Our funds for research and knowledge exchange

Research England administers the funds that support research and knowledge exchange in the UK’s universities and other higher education institutions.

We do this through:

• formula-based funding, which is allocated annually
• competitive funding, which is applied for and awarded on a one-off basis
• funding for national facilities and initiatives.

Browse Research England’s funds.

Our formula-based research funding

The majority of Research England funding is allocated as a single annual grant to institutions. We use a formula to distribute funding based on research quality.

This is known as formula-based or quality-related (QR) funding. It includes:

• mainstream QR funding
• a research degree programme supervision fund
• a charity support element
• a business research element
• funding for National Research Libraries
• a policy support fund.

Find out more about formula-based funding.

Our formula-based funding for knowledge exchange

Research England also supports universities and other higher education institutions to exchange knowledge with the wider world, in a way that contributes to society and the economy.

We allocate formula-based funding for knowledge exchange through the Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF). Find out more about how HEIF funding is allocated.

Find out more about the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction survey, which collects financial and output data related to knowledge exchange each academic year.

Our competitive funding

Research England offers competitive funding opportunities for research and knowledge exchange through:

• Research England Development (RED) Fund
• Expanding Excellence In England (E3) Fund
• UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF)
• International Investment Initiative Fund
• Connecting Capability Fund (CCF)
• University Enterprise Zones (UEZ)
• Widening participation in postgraduate research

Find out how to apply for funding opportunities from Research England.

Our funds for national facilities and infrastructure

Research England supports national research facilities and the development of national research infrastructure through funds such as the Museum, Galleries and Collections Fund.

Find out more about our funding for national facilities and capital investment for infrastructure.

Last updated: 21 December 2022