Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: Strategic Technical Platforms – Full proposals

This funding opportunity supports Research Technical Professional (RTP) groups in the UK. This funding opportunity is for full proposals and applications are invitation only.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for EPSRC funding. RTPs may apply as project lead  or project co-lead.

These will be regional or national, encompassing physical or digital research groups. Activities may be directed at either individuals or the community.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £2 million and up to four years duration. We will fund 80% of FEC.

This funding opportunity is for full proposals and applications are invitation only.

Who can apply

You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited you to do so following a successful outline proposal. We informed successful applicants in July 2023.

You may not change the project lead (principal investigator) in between the outline and full proposal stage without prior permission from us.

Before applying for funding, check the following:

Who is eligible to apply

EPSRC standard eligibility rules apply. For full details, visit EPSRC’s eligibility page.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new UKRI Funding Service.

For full details, visit Eligibility as an individual.

For this funding opportunity we specifically welcome applications led by RTPs or Research Software Engineers (RSEs) who meet these conditions, who may apply as either project lead or project co-lead.

Resubmissions

We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI or any other funder.

Find out more about EPSRC’s resubmissions policy.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

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:

  • career breaks
  • support for people with caring responsibilities
  • flexible working
  • alternative working patterns

Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI

What we're looking for

Scope

For over four years we have championed the role of both the Research Technical Professional (RTP) and the Research Software Engineer (RSE). These highly skilled and versatile individuals and communities within the university sector have become increasingly prominent in the research community in this time due to initiatives such as the RSE Fellowship Scheme, the TALENT Commission, the Warwick Analytical Science Centre (WASC) and the Technician’s Commitment, among others.

At the same time, UK research and Innovation (UKRI) has set a strategic objective of developing world class people and careers across the academic spectrum as part of its Strategic Delivery Plan. This period has also seen increasing recognition of the need to encourage more people to take up technical roles across universities and to promote technical careers as a positive opportunity, due to the high demand for skilled technical staff in academia and industry nationwide.

Over this period we have begun to open up funding opportunities for RTPs that were not previously accessible. We are now launching this funding opportunity to fund strategic investments for systematic support, training and development to promote, enable and empower the RTP community in UK universities. These investments can be made in support of RTPs in both the physical and digital domains. Proposals should have a strategic regional or national focus, and may be based around a group of institutions or a particular scientific field or technology.

The proposals should offer a combination of personal and community-based activities and investments. You will need to describe how these investments will lead to the relevant RTP community gaining increased knowledge, skills and opportunities, and what the strategic benefit of this would be.

Examples of activities that could be considered include, but are not limited to:

  • training opportunities (both in terms of new techniques and career development)
  • secondments to other institutions or industries to train on new methods
  • pump-priming access for facilities
  • importing skills into the UK through visits to international facilities or hosting RTPs from internationally competitive institutes
  • raising awareness of opportunities and community development
  • conferences and workshops
  • pilot projects and feasibility studies
  • promotion and development of the role of RTPs in the context of universities in the UK (comparable to the “plus” option of the current EPSRC Fellowship scheme)

Although not a funding opportunity requirement, you may wish to include a senior member of the host institution (such as a dean of school or pro vice-chancellor for example) to act as a champion to promote the RTP community at a high level.

Duration

The maximum duration of this award is four years. Projects must have a fixed start date of 1 April 2024.

Funding available

A total of £6.5 million is available for this investment. Individual proposals should be in the range £750,000 – £2 million FEC. We will fund 80% of the FEC.

What we will fund

We will fund salary costs for RTPs involved in the project for work that they undertake directly for the project. If any RTP staff are seconded onto the proposed project from other activities, we will provide salary costs for an equivalent member of staff to cover this position. If new staff are employed through this funding opportunity, the host institution will need to describe their plans to support them once this funding has ended.

Directly incurred (DI) costs, including consumables, DI staff costs, and travel and subsistence, as well as directly allocated costs for investigators are eligible at 80% FEC.

For funding opportunities that open after 18 May2023, specialists, technicians and professional enabling staff will now attract indirect and estates costs whereas they previously did not do so. The overall value of the full proposal should be within 10% of the value of that stated within the outline. If there is a change greater than 10% due to this specific reason, we will permit this; however, we request that you inform us as soon as possible.

What we will not fund

Funding requested should be for work in addition to any existing support provided to RTPs by the host institutions.

Equipment over £10,000 in value (including VAT) is not available through this funding opportunity.  Smaller items of equipment (individually under £10,000) should be included in the Directly Incurred – Other Costs heading.

We will not cover salary costs for apprenticeships.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

International collaboration

If your application includes international applicants, project partners or collaborators, visit Trusted Research for more information on effective international collaboration.

