Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: UK-Singapore engineering biology for specialty chemical production

Start application

Apply for funding to create a research consortium focused on engineering biology to develop platform technologies for specialty chemical production with researchers from Singapore.

Applications must involve teams from the UK and Singapore, with project co-leads from at least three research organisations in each country. Applicants must be eligible for BBSRC or NRF funding and the Singapore project lead must be based at the National Centre for Engineering Biology (NCEB).

You may request up to:

  • £2 million (80% FEC) for the UK component
  • SGD3.45 million (including 30% overhead expenses) for the Singapore component

The duration of the award is 18 months.

Who can apply

For support under this funding opportunity, applicants and organisations must be eligible to apply for funding from their respective country’s funding agency.

The following application criteria must be met:

  • applications must include both a project lead from the UK and from Singapore
  • each country team must incorporate a project lead or project co-leads from at least three different research organisations
  • the Singapore project lead must be a principal investigator or co-investigator from the National Centre for Engineering Biology (NCEB)
  • applicants may only be project lead on one application

Before applying for funding, check the Eligibility of your organisation.

UK Research and Innovation (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.

Who is eligible to apply

Standard eligibility criteria apply to this funding opportunity, applicants in the UK must meet the BBSRC eligibility requirements.

Institutions and researchers normally eligible for our funding include, but are not limited to:

  • higher education institutions (HEIs)
  • research council institutes (RCIs)
  • approved independent research organisations (IROs)
  • public sector research establishments (PSREs)

Applicants in Singapore must meet the National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore’s eligibility requirements.

Who is not eligible to apply

Applicants not based in the UK or Singapore are not eligible to apply to this funding opportunity.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

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:

  • career breaks
  • support for people with caring responsibilities
  • flexible working
  • alternative working patterns

Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI.

What we're looking for

Aim

This funding opportunity aims to pump-prime centre-to-centre research and innovation partnerships between the UK and Singapore through support to a new research consortium in the area of engineering biology, with a primary focus on engineering customised cells and biotechnological processes for the production of specialty chemicals.

This programme intends to support novel collaborative research between the UK and Singapore that can only be achieved through an international partnership, uniting complementary areas of expertise, and facilitating access to unique expertise or resources of the two countries.

Applications will be expected to explain how the project will maximise the benefits of the international collaboration and describe the unique contributions, and the roles and responsibilities, of each country team in achieving the goals of the proposed project. Teams from the UK and Singapore should work together to establish partnerships, forming a new virtual research consortium, involving the National Centre for Engineering Biology (NCEB) in Singapore. For more information on the NCEB and researchers involved, please contact Dr Wun Kwok Soon (kwok.wun@nus.edu.sg)

Scope

Engineering biology is the application of rigorous engineering principles to the design and fabrication of biological components and systems, from modifications of natural systems to new forms of artificial biology. It encompasses the entire innovation ecosystem, from breakthrough synthetic biology research to translation and application. As an emerging technology, engineering biology has enormous potential to address global challenges, drive economic growth, and increase national security, resilience and preparedness.

This funding opportunity focuses on engineering biology for the production of specialty chemicals.

Specialty chemicals are defined here as low-volume, high-value chemicals differentiated by performance and functionality specifications. Potential uses of specialty chemicals could be in the following areas:

  • biofoundry
  • biomanufacturing
  • bioremediation
  • waste management
  • carbon-capture
  • biomining
  • agro-chemicals
  • functional food and drink ingredients

Applications are sought for the development of bioengineered cells and systems as pre-competitive resources that can be deployed in the production of specialty chemicals across a variety of industrial sectors.

