We are running this funding opportunity on the new UKRI Funding Service. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
The 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. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service.
- 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.
Watch our research office webinars about the new Funding Service.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
Deadline
UKRI must receive your application by 27 February 2024 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 the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Personal data
Processing personal data
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.
Publication of outcomes
UKRI will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity on the UKRI website.
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 we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.
We may make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, so 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
- the team and working approach
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))
- researcher co-lead (RcL)
- specialist
- professional enabling staff
- research and innovation associate
- technician
Only list one individual as project lead.
Find out more about UKRI’s new grant roles.
Application questions
Research council remit
Word limit: 250
Select which research councils’ remits your application meets.
What we are looking for in your response
In the text box, list the name of all the applicable research councils from the following:
AHRC
BBSRC
EPSRC
ESRC
MRC
NERC
STFC
Explain:
- rationale for how your application is relevant to the remits of three or more research councils
- why the work would not be suitable for single research council led funding
This is for administrative purposes to aid initial application checking.
Vision
Word limit: 250
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your proposed work:
- identifies a vision that is complementary to the aims of the programme, both in:
- describing the research idea you seek to co-develop including justifying the epidemic potential of the pathogen(s) or disease type chosen
- building an interdisciplinary research team capable of co-designing research plans
- has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
- is timely given current trends, context, and needs
Guidance: while your research question will not be fully formed (as this is part of the purpose of the funding), we do expect you to have assembled a core team and identified a challenge area that would benefit from an interdisciplinary approach.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Approach
Word limit: 1,250
How are you going to deliver your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you have designed your approach so that it:
- will enable the development of your research idea(s) in epidemic preparedness for infectious, animal, human or plant diseases
- takes into account previous work and identifies limitations of current approaches
- embeds interdisciplinary approaches, including identifying potential challenges in designing interdisciplinary research and outlining how these will be overcome
- shows and justifies co-creation and design involving the range of disciplines required for successful development of the research question and plans
- shows how the work will enable new research opportunities, approaches and methods through the integration of distinct disciplinary perspectives
- is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks and how they will be managed
In this section we also expect you to:
- set out the activities that you will undertake to build an interdisciplinary team and develop your research question and plans that will bring new perspectives and approaches to epidemic preparedness
- describe how you will work together as a team to ensure that the different disciplines can integrate and contribute in a meaningful and timely way, for example how you will ensure that it is equitable and sustainable with all parties committed to the co-creation and co-delivery of ideas
- outline your approach to leadership and decision making, across multiple organisations (if applicable)
- explain how your approach to data management will align with the common principles on research data (if applicable)
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Applicant and team capability to deliver
Word limit: 1,500
Why are you the right team to successfully deliver the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Evidence of how your team has:
- the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
- the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
- the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
- contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community
Guidance: you should also justify the inclusion of project co-leads (international) and professional enabling staff (if applicable).
Context: we recognise that applications might draw together relevant expertise from multiple organisations and regions. For administrative purposes it is necessary to identify a single project lead who must be affiliated with the lead research organisation. The project lead and their research office will be ultimately responsible for the administration of the grant and collaboration arrangements. However, the balance of activity and leadership across the leadership team and partner organisations can be shared as is appropriate for your application.
The word count for this section is 1,500 words: 1,000 words to be used for R4RI modules and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.
Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.
Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:
- contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
- the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
- contributions to the wider research and innovation community
- contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit
Additions
Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).
Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.
UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new Funding Service.
For full details, see Eligibility as an individual.
Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
Word limit: 200
What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:
- the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
- how you will manage these considerations
Resources and cost justification
Word limit: 250
What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:
- project staff
- significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)
- any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities
- all facilities and infrastructure costs
- all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’
Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work:
- are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
- represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
- maximise potential outcomes and impacts
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Word limit: 250
What are the approaches and activities planned to enable and facilitate greater EDI in your project?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
EDI plans that are project-specific and focus on activities beyond any institutional activities already in place.
While we do not expect project teams to have specific expertise in EDI, the plans should still demonstrate an understanding of any EDI challenges associated with the project.
You are encouraged to consider the following questions. Not all need to be addressed, these are prompts for your consideration:
- what are the key EDI challenges in your project?
- how will EDI issues be managed?
- how will EDI outcomes be measured?
- what steps will you take to raise awareness of and mitigate against the impact of bias in your group and the wider community in terms of gender, ethnicity or any other protected characteristic through processes, behaviours and culture?
- how will this good practice be captured and shared with the wider community?
These plans should be feasible and proportional to the level of funding. Examples of what could be included in the EDI plan are:
- actions to promote inclusive participation in interdisciplinary activities
- EDI advocacy
Project partners
Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities.
Add the following project partner details:
- the organisation name (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)
- the project partner contact name and email address
- the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
If an individual or organisation outside the core team is responsible for recruitment of people as research participants or providing human tissue for this project, list them as a project partner.
Project partners: letters (or emails) of support
Word limit: 10
Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the ‘Project partner’ section.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities.
If you do not have any project partners, simply add ‘N/A’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and move to the next section.
Each letter or email you provide should:
- be no more than 2 A4 pages
- confirm the partner’s commitment to the project
- clearly explain the value, relevance and possible benefits of the work to them
- describe any additional value that they bring to the project
Unless specifically requested, do not include any sensitive personal data within the attachment. Upload details are provided within the service on the actual application.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Do not provide letters of support from host and co-project lead research organisations.
Facilities
Word limit: 200
Does your proposed research require the support and use of a facility?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you will need to use a facility, follow your proposed facility’s normal access request procedures. Ensure you have prior agreement so that if you are offered funding, they will support the use of their facility on your project.
For each requested facility you will need to provide the:
- name of facility, copied and pasted from the facility information list (DOCX, 35KB)
- proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list
- confirmation you have their agreement where required
If you will not need to use a facility, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
References
Word limit: 500
List the references you have used to support your application.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Include all references in this section, not in the rest of the application questions.
You should not include any other information in this section.
We advise you not to include hyperlinks, as assessors are not obliged to access the information they lead to or consider it in their assessment of your application.
If linking to web resources, to maintain the information’s integrity, include persistent identifiers (such as digital object identifiers) where possible.
