The Simpler and Better Funding (SBF) programme will deliver a single, consistent, user-centred service that reduces the burden of finding, applying for and managing research funding for all users.
Research councils have been transitioning different funding types onto the new UK Research and Innovation Funding Service since 2023. You can find out more about these changes and council plans in the sections below.
The majority of research council funding opportunities are run on the Funding Service and we continue to develop and pilot the award functionality.
Our process:
We will continue to give researchers and research organisations updated information in advance of changes to help them plan.
For more information, see council transition to the new Funding Service.
We will integrate Research England’s funding processes into the new service and work with Innovate UK to support applications to Innovate UK opportunities.
We are developing the Funding Service in an agile way. We gradually introduce functionality and pilot new features and different funding types. After testing and user feedback, we continuously refine and enhance the Funding Service.
We are building core capability first and continuously developing it to address any issues and enhance the service we provide. As we develop the core capability and launch opportunities, users will see a steady improvement in functionality and quality of experience, even if the initial experience is not ideal.
Ultimately, the Funding Service will offer a simpler and better experience for all our users, operating a funding process which is supported by more consistent and robust policies and guidance.
The Funding Service will make a positive difference to the research community. It will address many of the issues of complexity and unnecessary bureaucracy recognised by researchers, and which have been identified in various reviews of research funding such as the independent review into research bureaucracy. For example, some of the improvements our users will get include:
We have already improved some areas in response to user feedback, including:
Throughout 2023, we were able to run opportunities in the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system while simultaneously running increasing numbers of opportunities on the new Funding Service. This has allowed us to work with councils to test the core capability of the service and refine standard templates and questions.
Find out more and keep up to date with the councils’ transition plans.
If you have not used the Funding Service before, the first step is to create an account by following the ‘Apply now’ button located on the page where that opportunity is listed. The process is straightforward and quick, helping you to get started on your application as soon as possible.
Find out more about registering and applying on the Funding Service.
We will connect the UKRI Funding Service to the ORCID registry. This will allow you to link to your ORCID iD to your Funding Service account. This functionality will become available mid-2025.
Additional ORCID functionality will be added later including:
You will be required to link your ORCID iD to your Funding Service account to submit a funding application if you are both:
If one or both of these do not apply to you, you will be encouraged, but not required, to link your ORCID iD to the Funding Service.
Linking your ORCID iD to your Funding Service will become mandatory six months after the functionality becomes available.
ORCID provides free, unique identifiers and a platform for researchers to create and maintain a record of their activities.
For more information visit the ORCID website.
Check if you’re eligible for funding
Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) guidance
Email: sbf@ukri.org
If you cannot find what you are looking for, the Funding Service helpdesk can provide support with your questions about using the service.
support@funding-service.ukri.org
01793 547490
Last updated: 15 November 2024
