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 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.
Project roles
This funding opportunity has a ‘primary business partner’ and a ‘primary academic partner’. The primary academic partner should be added on the Funding Service as the named project lead. Under the ‘Applicant and team capability section’, indicate the details of the primary business partner. All assessment stages will consider both roles as joint leads.
The individual acting as the primary academic partner, and the individual acting as the primary business partner, may only be named in these joint roles on one application at a time.
Businesses and research organisations may be primary or supporting partners on any number of applications. Organisations which are involved in multiple applications must confirm their commitment in their letter of support to provide all the stated resources for any successful applications they are involved in.
The primary academic partner 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.
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. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this Opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
- 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 (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit).
- insert each new image onto 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
EPSRC must receive your application by 14 May 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.
If an application is withdrawn prior to assessment panel, or office rejected due to substantive errors in the application, it cannot be resubmitted to the opportunity.
Personal data
Processing personal data
EPSRC, 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.
EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to share the application and any personal information that it contains with relevant Research Councils if there is a substantial element of the proposed work which lies outside EPSRC’s remit.
Sensitive information
If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email tfschangeepsrc@epsrc.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 ‘Applicant and 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 match funding
There is no requirement for match 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 match 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
EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at EPSRC Funding Applications 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 we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.
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
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
- grant manager
- professional enabling staff
- research and innovation associate
- technician
- visiting researcher
- researcher co-lead (RcL)
Only list one individual as project lead.
Opportunity-specific information about roles
Although the primary business partner is a key member of the team, they cannot be listed here with a core grant role. Instead, details should be added under the ‘Applicant and team capability to deliver’ and ‘Project partner’ sections.
The primary academic partner should start and create the application on the UKRI Funding Service, but all partners are expected to contribute to the application in the spirit of the partnership before its added to the system.
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
Vision and Approach
Create a document that includes your responses to all criteria. The document should not be more than 8 sides of A4, single spaced in paper in 11-point Arial (or equivalent sans serif font) with margins of at least 2cm. You may include images, graphs. You can have an additional page for a diagrammatic workplan.
For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘Vision and Approach’.
Save this document as a single PDF file, no bigger than 8MB. Unless specifically requested, please do not include any sensitive personal data within the attachment.
If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
What are you hoping to achieve with and how will you deliver your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
For the Vision, explain how your proposed work:
- is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
- has the potential to advance current understanding, generates new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
- is timely given current trends, context, and needs
- impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment
- identifies the potential local, regional and or national impacts, both direct and indirect, and who the beneficiaries might be
- enhances the UK’s research and innovation capabilities through local or regional activity, including the technical and specialist capability of the partner organisation(s)
For the Approach, explain how you have designed your work so that it:
- is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
- is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
- uses a clear and transparent methodology, if applicable
- summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed , if applicable
- will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
- will maximise the potential for local, regional or national outcomes and impacts
- realises the expected benefits and provide the logic of how the planned activities will deliver the intended outcomes and impacts
- will maximise the exploitation of outcomes, to deliver long term prosperity for the UK, and how you will develop skills or create opportunities for all team members
- describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place, relevance to the project, and availability of technical and specialist expertise) will contribute to the success of the work
Within the ‘Approach’ section we also expect you to:
- declare if an applicant has responsibilities within both the business and research organisation which are both partnering on the same project and clarify the separation of duties and the management of potential conflicts of interest, if applicable
- provide a diagrammatic workplan with milestones and timelines in the form of a Gantt chart, or similar, including key activities related to the benefits realisation plan (additional one-page A4)
References may be included within this section and must be considered as part of the page limit.
