Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: UKRI cross research council responsive mode pilot scheme: round two full stage

Invited teams can apply for funding to deliver breakthrough interdisciplinary ideas that transcend, combine or significantly span disciplines that are not routinely funded through existing UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) responsive mode schemes.

Awards will be potentially transformative for the participating disciplines or lead to the creation of new disciplines.

You must be invited to apply.

Project leads must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI research council funding.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £1.2 million for up to two years. UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC.

Who can apply

You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited you to do so following a successful outline application. Any uninvited applications will be rejected.

Eligibility for this opportunity was explained on the UKRI cross research council responsive mode pilot scheme: round two outline stage opportunity page (PDF, 1MB). It is explained again below, with some important additional information for full stage applicants.

Organisation eligibility

To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible.

Research grants are open to UK organisations normally eligible for funding from UKRI research councils, including:

  • UK higher education providers
  • research council institutes
  • UKRI approved independent research organisations (IROs)
  • public sector research establishments (PSREs)

If you are unsure, please contact the Interdisciplinary Responsive Mode (IRM) team at ukrirm@ukri.org for advice.

It is the responsibility of the UK lead research organisation to check eligibility of all collaborating organisations (UK and international) and the eligibility of individuals for their proposed roles. Eligibility will be checked by UKRI and any applications with ineligible organisations could be at risk of being rejected or required to change the role of the ineligible organisation to a project partner or sub-contractor if they are not eligible for funding.

Organisations not eligible to apply

The following organisations are not eligible to apply to this scheme:

  • research and technology organisations unless they are listed as eligible
  • non-academic organisations, such as businesses, charities or other third-sector organisations that are not UKRI approved IROs or PSREs.

These organisations can contribute as project partners. For more information see the Collaborators section.

Current co-funding arrangements via international lead agency agreements with individual research councils, do not apply to this pilot funding opportunity.

Person eligibility and grant roles

You can apply as an individual or team, from a single organisation or across a number of organisations. For teams with multiple organisations involved, the organisation of the project lead should submit the application.

You may be involved in any number of applications provided you have the capacity to meet these commitments. You may be the project lead on only one application to this round of the pilot scheme.

Who is eligible to apply

The project lead is the individual responsible for the intellectual leadership of the project and its overall management. If intellectual leadership is shared, the project lead is the individual who will be the main contact for UKRI. The project co-lead (UK based) assists the project lead in the management and leadership of the project and may deputise or take over the leadership of the project if required. There may be a number of project co-leads supporting the project lead. To be a project co-lead, you must be affiliated with an eligible research organisation.

Project leads and project co-leads (UK based) must meet all the following essential requirements:

  • usually have at least a postgraduate degree, although we expect most applicants to have a PhD or equivalent
  • be a researcher based in the UK and employed by an eligible research organisation. The exceptions to this are if your project will involve long periods in another country, you are located at an eligible international research organisation (for example, CERN or a Medical Research Council overseas unit), or you will be moving to the UK to take up an already agreed contract at an eligible organisation (the contract must not be dependent on the outcome of the application) and will remain resident in the UK for the duration of the proposed project
  • a contract of employment at lecturer level or equivalent that either extends to beyond the duration of the proposed grant (or, if not employed by the submitting organisation, a formal non-salaried arrangement that extends to beyond the duration of the proposed grant), or an assurance from the submitting organisation that, if the proposal is successful, a pre-existing contract of employment (or pre-existing formal commitment to provide support if not employed at the organisation) at lecturer level or equivalent will be extended beyond the end date of the grant

A research and innovation associate who is not eligible to be project lead or project co-lead can be assigned to the role of researcher co-lead if they have made a significant contribution to the design of the project and application.

Other grant roles are eligible to be part of the core team, such as specialists, grant managers and other professional enabling staff, technicians and visiting researchers.

For full details of these roles, visit Eligibility as an individual and guidance on role eligibility, responsibilities and costings.

Who is not eligible to apply

Doctoral students are not eligible for this scheme and funds are not available for PhD studentships.