Applications must aim to harness engineering biology for the production of specialty chemicals with applications across one or more of the following National Engineering Biology Programme (NEBP) (PDF, 103KB) application-inspired themes. The examples listed within the following NEBP themes above are not exhaustive:

  • engineering biology for food systems: delivering more productive, resilient, and sustainable food and farming sectors. For example, developing biotechnological processes for the production of novel and sustainable engineered agrochemicals including fertilisers, crop protection products, and applications in animal health, food and drink ingredients and so on
  • engineering biology for clean growth: delivering more environmentally sustainable bio-manufacturing processes and supply chains. For example, engineering cells to utilise alternative feedstocks for production of specialty chemicals, sustainable production of precursors including biopharmaceuticals, carbon recycling, biocatalysts and so on
  • engineering biology for environmental solutions: developing research and technology solutions towards delivering a healthy, productive, and resilient environment. For example, bioremediation, waste management, textile chemicals and so on

Multi and cross-disciplinary work is encouraged, and collaborative development of novel scientific methodologies, measurement standards, reference materials and standardised workflows for measuring multiscale biological data, as well as the integration of computational, artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches are welcomed.

You are strongly encouraged to incorporate plans that will enable people and knowledge exchange (data and methodologies) amongst research teams in the consortium in your approach. You are also encouraged to support development of staff including early career researchers (ECRs) and new skills across the teams in your proposals.

This funding opportunity is being run in collaboration with National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF), and the UK component is funded through the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF). For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the ‘Additional information’ section.

Duration

The duration of this award is 18 months.

Project must start by 15 June 2025.

Funding available

The full economic cost (FEC) of the UK component of your project can be up to £2.5 million. BBSRC will fund 80% of the FEC (up to £2 million).

NRF will fund up to SGD 3.45 million for the Singapore component, inclusive of direct and indirect costs (indirect costs are supported at 30% of approved direct cost).

What we will fund

We will fund:

  • research focused on engineering biotechnological processes that will enable more sustainable production of a wider range of specialty chemicals
  • research aligned to at least one of the three key application-inspired themes of the NEBP: food systems, clean growth, environmental solutions
  • research at TRL4 and below

What we will not fund

We will not fund:

  • research seeking solely to identify or design new chemicals or chemical families, or otherwise establishing modes of action
  • applications solely focused on network building. Projects must have a substantive research component
  • applications where engineering biology is only a small component of the overall work plan
  • applications not focused on one of the three key NEBP application-inspired themes highlighted above (food systems, clean growth, environmental solutions), or applications with a primary focus on engineering biology for biomedicine
  • research at TRL5 and higher
  • purchasing of equipment that exceeds £10,000

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UK Research and Innovation (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.

Further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.

How to apply

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.

The UK 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.

UK applicants

Only the UK lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI. Submissions involving multiple UK research organisations must be made using the same Funding Service application.

Singapore applicants

Once an application has successfully been submitted to UKRI, the UK project lead must download a PDF copy of the application for the Singapore project lead to submit to NRF via email to: su_mingjuan@nrf.gov.sg

To apply

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

  1. Confirm you are the UK project lead.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
  5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
  6. 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. Applicants should use their discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.

References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application 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

BBSRC must receive your application by 12 December 2024 at 4:00pm UK time.

NRF must receive a PDF copy of your full UKRI application via email by 13 December 2024 at 6:00pm Singapore 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

BBSRC, 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.

BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to share the application and any personal information that it contains with NRF so that they can participate in the assessment process. For more information on how NRF uses personal information, visit NRF’s privacy statement.

Publication of outcomes

BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at Awarded Research Grants.

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 UK team and assign them roles from the following:

  • project lead (PL)
  • project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
  • researcher co-lead (RcL)
  • specialist
  • research and innovation associate
  • technician

Only list one individual as project lead.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.

Please note: Only UK-based applicants should be added to this section. Singapore applicants should be listed and assigned roles in the next section ‘Singapore Team’.

Singapore team

Please provide the following details of the Singapore applicants on this application:

  • name
  • institute
  • job title
  • role in project (for example, project lead or project co-lead, see definitions in previous ‘Core team’ section)
  • email address

The Singapore project lead must be based in Singapore’s National Centre for Engineering Biology (NCEB). Please make sure to indicate who the lead Singapore applicant is.