Fit to Materials Innovation Partnerships Opportunity
Word limit: 500
How does this project meet the objectives of the Materials Innovation Partnership opportunity?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your project:
- demonstrates clear strategic alignment and adds value to one or more of the six high-growth opportunity themes from the National Materials Innovation Strategy
- has been co-created by the primary partners, and will be co-delivered by the partners
- is costed so that the total value requested is appropriate for the depth and duration of the relationship between the primary academic and primary business partner (as demonstrated in the Primary Academic Partner Research Organisation Statement)
Within the Fit to Materials Innovation Partnerships section we also expect you to deliver against the core objectives of the National Materials Innovation programme, for example detailing:
- the potential to drive accelerated development of novel or enhanced materials and the projects potential to deliver solutions to real world challenges
- how you will speed up translation of materials innovation towards industrial application
- how the project will derive benefits to the partners involved and to the wider innovation ecosystem or supply chains
- how the project has leveraged private investment to deliver important developments in key areas of materials
Applicant and team capability to deliver
Word limit: 2,000
Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:
- the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
- the right balance of skills and expertise to cover 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
Within this section we also expect you to:
- provide the names, titles, business name and research organisation name of both the primary business partner and the primary academic partner
- provide evidence of your use of technical and specialist capabilities within the partner organisation(s) in building your project team
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
The word limit for this section is 2,000 words: 1,500 words to be used for Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.
Use the R4RI format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, 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. References may be included within this section.
The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.
Primary Academic Partner Research Organisation Statement
Word limit: 800
As the primary academic partner, provide a statement from your research organisation.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide a Statement of Support from your research organisation providing evidence for the established partnership with the primary business partner. Also include details of any funding (cash or in-kind) that will be provided to support the project, and any additional support that might add value to the work. Please note, that academic partners’ cash contributions (including the primary and non-primary academic partners) do not contribute to the matching contribution requirements and will not be assessed by the panel.
Assessors will be looking for clear evidence of an established working partnership with the primary business partner, including the duration of the partnership, what it has delivered so far and where it is going strategically in the longer term. This information should have been approved for submission by an appropriate institutional authority.
You must also include the following details:
- a significant person’s name, their position and office or department, or all
- office address or web link
Project partners
Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.
A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct contributions for example cash, donated equipment and resources, or staff seconded to the project, or indirect and in-kind contributions for example use of project partner’s equipment, datasets, or facilities. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.
Project partners are a core component of prosperity partnerships.
The primary business partner is expected to make a cash contribution to the project. Projects may also include collaborating organisations which will have an integral role in the proposed research. These collaborating organisations may also contribute towards the cash match funding requirement.
Add the following project partner details:
- the organisation name and address (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 indirect) and its monetary value
Note that details of the cash contributions need to be separately recorded in the ’Partner contributions to costs’ section.
If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Project partners: letters (or emails) of support
Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the project partners section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box.
For the primary business partner your letter or email should:
- describe the nature of the current partnership, including its duration, what it has delivered so far and where it is going strategically in the longer term
- articulate the partner’s involvement and engagement in the development of the project, including possible benefits of the work to them
- provide a full breakdown of the cash contribution being made to the project, showing how each aspect of this funding will support the project
And for non-primary academic, or non-primary business partners, your letter or email should:
- 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
- in cases where partners are providing a cash contribution, provide a full breakdown, showing how each aspect of this funding will support the project, noting that academic partner’s cash contributions (including the primary academic partner) do not contribute to the matching contribution requirements
The page limit is two sides A4 per partner.
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the contributions template.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Do not provide a letter of support from the primary academic partner, see the ‘Primary Academic Partner Research Organisation Statement’ section.
Facilities
Word limit: 250
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, 42KB)
- proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list
- confirmation you have their agreement where required
Facilities should only be named if they are on the facility information list above.
If you will not need to use a facility, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Resources and cost justification
Word limit: 1,000
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 equipment that will cost more than £25,000
- 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’
You can request costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project. For further information see Disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders.
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
Partner contributions to costs
Complete the table in the Funding Service to provide a breakdown of the match funding that you have secured from your project partners. See the EPSRC Materials Innovation Partnerships Partner Contributions to Costs table and guidance (PDF, 570KB) for further guidance.
