We are running this funding opportunity on the new UKRI Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. 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.
If the lead research organisation is an NHS organisation, check it is available in the Funding Service. You are encouraged to check this early as there may be additional steps for the organisation to be set up before you can apply.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
To apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page. This will be available to select from 27 March 2025 9:00am UK time.
- Confirm you are the project lead.
- 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
Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this Opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
- 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.
- Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
- Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
- Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.
When including images you must:
- provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this counts towards your word limit)
- insert each new image onto a new line
- use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include:
- sentences or paragraphs of text
- tables
- excessive quantities of images
A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.
Watch our research office webinars about the Funding Service.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
References
References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:
- references are easily identifiable by the assessors
- references are formatted as appropriate to your research
- persistent identifiers are used where possible
General use of hyperlinks
Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI)
Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.
For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment.
Deadline
We must receive your application by 19 June 2025 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.
Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Personal data
Processing personal data
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.
UKRI will need to share the application and any personal information that it contains with our co-funders, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) so that they can participate in the assessment process.
For more information on how Defra uses personal information visit Defra’s Personal information charter.
For more information on how FCDO uses personal information, visit FCDO’s data protection information.
Sensitive information
If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email tacklingepidemics@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 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.
Publication of outcomes
UKRI will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity on the Tackling infections webpage.
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Summary
Word limit: 550
In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.
We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:
- opinion-formers
- policymakers
- the public
- the wider research community
Guidance for writing a summary
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
- context
- the challenge the project addresses
- aims and objectives
- potential applications and benefits
- the team and approach to interdisciplinary working
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
- project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
- researcher co-lead (RcL)
- specialist
- professional enabling staff
- research and innovation associate
- technician
- visiting researcher
Only list one individual as project lead. If you include more than one project lead your application will fail at the checking stage.
We expect all applications to this funding opportunity that intend to conduct research in an LMIC to include project co-lead (international), based at an LMIC research organisation.
UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Application questions
Research council remit
Word limit: 250
Select which research councils’ disciplinary remits your application meets.
What we are looking for in your response
In the text box, list the name of each applicable research council from the following list, where their disciplinary remit is relevant to your application:
- AHRC
- BBSRC
- EPSRC
- ESRC
- MRC
- NERC
- STFC
Within this section we also expect you to explain:
- how your application is relevant to the disciplinary remits of three or more research councils
- why the proposed work would not be suitable for single research council led funding
This is for administrative purposes and to aid initial application checking. Applications not meeting the distinct disciplinary remits of three research councils will be rejected.
Vision
Word limit: 550
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
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, or generate 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
- is driven by the needs of populations where the research is taking place (where appropriate)
- will purposefully seek to translate and maximise the impact of your research on policy, programmes and practice (where research is positioned at the more translational or applied end of the spectrum)
Within the Vision section we also expect you to:
- justify the epidemic potential of the pathogens or disease type chosen
- identify the potential direct or indirect benefits and who the beneficiaries might be
- explain how the proposal is ambitious, novel and adds value to the current research landscape
- identify potential impacts of your research on animal, plant or human health
- explain how your work has potential to bring benefit to the LMICs involved (where appropriate)
- provide evidence that the answer to your research questions is needed and wanted by relevant users, policy makers or both describing the changes that might be implemented as a result of the project, and by whom (where research is positioned at the more translational or applied end of the spectrum)
References may be included within this section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Approach
Word limit: 5,500
How are you going to deliver your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you have designed your approach so that it:
- is innovative, effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
- is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
- uses a clearly written and transparent methodology
- embeds interdisciplinary approaches, including identifying potential challenges in delivering interdisciplinary research and how these will be overcome
- takes into account previous work and identifies limitations of current approaches
- will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
- describes how your team’s research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work
- if applicable, ensures an equitable role for the LMIC co-leads and researchers in the intellectual design and the setting of the research agenda and its ongoing strategic direction. This includes arrangements for equitable sharing of intellectual property
Within the Approach section we also expect you to:
- demonstrate co-creation and design involving the range of disciplines or experiences required for successful delivery of the research programme
- show how the work will enable new research opportunities, approaches and methods through the integration of distinct disciplinary perspectives
- demonstrate access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the project
- provide a project plan including deliverables and timelines, in the form of an embedded Gantt chart or similar
- explain and justify how you will approach diversity and inclusion in the study population and follow the MRC embedding diversity in research design policy (if applicable)
- show how you will use male and female animals or tissues and cells from male and female donors (and follow the MRC sex in experimental design policy (if applicable). If you are not proposing to do this you must justify why
- explain and justify the inclusion of public partnerships (if applicable) and the added value these offer
References may be included within this section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Reproducibility and statistical design
Word limit: 500
How will you ensure your proposed work is reliable, robust and reproducible?