International researchers

This funding opportunity is primarily to support interdisciplinary ideas emerging from the UK research community, but in specific circumstances we will allow international researchers to apply as project co-leads (international).

A project co-lead (international) is an individual employed by a research organisation (RO) in an overseas country, who would otherwise fit the normal definition for a project co-lead. That is, they are a member of the project leadership and management team. However, a project co-lead (international) cannot take over the leadership of a project as they do not meet the residency criteria for a project lead, as outlined in the ‘Who is eligible to apply’ section.

To be a project co-lead (international):

  • you would be expected to make a significant intellectual contribution to the design and conduct of the project
  • your contribution and added value to the research collaboration should be clearly explained and justified in the application

The international RO would be expected to meet the general equivalent requirements for being eligible to receive UKRI funding taking into account the national context of the international RO. This means the international RO should meet the relevant equivalent criteria specified in the guidance applicable for:

  • registered higher education institutions (HEIs)
  • research institutes receiving long term investments through relevant national funders
  • independent research organisations with existing in-house capacity to carry out and lead research, including but not limited to approved charitable or non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

Further information on the eligibility criteria for international research organisations is provided in the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document and in the UKRI project co-lead (international) policy and guidance.

The UK research organisation which hosts the project lead will be responsible for the due diligence and confirming that the international research organisation and project co-lead meets the eligibility criteria.

Collaborators

Project partners

A project partner is defined as a third-party person or organisation (including international or non-academic collaborations) who provides specific contributions to the team and project.

Organisations that are applicants on the project, including any named applicants’ organisations, cannot also be a project partner. UKRI head office staff acting in their capacity as a UKRI employee are not eligible to be project partners.

Project partners are expected to provide contributions to the delivery of the project, either in cash or in kind, and should not therefore be seeking to claim funds from UKRI. However, where there are specific circumstances where project partners require funding for minor directly incurred costs such as travel and subsistence, this will usually be paid to the lead research organisation at 80% FEC unless otherwise stated by us. These costs will need to be outlined and fully justified and will be subject to expert review. See what is required under the Project partners question in ‘How to apply’.

Project partner letters are not required on application. If your research project involves an industry or company project partner, by which we mean an enterprise that puts goods or services on a market and whose commercial activities are greater than 20% of their overall annual capacity, applicants will need to answer the question on Intellectual property (IP) management and communication (see ‘How to apply’).

If awarded, you will need to submit a letter of support from your project partner(s) confirming their contributions and agreeing to the IP management arrangements set out in your application before your award can be made. Letters notifying you of the outcome of your application will be sent at the end of November, and if needed will include a request to submit a letter of support.

Under UKRI terms and conditions for research grants you must ensure at all times that the grant funding awarded to you is compliant with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Ensure you have obtained prior agreement from collaborators that, should you be offered funding, they will support your project.

Further details of working with company partners and how to be compliant can be found in the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document.

Collaboration agreements

You do not need to submit collaboration agreements as part of your full stage application.

Funded applications that have an industry or company project partner will need to submit a formal collaboration agreement, as per FEC grant condition RGC 12.1 (PDF, 255 KB), within six months of your grant start date. UKRI will check compliance with subsidy control requirements under this grant condition. Check if you will need to submit a collaboration agreement by following the flowchart in Annex 6 of the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document.

Your collaboration agreement must be consistent with your industry partner’s Letter of Support and your answer to the Intellectual property management and communication question in your full stage application. See ‘How to apply’.

Project subcontractor

A project subcontractor is defined as a third-party individual who is not employed as staff on the grant, who is subcontracted by a participating organisation to deliver a specific piece of work. Subcontractors will be allowed in line with UKRI terms and conditions for research grants.

Changes between outline and full stage applications

Project co-leads or collaborators can be changed or added between the outline and full application stage with reasonable justification. However please note that this funding opportunity is looking for co-creation and design of the application from all disciplines involved, and while project co-leads can be added at the full stage, we encourage collaboration at project inception. If the project lead changes since submission of the outline stage application, please contact us, so that we can confirm eligibility to proceed with your full stage application.