What assessors are looking for
For the Partner contributions to costs, following details should be addressed:
- all project partner cash contributions should be briefly described in the table
- full details of each project partner contribution should be provided separately in the corresponding project partner letter (or email) of support
- contributions without a corresponding letter of support will be removed
- our definitive list of “cash contributions” can be found in the section “What we are looking for”
- use the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) methodology
- do not apply indexation to the funds requested from EPSRC– this will be done by UKRI
- the combined cash contributions from all the business partners must at least match the EPSRC funding requested
- the value of the primary business partner’s cash contribution must be the greatest among business partners on this application
The following values A-M should be determined and input to the table:
Cash contributions:
- A: Full economic cost (100% FEC) of project costs (excludes business partner(s) contribution(s), use the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) methodology)
- B: Value of funding being requested from EPSRC at 80% FEC (80% of full economic cost, value A)
- C: Primary business partner’s cash contribution
- D: Where applicable, other non-primary business partners’ cash contributions (each partner should be on a separate row. Add additional rows as required. Use D1, D2, D3 etc. to separately denote non-primary business partners)
Check that the sum of the business partner contributions (C+D) is greater than or equal to the 80% FEC value of funding being requested from EPSRC (B).
Check that value C is the greatest single value from all business partners.
- E: Where applicable, primary academic partner’s cash contribution, excluding the standard 20% of FEC (note that in this opportunity, cash contributions from the academic partners are not required and do not count towards the minimum match funding requirement)
- F: Where applicable, other academic partner’s cash contributions (each partner should be on a separate row. Add additional rows as required. Use F1, F2, F3 etc. to separately denote non-primary academic partners)
- G: Combined project cash value (A+C+D+E+F)
In kind contributions:
- H: Primary Business Partner in-kind contributions
- I: Non-primary business partners’ in-kind contributions (add as many rows as you need. Use I1, I2, I3 etc. to separately denote non-primary business partners)
- J: Primary Academic Partner in-kind contributions
- K: Non-primary academic partner’s in-kind contributions (add as many rows as you need. Use K1, K2, K3 etc. to separately denote non-primary academic partners)
- L: Sum of all in-kind contributions
Combined project value:
- M: Combines full economic costs, cash and in-kind value (excludes EPSRC funding requested, G+L)
Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
Word limit: 500
What are the ethical and RRI considerations, 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 and RRI considerations, including both the research or topic area itself and the design and delivery of the project
- the wider implications of the proposed work, and how you will maximise the positive societal, environmental, and economic benefits arising from the project, whilst minimising unintended negative impacts, such as research misuse or accidental harm
- how you will manage these considerations throughout the lifecycle of the project
You are expected to address Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) as an integral part of your project and to work within the EPSRC anticipate, reflect, engage, act (AREA) framework for Responsible Research and Innovation.
Where relevant, this may include (but is not limited to):
- environmental impact and sustainability considerations, within the project design and delivery and in relation to outcomes and impacts
- societal implications, including consideration of who may be affected by the outcomes and impacts of the project
- consideration of other uses of research outcomes, information and knowledge related to your project or its approach
- opportunities and plans for diverse, mutually beneficial and inclusive stakeholder engagement, including public involvement and engagement
Additional sub-questions, to be answered only if appropriate, will be included in the Funding Service. These will ask about numbers, species/strain and justification about:
- genetic and biological risk
- research involving the use of animals
- conducting research with animal overseas
- research involving human participation
- research involving human tissues or biological samples
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Please refer to the UKRI position statement on funding ethical research and Responsible innovation for more information around our expectations on ethical and responsible research and innovation.
Trusted Research and Innovation
Word limit: 300
Does your proposed work relate to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation principles?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate how your proposed work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation principles including:
- list any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research
- if this project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, please list the area(s)
- please read the academic export control guidance and confirm if an export control licence is required for this project and the status of any application(s)
- if your project involves any items or substances on the UK strategic export control list, please provide a list
- if projects involve sensitive research, describe the mitigations to be put in place to ensure the protection of the UK’s intellectual property, sensitive research, people, and infrastructure from potential theft, misuse and exploitation.
We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information later, in line with UKRI TR&I principles and funding terms and conditions (RGC 2.6.2, 2.7.1 and 2.7.2). We reserve the right to add additional grant conditions relating to TR&I in cases where this is deemed necessary to mitigate identified risks.
