Apply for funding for a small nuclear physics project focused on feasibility.
To apply you must be an academic member of staff or hold a fellowship, won through open competition. You can be at any career stage.
Your proposal must relate to the strategic opportunities outlined in the Nuclear Physics Roadmap.
We will fund a limited number of projects..
The full economic cost of your project can be up to £250,000. We will fund 80% of the full economic cost.
Your project can last up to two years.
The proposal must be submitted by a researcher (the principal investigator). They must be an employee of a research organisation that is eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) grants, for example:
For more information on eligibility see the STFC research grants handbook.
This funding scheme is intended to develop the capacity and capabilities needed to underpin UK science and technology leadership in future nuclear physics.
Your research and development project must have the potential to enable STFC to deliver the future Nuclear Physics programme.
The aims of the scheme are to:
Read the Nuclear Physics Roadmap 2019 (STFC).
Subject to budgets and affordability, STFC ultimately expects an additional larger project to be selected for support through a Science Board-led activity. Projects that get supported through this scheme will not automatically be supported beyond this phase.
Your project must relate to one of the broad areas of research in the STFC Nuclear Physics programme.
The Nuclear Physics programme can be divided into four broad areas of research:
Nuclear physics research seeks to answer fundamental questions about the universe and our understanding of it. Key science questions include:
Your project must be:
The scheme will fund projects up to technology readiness level (TRL) 6:
Your proposal must be within the nuclear physics area. Projects with multiple science areas are welcomed, however your project should be at least 50% within the remit of the STFC Nuclear Physics programme.
The maximum award from STFC for each project will be £250,000. Following full economic costing guidelines, the STFC contribution to the project will be at 80% of the project request (up to £200,000). The amount applied for should reflect the nature and scale of the activity. The total budget available is expected to be approximately £800,000.
There is a limited capital budget for this call. Applicants should discuss with STFC their capital needs ahead of applying.
All applicants should consider their next steps or ambitions in progressing the project beyond any funding provided by this call, with reference to this in the case for support.
It is expected that in the majority of cases, projects will not exceed 24 months in duration. The projects must start on 1 January 2022.
There is a limited capital budget for this call. Applicants should discuss with STFC their capital needs ahead of applying.
Please see the equipment guidelines in the STFC Research Grants Handbook for the latest terms and conditions.
Applicants should submit an expression of interest by 20 September 2021. It must note the:
This is to allow STFC to manage any conflicts of interest of the expert assessment panel.
The expression interest notifies us that you will be submitting a full application. You will not receive any feedback from us. You can progress immediately to stage two.
All proposals should be submitted online using the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. The login screen has links to tutorials and system help.
When applying, please ensure the following details are entered correctly so your application reaches the correct council and the correct opportunity. Providing incorrect details at this stage could result in your application not being considered for this opportunity.
When applying select:
After completing the application:
Applicants should allow sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process between submitting your proposal to them and the funding opportunity closing date. STFC must receive your full proposal application by 16:00 on 2 November 2021.
Finances that are associated with the STFC labs should be separated from those of the UK research organisations. This is best done by submitting joint proposals with lead and non-lead organisations. There is no specific condition on who should be the lead organisation. This is entirely up to the project team and how the project is designed.
It is mandatory for the non-lead application to submit a completed Je-S proposal form. This form will not include all the sections which are available to the lead. It is most important to complete the sections on finances.
As well as the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) application form, the following documents must be submitted.
You should attach your documents as PDFs to avoid errors. They must be completed in single-spaced Arial 11 font or similar-sized sans serif typeface.
You must also read the full guidance on document requirements (PDF, 165KB).
This document is mandatory.
It must be up to 10 pages, consisting of:
This document is mandatory.
It is anticipated that all applications will produce or collect data during the course of the proposed project. The data management plan should explain how the data will be managed over the lifetime of the project and, where appropriate, preserved for future re‐use.
The plan should be no longer than two pages of A4.
This document is mandatory.
Include a Gantt chart that sets out your project plan.
These must be included from all named project partners.
They must be on headed paper or email and be signed and dated within six months of the proposal submission date.
Each letter should be no longer than two pages of A4.
This document is optional. There are no page limits.
In exceptional circumstances a maximum of three letters can be submitted.
This document is optional. There is no page limit.
This is not seen by the panel.
This document is optional. There are no page limits.
For the use of a major facility, where applicable.
The expression of interest stage is not assessed.
Full proposals will be assessed by a streamlined peer review process involving consideration by a specially convened expert assessment panel. The panel’s assessment will be based upon the quality of the proposal documentation and, if required, a written clarification question.
Proposals will not be sent to external reviewers, therefore there will not be a principal investigator or applicant written response to reviewers’ comments stage.
In the event of this funding opportunity being substantially oversubscribed as to be unmanageable, STFC reserves the right to modify the assessment process.
Proposals deemed by STFC to lie outside the remit or the scope of the funding opportunity may be rejected without reference to peer review.
The panel will assess full stage proposals against the following four criteria.
This will be assessed on:
This will be assessed on:
This will be assessed on:
The assessment looks at to what extent the proposal shows applicants have:
Applicants will be given written feedback from the panel summarising the reasons why the proposal was successful or unsuccessful.
No further feedback will be available.
You can contact either Georgina or Ailsa.
Senior Programme Manager, STFC Programmes Directorate
Email: georgina.freeman@stfc.ukri.org
Programme Manager, STFC Programmes Directorate
Email: ailsa.johnstone@stfc.ukri.org
For help and advice on costings and writing your proposal please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.
Any queries regarding the submission of proposals through Je-S should be directed to the Je-S helpdesk.
Email: jeshelp@je-s.ukri.org
Telephone: 01793 444164
UKRI recognises that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their careers that may have been caused by the pandemic, such as:
Panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts of the impact that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the track record and career development of those individuals included in the proposal. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.
Where disruptions have occurred, applicants can highlight this within their application, if they wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.
UKRI acknowledges that it is a challenge for applicants to determine the future impacts of COVID-19 while the pandemic continues to evolve. Applications should be based on the information available at the point of submission and, if applicable, the known application specific impacts of COVID-19 should be accounted for.
Where known impacts have occurred, these should be highlighted in the application, including the assumptions or information at the point of submission. There is no need to include contingency plans for the potential impacts of COVID-19.
Requests for travel both domestically and internationally can be included in accordance with the relevant scheme guidelines, noting the above advice.
Reviewers will receive instructions to assume that changes that arise from the COVID-19 pandemic, post-submission, will be resolved and complications related to COVID-19 should not affect their scores.
Where an application is successful, any changes in circumstances that affect the proposal will be managed as a post-award issue.
Successful applications which include more than one organisation (academic or non-academic) on the Je-S form must have collaboration agreements signed between all organisations. A copy of this should be sent to the STFC office before the start of the project. Such an agreement should include how intellectual property will be managed.
Example model research collaboration agreements that may be used as a basis for specific agreements between partners have been developed through the Lambert toolkit for collaborative research. Review the model research collaboration agreements on GOV.UK.
Read about unconscious bias in STFC’s peer review and assessment guidance.
Find information about STFC’s commitment to promoting equality and diversity on the STFC website.
All award holders are required to submit outputs from their STFC Nuclear Physics project on the UKRI Researchfish platform.
Award holders are required to provide information about outputs arising from their work annually during the period of the award and normally for at least five years after the award has terminated.
The STFC Nuclear Physics team will monitor outputs on all Nuclear Physics grants and may contact you for further information on outputs and outcomes, in particular with a view to publishing a case study.
