Funding opportunity

Mid-range equipment for biosciences research: ALERT 2026

• Opportunity status: Upcoming
• Funders: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
• Funding type: Grant
• Total fund: £13,000,000
• Award range: £200,000 - £1,500,000
• Publication date: 12 October 2026
• Opening date: 22 October 2026 9:00am UK time
• Closing date: 14 January 2027 4:00pm UK time

Apply for funding to purchase mid-range equipment for research across BBSRC’s scientific remit.

This is an equipment only grant. Applications must request a single piece of equipment to be widely used and well supported, promoting access, collaboration and equipment sharing.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for BBSRC funding. Research technical professionals are eligible as project leads or project co-leads.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your application can be up to £1.5 million. BBSRC will fund 100% of the FEC.

Awards last for 12 months and must start by 3 August 2027.

Who can apply

This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible.

Check if you meet the individual eligibility criteria.

Demand management

Organisations may submit a maximum of three applications to this funding opportunity. Potential applicants are advised to contact their research office at the earliest opportunity. We encourage organisations to discuss and prioritise their submissions, to ensure high-quality applications that are competitive for funding.

An individual may only apply as the project lead on one application, and as project co-lead on one other application. As applications will be in direct competition with each other, this approach is generally not recommended unless the applications are in distinctly different research areas.

Applications involving two or more collaborating research organisations are welcome but must be submitted as one application on the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service by the lead research organisation.

Research technical professionals

Building on the Technician Commitment UKRI Action Plan and the UKRI people and teams action plan, we particularly encourage applications from research technical professionals as either project leads or project co-leads. In line with UKRIs individual eligibility policy,  a research technical professional can be listed as a project lead or project co-lead, provided they can:

• demonstrate the expertise, skills and capability to deliver the proposed application
• show how they will achieve the proposed outcomes, including appropriate project management, leadership and knowledge

If you are unsure whether you are eligible, contact bbsrcalert@bbsrc.ukri.org

International researchers

International researchers are not eligible to apply for funding as part of this funding opportunity, but they can be included as project partners or international collaborators if relevant.

Resubmissions

We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of applications that have previously been submitted to UKRI. Find out more about application resubmissions.

If you have submitted a similar application that has either been assessed or is currently under assessment by another funder, please contact bbsrcalert@bbsrc.ukri.org as soon as possible. We will advise whether your new application is eligible for submission to ALERT 2026. Eligible resubmissions must clearly address previous panel feedback and have been prioritised for submission to ALERT 2026 by the lead research organisation.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

• career breaks
• support for people with caring responsibilities
• flexible working
• alternative working patterns

UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

What we're looking for

Demand management

Demand management is being applied to this funding opportunity. Further details are provided in the ‘Who can apply’ section.

Scope

The BBSRC Infrastructure Strategic Framework highlights the fundamental importance of supporting a diverse range of infrastructure to ensure the continued success of the UK biosciences. A key component of this is advanced, multi-user equipment that addresses the shared needs of research organisations, industry and end user communities.

Equipment funded through ALERT plays a vital role in driving the ambitions set out in BBSRC’s Forward Look for UK Bioscience, which calls for strategic, future facing investment in the technologies and skills that underpin discovery and challenge-led research.

We recognise that new technologies, tools and approaches, often spanning several disciplines, are revolutionising biology and are providing unprecedented opportunities to:

• advance understanding of the complex, dynamic processes that govern life
• apply that knowledge for the benefit of society and the economy

To support this approach, this funding opportunity encourages you to apply for:

• equipment that will be widely used and underpins capability for scientific areas within BBSRC’s remit
• equipment that promotes collaboration and increased access for users in industry and other public sector institutions
• emerging research technologies or the use of equipment in new ways
• equipment that upgrades or replaces existing ‘workhorse’ equipment

Read more about the BBSRC remit.

Duration

The duration of this award is a maximum of 12 months.

Projects must start by 3 August 2027.

Funding available

This is an equipment only grant. The FEC of your award can be between £200,000 and £1.5 million, including VAT if applicable.

BBSRC will fund 100% of the FEC.

Funding must be requested under the ‘Exceptions – equipment’ heading only. Do not request costs under the ‘Directly Incurred – equipment’ heading. No other cost types are eligible under this funding opportunity, and applications with costs under any other heading will be rejected without consultation.

