EPSRC has more than 100 research areas in its portfolio. Within those areas, we fund research that contributes to the following themes:
- digital economy
- energy and decarbonisation
- engineering
- healthcare technologies
- information and communication technologies (ICT)
- manufacturing the future
- mathematical sciences
- physical sciences
- quantum technologies
- research infrastructure.
Check the theme that’s relevant to your research to find out about funding opportunities, support and resources available in your field. You can also use our visualising our portfolio (VoP) tool to explore our portfolio by theme, research area, funding route, holding organisation and region.
We are also developing strategies to influence how our portfolio evolves to include the following themes:
- artificial intelligence and robotics
- circular economy
- digital twins and related cyber-physical infrastructure
- advanced materials.
Our strategic priorities
If you’re thinking of applying for funding from EPSRC, you should also consider how your research contributes to EPSRC’s strategic priorities.
EPSRC’s strategic priorities guide the research we support across our remit.
Our priorities are:
- the physical and mathematical sciences powerhouse – enabling curiosity-driven discovery with boundless potential
- frontiers in engineering, manufacturing and technology – unleashing our productivity potential
- digital futures – the future of communications, computing and the internet
- engineering net zero – decarbonising our economy and society, creating an alternative energy future and developing truly circular economies
- artificial intelligence, digitisation and data: driving value and security – powering transformative change and the next industrial revolution
- transforming health and healthcare – improving quality of life through innovative technological solutions
- ensuring an effective ecosystem – a globally attractive engineering and physical sciences research and innovation system.
We will publish more detail about these priorities in our next delivery plan, in summer 2022.
How we manage our portfolio and priorities
We gather evidence and consult with the engineering and physical science research community to help us invest funding strategically across the EPSRC portfolio.
Find out more about how we manage our portfolio and priorities.
You can also submit a Big Idea to our pipeline of ambitious and adventurous ideas from the research community, which have potential to transform the research landscape.