These FoF opportunities are being run as a single pilot application on the new UKRI Funding Service.
Information for research office professionals
If an application is created by a member of an organisation where we do not currently have contact details with their research office, we will contact them to enable administrator access. This provides:
- oversight of every funding service application opened on behalf of your organisation
- the ability to review and submit applications, which must be received by 16 March 2022 at 4:00pm (GMT).
If you anticipate researchers from your organisation applying for this opportunity, but have not already received an invitation to open an account.
Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org.
As an administrator, you will be responsible for the final submission of the application to UKRI. Ensure internal deadlines are made clear to applicants from your organisation. To hear more about the role of administrators and current functionality of the new funding service and how it will further develop please see a recording of the most recent research office webinar.
For applicants
What follows is the essence of the sections and questions you will need to complete and answer on the UKRI Funding Service. You cannot apply for this opportunity on the Je-S system.
Applications should be prepared and submitted by the lead research organisation, but should be co-created with input from all investigators and project partners and should represent the proposed work of the entire consortia.
Applicants will need to take the following steps to apply:
- select the ‘Start application’ button at the start of this page
- this will open the ‘Sign in’ page of UKRI’s Funding Service. If you do not already have an account, you’ll be able to create one. It is a 2-minute process requiring you to verify your email address and set a password
- start answering the questions detailed in this section of ‘How to apply’. You can save your work and come back to it later. You can also work ‘offline’, copying and pasting into the text boxes provided for your answers
- once complete, use the service to send your application to your research office for review. They’ll check it and return it to you if it needs editing
- once happy, your research office will submit it to UKRI for assessment. Only they can do this.
Make sure you get any necessary approval from your organisation in advance and give your research office plenty of time before the closing date.
As citations can be integral to a case for support, you should balance their inclusion and the benefit they provide against the inclusion of other parts of your answer to each question. All citations and associated reference lists or bibliographies are included in the word count of the relevant section.
Details and summary
In plain English, provide a summary we can send to potential reviewers to determine if your proposal is within their field of expertise. Ensure it is fit to be usable to publicise the council’s research programmes to a variety of readers, for example:
- opinion-formers
- policy makers
- the general public
- the wider research community.
Guidance for writing a summary
Succinctly describe your proposed work in terms of its:
- context
- the challenge the project addresses and how it will be applied to this
- its aims and objectives
- its potential applications and benefits.
Word count: 700
About your application
Question: specify which of the funds you are applying for, the amount of funding you are seeking and positions of the main applicants.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Enter either ‘Follow on Fund’ and the FEC amount of money you are applying for. Or ‘Super Follow on Fund’ and the FEC amount of money you are applying for.
Then, as principal investigator, detail your:
- name
- salaried position
- length of contract.
Also do this for any co-investigators named on this application and their organisation if it differs from yours.
Word count: 20
Applicants section
You will be asked to list the key members of your team and assign them roles. For example:
- principal investigator
- co-investigators
- PDR assistant
- technicians.
Case for support: background to the proposal
Question: what is the background to this application?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Ensure you provide a brief overview of the background to this application. Include the key grants (and funders) that have enabled and informed the work proposed in the application, specifying any previous BBSRC grant references. Additionally:
- include, as a list, the employment status of all named applicants
- identify if the application is a re-submission, including invited re-submission and how the proposed work has developed. Refer to the BBSRC grants guide for details regarding resubmissions on page 21, paragraph 4.9
- reference any other correspondence with BBSRC relevant to and regarding the application.
Word count: 2500
Case for support: opportunity and market
Question: what is the opportunity or challenge you are seeking to exploit or address, that could lead to the development or deployment of a new or improved product, service or technology?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Ensure you:
- describe the market opportunity or need that this proposal will seek to address, including the sector and scale
- outline the proposed solution to address the opportunity or need, considering the scalability of the proposed approach.
- where there are existing or competing innovations or solutions, explain how your proposed approach improves on them
- identify the end-user or customer base, explaining how the proposed solution provides a practical solution to their needs.
If it helps to support your response, use the upload file function to provide relevant excerpts of market research reports you hold with direct relevance to your application. This must be no longer than 10 sides of A4 in Arial 11pt and uploaded as a PDF of no more than 8Mb.
Word count: 1500
Case for support: development plan
Question: how has the idea or solution been developed to date and what is the proposed approach for further development?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Ensure you:
- detail the current understanding or maturity of the innovation or technology and how the proposed work will enable its development, referencing any pertinent data from previous research
- explain how key users, customers and any investors will be engaged throughout the project, referencing any prior interactions
- include specific project deliverables and the resourcing necessary to deliver the proposed work using a Gantt chart or similar aide
- detail any necessary access to facilities, expertise or consultancy essential to delivering the proposed work
- outline where intellectual property (IP) and freedom to operate considerations will need to be accounted for (for example: where licenses will need to be obtained)
- make clear any risks that exist, outlining mitigation strategies for the issues that may limit this project from delivering on its financial, commercial and technical objectives
- detail the contribution of any industry or other organisation with whom you plan to partner.
