When needed we practice demand management, to limit the number of applications that can be submitted to specific funding opportunities. This helps manage high volumes of applications that can put pressure on the expert review system, impact the timeliness of assessment and reduce overall success rates.
Demand management ensures that the effort invested by applicants, organisations and reviewers is proportionate to the likelihood of success and assessment resources invested.
Organisations should ensure that they are supporting considered, high-quality applications that are well aligned to the funding opportunity advertised.
How we apply demand management
Specific UKRI funding opportunities may apply measures that directly limit the number of applications an organisation or individual can submit.
Each funding opportunity will state whether demand management applies and which approach is being used.
Research offices will monitor organisation based application quotas. If you are applying for an opportunity with this type of demand management you should speak to your research office first.
Different approaches may be used depending on the nature and aims of a funding opportunity. These can include, but are not limited to:
- Proportionate Caps which set application limits for organisations or individuals by using data or evidence to set ratios
- Flat Caps where a fixed number of applications is permitted by either organisation or individual
Demand management is only applied when needed, choosing the least intrusive tool, relevant to the scope of the funding opportunity, that protects fairness, quality and public value.
Demand management and the funding environment
We design our funding opportunities to support responsible application behaviours and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy across the broader system. Demand management is one of the ways we can do this, other standard measures include:
- providing transparent resubmission policies and application timelines that support equality, diversity and inclusion and provide sufficient time between opportunity announcement and closing
- avoiding unnecessary peaks in applications by removing deadlines on applicant-led funding opportunities
Managing the volume of applications is a collective responsibility across the research and innovation sector. UKRI, submitting organisations and applicants all contribute to a healthy and sustainable funding environment. By working together to manage application levels, we help ensure that the strongest and most impactful research and innovation can be supported.
Find out more about demand management
To ask a question about the demand management approach applied to a funding opportunity, refer to the ‘contact details’ section of the specific listing.
Last updated: 30 April 2026