The Japan and the UK team will need to submit their applications by parallel submission, using the designated application form (Japan-UK Joint Opportunity in Semiconductor research (JST-EPSRC) Application Form (DOCX, 93.8KB)) to draft a joint proposal and submit it to the application websites of their respective countries.
The Japan-based project lead will need to submit a full application to the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) using Cross-Ministerial Research and Development Management System (e-Rad).
The UK project lead will be responsible for submitting a PDF copy of the application submitted to JST using the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service. The UK project lead will be required to incorporate additional information on budget breakdown and ethical considerations.
Project leads in UK and Japan should ensure that there are no differences in the content of the application submitted within the designated application form document (Japan-UK Joint Opportunity in Semiconductor Research (JST-EPSRC) Application Form).
Applicants are requested to submit a prior notice to JST indicating their intent to apply to this funding opportunity. More information can be found on JST’s web page. The deadline for submitting this is 18 June 2024.
UKRI Funding Service
We are running this funding opportunity on the new 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.
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.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. You should:
- use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words
- insert each new image onto a new line
- provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)
- ensure files are smaller than 5 MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Watch our research office webinars about the new Funding Service.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
References
Applications should be self-contained, and hyperlinks should only be used to provide links directly to reference information. To ensure the information’s integrity is maintained, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers should be used. Assessors are not required to access links to carry out assessment or recommend a funding decision. Applicants should use their discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application and be easily identifiable by the assessors, for example (Smith, Research Paper, 2019).
You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.
Deadline
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) must receive your application by 4:00pm UK time (BST) on 18 July 2024.
JST must receive your application by 12:00pm Japan time (JST) on 18 July 2024.
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. If an application is withdrawn prior to peer review 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.
Publication of outcomes
EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at What EPSRC has funded.
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
- specialist
- professional enabling staff
- research and innovation associate
- technician
- visiting researcher
- researcher co-lead (RcL)
Only list one individual as project lead.
Please do not include details of Japanese applicants in the ‘Core team’ section.
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Japanese applicants
Please provide the following details of the Japanese applicants on this application:
- name
- institute
- job title
- role in project (for example, project lead or project co-lead)
- email address
Please also indicate who the lead Japanese applicants will be.
Please do not include details of Japanese applicants in the ‘Core team’ section.
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
The following questions will be included in the Japan-UK Joint Opportunity in semiconductor research (JST-EPSRC) Application Form:
- Vision
- Contribution to carbon neutrality
- Approach
- Research partnership
- Applicant and team capability to deliver
- Resources and cost justification
- Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
For UK applicants, the following questions will be included in the Funding Service:
- Additional documentation: JST-EPSRC joint application form
- Project partners
- Project partners letters (or emails) of support
- Facilities
- Ethics and responsible research and innovation (Additional sub-questions)
- Data management and sharing
Application questions
Vision
This question is included in the Japan-UK joint opportunity in semiconductor research (JST-EPSRC) application form and does not need to be entered again in the Funding Service. For further details, please see the guidance on the application form.
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
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, or generate 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
Within the Vision section we also expect you to explain how your proposed work:
- is relevant to the scope of the funding opportunity including at least one of the priority areas of joint interest for JST and EPSRC
References may be included within this section.
Contribution to carbon neutrality
This question is included in the Japan-UK joint opportunity in semiconductor research (JST-EPSRC) application form and does not need to be entered again in the Funding Service. For further details, please see the guidance on the application form.
Please describe a scenario in which the introduction of the technologies into society will lead to carbon neutrality, while also providing scientific evidence.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate the potential of the work proposed to contribute to carbon neutrality, including:
- the JST Advanced Technologies for Carbon Neutrality (ALCA-Next) objectives
- centring and embedding environmental sustainability throughout the project aims, objectives, operations and research outcomes, considering the context of each project’s specific research area, based on UKRI’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy
Approach
This question is included in the Japan-UK joint opportunity in semiconductor research (JST-EPSRC) application form and does not need to be entered again in the Funding Service. For further details, please see the guidance on the application form.
How are you going to deliver your proposed work? In doing so, please clarify the division of the research between the teams in Japan and the UK.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you have designed your approach 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 clearly written 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
- describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work
Within the Approach section we also expect you to:
- provide a detailed and comprehensive project plan including milestones and timelines in the form of a Gantt chart or similar
References may be included within this section.
Research partnership
This question is included in the Japan-UK joint opportunity in semiconductor research (JST-EPSRC) application form and does not need to be entered again in the Funding Service. For further details, please see the guidance on the application form.
How does your proposed work involve collaboration between UK and Japan?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate how the research partnership:
- involves high-level international joint research aimed at enhancing scientific and technological capabilities for both countries
- demonstrates a clear and feasible division of roles between the Japanese and UK research, throughout the research period
- has an appropriate plan for building and expanding the international collaboration
- involves research exchanges and collaborations that are equitable and mutually beneficial for both countries
Applicant and team capability to deliver
This question is included in the Japan-UK joint opportunity in semiconductor research (JST-EPSRC) application form and does not need to be entered again in the Funding Service. For further details, please see the guidance on the application form.
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 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
The word count for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) 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, 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.
UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new Funding Service. For full details, see Eligibility as an individual.
Resources and cost justification
This question is included in the Japan-UK joint opportunity in semiconductor research (JST-EPSRC) application form and justification does not need to be entered again in the Funding Service. For further details, please see the guidance on the application form.
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 £10,000
- 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’
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
Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
This question is included in the Japan-UK joint opportunity in semiconductor research (JST-EPSRC) application form and does not need to be entered again in the Funding Service. For further details, please see the guidance on the application form.
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
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
Additional documentation: JST-EPSRC joint application form
This question is included in the Funding Service.
Word limit: 10
Please upload a single PDF attachment with the JST-EPSRC joint application form as it will be submitted to JST’s Cross-Ministerial Research and Development Management System (e-Rad).
For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘JST-EPSRC Joint Application Form’.
Save this document as a single PDF file, no bigger than 8MB.
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
Project partners
This question is included in the Funding Service.
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 (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities.
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 in-direct) and its monetary value
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
This question is included in the Funding Service.
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, or if you do not have any project partners enter ‘N/A’. Each letter or email you provide 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
- the page limit is two sides A4 per partner
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
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 letters of support from host and project co-leads’ research organisations.
Facilities
This question is included in the Funding Service.
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, 35KB)
- 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.
Data management and sharing
This question is included in the Funding Service.
Word limit: 1,000
How will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed research?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide a data management plan that clearly details how you will comply with UKRI’s published data sharing policy, which includes detailed guidance notes.
