UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service
We are running the funding opportunity on the new UKRI Funding Service. You cannot apply for this funding opportunity on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
If you do not already have an account with the UKRI Funding Service, you will be able to create one by selecting the ‘start application’ button at the start of this page. Creating an account is a two-minute process requiring you to verify your email address and set a password.
If you are a member of an organisation with a research office that we do not have contact details for, we will contact them to enable administrator access. This provides:
- oversight of every UKRI Funding Service application opened on behalf of your organisation
- the ability to review and submit applications
Research offices that have not already received an invitation to open an account should email support@funding-service.ukri.org
To find out more about the role of research office professionals in the application process, watch a recording of a recent research office webinar on YouTube.
Submitting your application
Applications should be prepared and submitted by the lead research organisation but should be co-created with input from all investigators, and project partners, and should represent the proposed work of the entire consortia.
To apply:
- Select the ‘Start application’ button at the start of this page.
- This will open the ‘Sign in’ page of UKRI’s Funding Service. If you do not already have an account, you’ll be able to create one. This is a two-minute process requiring you to verify your email address and set a password.
- Start answering the questions detailed in this section of ‘How to apply’. You can save your work and come back to it later. You can also work ‘offline’, copying and pasting into the text boxes provided for your answers.
- Once complete, use the service to send your application to your research office for review. They’ll check it and return it to you if it needs editing.
- Once happy, your research office will submit it to UKRI for assessment. Only they can do this.
As citations can be integral to a case for support, you should balance their inclusion and the benefit they provide against the inclusion of other parts of your answer to each question. Bear in mind that citations, associated reference lists or bibliographies, or both, contribute to, and are included in, the word count of the relevant section.
Deadline
EPSRC must receive your application by 29 June 2023 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
You should ensure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines that may be in place.
Personal data
General text on 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
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 infrastructure in terms of:
- its context
- the research areas and priorities it addresses
- 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:
- principal investigator
- co-investigator
- researcher
- technician
- business partner
You should only list one individual as principal investigator.
Postdoctoral research assistants
These should be included on the grant as researchers.
Research technical professionals
A research technical professional can be listed as a principal investigator or co-investigator, provided that:
- their appointment is resourced from the central funds of their institution at the time of application
- their level of responsibilities and duties is appropriate to a person with substantial research experience
- their contract extends beyond the duration of the project
Non-academic staff
Non-academic staff such as programme managers and administrators, should be added under the ‘business partner’ staff category. Please do not add industry project partners in this category, as these should be added as a ‘project partner’ instead in the appropriate section.
Section: purpose: strategic equipment funding opportunity
Why is this equipment needed, and why should EPSRC support it?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Enter ‘N/A’ in the text box and do not upload an attachment for this section if you are applying for the resource only strategic equipment funding opportunity.
Use this section if you are applying for the strategic equipment funding opportunity.
Explain how the equipment sought will:
- meet national needs by establishing or maintaining a unique or world leading activity, or both
- enhance and complement the existing regional or national research capability
- evidence the strong demand and community need from a diverse and inclusive user base
- meet the strategic aims of the funding organisation
Describe alternative plans for how the research would be achieved should the equipment not be funded. The plans should reflect:
- host organisation strategies for this equipment
- institutional commitment to the equipment landscape
- how the equipment sought is different from what is already available in the wider research landscape
Upload details are provided within the service on the actual application.
Word count: 750
Section: purpose: resource only strategic equipment funding opportunity
Why is this resource needed, and why should EPSRC support it?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Enter ‘N/A’ in the text box and do not upload an attachment for this section if you are applying for the strategic equipment funding opportunity.
Use this section if you are applying for the resource only strategic equipment funding opportunity.
Explain how the resource sought will:
- meet national needs by establishing or maintaining a unique or world leading activity, or both
- enhance and complement the existing regional or national research capability
- evidence the strong demand and community need from a diverse and inclusive user base
- meet the strategic aims of the funding organisation
- result in significant efficiencies, increased usage or greater capacity, or both, compared to the current situation
Describe alternative plans for how the research would be achieved should the resource not be funded. The plans should reflect:
- host organisation strategies for this infrastructure
- institutional commitment to the infrastructure landscape
Upload details are provided within the service on the actual application.
