Check our Impact Report for 2023/24

Our latest Impact Report highlights how we continue to make a difference by focusing our investments, partnering with others and supporting the wider MSK research ecosystem through training, events and networking. We continue to be one of the most important funders of MSK research in the UK and the only charity to cover all MSK conditions.

We co-funded research projects worth over £2m in 2023/24. This research funding was allocated to diagnosis, treatment, management and prevention, and a wide range of MSK conditions affecting all body parts including cell bone and soft tissue biology, biomechanics and prosthetics, osteoarthritis, bone fractures, spinal conditions, trauma, bone cancer, rehabilitation and fibromyalgia. We are committed to providing equality of opportunity, eliminating discrimination, and developing a research community that reflects the diverse communities we serve at all levels. We appear to be achieving some success in encouraging more female clinicians to consider a career in MSK research – female researchers secured 56% of ORUK’s awards (and 77% of funding) in 2023/24. In addition to gender, in our next Impact Report we will monitor the ethnicity of research applicants. Evidence from this analysis will be used to inform future EDI initiatives.

We are one of the leading providers of continuous learning in MSK education in the UK. We fund education for healthcare professionals primarily through workshops, training courses, lectures, virtual conferences and webinars, that will improve knowledge of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and the management of MSK conditions. Our educational offer has doubled in size over the past few years and includes primary care and allied healthcare professionals. On average, 94% of participants rated our events as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ in terms of educational value.

To accelerate translation of research ideas into new products or services, we work with partners to provide Early Career Researchers (ECRs), who have successfully completed their research PhD projects, with funding, education, mentoring and networking support. We are also the first MSK charity to actively support start-ups and entrepreneurs. Our investments in start-up businesses provide seed funding to enable entrepreneurs to test and refine their innovations and attract additional commercial funding.