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

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

What we're looking for

Scope

This pilot scheme is designed to support interdisciplinary ideas emerging from the research community outside current disciplinary boundaries. We will support projects that transcend, combine or significantly span disciplines, involving different knowledge and methodological spheres. This scheme will power innovative conceptual thinking and research, and novel methodological approaches, to ensure we support a rich and diverse array of blue skies and applied research.

We know how important existing responsive mode council schemes have been in supporting research and innovation with transformative outcomes for knowledge, economy and society.

This scheme will help do the same for research that does not fit the remit of current research councils’ responsive mode schemes, helping ensure there is space for the convergence and divergence of new ideas across all fields of research.

We are piloting this scheme over two rounds of funding, allowing us to assess demand, and test and refine our processes. This is round two of the pilot scheme. Round one was well received by the research community with nearly 1,000 outline applications submitted. We will be using what we learn from the pilot scheme to consider cross research council responsive mode (CRCRM) funding opportunities as part of our future strategy and investment case for interdisciplinary research.

Scheme objectives

This funding is to support interdisciplinary research, including to:

  • unlock new research, new approaches or new methods that would not emerge from established disciplinary thinking
  • demonstrate reciprocal research benefits through the involvement of distinct disciplinary perspectives and spheres of knowledge
  • support breakthrough or disruptive ideas and collaborations
  • incentivise new and unexpected types of interdisciplinary research not routinely funded through existing UKRI responsive mode schemes
  • encourage speculative, early-stage and high potential interdisciplinary research proposals, embracing new concepts, techniques, or technologies

We are seeking:

  • high quality, and creative ideas that transcend, combine or significantly span research council remits
  • new, unexpected and novel projects that have the potential to lead to breakthrough ideas and collaborations
  • research that can only be addressed through interdisciplinary collaboration
  • projects combining disciplines to create new approaches to a research question, new methodologies or new ways of working
  • reciprocity across the disciplines, with the disciplines involved being changed or transformed by working together
  • projects that catalyse new interdisciplinary research through co-creation and design
  • ideas with no clear ‘lead’ UKRI research council for responsive mode funding, including applications that significantly span two or more research council remits

We are not seeking:

  • applications where there is a clear alternative research council responsive mode scheme (see the ‘Existing UKRI funding mechanisms for interdisciplinary research’ section) including interdisciplinary research that fits within a single research council remit
  • projects where the programme of work appears siloed and where interdisciplinary research outcomes are limited, for example where work packages are discrete and discipline specific rather than integrating disciplinary knowledge
  • projects where there is an imbalance of the intellectual content, and some disciplines appear ‘bolted’ on

For further information about the scheme, please see the scheme web page.

Interdisciplinary research

For the purposes of this scheme, we are using the following definition of interdisciplinary from the REF 2021 Interdisciplinary Advisory Panel final report (PDF, 510KB):

“Interdisciplinary research is understood to achieve outcomes (including new approaches) that could not be achieved within the framework of a single discipline. Interdisciplinary research features significant interaction between two or more disciplines and/or moves beyond established disciplinary foundations in applying or integrating research approaches from other disciplines.”

Multidisciplinary research is not within the scope of this scheme. Transdisciplinary research is not within scope on its own but interdisciplinary research could also be considered transdisciplinary if it involves non-academic stakeholders. We have defined these terms as follows:

  • multidisciplinary research is where researchers work independently within their disciplines and there is little or no integration of disciplines. Work packages are discrete and discipline specific rather than integrating disciplinary knowledge and can result in distinct outputs. Some disciplines are not included from the start and are not involved in the project framing or the research design. In cases like this there are clear asymmetries of leadership within the project due to the project objectives. In these cases, the project is considered as multidisciplinary
  • transdisciplinary research has various definitions but is often defined as research that transgresses boundaries between disciplinary knowledge or integrates different bodies of knowledge and actively co-creates knowledge between academic and societal partners such as policy makers or business

Duration

The duration of this award is up to two years.

