New investigator awards are for researchers at eligible research organisations.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) encourage:
We will award 80% of the full economic cost (FEC) of the project.
For information on our new approach to EPSRC responsive mode opportunities that opened in November 2023, please see our transition web pages.
Before applying for funding, check the Eligibility of your organisation.
The new investigator award scheme is intended to support individuals who hold an academic lectureship position (or equivalent) and have not previously led a research group.
We do not consider years post-PhD or job title to be a marker of career progression.
Eligibility is determined on the basis of funding history.
Find out more about new investigator award eligibility.
We encourage applications from candidates who have taken a non-standard career path after their first degree.
We also welcome applications from candidates who want to move back into research after a career break or any other type of break from active research.
We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) or any other funder.
Find out more about EPSRC’s resubmissions policy.
We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants.
We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.
We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:
Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI.
We are committed to the continued support of excellent responsive, discovery led research as detailed in EPSRC’s Strategic Delivery Plan 2022 to 2025.
The aim of the new investigator awards is to support researchers to develop their own research vision and establish a new research group to explore that vision.
New investigator awards should have a single research vision with clearly defined objectives and outcomes. Complex, multi-faceted research projects with many objectives are not appropriate to the new investigator award.
You should typically seek 10% to 20% of the project lead (previously principal investigator) time. Those who are seeking to substantially exceed this should consider other funding opportunities.
We encourage you to have early discussions with your institution to identify what training and development opportunities are available to meet your aspirations over the duration of the award. Your host organisation’s statement of support is important.
Find out more about the new investigator award expectations including more detail about what we are looking for and the support expected from your host organisation.
You can apply for a new investigator award in any field of research relevant to our remit. We support high quality research in:
Find out more about our research areas and themes.
EPSRC particularly welcomes high quality applications where engineering and physical sciences research can generate new knowledge and addresses challenges associated with the advancement, development, and deployment of these technologies as follows:
Applications for research addressing these areas should ensure complementarity with existing funding, including via strategic initiatives in the area and where applicable existing UKRI strategies, for example Transforming our world with AI.
Applications received will be considered on their scientific and engineering merit in competition with all other applications. The signpost will not be used to change the rank order of proposals for funding.
The majority of your research must fall within our remit.
We will work with other research councils to ensure that applications close to remit boundaries are assessed by the most appropriate lead council. We encourage you to contact us first to discuss your application if you believe your research may cross research council boundaries.
See our remit query form.
There is no limit on the length of your project. However, new investigator awards are typically one to three years in duration.
There is no limit on the value of the grant.
We will fund 80% FEC of your project.
We will fund:
Quotes for equipment do not need to be included in your application, but please retain quotes for equipment costing more than £138,000 as we may ask for these at post-panel stage before releasing funds.
We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.
If your application includes international applicants, project partners or collaborators, visit UKRI’s trusted research and innovation for more information on effective international collaboration.
Find out about getting funding for international collaboration.
EPSRC reviewed its approach to responsive mode opportunities on the UKRI Funding Service following our October 2023 closing dates. For more information on our approach, including timelines, please see our transition web pages.
From November 2023, our approach to responsive mode will change. We will not publish closing dates for individual rounds, instead we will batch applications internally. You should apply when their application is ready for submission and not be concerned about a closing date.
Due to systems requirements a closing date will appear on the Funding Service approximately 18 months from the publication of this opportunity. Please do not wait for this date to submit your application, we will be processing applications throughout 2024 and 2025.
Applications will be batched for assessment and sent to the most appropriate responsive mode panel meeting when they reach this stage of the process. Applications submitted in late 2023 and early 2024 are likely to be considered at panels in September 2024. Our responsive mode panel meetings are: Engineering, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Mathematical Sciences, and Physical Sciences. These panels are expected to run on a quarterly basis after September 2024.
Due to the agile development of the Funding Service, we will need to make changes to this opportunity to allow technical updates or new policies to be implemented. No changes are planned to EPSRC responsive mode opportunities before April 2025. However, if updates are required, we will communicate these changes at least eight weeks before they are implemented (excluding major public holiday periods).
