Apply to attend a five-day interactive interdisciplinary sandpit to develop projects on decision support using artificial intelligence (AI), for national security and defence applications. Participants selected to attend must do so for all online and in-person days.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for EPSRC funding.
You must complete an expression of interest to apply.
Attendance at the sandpit does not guarantee UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding.
Before applying for funding, check the Eligibility of your organisation. Please note that businesses are not eligible to apply for funding through this scheme.
EPSRC standard eligibility rules apply. For full details, visit EPSRC’s eligibility page.
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.
We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.
We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:
Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI.
The UK’s ability to produce novel AI decision support solutions is vital for responding to the challenges facing the national security and defence sectors. The previous UK government shared some of these challenges in the Integrated Review Refresh 2023: Responding to a more contested and volatile world and since its publication, the global landscape has become more complex.
Consequently, UKRI and EPSRC, in collaboration with National Security Technology and Innovation Exchange and UK government partners, are inviting applicants to attend a joint sandpit to deliver new, innovative, multidisciplinary and transformative approaches to AI decision support for national security and defence.
A collaborative sandpit approach has been chosen to generate research applications that:
No prior involvement with the defence or security sector is required, but it is our intention that participants at the sandpit will remain engaged with stakeholders from the defence and security sectors and be inspired to form longer term collaborations.
The sandpit will be an intensive, inclusive, interactive and creative environment, supporting a diverse group of participants from a range of disciplines and backgrounds in UKRI’s remit to work together.
We recognise the value in enabling collaboration across disciplines which may not usually come together to address the challenges being tackled. The unique opportunity provided by this sandpit will be that attendees will have access to government stakeholders, to drive the research towards real-world scenarios.
The sandpit will be overseen by a director, who will be supported by a team of mentors. The director, mentors and a small number of stakeholders will attend the sandpit but will not be eligible to receive research funding. Instead, their role will be to assist participants in defining and exploring challenges in this area. The director and mentors will act as independent reviewers, making a funding recommendation on the emergent projects.
The sandpit process can be broken down into several stages:
Recent advances in AI technologies hold exciting potential to enhance decision support in the national security and defence sectors. In an increasingly contested and volatile world, exploiting AI for decision support is expected to yield new intelligence insights beyond the capability of human analysts, by identifying threats and emerging risks and boosting productivity.
In defence and national security contexts, leaders are tasked with making high-stakes decisions. These decisions require processing and analysing vast amounts of information from diverse sources, which can range from satellite imagery to cybersecurity data to social media analysis. Traditionally, human analysts have handled this information, but as the volume and complexity of the data have increased, it has become harder to sift through it manually in a timely manner. It is therefore critical to enable effective interaction between humans and AI systems.
For example:
In these scenarios, assurance is required that AI systems are reliable, transparent, and accurate when supporting decision making. It is imperative that we understand how AI arrives at its conclusions, which means the AI must provide explainable insights, showing not just the outcome but the reasoning behind it as well as validation of sources. Additionally, in this context we must have confidence that AI systems are free from biases that could skew analysis, especially in high-stakes environments where inaccurate outputs could have significant consequences.
This sandpit therefore seeks to create new capabilities that deliver responsible, ethical and trustworthy technologies for decision support using AI, with the ability to identify and prioritise risks in data. The sandpit will enable understanding of the real-world context in which the interventions may be used. This will be achieved by bringing researchers, innovators, and problem owners from across a range of disciplines together in new collaborations for application driven research and innovation.
Participants at the sandpit will be introduced to a number of defence and security scenarios by users of technology from across government and will be encouraged to approach problems in an interdisciplinary manner. For that reason, we encourage applications from a range of disciplines including but not limited to:
It is expected that three projects will be funded, sharing up to £3 million of total funding at 80% full economic cost.
Accommodation will be provided during the residential component of the sandpit. However, participants must make their own travel arrangements. Travel and subsistence costs will be reimbursed.
Since this sandpit is partially residential, and where employers cannot help, EPSRC, in line with UKRI policy, will cover the costs of any additional childcare or caring responsibilities, which is deemed necessary during this period.
UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. TR&I is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.
As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks. See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where you can find additional support.
Apply to this sandpit by completing an expression of interest (EOI), through an EOI survey.
Please note that each question in this survey is accompanied by a specific word limit indicated at the end of each question.
The EOI survey will require applicants to confirm their commitment to attend the entire sandpit if shortlisted. Please be advised, you must be able to attend the virtual sandpit day on 17 January 2025 and the in-person sandpit from 20 to 23 January 2025.
Information about the venue and the exact format of the sandpit will be provided to the successful participants. Accommodation will be provided. However, participants must make their own travel arrangements. We welcome applications and enquiries from individuals with additional needs for whom specific provisions may need to be made, for example, caring responsibilities and people with disabilities.
We are committed to creating a more inclusive research base in line with our equality, diversity and inclusion action plan and encourage applications from under-represented groups.
Individuals who have applied to or attended a sandpit previously are welcome to apply to this sandpit.
The deadline for EOIs is 4:00pm on 31 October 2024. Please note that late submissions will not be considered.
EPSRC will confirm selected participants for the sandpit, subject to security checks, by the end of November 2024.
Applicants who are selected to attend the sandpit will be asked to provide basic personal information directly to the National Security Technology and Innovation Exchange in order for mandatory security checks to be completed. Attendance at the sandpit will be subject to this security clearance.
Selected applicants will be required to inform their university research office, in advance of the event, that they will attend the sandpit. If funded through the sandpit, their institution will be required to fund 20% of the full economic project costs as standard.
EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your application 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.