What assessors are looking for in your response
Information about reproducibility and how you will ensure reliability and robustness of your proposed work, such as further details of statistical analyses, methodology and experimental design, not provided in your approach. Note that in this context the methodology refers to the rationale for choosing which methods to use and not the provision of detailed descriptions of the methods to be used.
We encourage the involvement of statisticians and other methodological expertise in the design and integration of projects. Where this is not appropriate, we expect you to seek professional statistical or other relevant advice in preparing your response, which should include, as appropriate:
- sample and effect sizes
- planned statistical analyses
- models chosen (for example animal model, cell line) or data sources (for example social surveys, administrative data, environmental and climatic data)
- potential sources of bias and how these will be mitigated during analysis
- how your approach to addressing diversity is reflected in the experimental design and analyses
If your proposed work includes human populations, you should specify these in terms of their diversity characteristics and the analysis (Embedding diversity in research design).
If your proposed work involves animals, and you provide information on animal sample sizes and statistical analyses here, you should not duplicate it in the ‘Research involving the use of animals’ section. You should include the sex of animals, cells and tissues and use females and males as default. Learn more about the circumstances in which we will fund single-sex animal, tissue and cell studies at sex in experimental design. See also worked examples of experimental design. Use the ‘Research involving the use of animals’ section to provide information on the rationale for using animals, choice of species, welfare and procedure severity.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
The length of your response will vary depending on the type of project, you may not need to use 500 words. Do not repeat information included elsewhere in your application.
Data management and sharing
Word limit: 1,500
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 clearly details how you will comply with UKRI’s published data management and sharing policies, which includes detailed guidance notes.
You should:
- demonstrate how you will manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed research
- determine if, how and where your data should be shared based on good practice for the type, or types, of research data that will be generated
- refer to the research council research data sharing policy (or policies) and guidance most applicable to the type (or types) of research data that will be generated from your research. These policies include best practice and preferred repositories for some types of data. For example, the ESRC-supported UK Data Service and the NERC-supported Environmental Data Service
UKRI and our funding partners expect you to make your research data openly available with as few restrictions as possible in a timely and responsible manner including, in the event of a relevant outbreak, in-line with principles reaffirmed for the Covid-19 outbreak.
Applicant and team capability to deliver
Word limit: 1,650
Why are you the right team to successfully deliver the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Evidence of how your team has:
- 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
- included appropriate approaches to ensure true interdisciplinary working
- if relevant, opportunities for LMIC co-leadership and career development through the research
You should also justify the inclusion of project co-leads (international) and professional enabling staff and show how you have ensured an equitable role for LMIC researchers in setting the research agenda, if applicable.
We recognise that applications might draw together relevant expertise from multiple organisations and regions. For administrative purposes it is necessary to identify a single project lead who must be affiliated with the lead research organisation. The project lead and their research office will be ultimately responsible for the administration of the grant and collaboration arrangements. However, the balance of research activity and leadership across the leadership team and partner organisations can be shared as is appropriate for your application.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
The word limit for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) 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:
- 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, including public partnerships
Additions
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.
References may be included within this section.
