Teams can also bring alternative datasets to the prize if they fit the criteria (detailed here).
Focusing on the crucial questions
The overall question the Prize is trying to answer is: what are the ‘active ingredients’ that make a difference in preventing, treating and managing anxiety and depression in young people? What works, for whom, in what contexts, and why?
To make sure the Prize addresses the burning research questions that will have a real impact, teams will focus on ‘use cases’ that contribute to this overall theme of ‘active ingredients’. Use cases are the combination of a clearly defined research question and a digital tool that will facilitate further research into depression and anxiety in young people. For example, teams might develop digital tools that help researchers do or replicate data analysis, or tools that improve how insights from mental health research are shared. Our partner, Social Finance, will be facilitating the development of use cases through a series of collaborative events and community activities.
What next?
If you’re interested in applying for the Prize, take a look at the Wellcome website for more information.
You can submit an application as a team or, if you’re an individual that wants to apply (or your team requires experience in a certain area), we can help. Social Finance will be coordinating opportunities to engage with other interested individuals and organisations. We want to build and nurture a new digital mental health research community around this prize.
Next steps:
- Read all the details on the Wellcome website: including the eligibility criteria, how to apply and details about what data is available
- Sign up to the Social Finance mailing list: to keep up to date with upcoming events and new information about the prize
- Join the Slack channel: where individuals interested in the prize can engage with others to form teams
- Attend the webinar on 7th of April: where you’ll hear about potential use cases
- Make sure you apply before the deadline on the 5th of June 2022!
If you’ve got questions you can always email dataprize@socialfinance.org.uk.