Awards are expected to be offered in January 2026. A period of up to six months from the date of the award letter to the commencement of grant activity is permitted, as per standard UKRI terms and conditions.

Projects must start by 1 July 2026.

Exceptions will be made where applications need to delay their start date to allow access to UKRI facilities, for up to 12 months from the date of the award letter. Invited applicants should have made this request at the outline stage. See the section of UKRI supported facilities for further details.

Funding available

We will invest a total of £65 million funding across two rounds of this scheme. We anticipate making around 36 awards per round.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be between £200,000 and £1.2 million.

Exceptions to the £1.2 million cap will be allowed to enable use of specific UKRI facilities. Invited applicants should have made this request at the outline stage. See the section on UKRI supported facilities for further details.

UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC amount with some exceptions, detailed in the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document.

Indexation must not be included as this is calculated once the grant has been awarded and accepted.

What we will fund

Costs for UK project leads and UK co-leads can include:

  • contributions to the salary of project lead and co-leads
  • staff costs
  • equipment
  • travel and subsistence, including for CRCRM events. See Conditions of awarded grants
  • other directly incurred costs
  • estates and indirect costs

Other directly incurred costs may include:

  • any consumables beyond typical requirements (basic lab and office consumables would typically be costed to indirect costs, unless required in exceptional quantities)
  • access to facilities, services and resources
  • costs associated with research data management and sharing
  • NHS costs
  • costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project

For full details on what costs we will fund, please refer to the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document. However please take note of the following sections on UKRI supported facilities, equipment costs, costs of international project co-leads and data management.

UKRI supported facilities

Applicants to this scheme can request access to UKRI supported facilities and services (DOCX, 35KB). You should have contacted and had discussions with the facility or service you want to use before the submission of your outline application. You should provide the details of your request, and any agreements already made in the Facilities section of the application.

If there is a significant change in circumstances regarding your agreed access with the facility, and you would like to request a delayed start date of up to 12 months or exceed the maximum budget to access specific NERC facilities, you must contact the IRM team at ukrirm@ukri.org before the application deadline of 3 July 2025. See section 5 of the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document for further guidance.

Costs associated with facility access will be funded from the grant at 80% FEC. The research organisation will be responsible for the remaining 20%, that is facilities will be reimbursed at 100% FEC by the host organisation. For details on the rules that apply when requesting access to a UKRI facility and costings, please refer to the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document.

Equipment costs

Individual items of equipment above £25,000 (inclusive of VAT) can be included if both of the following apply:

  • the equipment is essential to the proposed research
  • no appropriate alternative provision can be accessed

UKRI will fund up to 80% of the cost of equipment.

Equipment costing more than £25,000 (inclusive of VAT) should be subject to external competition to ensure best value for money. These items of equipment must be included under the Directly Incurred ‘Equipment’ cost heading. If awarded, transfer of funds from equipment costs to another heading is not permitted. See research grant condition RGC 4.4 (PDF, 255 KB).

Please note the £25,000 includes the sum costs of modular component parts that will form a single piece of equipment, either purchased or leased. Discrete single items under £25,000 (inclusive of VAT) are considered consumables and should be listed under Directly Incurred – Other.

This is an opportunity for research projects; applications focused on capital requests for research infrastructures are not eligible.

If you wish to request funding for equipment over £138,000 (inclusive of VAT), you will need to inform us by sending an email to ukrirm@ukri.org before submitting your application.

For any single items of equipment costing over £138,000 (inclusive of VAT) the strategic need for the equipment should be included within the resources and cost justification section. An additional 1,000 words will be allowed for this. See ‘How to apply’.

Costs for international project co-leads

For international project co-lead costs, UKRI will award funding to the UK lead organisation, this organisation will then be responsible for distributing funds to the international research organisation. Justified costs will be funded at 100% and should be included under exceptions. Estate and indirect costs are not eligible. The total costs claimed for international project co-lead contribution to a project must not exceed 30% of the overall cost of the project, calculated at 100% full economic cost.

