Download the Programme Grants peer review form (Je-S only).
You should also follow the general reviewer guidance.
GEN8: Scope of scheme
Programme grants are a flexible mechanism to provide funding to world-leading research groups to address significant major research challenges. They are intended to support a variety of activities focusing on one strategic research theme. Although it is expected that most applications will be interdisciplinary and collaborative, they can address key challenges in a single discipline.
Find out more about programme grants.
EXC2: Excellence (including overall vision and ambition)
Primary criterion
The applicants must articulate the overall research vision. To enhance the potential of achieving it, a world-class team of complementary expertise should have been brought together. The research programme should be ambitious, creative, innovative, and address key research challenges. It should also be sustainable beyond the lifetime of the grant.
A strong scientific case for support must be demonstrated, with the proposed research set into the context of the current state of knowledge and other work under way in the field. The importance of the research theme proposed to the strategy of the respective universities involved should also be articulated. The expected outputs should result in a significant step change, with major impact on the research area beyond the immediate team, and appreciably raise the UK’s international profile.
Please comment on the degree of research excellence of the application making reference to:
- the novelty, relationship to the context, and timelines
- the ambition, adventure, and transformative aspects identified
- the appropriateness of the proposed methodology.
(For multidisciplinary applications please state which aspects of the application you feel qualified to review.)
IMP1: Importance
Secondary major criterion
Drawing upon what the applicant has said, reviewers should comment on:
- how the proposed research contributes to or helps maintain the health of other research disciplines, contributes to addressing key UK societal challenges, contributes to current or future UK economic success or enables future development of key emerging industries
- the extent to which the research proposed has the potential to meet national strategic needs by establishing or maintaining a unique world-leading research activity (including areas of niche capability)
- how the research fits with and complements other UK research already funded in the area or related areas, including the relationship to the EPSRC portfolio and our stated strategy set out in our portfolio.
The extent to which each bullet point is addressed will depend on the nature of the research proposed. Reviewers should comment on how the research relates to EPSRC’s research areas and strategies (many projects will be relevant to more than one EPSRC research area) and complements EPSRC’s current portfolio. Information on the portfolio is available through EPSRC’s Grants on the Web (GoW).
The reviewer form asks reviewers to comment on the national importance of the research. Include how the research:
- contributes to, or helps maintain, the health of other disciplines
- contributes to addressing key UK societal challenges or contributes to future UK economic success and development of emerging industry(s)
- complements other UK research already funded in the area, including any relationship to the EPSRC portfolio
- meets national needs by establishing or maintaining a unique world-leading activity
- complements other UK research already funded in the area, including any relationship to the EPSRC portfolio.
APP2: Applicant and partnerships
Secondary criterion
Programme grants are for world-leading teams. You should explicitly comment on the international standing of not only the principal investigator but also the rest of the team and the appropriateness of the academic partnership.
Please comment on the applicant’s ability to deliver the proposed project, making reference to the:
- appropriateness of the track record and international benchmarking of the applicant(s)
- balance of skills of the project team, including collaborators
- development and promotion of the careers of all its team members, including investigators, research assistants, technicians and aligned students
- ability of the principal investigator and team to lead and manage a large, complex investment with sufficient support, infrastructure and resources for the day-to-day running of the programme grant.
MAN3: Resources and management
Secondary criterion
The proposal must demonstrate a clear management plan that will ensure that resources, including manpower, are deployed in the most effective way to deliver high-quality research outputs that have the potential to induce a step change in the knowledge of the subject area. It is expected that the deliverables and milestones will be routinely reviewed to ensure that the most exciting and promising lines of research are pursued and that sufficient resources are assigned to ensure the project is professionally managed. For more advice, see guidance on managing large research activities.
Please comment on the effectiveness of the proposed planning and management, and on whether the requested resources are appropriate and have been fully justified, making reference to the:
- effectiveness of the proposed planning and management
- appropriateness of the requested resources
- suitability of proposed strategy for flexible allocation of resources and use of an independent advisory board.