The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.
Project partners
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 third party 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.
Important note: If your application includes industry project partners, you will also need to complete the Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF) section. Find out more about ICF.
You must ensure that any third party individual or organisation you include within the Funding Service as a project partner, also provides you with a supporting email or letter of support (see next section ‘Project partners: letters or emails of support’).
The individual named as the project partner contact, cannot be included in your application as a member of the core team, in any core team role.
The project partner organisation cannot be an applicant organisation, where any member of the core team is based. For example, you cannot include a different department based within the applicant organisation as a project partner.
If an individual or organisation outside the core team is responsible for recruitment of people as research participants or providing human tissue for this project, list them as a project partner.
Add the following project partner details:
- the organisation name (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)
- the project partner contact name and email address
- the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value
If there are specific circumstances where project partners do require funding for minor costs such as travel and subsistence, these project partner costs should be claimed and justified within the resources and costs section of your application.
If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, 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.
Project partners: letters (or emails) of support
Word limit: 10
Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the ‘Project partners’ section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box, or if you do not have any project partners enter ‘N/A’.
What supporting statements we are looking for
Important note: We are only looking for you to provide project partner letters or emails of support from the following:
- a third-party individual
- a third-party organisation
Third party means the individual and organisation must not be involved in the application core team. You must ensure that any project partners providing a supporting document, are also added to the ‘Project partners’ section within the Funding Service.
What supporting statements we are not looking for
We are not looking for you to provide any letters or emails of support from individuals or organisations included in your application core team (this includes other departments within the same organisation). Any individual or organisation included in your application with a core team role cannot also be a project partner.
Do not include any other statements or any other type of information we have not requested, including letter or emails of support from colleagues simply expressing supportive opinions. We only expect letters or emails of support from your third-party project partners uploaded to this section.
If you include any information not requested by MRC, your application will be rejected.
Supporting letter and email guidance for third party project partners
Each project partner 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
- include the name of the project partner organisation and contact information (this should match the partner contact and organisation name details you must add to the ‘Project partners’ section)
- have a page limit of two sides of A4 per partner
Project partners letters and emails of support are not required to be on headed paper or include handwritten signatures (electronic signatures are acceptable from the nominated partner contact).
Industry or company project partner letter and email of support guidance
Industry or company project partners are required to complete the industry or company letter of support template by exploring the document download section of MRC Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF). This will ensure the letter or email they provide you contains all the relevant information we need.
Project partner responsibility for the recruitment of people
If the project partner is responsible for the recruitment of people as research participants or providing human tissue their letter or email of support should include:
- agreement that the project partner will recruit the participants or provide tissue
- confirmation that what is being supplied is suitable for the proposed work
- confirmation that the quantity of tissue being supplied is suitable, but not excessive for achieving meaningful results (if applicable)
Multiple project partners
If you have multiple project partners, you should:
- ensure each separate partner letter or email of support, does not exceed two pages of A4
- consolidate all the supporting documents provided by each project partner into a single PDF file before uploading
- ensure the PDF does not exceed the maximum file size of 8MB
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the ‘Project partners’ section.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)
Word limit: 1,500
Does your application include collaboration with industry or company project partners?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
The assessors are looking for you to confirm if your proposed work involves collaboration with an industry or company project partner. If it does, you will need to follow the MRC industry collaboration framework (ICF).
By ‘industry or company’ we mean an enterprise that puts or has intention to put goods or services on a market.
For guidance to assist your decision if your proposed work requires you to follow ICF, you should explore the ICF decision tree and find out more about ICF which includes:
- collaboration agreements
- definitions of basic or applied research
- internationally based companies
- subsidy control
- intellectual property (IP) arrangements
- fully flexible and gated contributions
- the ICF assessment criteria
Enter ‘Yes’ in the text box if you have industry or company project partners and you are likely to follow ICF. You should also confirm your answers to the ICF questions one to nine in the text box for each ICF project partner.
