Advanced Manufacturing: Advancing solutions for critical mineral production and recycling – phase 1
Funding for pump priming research for up to 12 months, to explore, test and validate disruptive and transformative solutions for critical mineral extraction, processing, recovery, reprocessing, recycling or re-mining.
Part of the IS-8 Priority Programme.
Funding information: total fund of £1.5 million with a maximum award of £305,000
Lead: UKRI
Advanced Manufacturing: Manufacturing scale-up network
This network will have a community coordination function, the capacity to run events and a flexible fund for research in the areas of Automotive, Aerospace and Advanced Materials manufacturing.
Part of the IS-8 Priority Programme.
Funding information: one award of £5 million
Lead: UKRI
Advanced Manufacturing: Manufacturing scale-up programme
This programme will convert world-class research into repeatable, cost-effective and flexible manufacturing capabilities, delivering tangible impact for UK industry.
Part of the IS-8 Priority Programme.
Funding information: total fund of £10 million with a maximum award of £2.5 million
Lead: UKRI
ALERT 2026
Funding supports mid-range bioscience research equipment, including novel capabilities and upgrading or replacing widely used instruments. Equipment must be accessible to multiple users. Open to eligible researchers and Research Technical Professionals.
Funding information: this is an equipment only grant, awards range from £200,000 to £1.5 million
Lead: BBSRC
Capacity building: clinical research training fellowship
Apply for funding to reacquire research skills. This fellowship is open to applicants who are registered healthcare professionals.
Funding information: salary support and uncapped funding for essential, justified research‑related expenses and resources
Lead: MRC
Climate Adaptation, Environment, and Resilience: What Works Centre for a climate resilient UK
Funding for a What Works Centre for Climate Adaptation to transform how the UK adapts and builds resilience to the impacts of climate change. It will work with stakeholders to inform and accelerate evidence-based pilots and actions.
Part of the IS-8 Priority Programme.
Funding information: total fund of £26.4 million
Lead: UKRI
Climate Tech Investment and Scale: growth cohorts entry competition round 2
Funding to recruit ambitious businesses to join a Growth Cohort. The Growth Cohort will fund and support businesses to accelerate their ambitions to decarbonise concrete.
Funding information: total fund of £1 million over a maximum of 20 awards
Lead: Innovate UK
Collaboration for a Sustainable Future: enabling coordinating groups to identify barriers and create solutions
Funding for coordinating groups to convene communities to produce an output identifying barriers, challenges and potential solutions to institutional collaboration in England’s R&I system. This is not a research grant.
Funding information: total fund of £750,000 with a maximum award of £100,000
Lead: Research England
Collaboration for a Sustainable Future: pilots, and cross-UK innovation partnerships seed funding
Funding for higher education providers to pilot new institutional collaborations within the R&I system. This is not a research grant.
Funding information: total fund of £19 million with a maximum award of £5 million
Lead: Research England
Early independence: clinician scientist fellowship
An early independence fellowship to support career transition. This fellowship is open to registered healthcare professionals.
Funding information: salary support and uncapped, fully justified research‑related expenses
Lead: MRC
Engineering Biology: Foundational Technology Hubs
Funding to build national capacity in transformative foundational technologies, platforms and enabling capabilities that address critical bottlenecks across the design-build-test-learn cycle, to accelerate discovery and innovation in Engineering Biology
Part of the IS-8 Priority Programme.
Funding information: to be confirmed
Lead: UKRI
Engineering Biology: Mission Hubs
Funding to build engineering biology research capability in areas of significant societal importance, to accelerate the application of engineering biology technologies and deliver tangible benefits for the UK.
Part of the IS-8 Priority Programme.
Funding information: maximum award of £15 million
Lead: UKRI
Eureka Globalstars Japan 2027
Funding to support UK-Japan international business-led innovation collaboration. Innovate UK will support UK businesses to collaborate with Japanese and other Eureka country counterparts. Innovate UK is funding the UK partners only. Any funded projects require national funding body approval.