ANI1: Animal research and human participation
Where the applicants have ticked any boxes confirming that the application involves either animal research or human participation, then you are asked to comment specifically on any ethical considerations and particularly on whether ethical approval procedures have been complied with. You should also comment on any potential adverse consequences for humans, animals or the environment and whether these risks have been addressed satisfactorily in the application. It is particularly important that resources relating to these aspects are explicitly justified in terms of need, scale and nature of resource. For example, for animal research you should comment specifically on the need to use animals, the choice of species and the number of animals it is intended to use.
ASS1: Overall assessment
You should provide your overall assessment of the application. Think of this as your report to the prioritisation panel, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses you identified in the individual questions and then making a clear and explicit recommendation about whether or not you believe the application warrants funding.
Not all questions carry equal weighting. Research quality (excellence) will always be pre-eminent, and no application can be funded without clearly demonstrating this aspect. National importance should also be a major consideration in making your assessment. The weighting between the remaining aspects will depend on the specific nature of the particular application. You should indicate those aspects that you accorded higher or lower priority and why.
The reviewer form asks reviewers to summarise their view of the application.
ASS2: Overall assessment – part assessment
It may be that you feel you can only comment with authority on a specific part or component of an application, for example with a multidisciplinary project, or perhaps where there is a strong user-led element. In that case you should identify those aspects that you are able to comment on, and then give your review on just those aspects. Different reviewers will have been asked to cover those aspects you cannot, and the panel will then have the job of integrating these different comments. It is particularly important therefore that the panel have clear advice on the merits of each component. Your comments, scores and confidence level should explicitly reflect your views on those aspects you can assess, and you are asked not to moderate these in any way to reflect those areas you feel you cannot comment on.
A risk with part assessment is that it will miss the added value of the overall project (the whole ideally being greater than the sum of the parts) so even where you can only comment with authority on one aspect, it will be helpful to the panel to have your views on how compelling the arguments for the overall application are. Other issues you might also comment on are the uniqueness (or otherwise) of the collaboration, the value of the contribution of the component you can judge, and the significance of this in terms of future potential development in your own field.
ASS3: Overall assessment – overall score
You should assign a score using the six-point scale provided. This should reflect your overall conclusion, and should be consistent with your comments on the individual sections of your review, taking account of all the assessment criteria and the various weightings you applied.
The six levels of the scoring scale are as follows.
- This application is scientifically or technically flawed
- This application does not meet one or more of the assessment criteria
- This application meets all assessment criteria but with clear weaknesses
- This is a good application that meets all assessment criteria but with minor weaknesses
- This is a strong application that broadly meets all assessment criteria
- This is a very strong application that fully meets all assessment criteria.
ASS4: Level of confidence
To assist the prioritisation panel in reaching their overall conclusion on the application, and to help EPSRC in monitoring the effectiveness of its reviewer selection procedures, you are asked to indicate your confidence in your review. This should report your own confidence, or otherwise, in being able to make your assessment rather than your confidence in the success of the application if it were funded. If, for any reason, you feel that you are not able to assess the application, please advise EPSRC accordingly.
The reviewer form asks reviewers to score their confidence as low, medium or high.
ADV1 (Advocacy for engineering and the physical sciences)
Secondary criterion
The proposal must demonstrate how the group will be advocates for the engineering and physical sciences. Applicants should specifically address how they will influence its policy makers on the importance of engineering and physical sciences. Advocacy through public engagement activities can also be considered, as long as these are directly related to the programme of research applied for.
Please comment on the degree of advocacy for the engineering and physical sciences proposed.
ADD2: Additionality
Primary criterion
The proposal should demonstrate the added value and synergy of supporting the research through a programme grant. This should include how the length and flexibility of both staff and other resources will be used and the added benefits of this approach. It should also demonstrate how it is different from standard proposals in terms of the particular research activities that will be undertaken.
Please comment on the added value delivered through the proposal, making reference to the:
- added value and need for supporting this research as a coherent programme of interrelated research activities and not a number of smaller research grants
- need for the added flexibility of resources and the longer term nature of the grant to achieve the proposed research goals.
Last updated: 15 June 2023