If your application is successful, and you successfully receive funding through the sandpit, we may publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Participants will be selected based on their answers to the above questions primarily. In addition, the selection panel will reflect on the career stages and regions of applicants to ensure a diverse group of participants, therefore participants will be asked questions about these in the survey.
We are interested in understanding the pool of applicants that we are reaching with this opportunity, therefore the survey will ask for the following information. Please note, this information will not be used as part of the assessment process:
Each of these questions will include the option to answer with ‘prefer not to say’.
Applications to attend the sandpit will be assessed by a selection panel comprised of the sandpit director, mentors and UKRI staff. Participant selection will be based solely on the information provided in the expression of interest survey.
The assessment criteria are as follows:
Participants will be selected primarily based on these assessment criteria. However, the panel will also look to ensure sandpit participants have expertise in a mix of disciplines and backgrounds.
Because of the considerable number of applications expected, we will not be able to give individual feedback to unsuccessful applicants.
In the event of this funding opportunity being oversubscribed as to be unmanageable, EPSRC reserves the right to modify the assessment process.
Please note that attendance at the sandpit does not guarantee UKRI funding.
Following the sandpit, project leads and co-leads involved in the projects recommended for funding will be invited to write a full project application detailing their intended activities as identified at the sandpit.
It is planned that participants involved in projects identified for funding will be informed within two weeks of the sandpit. Funding will be conditional on receipt of a full application. Staff recruited to funded projects will be required to undergo security checks.
The criteria used throughout the process of developing and assessing the final applications will be equally weighted. Final applications will also be subject to standard EPSRC assessment criteria.
The deadline for submission of full applications is expected to be in March 2025.
Final funding decisions will be made in spring 2025 following review of the full applications by the sandpit mentors and director to ensure what is submitted is in keeping with what was presented at the sandpit.
Any collaborative project funded through this programme must have a signed collaboration agreement between the partners before the start of any grant.
We attach significant importance to the dissemination of research findings and the publishing of information about the research they support in the public domain. However, all dissemination and publication must be carried out in the manner agreed in the project’s collaboration agreement.
Read EPSRC requirements on collaboration agreements.
Please note, applications which are funded via this funding opportunity will be made available to the National Security Technology and Innovation Exchange and relevant government partners.
We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.
Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.
For help and advice on writing your application, please contact your research office in the first instance.
For questions related to this specific opportunity, or if you need to provide us with sensitive information relevant to your application, please contact
ns-sandpit@epsrc.ukri.org
National Security Technology and Innovation Exchange (NSTIx) is a government-led science, technology and innovation (ST&I) partnership that enables coherent and agile delivery of innovative national security outcomes through a coordinated and systematic approach to research and capability development.
NSTIx engages with UK government organisations that require national security ST&I to identify and communicate cross-cutting areas for collaboration and co-creation. NSTIx also promotes engagement with providers and end users of ST&I, including with industry and academia, to enable better outcomes for all parties.
Find out more about NSTIx.
The long-term strength of the UK research base depends on harnessing all the available talent. UKRI expects that equality and diversity is embedded at all levels and in all aspects of research practice and funding policy.
We welcome applications from academics who job share, have a part-time contract, or need flexible working arrangements. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunities for our applicants for funding and encourage applications from those from under-represented groups.
Find out more about equality, diversity, and inclusion at EPSRC.
EPSRC is fully committed to developing and promoting responsible innovation and trusted research. Research can not only deliver shared understanding, knowledge, and value, but also unintended consequences, questions, ethical dilemmas and, at times, unexpected social transformations.
We recognise that we have a duty of care to:
Projects funded through this sandpit will be required to embed principles of responsible innovation and those of trusted research throughout their activities and will be expected to engage with the relevant regulatory bodies where concerns may arise under the National Security and Investment Act. Aspects of bias, privacy, security and ethics should be considered where appropriate.
Projects emerging from this sandpit will be expected to engage (where applicable) with the wider community of UKRI AI investments. This includes Alan Turing Institute, the UKRI AI Centres for Doctoral Training, the EPSRC AI hubs, and Responsible AI UK, whose role is to bring together the UK AI community to ensure that AI is developed and deployed in a responsible and trustworthy manner.
EPSRC will not fund a project if it believes that there are ethical concerns that have been overlooked or not appropriately accounted for. Sandpit participants who are selected to submit an application, will be required to detail ethical considerations in keeping with UKRI guidance under the UKRI Funding Service.
The UKRI strategy for 2022 to 2027, transforming tomorrow together, outlines five strategic themes which look to harness the full power of the UK’s research and innovation system to address major national and global challenges. ‘Building a secure and resilient world’ is one the themes under the auspices of which UKRI will catalyse, convene and conduct research and innovation, through taking a systemic approach that is human-centred, aimed at strengthening societal and economic resilience.
The theme aims to enhance national security across virtual and physical environments, by improving awareness of risks and threats, preparedness, informed decision-making and response, and allowing change to be understood as a force for good.
‘Building a secure and resilient world’ directly tackles core methodologies for supporting a better and more robust approach to managing crisis from business to government to communities. A core focus of the theme is on supporting systems thinking and decision making to reduce risk and strengthen our security and resilience, and showing how this should support, and be implemented by, communities at every level, from local to international.
We have identified five inter-related sub-themes, through which UKRI will deliver a range of activities tailored to enable resilience to different risks in different systems that is built on the strengths of our current economy and society, helps reduce vulnerability, prepares for robust and rapid responses and enhances recovery, and encourages approaches which bring positive transformation. The five sub-themes are:
This opportunity speaks directly to the ‘technologies for resilience security and defence’ sub-theme.
UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process if required.
We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that applicants are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:
Panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of applicants.
Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.