How to apply

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UKRI 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 UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

To apply:

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

  1. Confirm you are the project lead.
  2. 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
  3. 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.
  4. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
  5. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Watch our research office webinars about the new UKRI Funding Service

Deadline

We must receive your application by 12 October 2023 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 that may be in place.

Processing personal data:

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.

General text on outcomes publication:

We will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity.

If your application is successful, some personal information will be published via the UKRI Gateway to Research.

UKRI Funding Service: section guidance

Summary

In plain English, provide a summary that can be sent to potential reviewers to determine if your proposal is within their field of expertise.

This summary may be made publicly available on external facing websites, so please ensure it can be understood by a variety of readers, for example:

  • opinion-formers
  • policymakers
  • 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: 550

Applicants

List the key members of your team and assign them roles, for example:

  • project lead (PL)
  • project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
  • project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
  • researcher co-lead (RcL)
  • specialist
  • grant manager
  • professional enabling staff
  • research and innovation associate
  • technician
  • visiting researcher

You should only list 1 individual as principal investigator.

1 Section: Vision and approach

Question: What are you hoping to achieve, and how will you deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

For the Vision, explain how your proposed work:

  • is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the fields or areas
  • has the potential to advance current understanding, generates new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
  • is timely given current trends, context and needs
  • impacts world-leading research, society, the economy or the environment

Within the Vision section we also expect you to:

  • present the strategic rationale for us to make an investment in the relevant community, at the relevant scale (regional or national), or in the specific scientific field (for example, a particular discipline or technology) described in the proposal.

For the Approach, explain how you have designed your approach so that it:

  • is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
  • is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
  • if applicable, uses a clear and transparent methodology
  • if applicable, summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed
  • will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
  • describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place, its location, and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work

Within the Approach section we also expect you to:

  • demonstrate access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the proposal
  • provide a detailed and comprehensive project plan including milestones and timelines in the form of a Gantt chart or similar (additional 1-page A4)

Word count: 10

You should upload the Vision and Approach document as a six-page PDF, plus an additional page each for a diagrammatic workplan and the data management plan (if applicable). The document must have single line spacing, margins of at least 2cm and be typed using Arial 11pt, or another ‘sans serif’ font with an equivalent size to Arial 11pt. The document must be a maximum size of 8 MB.

You may include images, graphs, tables, provided you adhere to the page length rule and bear in mind that you can only upload 1 PDF and its file size cannot be larger than 8MB.

For the file name, use the unique funding service number the system gives to your proposal – when you create an application – immediately followed by the words ‘Vision and Approach’. Then use the upload button below.

If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.

Unless specifically requested, please do not include any personal data within the attachment.

Once you have uploaded, mark this section as complete and move to the next one.

2 Section: Applicant and team capability to deliver

Question: Why are you the right individual or 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

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 (investigators, researchers, other (technical) staff for example research software engineers, data scientists and so on, and partners), have and how this will help to 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 below. You should use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You can enter N/A for any you think irrelevant, and will not be penalised for doing so, but it is recommended that you carefully consider the breadth of your experience:

  • 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 (you can use this heading to provide information which provides context to the wider application, such as detail of career breaks – it is not a requirement)

You should complete this as a narrative and you should avoid CV type format.

Word count: 1,500

Embedded images guidance for the Funding Service

In this section you can include embedded images. Guidance and principles below.

You must:

  • use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words
  • insert each new image onto a new line
  • provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)

Files must be:

  • in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
  • smaller than 8MB

3 Section:  Your Organisation’s support

Question: Provide details of support from your research organisation.

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.

We recognise that in some instances, this information may be provided by the Research Office, the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) or equivalent, or a combination of both.

You must also include the following details:

  • a significant person’s name and their position, from the TTO or Research Office, or both
  • office address or web link

Upload details are provided within the service on the actual application.

Word count: 500

4 Section: References

Question: List the references you’ve use to support your application.

What the assessors are looking for in your response:

Ensure your application is a self-contained description. You can provide hyperlinks to relevant publications or online resources. However, assessors are not obliged to access the information they lead to or consider it in their assessment of your application. You must not include links to web resources in order to extend your application. If linking to web resources, to ensure the information’s integrity is maintained include, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers.

Word count: 1,000

5a Section: Project partners: contributions

Question: Provide details about any project partners’ contributions using the template provided.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

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 do have project partners, download and complete the project partner contributions template (DOCX, 52KB) then copy and paste the table within it into the text box below.

Ensure you have obtained prior agreement from project partners that, should you be offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the template.

Word count: 1,000

5b Section: Project partners: letters (or emails) of support

Question: Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the table in the previous ‘contributions’ section.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

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 below.

