We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
This funding opportunity will have a two-stage application process:
- outline application
- invited submission of a full application, if successful at the outline stage
Although applications may be multi-institutional, only one application form should be submitted for each bid. Single-form applications are required in order to facilitate integration across the UK research partners.
The lead institution must be based in the UK and must be eligible to hold EPSRC grants.
Webinar
Prospective applicants are invited to join a webinar on 25 June 2024 at 11:00am UK time.
Register for the webinar via the UKRI Engagement Hub.
The webinar will last for an hour. It will begin with a presentation from the EPSRC international team and will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions about the funding opportunity.
Questions can be submitted prior to the event using the EPSRC international team email address, via the Registration Form, or during the webinar using the question-and-answer function.
The questions raised and answers will be compiled into a frequently asked questions document, which will be published shortly after the webinar. A recording of the webinar will also be published.
Stage one: outline application
You should ensure you are aware of and comply with any internal institutional deadlines that may be in place.
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.
To apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
- 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 funding 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. You should:
- 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)
- ensure files are smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Watch our research office webinars about the new Funding Service.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
References
Applications should be self-contained, and hyperlinks should only be used to provide links directly to reference information. To ensure the information’s integrity is maintained, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers should be used. Assessors are not required to access links to carry out assessment or recommend a funding decision. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application (for this opportunity – within the Applicant and Team Capability to Deliver section) and be easily identifiable by the assessors, for example, (Smith, Research Paper, 2019).
You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.
Deadline
EPSRC must receive your application by 12 September 2024 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. If an application is withdrawn prior to peer review or office rejected due to substantive errors in the application, it cannot be resubmitted to the opportunity.
If successful at the outline stage, you will be invited to submit a full application. We will send you guidance on completing a full application at this next stage.
Personal data
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.
Publication of outcomes
EPSRC as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at What we have funded.
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
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) (only if based in Norway)
- research and innovation associate (optional)
- professional enabling staff
- technician (optional)
- visiting researcher (optional)
- specialist (optional)
- grant manager (optional)
- researcher co-lead (RcL) (optional)
Only list one individual as project lead.
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Application questions
Outline Vision
Word limit: 500 words
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 field(s) or area(s)
- 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
- meets the strategic aims of the funding opportunity
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Within this section you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. You should:
- 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)
- ensure files are smaller than 8MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Your application may be rejected if images are provided without a descriptive legend in the text box, or are used to replace text that could be input into the text box.
References may be included within this section.
Within the Vision section we also expect you to:
- focus on the value and impact of the addition of proposed international partnerships, and what this grant would enable which would not otherwise be feasible with a UK focused consortia group
- this section should also describe in brief the whole planned research project or programme, including the scientific contribution of the listed international partners
- make sure you address all the assessment criteria, see the ‘Assessment criteria section for more details
Outline Approach
Word limit: 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 effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Within this section you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. You should:
- 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)
- ensure files are smaller than 8MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Your application may be rejected if images are provided without a descriptive legend in the text box, or are used to replace text that could be input into the text box.
References may be included within this section.
Applicant and team capability to deliver
Word limit: 500
How will the application team deliver the proposed research programme?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:
- relevant research experience and skills to develop and deliver the proposed transdisciplinary research programme
- planned to identify and embed additional expertise where gaps in the team exist
The core leadership team should consist of the project lead (programme director) and the project co-leads identified on the outline application. There will be scope to expand this team and include new collaborators on the full application and you will be able to add further detail.
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.
UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the Funding Service.
For full details, see Eligibility as an individual.
Outline costs
Word limit: 1,000
What are the expected costs of the proposed work?
For this outline stage, a brief justification for the UK resources should be given. A short description should be provided of types of costs that the international partner’s planned financial contribution will cover (for example, staff costs, travel, laboratory access).
What the assessors are looking for in your response
- provide the approximate total values in GBP (£) for the expected directly incurred, directly allocated, indirect costs and exceptions
- view the guidance on the costs you can apply for
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
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 to not preclude further reuse of data)
- formal information standards that your proposed work will comply with
Additional sub-questions (to be answered only if appropriate) relating to research involving:
- animals
- human participants
- genetically modified organisms
Fit to opportunity
Word limit: 500
How will you establish or maintain a unique, world leading activity?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Please explain:
- how your work will be of added value to the UK research base of the proposed international research partnership
- what the unique features of the joint research team are
- the appropriateness and timeliness of proposed international partnership
- the track record of UK applicant team working together
- how undertaking this work will meet national and international needs
Application cover letter
Word limit: 1,000
This should be used to detail which eligibility criterion is fulfilled and through which EPSRC grants.
If the overseas partners are applying for or plan to apply for funding in parallel to enable their participation in the consortium this should also be specified in the application cover letter. Further details are not required at the outline stage but will be required at the full application stage.
If the required information is not included in the cover letter the outline application will be rejected without consideration by the shortlisting panel.
Please use a table with the following headings and complete the information in each column:
- EPSRC grant reference number
- project lead (formerly principal investigator) name
- holding research organisation
- grant type (for example, programme grant)
- EPSRC grant value
- grant end date
Create a document that includes your responses to all criteria. The document should not be more than two sides of A4, single spaced in paper in 11-point Arial (or equivalent sans serif font) with margins of at least 2cm.
For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘Application cover letter’.
Save this document as a single PDF file, no bigger than 8MB. Unless specifically requested, please do not include any sensitive 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.
