We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
The nominated project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
To apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
- Confirm you are the project lead.
- Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password.
- Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
- Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
- Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
- Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.
When including images, you must:
- provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)
- insert each new image on a new line
- use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application will be rejected if you include:
- sentences or paragraphs of text
- tables
- excessive quantities of images
A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
References
References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:
- references are easily identifiable by the assessors
- references are formatted as appropriate to your research
- persistent identifiers are used where possible
General use of hyperlinks
Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI)
Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.
For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment.
Deadline
AHRC must receive your application by 16 September 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Personal data
Processing personal data
AHRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.
Sensitive information
If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email enquiries@ahrc.ukri.org
Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].
Typical examples of confidential information include:
- individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
- declaration of interest
- additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Team capability’ section
- conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
- the application is an invited resubmission
For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.
Institutional matched funding
There is no requirement for matched funding from the institutions hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond the standard 20% FEC. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations. Direct and in-kind contributions from third party project partners are encouraged.
This policy does not remove the need for support from host organisations who must provide the necessary research environment and infrastructure for award-specific activities funded by UKRI. For example, research facilities, training and development of staff.
Publication of outcomes
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Summary
Word limit: 550
In plain English, provide a summary of your proposed project.
We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:
- opinion-formers
- policymakers
- the public
- the wider research community
Guidance for writing a summary
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
- context
- the challenge the project addresses
- aims and objectives
- potential applications and benefits
This section will not be assessed.
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
- project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
- specialist
- professional enabling staff
- research and innovation associate
- technician
Only list one individual as project lead.
Remember that for the purposes of a AHRC Large Grant award, ‘project lead’ is an administrative role descriptor. We expect that responsibilities should be distributed across the team according to individual skills, experience and capacity, with project co-leads collaboratively offering intellectual leadership and overall management of the project.
As this is an outline stage, you are not expected to provide a complete or finalised team structure. We expect continuity between your core team at outline stage through to full stage. However, this does not mean your outline team composition has to remain fixed. If invited to submit a full stage application, you will be permitted to reposition roles and expand the team at this point.
This section is for administrative purposes and will not be assessed. Assessment of your team composition will focus on the Team capability to deliver section of your application.
UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Application questions
Outline Vision
Word limit: 550
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Your outline vision will be assessed for how it is novel, ambitious and transformative at a scale proportionate to the available funding.
References may be included within this section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Outline Approach
Word limit:750
How are you going to deliver your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you will develop your approach to deliver your vision.
Your outline approach will be assessed for how it:
- plans to utilise team convening throughout your project as a framework to deliver excellent research
- will establish an effective pathway from output to impact, including through meaningful engagement with potential user communities
References may be included within this section.
Your answer should mainly focus on what you would do if you were successful in bidding for funding. As we expect there to be a level of development between outline and full stage applications, you may additionally include identified steps you would undertake to prepare a full stage application if appropriate.
If you are invited to submit a full stage application, you will be required to include a full work plan and a logic model. Neither are required at outline stage. However, to facilitate continuity between your outline and full stage applications, you may wish to begin considering these frameworks as you develop your outline application.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Outline Team capability to deliver
Word limit: 1,000
Why is your team the right collective of people to deliver your proposed research programme?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Your outline team capability to deliver will be assessed for how it evidences that your team has convened the capability to deliver against the specific needs and nature of your proposed research.
Explain how each individual’s contribution, skills, knowledge and experience will be meaningful and appropriate within the framework of your overall project. Consider how these individual contributions will be coordinated to produce a research team that is greater than the sum of its parts.
If you are invited to submit a full stage application, you will be permitted to further expand the team and include new collaborators at this stage. However, this must be done in a way that clearly builds on your team composition at outline stage. We expect that each outline stage application is collaboratively developed by a team with the core skills and expertise to deliver the proposed research.
The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Outline costs
What are the expected costs of the proposed work?
Provide the approximate total values in British pounds for the expected directly incurred, directly allocated, indirect costs and exceptions. View the guidance on the costs you can apply for.
Classification of your proposed project
Word limit: 50
Which classifications best describe the research area of your proposed project?
Using the key words and codes provided in Classifications for AHRC Large Grants please provide up to five classifications for your proposed project. This document is linked under supporting documents in the Additional information section.
Please ensure that you use the precise codes and wording of the research areas as provided in the list (we suggest you use the copy and paste functions).
Note that your answer to this question will not be assessed.
The classifications you select will be used to match reviewers to your application through the distributed peer review (DPR) process, so please focus on the disciplines and expertise you expect to be most formative for your project. We cannot guarantee that your application will be assessed by reviewers with all of the classifications you have provided.
We understand that your project may include more disciplinary and methodological variety than you can fully capture with a maximum of five classifications. Your answer is not expected to be a comprehensive list of disciplines and expertise.
For more information on how DPR will be used to assess your application, please see DPR guidance for AHRC Large Grants in Additional information.
Your team’s reviewer expertise
Word limit: 200
As part of the DPR process, you are required to nominate between two and four members of your team who are equipped to act as reviewers.
For each reviewer, you must provide:
- their name
- their institution
- their email address. (Please ensure you use the same email address that this individual has used in the core team section of your application
- between one and five classifications from Classifications for AHRC Large Grants in Additional information
Please ensure that you use the precise codes and wording of the research areas as provided in the list. We suggest you use the copy and paste functions.
This information will be used to assign your nominated reviewers to applications. We understand that an individual reviewer may have expertise in more than five classifications, so each nominee should prioritise those they feel most confident reviewing.
Note that your answer to this question will not be assessed. However, failure to provide at least two reviewers will result in your outline proposal being rejected.
Nominated reviewers do not need to have membership of AHRC’s Peer Review College. The applicant team should only nominate individuals with the capacity, knowledge and confidence to provide constructive, comprehensive, quality reviews.
Please check that nominated reviewers have no planned leave (such as annual leave) which would prevent them from acting as a reviewer throughout October 2026. Reviewers will have three weeks to complete each assigned review.
We understand that individual circumstances can be unpredictable, and that there may be emergencies in a reviewer’s personal life which may cause delays or prevent them from submitting their reviews. Please inform us as early as possible if there are exceptional circumstances impacting any of your nominated reviewers. You can do this by emailing enquiries@ahrc.ukri.org
For more information on reviewer responsibilities within the DPR process, please see Distributed Peer Review guidance for AHRC Large Grants in Additional information.
Trusted Research and Innovation
Trusted Research and Innovation is the protection of the UK’s intellectual property, sensitive research, people, and infrastructure from potential theft, misuse, and exploitation.
Organisations receiving UKRI funding are obliged to act in line with UK government legislation. They are also expected to undertake appropriate due diligence assessments of organisations involved in research partnerships, collaboration agreements, and commercial contracts.
You will be asked about:
- Which areas of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act your project relates to
- Who you intend to collaborate with and how
- If your project requires an export control licence
Your answers will not be assessed, but may affect the T&Cs of your funding agreement if you are successful. We may use your answers to determine that our current T&Cs are sufficient or if additional T&Cs are required.