These costs can cover:

  • directly incurred costs, such as travel and subsistence
  • research assistants (for example salary costs)
  • salary costs, only where these costs are fully justified and it can be demonstrated that the funding of salaries by grants is the standard practice of the international research organisation, and these costs cannot be covered through other sources

Data management

You are expected to demonstrate how you will manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed research (see ‘How to apply’).

We expect you to make your research data openly available with as few restrictions as possible in a timely and responsible manner. You should refer to ‘Expectations for cross council and UKRI funding schemes’ at Making Your Research Data Open. This explains UKRI’s expectations and includes guidance about research data sharing and management costs you may need to include.

We support costs associated with research data management and sharing. You should ensure costs for these activities are included.

Some additional information on research data costs is provided in the guidance on best practice in the management of research data.

What we will not fund

We will not fund:

  • fees or stipends associated with master’s and PhD studentships
  • estate and indirect costs for international project co-leads
  • equipment costs over £25,000 (inclusive of VAT) for international project co-leads
  • publication costs. See the UKRI open access policy for further information
  • patent costs and other IP costs
  • basic computing equipment for directly allocated staff already employed by the organisation, unless justified where a higher specification is required for the completion of specific grant related activities such as data modelling or enhanced graphics
  • contingency costs, for example 5% applied across the grant
  • contingency costs for visas for unknown researchers at the point of application
  • costs associated with gaining UK citizenship, or indefinite leave to remain

Conditions of awarded grants

If successful in securing an award from the CRCRM scheme, the UKRI terms and conditions for research grants apply. Scheme specific terms and conditions will also apply, which will be included in the offer letter for successful applicants. This includes engagement with UKRI on the evaluation of the pilot scheme, including any third-party provider commissioned by UKRI for this activity. Successful applicants will also be requested to attend three UKRI scheme events during the duration of the grant. Three places will be offered to each awarded project for each event. Costs associated with attendance at these events should be met from within the grant award. You should therefore factor in any associated travel, subsistence, and childcare costs into your application.

Further information on the conditions of awarded grants can be found in the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document.

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)

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

Webinars

To support invited applicants and professional research support staff to prepare the full stage applications, we are hosting two identical webinars. This will include advice about how to complete each section of the full stage application, including the assessment questions, and an overview of the assessment process and criteria. We will provide guidance on how to prepare the project lead response ahead of the panel meeting. The webinar will be recorded, and a copy will be shared with all invited applicants.

The following two dates are available:

  • 24 April 2025 10:00am to 11:00am UK time
  • 28 April 2025 2:00pm to 3:00pm UK time

To register for one of the webinars, follow the link provided in your invitation to submit letter. Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the webinar.

UKRI Funding Service

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 project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

To apply

You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited you. The start application link has been provided to you in your invitation to submit letter.

  1. Confirm you are the 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.

When including images, you must:

  • provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)
  • insert each new image on a new line
  • use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format

Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include:

  • sentences or paragraphs of text
  • tables
  • excessive quantities of images

A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

Watch our research office webinars about the Funding Service.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:

References

References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.

Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:

  • references are easily identifiable by the assessors
  • references are formatted as appropriate to your research
  • persistent identifiers are used where possible

General use of hyperlinks

Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment.

Deadline

UKRI must receive your application by 3 July 2025 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment.

Please note if you need to amend your submitted application before the deadline you will need to resubmit a new application and withdraw the old one.

UKRI will exceptionally consider requests for late submissions.

If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

Personal data

Processing personal data

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.

UKRI may need to share the application and any personal information that it contains with third parties contracted by UKRI to undertake evaluation and analysis of the scheme. For more information on how personal information may be used see How we handle grant applicant and grant holder data.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email ukrirm@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.

Publication of outcomes

UKRI will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity on the CRCRM scheme web pages.