Contributions from host organisations and other external sources are welcome but not mandatory. These may take the form of cash contributions, running costs or staff resourcing associated with the equipment, for example, managing, operating, or providing training on the equipment. Any contributions from elsewhere must be secured at the time of submission.

What we will fund

Only one piece of equipment may be funded. This can include equipment that requires assembly or involves several components (not necessarily physically linked) provided they meet one of the following criteria:

• a pipeline: an end-to-end experimental process made up of several components that may require assembly
• a platform: a single piece of experimental equipment that may be constituted from multiple parts

You must contact us to check eligibility of any pipeline or platform before submission at bbsrcalert@bbsrc.ukri.org

If you plan to apply for a pipeline or platform, your application must provide robust justification for why it should be considered as such. Applications consisting of several components that are not considered to meet either of these definitions will be rejected.

In a large multi-component application that is otherwise in scope, one or more small components costing under £10,000 may be requested. These must be from the same supplier with all components forming a single invoice. If they cannot be sourced from the same supplier, your research organisation will need to fund each component under £10,000 separately.

Costs such as initial installation or service maintenance contracts can be included if they are one-off costs and part of the manufacturer’s offer. These costs should be included in the equipment quotation. Service maintenance contracts can be up to three years in duration and must be paid within the duration of the grant. We expect that organisations will make longer term arrangements to ensure appropriate ongoing support over the lifetime of the equipment.

Refurbishment or installation costs may be eligible providing these are critical to the proper functioning of the equipment, for example, a ventilation system or cold room. These costs must be itemised in the application and fully justified.

All equipment requested must be on the market at the time of submission.

What we will not fund

The following applications are excluded from ALERT 2026. We reserve the right to reject such applications without consultation:

• applications where the principal beneficiaries are outside BBSRC remit
• applications where the principal beneficiaries are outside the UK
• applications that request any other costs apart from capital funding and associated maintenance costs (for example running costs, staff costs, consumables, estate, and indirect costs)
• applications that request costs with a total value below £200,000 or above £1.5 million (including VAT)
• applications that exceed 12 months in duration
• applications for single-user or single-project equipment
• unsolicited resubmissions of applications that have previously been considered by BBSRC or any other funder
• applications that are similar to another application currently under assessment by another funder
• applications where additional contributions are dependent on the outcome of applications to other funders or partners that are still under consideration
• multi-component applications that do not meet our pipeline or platform definition
• requests for the purchase of equipment that constitute common elements of a well-found laboratory (such as centrifuges, fridges, incubators)
• applications where the specified equipment is scheduled for market release after 14 January 2027
• applications for technology development (although the use of new or emerging technologies is encouraged)
• applications that include general maintenance costs or depreciation costs

Additional funding considerations

Service maintenance contracts may extend a maximum of 24 months past the end date of the award (36 months in total), but the contract cost must be paid within the lifetime of the grant (12 months). Where a compelling case can be made for warranties and service contracts extending beyond 36 months, these will be considered if appropriately justified.

We expect that institutions will make longer-term arrangements to ensure appropriate ongoing support over the lifetime of the equipment. Separately negotiated service contracts are not eligible for this funding opportunity.

The application must not request costs for staff or other ineligible costs. However, you should indicate the % full time equivalent allocated to each applicant named on the project within the application.

You must obtain three quotes for the equipment, from multiple suppliers where possible, and use these as the basis for completing the ‘Resources and cost justification’ section.

You are not required to attach quotes to your application. However, if you are successful, we may ask you for quotes prior to award.

We recommend you make use of equipment databases when deciding on what equipment to request, such as the Equipment Data Service operated by Jisc.

Managing VAT exceptions on equipment is the responsibility of the research organisation. If the research organisation is confident that they meet HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) criteria for exemption, then they can submit without VAT. In such cases, if the value is pushed just below the minimum £200,000 threshold because VAT has been excluded, then this will be accepted.

Open research and ALERT

Open research is integral to UKRI’s mission to deliver economic and social benefit. We aim to promote open sharing of all research data, including data arising from ALERT-funded equipment.

To help maximise the impact of our funding, we encourage you to consider manufacturers who provide openly accessible data formats with their equipment.

Use of open formats ensures that deposition of data in public data repositories is as easy as possible and eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming data conversion steps when data is submitted to public repositories. Using these formats helps to enhance transparency, openness, verification, and reproducibility in research supported by ALERT.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has a long-standing and continuing commitment to supporting and enabling safe and effective collaboration in research and innovation. UKRI is equally committed to ensuring that this takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks.