We are running this funding opportunity on the new Funding Service. 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. You cannot submit applications with more than one lead organisation.
To apply:
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
Find out more about how applicants use the Funding Service and also How research offices use the Funding Service.
We will not be returning applications for amendment. If an application is withdrawn prior to peer review or office rejected due to substantive errors in the application, then you will need to submit a new application.
EPSRC 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.
EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity.
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Word count: maximum 550
In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.
We may make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, so make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
Only list one individual as project lead.
We generally do not allow project co-leads to be named on new investigator award applications as the aim of the award is to establish an individual’s research independence.
We would consider project co-leads on a new investigator application if they are contributing expertise that is not available in the skill set of the project lead and such expertise is essential to the success of the project. For example, clinicians as project co-lead on new investigator projects associated with healthcare technologies research.
Find out more about UKRI’s new grant roles.
Word count: 1
Select the EPSRC thematic area your application most closely aligns to. This should be the theme where the majority of the novelty in the research lies.
In the text box, copy the letter corresponding to your selected theme:
A. artificial intelligence (AI)
B. digital security and resilience
C. energy and decarbonisation
D. engineering
E. healthcare technologies
F. information and communication technologies (ICT)
G. manufacturing
H. mathematical sciences
I. physical sciences
J. quantum technologies
If you are applying as part of the critical technologies signpost please add the number 1 after your theme letter (with no space).
This is for administrative purposes to help the initial application processing. We will check your choice and make a final decision on which theme will lead the peer review of your application.
We will not publish closing dates for individual rounds, instead we will batch applications internally. You should apply when your application is ready for submission and not be concerned about a closing date.
Applications will be batched for assessment and sent to the most appropriate responsive mode panel meeting when they reach this stage of the process.
Create a document that includes your responses to all criteria. The document should not be more than six sides of A4, single spaced in paper in 11-point Arial (or equivalent sans serif font) with margins of at least 2cm. You may include images, graphs, tables. You can have an additional one page for a diagrammatic work plan.
For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘Vision and Approach’.
Save this document as a single PDF file, no bigger than 8MB. Unless specifically requested, please do not include any personal data within the attachment.
If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
What are you hoping to achieve with and how will you deliver your proposed work?
For the Vision, explain how your proposed work:
Within the Vision section we also expect you to:
For the Approach, explain how you have designed your work so that it:
Within the Approach section we also expect you to:
Word count: 1,500
Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work
Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:
The word count for this section is 1,500 words, 1,000 words to be used for R4RI modules 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, if relevant, 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:
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.
Within this section you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. You should:
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new Funding Service.
For full details, see Eligibility as an individual.
Word count: 1,000
List the references you have used to support your application.
Include all references in this section, not in the rest of the application questions.
You should not include any other information in this section.
We advise you not to include hyperlinks, as assessors are not obliged to access the information they lead to or consider it in their assessment of your application.
If linking to web resources, to maintain the information’s integrity, include persistent identifiers (such as digital object identifiers) where possible.
You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.
Word count: 500
What support is being provided from the research organisation in underpinning your new investigator award?
Considering your career trajectory and how the support offered forms a cohesive career development package for you, use the text box to explain who you have engaged with in your research organisation (name and role) and what they have said your research organisation will provide, covering:
You should write this section from your own perspective as project lead, but take into account the input you have received from your host research organisation
Word count: 400
Provide confirmation that you meet the eligibility requirements for the new investigator scheme.
Confirmation that you meet the scheme criteria for career stage and that you do not currently hold, or have previously held:
Find out more about new investigator award eligibility.
Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.
A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.
Add the following project partner details:
If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, please remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Word count: 10
Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the previous project partners section.
If you do not have any project partners, simply add ‘N/A’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and move to the next section.
If you have named project partners in the previous ‘contributions’ section, enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box.
Each letter or email you provide should:
Save letters or emails of support from each project partner you have listed in your application in a single PDF no bigger than 8MB. Unless specially requested, please do not include any personal data within the attachment.