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

Summary

Word limit: 550

In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:

  • opinion-formers
  • policymakers
  • the public
  • the wider research community

Guidance for writing a summary

Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:

  • context
  • the challenge the project addresses
  • aims and objectives
  • potential applications and benefits

Core team

List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:

  • project lead (PL)
  • project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
  • project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
  • specialist
  • grant manager
  • professional enabling staff
  • research and innovation associate
  • technician
  • visiting researcher
  • researcher co-lead (RcL)

Only list one individual as project lead.

UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.

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

Application questions

Outline stage application reference

Word limit: 1

What was the application reference number for your round two outline stage application?

To help us link this application to your outline stage application, submitted in November 2024, please provide the Funding Service application number in the format APPXXXXX.

Fit to opportunity

Word limit: 300

Describe the interdisciplinary nature of your proposed research

What the assessors are looking for in your response

You should explain:

  • how your proposed work could only be achieved through interdisciplinary research, compared to a multidisciplinary approach
  • how the different disciplines will be integrated in the research programme
  • the potential for reciprocal research benefits for the disciplines involved
  • how you have co-created or co-designed the project with input from all the disciplines needed for the successful delivery of the project

Within the Fit to opportunity section, we also expect you to:

  • clearly demonstrate that the research involves disciplines from more than one research council and explores new types of, and approaches to, interdisciplinary research not routinely funded through existing UKRI responsive mode schemes. Work that is within a single discipline or disciplines that fall within a single research council are ineligible for this scheme
Guidance for the Fit to opportunity section

You should refer to the ‘What we are looking for’ section of this funding opportunity for guidance on the scope, the scheme’s objectives and how we define interdisciplinary research. How your project fits to the scheme objectives should also be reflected throughout your Vision and Approach sections. You should clearly articulate the research areas that the proposed work involves and why this could not be funded by a single council. We have provided an additional 50 words to this section from the outline stage to allow you to expand on your outline submission.

Vision

Word limit: 500

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 beyond the field(s) or area(s)
  • has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery 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:

  • explain how your proposed work is of excellent quality and importance beyond established disciplinary thinking
  • demonstrate how the interdisciplinary approach will advance current understanding and generate new knowledge, thinking, concepts, techniques, methods or technologies or discoveries
  • demonstrate that the proposed work has the potential for delivering ground-breaking and transformative outcomes that could only be achieved through interdisciplinary research
Guidance for the Vision section

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. ESRC have developed a toolkit that defines different types of impact, including academic impact, that may support you in considering the impact of your proposed research.

References may be included within this section.

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

Approach

Word limit: 3,000

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 your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work
  • demonstrates how potential challenges in conducting interdisciplinary research will be managed

Within the Approach section, we also expect you to:

  • clearly articulate how you will address the challenges that the integration of these disciplines could face
  • clearly articulate the methods you will be using, particularly where new methods are being developed
  • further describe how the co-creation and co-design led to your approach and how the co-delivery will ensure the success of the project
  • outline a strategy that demonstrates integration of the disciplines required for the successful co-delivery of the research, including new approaches, new methods or new ways of working and describes how the reciprocal benefits will be realised for all the disciplines involved (this should be set out clearly as a separate section within the Approach and we suggest using approximately 500 words)
Guidance for the Approach section

If your application requires the use of a typesetting software such as LaTeX that is currently not compatible with the Funding Service platform, please contact the IRM team for further instructions at ukrirm@ukri.org

References may be included within this section.

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

Applicant and team capability to deliver

Word limit: 2,500

Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Evidence of how you, and if relevant 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

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

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

The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

Word limit: 500

What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work?

If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:

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

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. 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, such as:

  • rodents
  • rabbits
  • sheep
  • goats
  • pigs
  • cattle
  • xenopus laevis and xenopus tropicalis
  • zebrafish

Select, download, and complete the relevant Word checklist or checklists by exploring NC3Rs checklist for the use of animals overseas.

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: 2,000

What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

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 equipment that will cost more than £25,000 (including VAT)
  • 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’

You can request costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project. For further information see Disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders.

