Overview of the sLoLa Application Process
The sLoLa funding opportunity is comprised of two mandatory stages.
Stage one
Stage one consists of registration and outline submissions.
Registration
The aim of this registration is to ensure proposals are appropriately targeted to this funding opportunity and to provide an early indication of the level of demand, team composition and research areas.
Project leads must register their interest in the funding opportunity by completing a short registration on the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service. This requires a short summary of the proposed work and a list of the anticipated ‘core team’ members.
Any feedback will be provided no later than 10 working days after the close of the registration.
Outline
This is only open to applicants who have completed a registration.
Project leads will provide a more detailed summary application describing their proposed sLoLa project idea and team using the Funding Service for assessment.
Costs are not requested for outline applications.
The application link for the outline stage will be available on this opportunity page after the registration stage has closed.
Stage two
Stage two is the full proposal stage.
This is only open to applicants who have been invited to submit following assessment of an outline proposal at stage one. Details will be published in October 2025
UKRI Funding Service
We are running this funding opportunity on the new Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
To apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
- Confirm you are the project lead.
- Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org
Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
- Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
- Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
- Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
- Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.
When including images, you must:
- provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)
- insert each new image on a new line
- use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include:
- sentences or paragraphs of text
- tables
- excessive quantities of images
A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.
Your application may be rejected if images are provided without a descriptive legend in the text box or are used to replace text that could be input into the text box.
Watch our research office webinars about the Funding Service.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
References
References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:
- references are easily identifiable by the assessors
- references are formatted as appropriate to your research
- persistent identifiers are used where possible
General use of hyperlinks
Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI)
Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.
For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment.
Deadline
Stage one: registration
Registration is open now.
We must receive your registration by 20 May 2025 at 4:00pm UK time. You will not be able to register your interest in applying to the sLoLa funding opportunity after this time.
Any feedback will be provided no later than 10 working days after the closing of the registration.
Stage one: outline application
Outlines will open to submissions on 29 May 2025 at 9:00am UK time. This is only open to applicants who completed a registration and have received feedback from BBSRC.
We must receive your outline application by 22 July 2025 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
BBSRC will provide outcomes and feedback for all outline applications following the SLC panel.
Stage two: full application
Only applicants who are invited by BBSRC may submit a stage two full application.
Stage two is expected to open in October 2025 and to close in February 2026, details will be published in October 2025.
Personal data
Processing personal data
BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice. If there is any organisation outside of UKRI that we will be sharing the applications with, even if they are not co-funding the opportunity, then they must be mentioned here.
Sensitive information
If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email bbsrc.lolagrants@bbsrc.ukri.org
Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].
Typical examples of confidential information include:
- individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
- declaration of interest
- additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
- conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
- the application is an invited resubmission
For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.
Publication of outcomes
BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at Awarded research grants.
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Summary
Word limit: 5
Guidance for writing a summary
Please write ‘N/A’ in this section as it is not required at the registration stage.
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
- researcher co-lead (RcL)
- specialist
- grant manager
- professional enabling staff
- research and innovation associate
- technician
- visiting researcher
Only list one individual as project lead.
UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Application questions for registration stage
Vision
Word limit: 300
What is your proposed sLoLa project?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
In plain English, provide an overview that clearly describes your proposed work in the terms of:
- context of the work within the field(s) of study
- the overall goals of the project and potential outcomes
- how the proposed work addresses the frontier bioscience scope of the funding opportunity: its potential to lead to major breakthroughs in our fundamental understanding of living systems and deliver new knowledge about key biological principles or mechanisms
Approach
Word limit: 300
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide an overview of the specific objectives of your proposed work.
Your objectives should require delivery by a single, coherent program.
Details of the objectives may be adjusted between registration and outline stage, but we would expect the overall aims of the project to be broadly the same and remain aligned to the scope of the funding opportunity.
Research area
Word limit: 50
What phrases best describe the science area, or areas, covered in your proposed sLoLa project? Please provide three to five descriptions, such as plant science, cell biology, biophysics, developmental biology, microbiology or structural biology.
This information will be used by BBSRC to understand the portfolio of registrations received.
Methods used
Word limit: 50
What are the main methodologies in your proposed sLoLa project?