Our Principles and expectations set out the principles that UKRI applies to TR&I and our general expectations of the research organisations (including businesses, research institutes, and research technical organisations) that we support. Organisations supported by UKRI should be able to provide evidence that their internal controls and processes meet these expectations.

See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.

How to apply

We are running this funding opportunity on the 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.

To apply

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

1. Confirm you are the project lead.
2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password.
3. 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.
4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
6. 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:

• how applicants use the Funding Service
• how research offices use the Funding Service
• how reviewers use the Funding Service

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

BBSRC must receive your application by 14 January 2027 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

BBSRC 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 bbsrcalert@bbsrc.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 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. 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

BBSRC as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at BBSRC Funding Application Outcomes.

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

Questions we will ask you

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 research the equipment will enable
• aims and objectives
• potential outcomes 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)
• specialist
• professional enabling staff
• research and innovation associate
• technician
• researcher co-lead (RcL)

Only list one individual as project lead.

The core team should only include those individuals involved in the delivery and operation of the requested equipment. Details of users and projects should be provided in the ‘Vision’ section. Any suppliers, manufacturers or industrial partners that have an integral role in the grant should be included in the ‘Project partners’ section and should provide a letter of support.

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.

Research technical professionals

A research technical professional can be listed as a project lead or project co-lead, provided that:

• demonstrate the expertise, skills and capability to deliver the proposed application
• show how they will achieve the proposed outcomes, including appropriate project management, leadership and knowledge
• their appointment is resourced from the central funds of their research organisation at the time of application
• their contract extends beyond the duration of the project, or such a contract would be put in place if the proposal is successful

If you have any questions regarding eligibility, please contact us at bbsrcalert@bbsrc.ukri.org before submitting your application.

Purpose

Word limit: 1,500

What is the equipment, why is it needed, and why should BBSRC support it?

To describe the equipment you are requesting, you must complete the equipment classification table (DOCX 98.7KB) supplied in the ‘Additional information’ section and paste this table into the text box as part of your application.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how the proposed equipment:

• is timely, given current trends and context
• delivers an unmet need
• meets community demand and need from a diverse and inclusive user base
• enhances and complements existing research capability at a local, regional, or national scale
• meets the strategic aims of BBSRC, UKRI or the government

Please provide a summary of existing facilities beyond the institution, including identification of similar instruments overseas or in industry, outlining reasons why they cannot be utilised for the intended research.

We recommend applicants make use of equipment databases when deciding on what equipment to request, such as the Equipment Data Service operated by Jisc.

Where multi-component equipment is requested, to support your response, please provide a clear diagram or schematic that demonstrates how the equipment will operate as a pipeline or platform.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the UKRI Funding Service.

Vision

Word limit: 2,500

What are you hoping to achieve with the proposed equipment?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how the proposed equipment will:

• enable high quality, novel or transformative research with the potential to generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
• offer training opportunities for the wider community
• have measurable impact beyond the immediate team, including on world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment
• be of international importance (if applicable)
• enhance the UK’s research and innovation capabilities through local, regional or national activity

Please provide a detailed plan of research which includes a description of the users and projects that will be supported by the equipment, with sufficient experimental detail to allow the panel to assess the quality of the research, including preliminary results where possible.

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.

Approach

Word limit: 2,000

What are your plans to manage the proposed equipment?

Please provide a Gantt chart, or similar project timeline, outlining the steps required to procure, install, and deploy the equipment, as well as any activities needed to train users and staff. The chart should clearly identify all activities to be undertaken during the award period and does not need to include details of the research that will be performed using the equipment.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

We expect you to show how your approach:

• is feasible, identifying any risks to delivery and citing appropriate mitigation
• provides details of access and usage estimates, particularly where a culture of equipment sharing may extend use to external users
• considers the user perspective and their needs, including how feedback will be sought and subsequently used to inform the management of the resource
• provides long-term technical support which will be available for the requested equipment
• provides training and development of technical staff
• describes how the research environment (in terms of the place, its location, complementary expertise, facilities and relevance to the proposal) will contribute to the successful utilisation of the equipment

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.

Please also provide a plan for prioritising access to and maximising usage of the infrastructure. This should include any application and assessment processes and an estimate for the balance of users from the host institution, academics from external institutions and industrial users.