Funding information: total award of £2 million over a maximum of five awards
Lead: Innovate UK
Experimental medicine stage one and stage two
Apply for funding to investigate the causes, progression and treatment of human disease. Your project must include an experimental intervention or challenge in humans. Applications for stage one and an invite only stage two.
Funding information: uncapped, fully justified funding to support the project lead, research staff and essential research‑related costs needed to deliver the proposed work
Lead: MRC
Exploring the frontiers of environmental research
Small scale funding to allow researchers to explore new and exciting areas of environmental science and exploit new technologies and approaches in a dynamic way.
Funding information: total fund of £8 million with a maximum award value of £100,000 to £200,000
Lead: NERC
Farming Futures research and development fund: soil and water
Funding for collaborative projects that will develop new solutions to support UK farming to improve soil and water. These must address significant on-farm or immediate post farm gate challenges or opportunities.
Funding information: total fund of £25 million
Lead: Innovate UK
Frontier AI cross-cutting novel round 1
An initiative designed to strengthen the United Kingdom’s frontier artificial intelligence capabilities and reduce dependence on foreign-owned AI technologies. The programme addresses a range of interconnected market and system failures that constrain UK competitiveness, innovation, and long-term economic growth.
Funding information: £1.66 million over a maximum of five awards
Lead: Innovate UK
International Placement Scheme 2027
Fully funded research placements at leading cultural institutions in the US, Japan, China, and Sub-Saharan Africa. For early career researchers, doctoral-level research assistants, and Arts and Humanities Research Council funded doctoral students.
Funding information: total award of £405,000
Lead: AHRC
Knowledge Transfer Partnership: 2026 to 2027 Round 4
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships fund collaborative innovation projects between businesses and universities to deliver strategic change, develop new products or processes, and build capability.
Funding information: total fund of £9 million over a maximum of 68 awards
Lead: Innovate UK
Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence: round five outline application
Funding for a MRC Centre of Research Excellence (MRC CoRE) to tackle complex and interdisciplinary health challenges. Outline stage open to applicants with the capability to lead a major CoRE based at organisations with standard eligibility.
Funding information: total fund of £50 million with a maximum award of £26.25 million
Lead: MRC
NERC Climate Adaptation ICURe Discover
A part-time nine week online market exploration programme for researchers and technicians. Support for activities to explore the potential market of climate adaptation based ideas, increase market awareness and gain deeper understanding of potential technology applications.
Funding information: maximum award of £2,500
Lead: NERC
Professional doctorate: clinical research training fellowship
Apply for funding to undertake a PhD. This fellowship is open to applicants who are registered healthcare professionals.
Funding information: salary support and uncapped funding for essential, justified research‑related expenses and resources
Lead: MRC
Public Engagement Spark Awards 2026B
Funding to engage the public with Science and Technology Facilities Council supported science. Spark grant holders undertake high quality programmes of public engagement that inspire and involve target audiences. Opportunity will launch between October and December.
Funding information: total fund of £100,000 with a maximum award of £20,000
Lead: STFC
Resilient Cultural Heritage Partnership
Funding for UK researchers to collaborate with partners in Europe and beyond on interdisciplinary projects on the theme of cultural heritage and climate change.
Funding information: to be confirmed
Lead: AHRC
Semiconductors: doctoral focal award in Chip Design
Doctoral focal award in Chip Design, designed in collaboration with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Semiconductors team and the ACT and Semiconductors Programme Board.
Part of the IS-8 Priority Programme.
Funding information: one award of £6 million
Lead: UKRI
Small medium enterprise champions: Frontier AI – phase 1
The Frontier AI SME Champions competition aims to advance state-of-the-art AI and machine learning in the UK by supporting SMEs to validate ambitious innovations that could deliver step-change capabilities and enable new products, services, or platforms.
Funding information: total fund of £3.1 million
Lead: Innovate UK
UK-Germany Bilateral: collaborative research and development Round 5
This funding is to support high-growth potential innovative UK companies in aligned IS8 sectors and frontier technologies to grow and scale internationally through collaborations with German counterparts. Innovate UK is funding the UK partners only.
Funding information: total fund of £2.4 million over a maximum of nine awards
Lead: Innovate UK
