Researchers who hold a UKRI standard grant or Global Challenges Research Fund grant can apply to switch their existing funding to a COVID-related project until 15 December 2020.
Companies and organisations funded by Innovate UK, who want to repurpose their grant for COVID-19 purposes, should first contact their monitoring officer. Requests will then be processed through the project change request system.
Repurposing an existing grant this way is quicker than applying for new funding.
No extensions or additional costs can be requested when switching.
Priority areas for funding
Some areas of COVID-19 research and innovation are now well funded, so we’re focusing on gaps and looking for applications that directly address them.
To increase the chance of your request to switch being successful, check the list of priority areas we have identified as being particularly important. The list is updated regularly.
Full details on applying to switch, including eligibility criteria and the review process, are in the Funding finder.
Check priority areas for COVID-19 funding (PDF 152KB).
Apply to switch existing funding in the Funding finder.
The deadline to apply is 15 December 2020 11:00 UK time.
Areas that are now out of scope include:
- funding to directly mitigate the effects of the pandemic on specific institutions and businesses
- longer term research proposals that address the COVID-19 emergency or future pandemics
You can view details of all of UKRI’s currently funded research and innovation projects.
See details of all funded COVID-19 research and innovation projects.
Future funding opportunities
After December 2020 you will no longer be able to switch your funding. Instead you can apply for new COVID-19-related funding through:
- standard research council and Innovate UK channels, as part of our ongoing work to tackle the pandemic, with tools available to flag up any COVID-19-related research
- seed funding for urgent applications
- further UKRI strategic COVID-19 funding calls that are anticipated in 2021
- any future funding calls opened by research councils that will be tailored to tackling aspects of the pandemic
- Innovate UK Smart Grants (open for applications now).
Last updated: 18 January 2024