For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘project partner’.
If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the contributions template.
Do not provide letters of support from host and project co-leads’ research organisations.
Word count: 250
Does your proposed research require the support and use of a facility?
If you will need to use a facility, follow your proposed facility’s normal access request procedures. Ensure you have prior agreement so that if you are offered funding, they will support the use of their facility on your project.
For each requested facility you will need to provide the:
If you will not need to use a facility you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Word count: 1
Is there sensitive information you need to share with UKRI that you do not want shared with assessors?
If you do not have anything to share, enter ‘No’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and move on to the next section.
If you, or a key team member, need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, enter ‘Yes’ in the text box.
Then email EPSRC on tfschangeepsrc@epsrc.ukri.org
You must include in the subject line: <EPSRC responsive mode, sensitive info, Opportunity number, Funding Service application number>.
Typical examples of confidential information include:
For information about how UKRI handles personal data, see UKRI’s privacy notice.
Word count: 1,000
Using the costs table within the resources and cost summary, provide details of the total funding required under each fund heading. You should include high-level costs only, not a detailed breakdown of individual items.
What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?
In the text box, justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:
Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work:
Word count: 500
What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.
Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:
Within this section you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. You should:
Additional sub-questions (to be answered only if appropriate) will be included in the Funding Service. These will ask about numbers, species/strain and justification about the following:
We will assess your application using the following process.
EPSRC reviewed its approach to responsive mode opportunities on the UKRI Funding Service following our October 2023 closing dates. For more information on our approach, including timelines, please see our transition web pages.
We will not publish closing dates for individual rounds, instead we will batch applications internally. You should apply when your application is ready for submission and not be concerned about a closing date.
Due to systems requirements a closing date will appear on the funding service approximately 18 months from the publication of this opportunity. Please do not wait for this date to submit your application, we will be processing applications throughout 2024 and 2025.
Due to the agile development of the UKRI Funding Service, we will need to make changes to this opportunity to allow technical updates or new policies to be implemented. No changes are planned to EPSRC responsive mode opportunities before April 2025. However, if updates are required, we will communicate these changes at least eight weeks before they are implemented (excluding major public holiday periods).
We will assess your application using the following process.
We reserve the right to adapt our peer review process should we receive a large volume of applications.
We will invite at least three peers to review your application independently, against the published assessment criteria for this funding opportunity.
You will not be able to nominate reviewers for applications on the new UKRI Funding Service. Research councils will continue to select expert reviewers.
We are monitoring the requirement for applicant-nominated reviewers as we review policies and processes as part of the continued development of the new Funding Service.
You will be able to respond to reviewers’ comments if your application gains enough support.
If your application gains enough support from reviewers, your application, reviewers’ comments and your response will go to our most appropriate prioritisation panel.
Using this information, the panel will score it against our assessment criteria and rank it alongside other applications.
Applications will be batched for assessment and sent to the most appropriate responsive mode panel meeting when they reach this stage of the process.
Applications submitted in late 2023 and early 2024 are likely to be considered at panels in September 2024. These panels are expected to run on a quarterly basis after September 2024.
Our responsive mode panels are structured as follows:
Panel membership for each panel is taken from across the disciplines to cover the breadth of applications considered in each panel.
No further feedback beyond the reviewers’ comments will be provided after the panel.
We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment (DORA) and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.
Find out about the UKRI Principles of Assessment and Decision Making.
The criteria against which your application will be assessed directly relates to the core responsive mode application questions:
Further detail on what the assessors are looking for is available in the questions in the ‘How to apply’ section.
If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page
Important note: The Helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UKRI Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the Helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding Finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility or content/remit of an opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.
For help on costings and writing your application, contact your research office. Allow enough time for your organisation’s submission process.
For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact EPSRC’s New Investigator contact on researchcareers@epsrc.ukri.org
Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.
Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org
Phone: 01793 547490
Our phone lines are open:
To help us process queries quicker, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.
Find out more information on submitting an application.
We recognise 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 career, such as:
Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application. 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, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.