Contact tacklingepidemics@ukri.org if you are unsure if your application should follow ICF.
In addition to the project partner information completed in the previous section, the assessors are looking for information relating to the nature, goals and conditions of the collaboration and any restrictions or rights to the project results that could be claimed by the industry or company project partner.
Confirm your answers to the ICF questions in the text box, repeat this process for each ICF project partner:
- Name the industry or company project partner considered under ICF.
- Indicate whether your application is basic research or applied research.
- Explain why, in the absence of the requested UKRI funding, the collaboration and the planned research could not be undertaken.
- State whether your application is under the category of fully flexible contribution or gated contribution (based on the IP sharing arrangements with the industry or company).
- Outline the pre-existing IP (‘background IP’) that each partner, including the academic partner, will bring to the collaborative research project and the terms under which partners may access these assets.
- Outline the IP that is expected to be developed during the collaborative research project (‘foreground IP’) and briefly outline how it will be managed, including:
- who will own this IP
- what rights industry or company partners will have to use academically-generated foreground IP during and after the research project, for internal research and development or for commercial purposes
- any rights of the academic partner to commercialise the foreground IP, including foreground IP generated by industry or company partners
- Outline any restrictions to dissemination of the project results, including the rights of the industry or company partner to:
- review, approve or delay publications (including the time period associated with such rights)
- request or require the removal of any information
- Declare any conflicts of interest held by the applicants in relation to the industry or company project partners and describe how they will be managed.
- Justify collaborating with an overseas industry or company under ICF (if applicable).
Failure to provide the information requested for industry or company partners under ICF could result in your application being rejected.
You are recommended to discuss the goals and conditions of any collaboration with an industry or company with your technology transfer or contracts office before applying.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made. You must provide us with a copy of the collaboration agreement, signed by all partners, before an ICF award starts.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
Word limit: 250
What approaches and activities do you have planned that will embed EDI into your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your EDI plan:
- is effective and appropriate to embed EDI
- comprehensively identifies the key EDI challenges and how they will be addressed and managed
- will report and measure EDI outcomes
- will maximise awareness of and mitigate against bias in your team and the wider community in terms of gender, ethnicity or any other protected characteristics through processes, behaviours and culture
- describes how your approach will build upon and integrate existing EDI good practice into your proposed work
- will share good practice with the wider community to ensure your research has maximum impact
EDI plans should be project-specific and focus on activities beyond any institutional activities already in place.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
References may be included within this section.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)
Word limit: 100
Does the proposed work involve international collaboration in a sensitive research or technology area?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate how your proposed international collaboration relates to Trusted Research and Innovation, including:
- list the countries your international project co-leads, project partners and visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in
- if international collaboration is involved, explain whether this project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act
- if one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act are involved list the areas
If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
We may contact you following submission of your application to provide additional information about how your proposed project will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help manage these risks.
Facilities
Word limit: 250
Does your proposed research require the support and use of a facility?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
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:
- name of facility, copied and pasted from the facility information list (DOCX, 42KB)
- proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list
- confirmation you have their agreement where required
Facilities should only be named if they are on the facility information list above. If you will not need to use a facility, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
Word limit: 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.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:
- the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
- how you will manage these considerations, and the timescale for doing so
All necessary ethical approvals much be in place before the project commences, but do not need to have been secured at the time of application.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Genetic and biological risk
Word limit: 700
Does your proposed research involve any genetic or biological risk?
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.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Research involving the use of animals
Word limit: 10
Does your proposed research involve the use of vertebrate animals or other organisms covered by the Animals Scientific Procedures Act?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you are proposing research that requires using animals, download and complete the Animals Scientific Procedures Act template (DOCX, 74KB), which contains all the questions relating to research using vertebrate animals or other Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulated organisms.
Save it as a PDF. The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Conducting research with animals overseas
Word limit: 700
Will any of the proposed animal research be conducted overseas?
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 in Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research. Ensure all named applicants in the UK and overseas are aware of this requirement.