This could include experimental methods (for example, microscopy or omics ) and analytical approaches (for example, computational modelling or artificial intelligence).
This information will be used by BBSRC to better understand the portfolio of registrations received.
Application questions for outline stage
Summary
Word limit: 5
Guidance for writing a summary
Please write ‘N/A’ in this section as it is not required for the outline stage.
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
- researcher co-lead (RcL)
- specialist
- grant manager
- professional enabling staff
- research and innovation associate
- technician
- visiting researcher
Only list one individual as project lead.
UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Application questions for outline stage
Outline Vision
Word limit: 750
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your proposed work:
- is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
- has the potential to advance current understanding, generates new fundamental knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
- is timely given current trends, context and needs
- is of sufficient novelty and ambition to warrant consideration for funding
- impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment
Within the vision we also expect you to:
- provide the overall aims and objectives of your research, typically as a small number of bullet points
- describe your aims in the context of relevant prior work by your team and the wider bioscience research landscape
- highlight features that are particularly original or unique
- describe how your application addresses the frontier bioscience scope of the funding opportunity, in particular its potential to lead to a major advancement in the fundamental understanding of living systems
Your project must be within the frontier bioscience scope of the funding opportunity.
If a full stage proposal is invited, it is expected that the high-level objectives will appear unchanged unless feedback from the outline stage assessment process indicates otherwise.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Outline Approach
Word limit: 1,500
How are you going to deliver your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your approach:
- is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
- meets the highest international standards of research excellence in the scientific area, or areas, covered
- deploys or develops the most appropriate tools, methods and technologies according to the highest international standards and cutting-edge advances in research
- leverages the team’s collective capabilities, noting the specific contributions of your team members to achieving each of your objectives
- leverages the research environment, available facilities and other resources available to your team and how this will contribute to the success of the work
Within the approach we also expect you to:
- clearly outline the role and contribution of project leads and project co-leads to each objective
- give an overview of anticipated research effort needed to fulfil the programme of work and explain how this will be organised in relation to your objectives and the project leads and project co-leads leading them, as well as technical and research staff
- include a summary diagram as an image at the very end of this section that provides an overview of your project. The diagram should identify the key aspects of your programme of work and how they interrelate, including the contribution of team members.
Outlines will not be subject to a detailed technical assessment by subject-area experts, but broad feasibility will be considered. The approach should be written with this in mind, so that the information is accessible to a broad panel of experts from a range of different fields.
Your approach should include an overview of how you will tackle the individual objectives, including reference to the experimental and analytical methods, tools, and technologies which will be employed or developed, and what model system, or systems, might be used. Key synergies or interdependencies between objectives which contribute to the delivery of outcomes greater than the sum of individual objectives should be highlighted.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Strategic case
Word limit: 500 words
What is the strategic case for an sLoLa grant?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
You should:
- justify why your proposed programme of work requires longer and larger scale funding to achieve its aims
- describe the synergy across the proposed work, including how the work is more than the ‘sum of its parts’
- explain how the project is not achievable through a series of smaller awards nor by individual groups working in isolation
- explain how the proposed work will establish or extend UK leadership in the field
- explain the project’s uniqueness including its distinctiveness versus any existing longer and larger scale research endeavours in a national and international context. This should reference BBSRC’s research portfolio. Please see supporting information in ‘Additional information’ and Gateway to Research
- describe plans for ensuring long-term legacy of the project beyond the team such as training, FAIR data, software, technologies or other resources generated through the project
Outline Team capability to deliver
Word limit: 1,650
Why are you the right team to successfully deliver the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:
- the relevant experience, appropriate to career stage, to deliver the proposed work
- the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
- the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
- contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community
- contributed to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge. sLoLa awards are expected to use a variety of experimental techniques and generate a large amount of data so care should be taken to highlight both experimental and analytical experience directly relevant to the proposed research
- contributed to the inclusion and development of others
- contributed to the maintenance of effective working relationships
- contributed to the wider research and innovation community
- contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
The word count for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for answering R4RI module headings (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.
Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.
Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:
- contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
- the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
- contributions to the wider research and innovation community
- contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit
Additions
Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).
Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.
References may be included within this section.
The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.