Sustainability

Word limit: 1,500

What steps have you taken to ensure the sustainability (economic, environmental and social) of your proposed equipment?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

For the sustainability, explain how the proposed equipment:

• is as economically, environmentally and socially sustainable as possible
• will have its lifetime maximised, including stating what the expected lifetime is and, where relevant, how the asset will be sustainably decommissioned

Within the Sustainability section we also expect you to explain:

• how long-term operational and maintenance costs, including staffing, will be supported
• how the proposed equipment will be integrated into an existing service, facility, equipment pool, or similar
• how the proposed equipment will contribute to UKRI or host institute carbon reduction targets
• if relevant, how the proposed equipment contributes to a broader approach to environmental sustainability, such an enhancing biodiversity or clean air, as well as reducing carbon emissions
• your plans for sustainability and legacy beyond the end of award period. These could include cost recovery models, securing additional funding, development or expansion after the initial period of funding
• how you have considered equality, diversity and inclusion, including equitable access, in the design and planned use of the equipment to maximise benefit to the UK bioscience community

Applicant and team capability to deliver

Word limit: 2,250

Why are you the right individual or team to procure and manage the proposed equipment?

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)
• the right balance of skills and expertise
• the appropriate leadership and management skills and your approach to develop others
• contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

The word count for this section is 2,250 words: 1,750 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 to 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 below. You should 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 following 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).

You should complete this section as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.

Resources and costs

Word limit: 1,500

What will you need to procure to deliver the proposed equipment and how much will it cost?

To describe the equipment you are requesting, you must complete the cost summary table (DOCX 98.7KB) supplied in the ‘Additional information’ section and paste this table into the text box as part of your application.

The information provided in this table should match your equipment quotes. There is no option to upload quote documents directly. If you are unable to obtain three quotes, please explain why in this section.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Justify the application’s costs, in particular:

• details of the equipment requested
• details of the service or maintenance service requested (if applicable)
• details of any cash contributions to the equipment from other sources
• reasons for choosing a quoted equipment (versus other quotes)
• reasons for requesting a particular specification of equipment or a particular manufacturer

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. Where a funding limit is imposed on the opportunity, requested costs for reasonable adjustments may exceed the maximum funding amount.

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 equipment:

• 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)

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 should consider ethical and RRI issues that may arise at each stage of the equipment delivery. For ALERT specifically, you should demonstrate how you have considered ethics and RRI from initial procurement processes, through to the use and management of the equipment.

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.

Animal involvement and ‘3Rs’

You must complete this section about how your proposed project will involve or impact animals.

If your project does not involve or impact animals, you must confirm this on the next page.

You may be asked about:

• what animals you are involving
• the severity of the procedures you are using
• where the procedures will take place
• welfare standards you aim to meet
• the relevance of your project to the development, validation or dissemination of the 3Rs

You may also need to download, complete, and upload at least one set of additional questions. You will be told how to do this towards the end of this section.

To complete this section and check whether your project is in the scope of the questions, refer to the UKRI policy for research and innovation involving animals.

What counts as an animal

UKRI policy relates to all animals in the kingdom Animalia, including vertebrates and invertebrates.

Genetically modified organisms and biological risk

You must complete this section if your project will include genetically modified organisms or genetic technologies.

If you project does not involve genetically modified organisms or genetic technologies, you must confirm this on the next page.

You may be asked about:

• the type of organism your project will involve and the procedures your project will include
• the intended use of the organism or genetic technology
• the genetic, biological and environmental risks of your project

For more information, see UKRI’s guidance on genetic technologies.

Human participation in health-related research

You must complete this section about whether your project will include human participation.

If your project does not involve human participation, you must confirm this on the next page.

You may be asked about:

• what type of human participation your project includes
• the project design for human participation
• the phase of the clinical trial
• whether the project will be in an NHS setting, and if so, how the project will be registered
• whether diversity and inclusion will be considered

For more information, see UKRI’s guidance for human participants in research.

Host organisation’s support

Word limit: 1,500

Provide details of support from your research organisation.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Ensure the head of department (or equivalent) of the host organisation provides you with a supporting statement (which they have written), that includes details of any additional support that might add value to the work.

Assessors will be looking for a strong statement of support from your research organisation. This information should have been approved for submission by an appropriate institutional authority.