At the time of application, or during any subsequent grant, UKRI would not anticipate any business to have exclusive rights to the assets and IP arising from the funded project.
Word count: 1500
Case for support: route to market and intellectual assets
Question: how will the proposed project progress the innovation or technology towards achieving market or application?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Ensure you:
- describe how the proposed work will inform or deploy the product, service or technology using the most appropriate route to market
- outline what further support you may need, following this funding, to deliver your product, service or technology. For example, access to networks, further funding, private investment and skills
- outline how any intellectual assets generated, including IP, will be managed throughout the project to enable further development and ensure future success.
Funding cannot be used to support the direct costs associated with applying for IP protection, for example patent filing.
Word count: 1500
Case for support: wider benefits
Question: beyond the commercial opportunity, what are the potential societal, environmental and economic benefits of the proposed approach?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Ensure you:
- explain why public funding is appropriate and essential for the proposed programme of work, including why private investment cannot, or will not enable this
- consider the potential of the approach to impact on high-level societal challenges, for example: gender equality, diversity, social inclusion and climate change
- outline any wider economic impacts, for example job creation, skills and capacity building
- describe the steps you will take to maximise any potential benefits.
Word count: 1500
Case for support: other ethical considerations
Your question: over and above any research involving humans, human tissue, genetically modified organisms or animals (covered in other sections below) are there any ethical considerations associated with your product, service or technology? Including those that are beyond formal regulatory and legal frameworks.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Ensure you:
- outline whether there any ethical considerations relating to the project or its impacts, including any potential impacts on the environment and potential dual use implications
- consider societal acceptance of your idea and, where you think this might limit uptake, outline strategies that could mitigate this.
Word count: 1000
Your organisation’s support
Criteria: provide details of support from your research organisation and other supporting organisations.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide a statement of support from your research organisation detailing why the proposed work is needed. This should include details of any matched funding that will be provided to support the activity and any additional support that might add value to the work. The committee will be looking for a strong statement of commitment from your research organisation.
The letter of support must also detail any relationships with academic, industrial or other partners relevant to the project. BBSRC recognises that in some instances this information may be provided by the research office, the technology transfer office (or equivalent) or a combination of both.
Word count: 700
Project partner support
Criteria: provide details of support from any other supporting organisations.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide details of other supporting organisations who are project partners. You must include each partner or support provider’s:
- name, registered organisation office address or web link
- a significant person’s name and their position
- a clear statement of the support type. For example, data access, cash amount or monetary value of support in kind) and the date this support was agreed
- relevance to the project
- possible benefits to the project partner for their involvement.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Word count: 5600
Your team and your capability to deliver
Criteria: submit a ‘resume for research and innovation’-style paragraph for yourself and each other core member of your team.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Using the essential structure of the resume for research and innovation initiative, and ideally using examples, describe how each member named on this application contributes to:
- the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
- the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
- the wider research and innovation community
- broader research or innovation-users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit.
Also include, where relevant, any other information of relevance to the proposal. For example: previous experience of research translation.
You should complete this as a narrative and you should avoid lists.
Word count: 1700
Data collection or acquisition
Question: how will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed research?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide a data management plan that should clearly detail how you will comply with BBSRC’s published data sharing policy, which includes detailed guidance notes.
Word count: 700
Intellectual property rights (IPR)
Criteria: provide a brief description of the intellectual assets underpinning the proposed work
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Include any IPR if appropriate. If your IPR is a patent, please include the patent number(s) along with a summary scope of the claims. BBSRC recognises that not all applications to the FoF will have a patent or other IPR.
Word count: 500
Outsourcing
Question: Are you outsourcing any FoF activity?
If you are not, enter ‘N/A’ in the text box, mark this section as complete and move to the next question.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
BBSRC recognises that in some instances it may be appropriate to outsource elements of the proposed FoF work. If that is the case in this application, please provide the following information:
- the scope of the outsourced activity. For example, what is being undertaken and what will be delivered?
- the relevance of the outsourced activity to the application
- why the outsourced activity cannot be undertaken in house
- why this provider is the most appropriate
- the cost(s) of the outsourced activity and the tendering process that has been followed.
Please provide any goods and services quotations. We suggest you scan or photograph any hard copies and download any electronic ones and save them as images. Then import them into a word document and save that as a single PDF to upload using the button below.
Word count: 700
Full economic costs (FEC) and your justification of those resources
Criteria: complete the template contained within ‘what the assessors are looking for in your response’ to provide full economic costings for your proposal and then justify them below.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Download the FEC template (DOCX, 67KB), complete it then upload it as explained below. Using the text box below, explain why the resources requested are appropriate, taking into account the nature and complexity of the research proposal.
It should not be simply a list of the resources required, as this will already be given in the ‘costs’ section. Where you do not provide an explanation for an activity that requires justification, it will be cut from any grant made.
Do not duplicate information that you have included in the ‘your team and your capability to deliver’ section above. Your answer here should describe how your project offers value for money.