NRF will use this information to confirm applicant eligibility.

Please do not include details of Singapore applicants in the previous ‘Core team’ section.

Application questions

Vision

Word limit: 1,000

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, 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

Within the Vision section, we also expect you to clearly state which of the three key NEBP application-inspired themes your application is aligned to (one or more). The themes are:

  • food systems
  • clean growth
  • environmental solutions

Your project must be aligned with the vision of the NEBP. You should show how your proposed work will harness the potential of engineering biology to deliver more sustainable biomanufacturing of specialty chemicals, with applications in one or more of three key application-inspired themes.

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.

Approach

Word limit: 4,000

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
  • is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
  • uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable)
  • summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed (if applicable)
  • will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
  • describes how the research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) of each team will contribute to the success of the work

Within the Approach section we also expect you to:

  • demonstrate access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the application
  • highlight plans for people and knowledge exchanges, including the development of new skills within the research teams involved
  • evidence co-creation between the UK and Singapore teams
  • provide a detailed and comprehensive project plan including milestones and timelines in the form of an embedded Gantt chart or similar (please make sure to check sizing and readability of the image using ‘read view’ prior to submission)

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.

Team capability to deliver

Word limit: 2,000

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 have:

  • 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

This section should cover the whole UK-Singapore team and should explain why this partnership has been chosen, including how both country teams will bring added value to this research project.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

The word count for this section is 2,000 words: 1,500 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
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.

UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new Funding Service.

For full details, see Eligibility as an individual.

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.

Information provided here will be reviewed by UKRI and further information may be requested if the proposal is recommended for funding.

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

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

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, page 14. 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, select, download, and complete the relevant Word checklist or checklists from this list:

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?

BBSRC are able to fund up to £2 million per project. We pay on the basis of full economic cost (FEC) principles where we can pay 80% of the UK costs. For example, if the UK component of your project would cost a total of £2.5 million, BBSRC would fund this at 80% FEC, which equates to £2 million.

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 consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities
  • all facilities and infrastructure costs
  • all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’

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

This section should be used to discuss and justify UK costs only.

Please use the ‘Additional documentation for Singapore applicants’ section for Singapore costs.

Your organisation’s support

Word limit: 10

Provide details of support from your research organisation.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

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.

BBSRC 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

Upload details are provided within the Funding Service on the actual application.

Additional documentation for Singapore applicants

Word limit: 10

Please upload a single PDF attachment with the following documents in this order:

  • completed Singapore project lead declaration form
  • Singapore budget template and justification of resources using the template from the ‘Additional information’ section of the funding opportunity page

These documents can be found in the ‘Additional information’ section of the funding opportunity page.

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

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 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.

Add the following project partner details:

  • the organisation name and address (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 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

Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the ‘Project partner’ 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’. 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

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.

Data management and sharing

Word limit: 1,000

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 sharing policy, which includes detailed guidance notes.

Facilities

Word limit: 500

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, 35KB)
  • 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.

Trusted Research and Innovation

Word limit: 100

Does the proposed work involve international collaboration in a sensitive research or technology area?

Please note that projects under this funding opportunity fall under the ‘Synthetic Biology’ area listed within the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act.

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 ask you 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.

How we will assess your application

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process.

Project proposals received by BBSRC and NRF will be reviewed by the two agencies to confirm that your application:

  • is within the scope of this opportunity
  • successfully meets the eligibility requirements for both agencies

Panel

We will be convening an assessment panel, comprised of relevant experts from a range of disciplines within the UK, Singapore and internationally.

The panel members will first individually assess the applications assigned to them. Following this, all panel members will collectively discuss and review the applications.

The panel will assign a score to applications, rank them alongside other applications and make a funding recommendation.

BBSRC and NRF will make the final funding decision.

Timescale

We aim to complete the assessment process within six months of the closing of the funding opportunity.