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
Guidance

The word count for this section is 2,000 words: 1,000 words to be used for Resources and cost justification and, if necessary, a further 1,000 words to justify equipment over £138,000 (including VAT).

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. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.

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 indirect) 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.

Guidance

If your research project involves an industry or company project partner, you will need to answer the Intellectual property (IP) management and communication question. By ‘industry or company’ we mean an enterprise that puts goods or services on a market and whose commercial activities are greater than 20% of their overall annual capacity.

Intellectual property (IP) management and communication

Word limit: 800

If your research project involves an industry or company project partner, applicants will need to submit a formal collaboration agreement if an award is made. In order to ensure that the necessary discussions have been initiated prior to any collaboration, and that the nature of the collaboration is compliant with UKRI guidelines for subsidy control, you need to answer this question. Your answer should include information on the nature, goals and conditions of the collaboration and any restrictions or rights to the project results that could be claimed by the project partner.

By ‘industry or company’ we mean an enterprise that puts goods or services on a market and whose commercial activities are greater than 20% of their overall annual capacity.

If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

How will the IP be managed with your industry or company project partners?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

In your answer you should outline the pre-existing IP (‘background IP’) that each project partner, including the academic partner, will bring to the research project. You should also outline the IP that is expected to be developed during the research project (‘foreground IP’) and briefly outline how it will be managed, including:

  • the terms under which project partners may access background IP
  • which project partners will own the foreground IP
  • what rights project partners will have to use academically-generated foreground IP during and after the research project, for internal research and development or for commercial purposes
  • any rights of the academic partner to commercialise the foreground IP (including foreground IP generated by project partners)
  • any restrictions to dissemination of the project results, including the rights of the project partner to review, approve or delay publications (including the time period associated with such rights), or request or require the removal of any information

You should also declare any conflicts of interest held by the applicants in relation to the project partners and describe how they will be managed.

If your project is successful, your project partner(s) will be required to submit a letter of support confirming any financial cash or in-kind contributions and their agreement to the IP management arrangements outlined in your project.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

Word limit: 100

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

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate how your proposed international collaboration relates to Trusted Research and Innovation, including:

If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

We may contact you following submission of your application 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.

Data management and sharing

Word limit: 1,500

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: 300

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, 42KB)
  • proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list
  • confirmation you have their agreement where required
  • indicate if you need to request a delay to your start date or exceed to maximum grant budget in order to gain access to a facility

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.

Clinical research using NHS resources

Word count: 250

Are you applying to do clinical research in the UK?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Researchers applying to do clinical research in the NHS, public health or social care usually need to complete a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT).

We request the SoECAT because we want to know that you have taken the appropriate steps to request National institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) support and for the full costs of your research to be attributed, calculated and paid.

We want to see the expected total resources required for your project to consider if these are appropriate.

Enter ‘Yes’ and complete and upload a SoECAT if you are applying for clinical research and:

  • you will carry out your research in the UK
  • your research will use NHS resources
  • the research requires approval by Health Research Authority (England) or its equivalents in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales
  • you will need support from the NIHR Research Delivery Network, this may include studies in a social care or public health setting

It is important to complete a SoECAT to be eligible for NIHR support. You must complete a SoECAT even if you do not think your clinical research will involve excess treatment costs (ETCs).

Explore MRC guidance on who needs to complete a SoECAT.

How to complete a SoECAT

Explore NIHR SoECAT guidance.

These are the steps you need to take:

  1. Contact an attributing the costs of health and social care research and development (AcoRD) specialist as early as possible in the application process.
  2. Complete an online SoECAT. Excel versions of the form have been discontinued. If you do not have an account for NIHR’s Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS) you will need create and activate one. See the NIHR user guide for instructions.
  3. Request authorisation of your SoECAT.
  4. Once authorised extract the ‘study information’ and the ‘summary’ page from the ‘Funder Export’, combine them as a single PDF and upload it to your application.