Each letter or email you provide should:

  • confirm the partner’s commitment to the project
  • clearly explain the value, relevance and possible benefits of the work to them
  • describe any additional value that they bring to the project
  • please refer to our guide for more guidance.

Please do not provide letters of support from host and project co-lead’s research organisations.

Unless specifically requested, please do not include any personal data within the attachment.

Upload details are provided within the service on the actual application.

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 table in the previous ‘contributions’ section ensuring it is no larger than 8MB.

For the file name, use the unique funding service number the system gives to your proposal – when you create an application – immediately followed by the words ‘Project Partner Letters of Support’. Then use the upload button below.

6 Section: Facilities

Question: Does your proposed research require the support and use of a facility?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If not, enter N/A into the text box, mark this section as complete and move on to the next section.

If you will need to use a facility, you should follow your proposed facility’s normal access request procedures. Where prior agreement is required, ensure you obtain their agreement that, should you be offered funding, they will support the use of their facility on your project.

In the text box below, for each requested facility you should provide:

Do not put the facility contact details in your response.

Word count: 250

7 Section: Resources and cost justification

Question: What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:

  • project staff
  • significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)
  • any equipment that will cost more than £10,000
  • any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities
  • all facilities and infrastructure costs
  • all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’

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:

  • are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
  • represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
  • maximise potential outcomes and impacts

Word count: 1,000

8 Section: Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

Question: 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.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Using the text box, demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations, and how you will manage them.

If you are collecting or using data you should identify:

  • any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing or storing the data including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical considerations and, in particular, strategies taken to not preclude further reuse of data
  • formal information standards with which study will be compliant

Additional sub-questions (to be answered only if appropriate) relating to research involving:

  • animals
  • human participants
  • genetically modified organisms

Word count: 500

Embedded images guidance for the Funding Service

In this section you can include embedded images. Guidance and principles below.

You must:

  • use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words
  • insert each new image onto a new line
  • provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)

Files must be:

  • in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
  • smaller than 8MB

8a Section: 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 or organisms as a plant, animal or microbe and specify the species and which of the three 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

8b Section: 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. Then, download and complete this document (DOCX, 74KB), which contains all the questions relating to research using vertebrate animals or other Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulated organisms. Then, save it as a PDF.

Word count: 10

8c Section: 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 Responsibility in the Use of Animals in Bioscience Research, on page 14.

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 or checklists 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 one checklist, you should merge them into a single document and then save it as a PDF before uploading it:

Word count: 700

8d Section: Research involving human participation

Question: Will the project involve the use of human subjects or their personal information?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If not, enter ‘N/A’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and move on to the next section.

If you are proposing research that requires the involvement of human 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

8e Section: Research involving human tissues or biological samples

Question: Does your proposed research involve the use of human tissues, or biological samples?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If not, enter ‘N/A’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and move on to the next section.

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

How we will assess your application

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process.

Peer review

We will not be sending applications to this funding opportunity for postal peer review.

Interview

An expert interview panel will conduct interviews with you after which the panel will make a funding recommendation to us.

We expect interviews to be held in mid-November 2023

EPSRC will make the final funding decision.

Feedback

We will give brief feedback along with the outcome of your application.

Principles of assessment

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.

We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.

Areas of assessment

The criteria against which your application will be assessed directly relates to the core responsive mode application questions, these are:

  • vision of the project
  • approach to the project
  • capability of the applicant or applicants and the project team to deliver the project
  • resources requested to do the project
  • ethical and responsible research and innovation considerations of the project

Further detail on what the assessors are looking for is available in the questions in the How to apply section.

Contact details

Get help with your application

For help on costings and writing your application, contact your research office. Allow enough time for your organisation’s submission process.

Ask about this funding opportunity

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org

We aim to respond to emails within two working days.

Phone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

  • Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
  • Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email the Funding Service helpdesk on support@funding-service.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 UK Research and Innovation (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.

Additional info

Background

High-quality science is rarely, if ever, an individual pursuit. The wide number of roles involved in delivering the scientific output supported by us and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is now being recognised at a strategic level through EPSRC and UKRI delivery plans, and initiatives such as UKRI’s 101 jobs.

The TALENT commission have pushed for increased recognition and support for technical staff across universities, and funding opportunities have gradually opened for RTPs following this change of perspective. We have proactively encouraged RTPs to apply as principal investigator and co-investigator on equipment-based awards since 2020. RTPs have also been involved in funding panels and have been actively engaged in providing us with strategic advice through various routes.

Against this background, we are taking a further proactive step by providing this funding opportunity to create a co-ordinated structure to help the long-term development of RTPs.

Supporting documents

Equality impact assessment (PDF, 214KB)

Outline stage full guidance (PDF, 222KB)

This is the website for UKRI: our seven research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Let us know if you have feedback or would like to help improve our online products and services.