Estates, indirect and infrastructure technician costs do not need to be justified within the justification of resources. Quotes for equipment exceeding £10,000 are not necessary for this application. However, appropriate processes must be used to ensure requested costs are:
- accurate
- inclusive of VAT
- import duty (where appropriate).
Successful applicants must be able to show UKRI evidence of adherence to procurement rules (such as quotes) if audited.
If you are including animal costs please provide detailed information, such as numbers that need to be bred or maintained, as part of what you write as your justification of resources.
Please use robust processes to accurately estimate directly allocated animals costs to ensure that appropriate costs are requested to maintain high welfare standards. If your organisation is audited and is asked for further information, you will need to provide evidence of how you arrived at these costs.
If there are estimated costs entered under the fund headings, the grants will be cash limited and BBSRC will not provide additional costs later.
Word count: 2,000
Genetic and biological risk
Question: does your proposed research involve any genetic or biological risk?
If not, enter ‘N/A’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and move on to the next section.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
In respect of animals, plants or microbes, are you proposing to:
- use genetic modification as an experimental tool, like studying gene function in a genetically modified organism
- release genetically modified organisms
- ultimately develop commercial and industrial genetically modified outcomes?
If yes, provide the name of any required approving body and state if approval is already in place. If it is not, provide an indicative timeframe for obtaining the required approval.
Identify the organism(s) as a plant, animal or microbe and specify the species and which of the 3 categories the research relates to.
Identify the genetic and biological risks resulting from the proposed research, their implications and any mitigation you plan on taking. Assessors will want to know you have considered the risks and their implications to justify that any identified risks do not outweigh any benefits of the proposed research.
Word count: 700
Research involving the use of animals
Question: does your proposed research involve the use of vertebrate animals or other organisms covered by the animals scientific procedures act?
If not, enter ‘N/A’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and do the same for the next question.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you are proposing research that requires using animals, write ‘yes’ in the text box.
Download animal research question template (DOCX, 62KB), which contains all the questions relating to research using vertebrate animals or other ASPA-regulated organisms. Then save it as a PDF.
To name the file, use the unique funding service number the system gives to your proposal (when you create an application) immediately followed by the letters ‘RWVAOO’. Then use the ‘Upload file’ button below. Ensure the file you upload is 8Mb or less.
Conducting research with animal overseas
Question: will any of the proposed animal research be conducted overseas?
If not, enter ‘N/A’ in the text box, mark as complete and move to the next question.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you are proposing to conduct overseas research, it must be conducted in accordance with welfare standards consistent with those in the UK, as per the guidance on page 14 ‘responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research’.
You should also ensure all named applicants in the UK and overseas are aware of this requirement and provide a statement below to confirm that:
- all named applicants are aware of the requirements and have agreed to abide by them
- this overseas research will be conducted in accordance with welfare standards consistent with the principles of UK legislation,
- the expectation set out in ‘responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research’ will be applied and maintained
- appropriate national and institutional approvals are in place.
Overseas studies proposing to use non-human primates, cats, dogs, equines or pigs, will be assessed during NC3Rs review of research proposals. The required information should be provided by completing the template from the question ‘Research Involving the use of animals’.
For studies involving other species listed below, you should select, the relevant checklist(s) from the list below, complete it and save it as a PDF and use the file upload feature to attach. If you need to complete more than 1 checklist, you should merge them into a single Word document and then save it as a PDF before uploading it using the button below:
Research involving human participation
Question: will the project involve the use of human subjects?
If not, enter ‘N/A’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and move on to the next section.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you are proposing research that requires the involvement of humans subjects, provide the name of any required approving body and whether approval is already in place. Then justify the number and the diversity of the participants involved, as well as any procedures.
Provide details of any areas of substantial or moderate severity of impact.
Word count: 700
Research involving human tissues or biological samples
Question: does your proposed research involve the use of human tissues, or biological samples?
If not, enter ‘N/A’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and move on to the next section.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you’re answering ‘yes’, provide the name of any required approving body and whether approval is already in place.
You should justify the use of human tissue or biological samples specifying the nature and quantity of the material to be used and its source.
Word count: 700
Personal information
Question: will your research require personal information about human participants to be used?
If not, enter ‘N/A’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and move on to the next section.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you are proposing research that requires using personal information, provide details of whether the information will be anonymised and how it will be stored securely.
Word count: 500
Sensitive information relating to you as an applicant
Criteria: use this section to provide us with sensitive information you need to tell us that you do not want shared with assessors.
If you do not need to tell us anything, enter ‘N/A’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and move on to the next section.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, please enter the words ‘email sent’ in the text box below.
Then contact the Funding Service helpdesk. Include your application name and number in the subject line, after the pre-populated words ‘sensitive information’.
Typical examples of confidential information include:
- an applicant is unavailable until a certain date
- declaration of interest
- additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the track record
- conflict of interest for BBSRC to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection.
For information about how UKRI handles personal data please see UKRI’s privacy notice.