Word count: 750
Section: vision
What research will be enabled by this infrastructure?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how the infrastructure sought will enable research that:
- is high quality, novel and transformative
- is timely, given current trends and context
- is relevant to identified stakeholders, including users
- will have a measurable impact beyond the immediate team, with an appropriate approach to achieving impact
Upload details are provided within the service on the actual application.
Word count: 10
Section: approach
What are your plans to manage the proposed infrastructure?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your approach includes:
- a credible plan for managing the infrastructure, including a work plan with Gantt chart, associated risks, milestones and deliverables
- a plan for prioritising access to and maximising usage of the infrastructure. This should include any application and assessment processes and an estimate for the balance of users from the host institution, academics from external institutions and industrial users
- a plan for data management and accessibility
Upload details are provided within the service on the actual application.
Word count: 10
Section: sustainability
What are your plans for sustainability of the proposed infrastructure beyond the end of this funding?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Using the text box, explain how your plans for sustainability include:
- an appropriate cost recovery model
- a plan for training and development of specialist technical staff
- a plan for the development or expansion of the user base after the initial period of funding and any ‘free-at-the point of access’ period
Word count: 750
Section: applicant and host institution capability to deliver
Why are you and your host institution the right individual, team and place to procure and manage this infrastructure?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Using the textbox, provide evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:
- the relevant experience, appropriate to your career stage, to deliver the proposed work
- the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work, including the appropriate leadership and management skills on your approach to develop others
Provide evidence of why your host organisation:
- is the most appropriate place for the proposed infrastructure
- will use its existing inventory to best complement the proposed infrastructure
Word count: 1,000
Section: resources and cost justification
What will you need to procure and manage the proposed infrastructure and how much will it cost?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Download this full economic costings document (DOCX, 92KB), complete it and then upload it as explained.
In the text box, provide justifications of:
- the cost of the proposed infrastructure
- any resources (for example staff or maintenance costs) associated with the infrastructure
- any resources requested for activities to expand the user base, increase impact, for public engagement or to support responsible innovation
- the nature and level of contributions from your organisation or partner organisations if applicable
For each of these, demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing:
- are comprehensive, appropriate and justified
- represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
- maximise potential outcomes and impacts
For all items of equipment costing more than £25,000, you must provide a summary in the text box detailing quotations from at least three suppliers. If there are only one or two suppliers for any piece of equipment, state this and explain why.
All items of equipment costing more than £138,000 require three written quotes. Do not upload these quotes here as they are not needed in the peer review process but keep them on hand as EPSRC will ask for them as part of the audit process should your proposal be awarded funding.
Upload details are provided within the service on the actual application.
Word count: 1,500
Section: your organisation’s support
Provide details of support from your research organisation.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Using the text box, 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.
EPSRC recognises 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
Word count: 1,000
Section: project partners: contributions
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.
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
Section: project partners: letters (or emails) of support
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.
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
Refer to EPSRC’s project partners letter of support for more guidance.
Do not provide letters of support from host and co-investigator’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
Section: ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
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
Section: genetic and biological risk
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
Section: research involving the use of animals
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 the animal research questions 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
Section: conducting research with animal overseas
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 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 National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research 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, you should select the relevant checklist or checklists from the list, 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.
Checklists for other species:
Word count: 500
Section: research involving human participation
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
Section: research involving human tissues or biological samples
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
Section: references
List the references you will use to support your application.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
You should include all references in this section of the application and not in the rest of the application questions.
You should not include any other information in this section.
We advise you not to include hyperlinks as assessors are not obliged to access the information they lead to or consider it in their assessment of 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.
You must not include links to web resources in order to extend your application.
Word count: 250
Section: facilities
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, for each requested facility you should provide:
- the name of facility, copied and pasted from the combined facilities list (DOCX, 35KB)
- the proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicted on that list
- confirmation you have their agreement where required
Do not put the facility contact details in your response.
Word count: 100
Section: sensitive information
Is there sensitive information you need to share with UKRI that you do not want shared with assessors?
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, or a key team member, need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, please enter the words ‘email sent’ in the text box.
Then contact the Funding Service helpdesk. Include your application name and number in the subject line, after the pre-populated words ‘sensitive information’.
Typical examples of confidential information include:
- you are 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 please see UKRI’s privacy notice.
Word count: 10