The panel for this funding opportunity is expected to be convened in early March 2025. Funding outcomes are anticipated to be released April to May 2025.

Feedback

We will give feedback with the outcome of your application.

Principles of assessment

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.

Sharing data with co-funders

We will need to share the application (including any personal information that it contains) with NRF so that they can participate in the assessment process.

For more information on how NRF uses personal information, visit NRF’s Privacy Statement.

We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

  • vision
  • approach
  • team capability to deliver
  • ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
  • resources and cost justification

Research excellence

Have the applicants demonstrated how the work they are proposing:

  • is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the fields or areas
  • 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
  • the tools, methods and technologies applied should be the most appropriate for the delivery of the objectives according to the cutting-edge of the field, or fields, under investigation
  • is relevant to the scope of the scheme, including at least one of the NEBP application-inspired themes (food systems, clean growth, or environmental solutions)
  • will impact world-leading research, society, the economy or the environment

The panel will pay particular attention to the ‘Vision’ and ‘Approach’ sections to assess research excellence.

International partnership

Have the applicants demonstrated a clear rationale for the international partnership and the added value this offers to advance the research field:

  • explaining why this partnership has been chosen, including the research strengths, expertise and capabilities of UK and Singapore partners involved
  • describing how the UK and Singapore teams and their research environments will contribute to the success of the proposed work
  • explaining the unique added value opportunities, complementary expertise or synergy in research efforts by bringing together the UK and Singapore partners, provides to advance the research
  • describing an appropriate balance of opportunities for the exchange of people (e.g. researchers and technicians), including the purpose of the exchanges and their potential to enhance the professional development of those involved

The panel will pay particular attention to the ‘Approach’, ‘Vision’ and ‘Team capability to deliver’ sections to assess this criterion.

Feasibility

Have the applicants demonstrated that they have designed their approach so that it:

  • is effective and appropriate to achieve their objectives
  • is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
  • if applicable, uses a clear and transparent methodology
  • if applicable, summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed
  • will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts

The panel will pay particular attention to the ‘Approach’ and ‘Team capability to deliver’ sections to assess this criterion.

Team capability to deliver

Have the applicants provided evidence of how they, and their teams in the UK and Singapore, have:

  • 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 their approach to develop others
  • contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community

The panel will pay particular attention to the ‘Approach’ and ‘Team capability to deliver’ sections to assess team capability to deliver.

Resources and cost justification

Have the applicants demonstrated how the resources they anticipate needing for their proposed work:

  • are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
  • represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
  • maximise potential outcomes and impact

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

To what extent has the applicant demonstrated that they have identified and evaluated:

  • the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
  • how they will manage these considerations

Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Contact details

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the Helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding Finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility or content/remit of an opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

Contact details

For help and advice on costings and writing your proposal please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.

For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact ISPF-BBSRC@bbsrc.ukri.org

If you have any questions specific to the Singapore component of your application, please contact: Dr Su Mingjuan (su_mingjuan@nrf.gov.sg)

Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org

Phone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

  • Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
  • Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

To help us process queries quicker, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.

For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.

Sensitive information

If you or a team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, ISPF-BBSRC@bbsrc.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.

Additional info

Background

International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF)

This programme is funded by the UK government’s ISPF. ISPF is managed by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, and delivered by a consortium of the UK’s leading research and innovation bodies, including UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The £337 million fund supports collaboration between UK researchers and innovators and their peers around the world on the major themes of our time: planet, health, tech and talent.

Research and innovation impact

Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.

Additional disability and accessibility adjustments

UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process if required.

Research disruption due to COVID-19

We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:

  • breaks and delays
  • disruptive working patterns and conditions
  • the loss of ongoing work
  • role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic

Reviewers and 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 those individuals included in the application. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.

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.

Supporting documents

Singapore project lead declaration form (DOCX, 24KB)

Singapore budget template and justification of resources (DOCX, 31KB)

NRF eligibility information (PDF, 165KB)

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