The funding opportunity is expected to open in late June 2024. More information will be available on this page when the full opportunity is announced. This is a pre-announcement and the information below is likely to change slightly. You should read the full opportunity page once published.
Aim
This opportunity falls under UKRI’s Creating Opportunities, Improving Outcomes strategic theme, which seeks to improve outcomes for people and places across the UK by identifying solutions that promote economic and social prosperity. The opportunity is part of the Future of the Internet initiative, whose vision is to support a future internet that works for all across the UK and globally, is pro-prosperity, secure and resilient, globally governed, scalable and robust, and supports democratic, open societies and the public.
Through this Future of the Internet initiative, UKRI, working with government partners, aims to bring to bear the potential contribution of the academic research community across multiple disciplines, to give the UK a world-class understanding of future internet possibilities based on a realistic understanding of what is within our control, and leading to well-considered options to inform policymakers.
This funding opportunity will fund one NetworkPlus, which will be responsible for creating a visible, collaborative and interdisciplinary UK Future of the Internet research community, providing a ‘front door’ for effective connection across academia, the UK security community, government (local, regional, devolved administration and UK or national), regulators and industry, and across the UK, and enabling effective response to needs and challenges between parties. The NetworkPlus will work with UKRI and other government partners to develop an understanding of the future internet landscape and a strategy for addressing the most relevant and timely research challenges in support of the UK’s desired future relationship with the global future internet. This will help to inform possible future investments in support of the broader aims of the initiative, which are detailed in the Additional Information section. It will also help to inform the UK future internet stakeholder community more broadly.
Scope
The UK future internet NetworkPlus will bring together the research community, policymakers and wider stakeholders to make the UK an active leader in the development of the internet and an intelligent customer of internet technologies in the 2030s and 2040s. It must take a strategic and forward-looking approach, in line with UKRI’s mission to convene, catalyse and invest in close collaboration with others to build a thriving, inclusive research and innovation system that connects discovery to prosperity and public good.
We expect the NetworkPlus to address the following objectives:
- develop a visible, collaborative, inclusive, diverse and interdisciplinary UK Future of the Internet research community, drawing on the wealth of existing expertise and providing effective connection, communication, engagement and knowledge exchange across academia, the UK security community, government, regulators and industry
- develop a cutting-edge understanding of the challenges and opportunities posed for the UK by evolving internet technologies and their sociotechnical implications and drivers, through consultation, understanding the international context and developing strategic foresight
- inform UKRI’s research strategy in the area of future internet, through collaborative thought leadership and the development of ideas with stakeholders, with the aim of supporting policymakers to create a positive future for the UK
- engage with a small number of specific places in the UK as case studies in place-based considerations for the future internet, to the mutual benefit of these places and the academic community, and to draw out learnings that may be transferable to other places
These begin to address the longer-term objectives for the Future of the Internet initiative, which are detailed under Additional Information.
Initial Future of the Internet challenge areas
For the purpose of this initiative, we are taking a broad view of the definition of the future internet, encompassing a connected network of future devices and technologies, its associated applications and services and their intersection and interaction with society.
UKRI and government stakeholders have identified the following initial set of challenge areas for further exploration during the initiative:
- standards and regulation for the future internet and the UK’s influence on global standards development; principles such as openness and decentralisation, addressing risks of fragmentation, and promoting the resilience of the future internet
- security in the future internet for people, prosperity, democracy and freedom, for example, mitigation of threats posed by states, terrorism, radicalisation, disinformation, cybercrime and serious and organised crime
- international, geopolitical and diplomatic aspects relating to the future internet, including national security, governance, law and worldviews, as well as the UK’s relationship with the Global South in the context of the development of the future internet
- future internet technologies, such as integrated or interoperable wired, wireless and satellite network infrastructure (and networks of networks), decentralised technologies and Internet of Things, software, and protocols
- people-centred considerations such as future internet access or accessibility, inclusivity, personal control and agency, identity, security, and safety
- realising a society-driven internet, including values, norms and ethics and public digital literacy
- productivity and economic value for the UK in the future internet, including the needs of people in different places
- evolving areas intrinsically connected to the future internet, such as internet-based AI and implications of AI for the internet, quantum internet technologies, net zero for the internet, immersive technologies, human augmentation, skills, intellectual property
For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the Additional information section.
Duration
The duration of this award is three years and nine months.
Funding available
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project as calculated at proposal stage can be up to £6.5 million.
UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC. Our contribution may be up to £5.2 million prior to indexation.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)
UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (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.