You must also include the following details:

• full name
• their position or role
• the department, school or institute they lead
• their contact details

The statement of support provided by your host organisation should be copied and pasted into the text box. You cannot upload the statement of support to this section as an attachment. Your application may be rejected if you upload a host organisation statement of support to the ‘Project partners: letters (or emails) of support’ section or any other section of your application.

If there are other research organisations named in the core team that are significantly contributing to the application and would like to provide a statement of support, please provide in this section within the specified word limit.

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.

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

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.

We will not accept any other letters (or emails) of support from individuals or organisations not identified as project partner(s), such as those simply expressing general support for the proposed equipment. If included, these letters will not be used in the assessment process.

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
• have a page limit of one side of 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 ‘Project partners’ section.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Data management and sharing

Word limit: 750

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.

You should identify:

• any legal and ethical considerations relating to the collection, storage and sharing of data, including consent confidentiality, anonymisation, and measure to maximize future data reuse
• any formal information standards with which the proposed work will comply

Trusted research & innovation (TR&I)

TR&I 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:

• which areas of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act your project relates to
• who you intend to collaborate with and how
• whether your project requires an export control licence

Your answers 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.

How we will assess your application

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process. We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.

Expert panel

Assessment will be conducted by a multidisciplinary panel of experts covering scientific, managerial, technical and user aspects of equipment provision and management. Additional external reviews will not be sought.

Panel members will assess the application independently against the published criteria for this funding opportunity, making an evidence-based judgement and scoring the application based on their expertise.

The panel will discuss and agree a consensus score using a scoring table. The score agreed by the panel and, based on how well the assessment criteria have been met, will be used to group applications into tiers.

Decisions based on tiers

We will use a tiered approach to make decisions, using assessment tools such as randomisation and strategic allocation so that the aims of the funding opportunity are met.

If a tiered approach is used, applications are assigned to one of three tiers:

• tier one, the highest quality, prioritised for funding
• tier two, highly competitive, selected by assessment tools and dependent on remaining budget
• tier three, not competitive enough to be considered for funding

If tiers are not practical, a ranked list is formed based on the order of overall score from highest to lowest. Funding will be allocated down the list until the budget runs out.

For more information on how we prioritise applications for funding please visit How we make decisions.

Budget considerations

The indicative budget for this funding opportunity forms part of a wider funding allocation that supports world class bioscience resources, equipment and facilities. In making funding decisions, we may consider the balance, quality and strategic alignment of the combined portfolio of applications across funding opportunities. As such, we reserve the right to adjust allocations accordingly and the final budget under this funding opportunity may differ from the indicative budget stated.

Timescale

We aim to complete the assessment process within four months of receiving your application.

Feedback

We will give feedback with the outcome of your application.

Principles of assessment

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.

Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review

Generative AI may only be used for the purpose of language refinement during application assessment. When using generative AI to refine the language of a review, expert reviewers and panellists must ensure that:

• no part of the application being assessed is entered into a generative AI tool
• no personal information from the application is disclosed
• generative AI is not tasked with understanding, summarising or evaluating the application’s content

Expert reviewers and panellists must also:

• comply with relevant intellectual property and data protection legislation
• not take into account or speculate within their assessment whether generative AI has been used to develop the application

For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

• purpose
• vision
• approach
• sustainability
• applicant and team capability to deliver
• resources and costs
• ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI): informed by animal involvement and ‘3Rs’, genetically modified organisms and biological risk, and human participation in health-related research

While the following areas will not affect the overall quality score, assessors will be asked to provide their view on the following areas.  Any award may be dependent on addressing concerns raised in these sections:

• trusted research and innovation
• your organisation’s support
• project partners
• data management and sharing

Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Contact details

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page

The helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility, content or remit of a funding opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

Contact details

For help and advice on costings and writing your application please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.

For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact bbsrcalert@bbsrc.ukri.org

Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org

Phone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

• Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
• Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

To help us process queries more efficiently, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.

For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.

Additional info

Research and innovation impact

Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.

Supporting documents

BBSRC-ALERT2026-equipment classification and cost summary tables (DOCX 98.7KB)

Equality impact assessment (PDF, 248KB)

Webinar for potential applicants

We will hold a webinar on 4 November 2026 at 11:00am UK time This will provide more information about the funding opportunity and a chance to ask questions. The registration form includes an opportunity for you to ask questions in advance.

Register for the webinar