Applications that require a SoECAT but have not attached the SoECAT funder export study information and summary may be rejected.

Ensure the AcoRD specialist name and date are included within the uploaded summary page. The SoECAT is invalid without this information.

Contact ukrirm@ukri.org if you have questions about the UKRI aspects of this process or have concerns that your SoECAT may not be authorised in time for the application closing date.

If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

How we will assess your application

Interdisciplinary Assessment College (IAC)

Applications will be assessed by the IAC.

The IAC members have expertise and experience in interdisciplinary working and are trained specifically for this funding opportunity. Further details about the IAC are available on the CRCRM scheme web pages.

Interdisciplinary panels

Applications will be grouped into interdisciplinary panels that will work flexibly between rounds. Members of the IAC will be assigned to one panel for each round based on matching their expertise with the applications submitted.

Further guidance on the interdisciplinary panels can be found in the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document.

Assessment process

Full details of the assessment processes for both stages of the opportunity are provided in the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document.

In summary, for the full stage we will assess your application using the following process.

UKRI checks

Checks will be carried out by UKRI staff to ensure that your submission is meeting the requirements of application. Eligibility checks will be done for all collaborating organisations. If your application does not meet the requirements of the application or eligibility for UKRI funding, your application may be rejected at this stage.

Assessment

Your application will be assigned to an interdisciplinary panel based on the areas of research that you are proposing. Your application will be assigned to three college members with appropriate and relevant expertise and experience in the interdisciplinary research proposed to assess it. Where possible these will be the same college members that assessed your application at the outline stage. Your application will also be read by at least 2 additional college members who may also comment on your application at the panel meeting. They may be a generalist representative of the panel your application is assigned to. Please ensure that your application is accessible to non-technical experts that might not have in depth knowledge of your specific areas of research.

College members will use the evidence provided to discuss your application via online discussion boards and compile some initial feedback and questions seeking further clarification for the project lead to respond to ahead of the panel meeting. This will be agreed between the three assigned panel members and the Chair before being sent to the Project Lead.

Project Lead response

One set of feedback and questions compiled by the three panel members who have assessed your application will be shared with Project Leads to provide a response ahead of the panel meetings.

The Project lead response period is between 22 September and 6 October 2025.

Guidance on what to expect and how to respond to the panel members’ questions are provided in section 7.3.3 of the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document.

Panel

Following the Project Lead response, college members who have assessed the applications and Chairs will meet in panels to discuss the applications.

We expect panels to be held during the week commencing 3 November 2025.

Panel members will use the evidence provided in both the application and the Project Lead response to assess the quality of the proposed work and how best it meets the scheme’s objectives, scoring it against the assessment criteria. Once all applications have been scored the panel will make recommendations on which applications should be prioritised for funding. Roving college members from our Chair Pool observe at least three panels to ensure consistency in the assessment process.

Full details are provided in the CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations v1.4 document.

Timescale

We aim to complete the assessment process within 5 months of receiving your application.

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.

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

Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review

Reviewers and panellists are not permitted to use generative AI tools to develop their assessment. Using these tools can potentially compromise the confidentiality of the ideas that applicants have entrusted to UKRI to safeguard.

For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

  • Fit to opportunity
  • Vision
  • Approach
  • Applicant and team capability to deliver
  • Ethics and responsible research and innovation
  • Resource and cost justification

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 application 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 ukrirm@ukri.org

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.

Additional info

Background

Find out more about the Cross research council responsive mode (CRCRM) scheme and the Interdisciplinary Assessment College.

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.

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

UKRI cross research council responsive mode pilot scheme: round two outline stage (PDF, 1MB).

UKRI cross research council responsive mode pilot scheme: supporting documents.

Updates

  • 4 April 2025
    Updated with 'round two: full stage' guidance
  • 10 October 2024
    Added 'Full stage application technical webinars' dates
  • 10 October 2024
    Removed upcoming webinar information as the dates have passed
  • 10 October 2024
    Updated CRCRM round two: guidance for applicants and research organisations document

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