We expect that this emergency route will only be valid in exceptional situations.
There are strict criteria defining what is considered to be urgent. Only proposals that fully meet all of the criteria will pass the expression of interest stage.
Therefore, to make sure the internal and external review process is not put under continued pressure, research organisations should:
- actively triage ideas before an expression of interest is written
- ensure it does not duplicate COVID-19 research already funded by UKRI.
There is no specific funding allocation for this scheme. Permissions to submit full applications will be prioritised and at the discretion of the research councils and will be tensioned against their existing budgets.
You can only apply to the following research councils:
- AHRC
- BBSRC
- EPSRC
- ESRC
- MRC
- NERC
- STFC.
Overseas research and international collaboration is not actively encouraged but will be considered on a case by case basis (according to the eligibility rules of each research council).
Scope
Proposals submitted under this route are expected to focus on rapid turnaround research, urgent data or sample collection, and essential initial analysis only.
Before applying, you should check the details of projects that are already funded to avoid duplicating existing work. You can also check our current priority areas to see what we think is important.
Criteria
To be considered by a council through this route, your proposed research must meet all of the following criteria:
- you have evidence that this research will inform urgent policy decisions or secure data for future research
- you can demonstrate the time-critical nature of the research and how a normal grant timeframe is unsuitable
- there is a rapid route to impact, for example, you’re already working with the bodies making urgent policy decisions who need your data, samples, or findings
- your project must be able to start within a month of the decision
- you have a clear plan to take this research or data/sample collection forward including, if necessary, through normal grant routes.
We will not consider:
- extensions to current activities (for example, already funded COVID-19 activities) will not be accepted through this emergency route
- research that duplicates existing funded research, check what’s already been funded
- projects that could have been funded by any previous UKRI COVID-19 funding scheme, for example, the rolling UKRI Agile Research and Innovation Response to COVID-19 scheme that ended 15 December 2020
- projects that could be funded through a standard funding opportunity from any council
- funding to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on specific institutions and businesses and longer-term research that addresses the COVID-19 emergency or future pandemics
- business-led projects, instead see Innovate UK opportunities for businesses.
- resubmissions of previously submitted proposals.
Funding available
The maximum funding that may be sought is £80,000 (80% full economic cost) and includes any facilities costs. The usual duration will be 3 months, with a maximum of up to 6 months when necessary.