If your application proposes animal research to be conducted overseas, you must provide a statement in the text box. Depending on the species involved, you may also need to upload a completed template for each species listed.
Statement
Provide a statement 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
Templates
Overseas studies proposing to use non-human primates, cats, dogs, equines or pigs will be assessed during NC3Rs review of research applications. Provide the required information by completing the template from the question ‘Research involving the use of animals’.
For studies involving other species, such as:
- rodents
- rabbits
- sheep
- goats
- pigs
- cattle
- xenopus laevis and xenopus tropicalis
- zebrafish
Select, download, and complete the relevant Word checklist or checklists by exploring NC3Rs checklist for the use of animals overseas.
Save your completed template as a PDF and upload to the Funding service. If you use more than one checklist template, save it as a single PDF.
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
If conducting research with animals overseas does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Research involving human participation
Word limit: 700
Will the project involve the use of human subjects or their personal information?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
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.
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.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Research involving human tissues or biological samples
Word limit: 700
Does your proposed research involve the use of human tissues, or biological samples?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you are proposing work that involves human tissues or biological samples, provide the name of any required approving body and whether approval is already in place.
Justify the use of human tissue or biological samples specifying the nature and quantity of the material to be used and its source.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Resources and cost justification
Word limit: 1,000
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’
- support for public and patient involvement and engagement. Payments to public partners can be included under the exceptions fund heading
- support for preserving, long-term storage, or sharing of data
- support for international co-leads, demonstrating this is within the 30% costs cap for co-leads from high-income countries, India and China. There is no cap on costs requested for international applicants from DAC list countries
- NHS research costs, when they are associated with NHS studies
- animal costs, such as numbers that need to be bred or maintained and to maintain high welfare standards
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
Clinical research using NHS resources
Word limit: 250
Are you applying to do clinical research in the UK?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Researchers applying to do clinical research in the NHS, public health or social care usually need to complete a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT).
We request the SoECAT because we want to know that you have taken the appropriate steps to request National institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) support and for the full costs of your research to be attributed, calculated and paid.
We want to see the expected total resources required for your project to consider if these are appropriate.
Enter ‘Yes’ and complete and upload a SoECAT if you are applying for clinical research and:
- you will carry out your research in the UK
- your research will use NHS resources
- the research requires approval by Health Research Authority (England) or its equivalents in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales
- you will need support from the NIHR Research Delivery Network, this may include studies in a social care or public health setting
It is important to complete a SoECAT to be eligible for NIHR support You must complete a SoECAT even if you don’t think your clinical research will involve excess treatment costs (ETCs).
See MRC guidance on who needs to complete a SoECAT.
How to complete a SoECAT
SoECAT guidance can be found on the NIHR website.
These are the steps you need to take:
- Contact an attributing the costs of health and social care Research & Development (AcoRD) specialist as early as possible in the application process.
- Complete an online SoECAT. Excel versions of the form have been discontinued. If you don’t have an account for NIHR’s Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS) you will need create and activate one. See the user guide for instructions.
- Request authorisation of your SoECAT.
- Once authorised extract the ‘study information’ and the ‘summary’ page from the ‘Funder Export’, combine them as a single PDF and upload it to your application.
Applications that require a SoECAT but have not uploaded the SoECAT funder export study information and summary may be rejected.
Ensure the AcoRD specialists name and date are included within the uploaded summary page. The SoECAT is invalid without this information.
Contact tacklingepidemics@ukri.org if your SoECAT may not be authorised in time for the application closing date.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Phase one funding
Word limit: 20
Are you in receipt of phase one funding from Tackling Epidemics?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Please enter ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in the text box. If yes, provide grant reference number and title.
Related applications
Word limit: 500
Is this application related to another application to UKRI or other funding organisation?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If your application is not related to another, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
If yes, state your previous reference number and explain how this new application is related to the other application. If the related application was submitted to another funder, you should identify the name of the funder and when you applied.
