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.
If the lead research organisation is an NHS organisation, check it is available in the Funding Service. You are encouraged to check this early as there may be additional steps for the organisation to be set up before you can apply.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
To apply
You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited you to do so following a successful stage one application. The start application link will be provided via email.
- 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.
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 may 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.
Watch our research office webinars about the Funding Service.
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
We must receive your application by 11 September 2025 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Personal data
Processing personal data
MRC, 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 core@mrc.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.
Publication of outcomes
MRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at Board and panel 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
As this will be the first information in your application use it as your ‘elevator pitch’.
Clearly describe your proposed challenge in terms of:
- the gap, opportunity, or unmet need which the challenge addresses
- top level aims and objectives
- innovative approaches to delivering the challenge
- the transformational impact it will have if successful
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. If you include more than one project lead your application will fail at the checking stage.
This should be the person who will act as the grant holder with responsibilities to MRC at the start of the MRC CoRE award, this is for administrative purposes. Other leadership team members should be the project co-leads. The leadership team members’ application roles should not imply relative status or influence the leadership model which is for the applicants to propose.
When there are two or more host organisations involved, the project lead must be affiliated with the lead research organisation. All host organisations must be represented by an eligible project co-lead.
We encourage inclusion of senior professional enabling staff such as a chief operating officer. We would expect this role to be part of the leadership team and should be included as a project co-lead in this application.
Do not include proposed members of the MRC CoRE’s International Strategic Advisory Board as applicants or project partners.
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
Word limit: 750
What is the research challenge, why is it important, and why do you need MRC CoRE funding?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain:
- the distinctive research challenge you will address over 14 years, this should include a clear challenge statement that articulates your challenge in no more than 50 to 100 words
- what will be different as a result of your work; how it will make a difference and lead to transformative impact in biomedical or health research and place the UK in an internationally leading position
- how your proposed MRC CoRE is positioned in relation to other research efforts in the field, nationally and internationally
- how the challenge is aligned with the MRC mission
- the bold, distinctive, disruptive, and innovative approaches you will use to achieve your ambitions
- why these ambitions are best achieved through MRC CoRE funding rather than other available funding mechanisms
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: 7,500
How will you approach the research challenge?
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)
Within the Approach section we also expect you to:
- explain and justify how you will approach diversity and inclusion in the study population and follow the MRC embedding diversity in research design policy (if applicable)
- show how you will use male and female animals or tissues and cells from female and male donors (if applicable). If you are not proposing to do this, justify why
- explain and justify the inclusion of public partnerships (if applicable) and the added value these offer
Your approach should provide a compelling description of your proposed MRC CoRE research and how this will address the challenge.
You should describe your research ambitions for the full 14 years, including
- what is original, innovative, bold or disruptive
- how your approach will address your challenge and deliver transformative research and outputs
- the structure of your research activity, which could be research themes or work packages, which will operate below the challenge level
You should provide detailed research plans for the first four years to provide confidence that you have the tools, expertise, and methods to start undertaking this long-term challenge, including:
- where known, the general experimental approaches, study designs, and techniques that will be used, highlight approaches which are particularly original or unique
- describing all foreseeable studies with human participants or animal experiments in as much detail as possible at this stage
You should discuss how the research plans might evolve over the funding period what alternative approaches might be deployed should any new techniques, difficult or risky approaches fail.
In describing your plans for your approach to the research challenge you may need to refer to details in the vision, approach to leadership, operations and decision-making, or partnerships and collaborations sections but you should not duplicate information provided in these sections.
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.
Monitoring progress and measuring success
Word limit: 1,000
How will you monitor your progress and measure your success?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain your approach to monitoring the progress and measuring the success of your MRC CoRE over the first seven years.
To explain your approach, you should:
- define your key challenge objectives for the MRC CoRE over the first seven years. These should reflect your most important activities and targets and may be drawn from any area of the proposed MRC CoRE work. Objectives for the first four years should be more detailed, in line with the detailed research plans for the first four years requested in the Approach section
- describe a clear and robust framework that you will use to monitor progress against your key objectives, including defining milestones for each key objective, and the expected outcomes and success measures. Include what you will do if progress is not as planned
Project plan
Use an embedded image to provide a plan such as a Gantt chart to support your application, spanning the first seven years. This should show the major groupings of activity, with their key objectives and associated milestones and timeframes.
Do not use the plan to include information which should be detailed in the other sections of your application.
Your response will be assessed for its feasibility and suitability as a performance framework.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Approach to translational research
Word limit: 1,000
How will you approach translational research?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you intend to translate the research undertaken in the MRC CoRE to maximise the potential benefit to the research community, wider society and economy, including:
- how the translation research approach will be developed in the MRC CoRE or with partners
- how opportunities for translation will be identified and pursued
- plans for translational work on the research challenge
- plans for translation to clinical testing, uptake or product development
- approaches to and support arrangements for exploitation and commercialisation of results
- management of intellectual property, either through protection or through planned release into the public domain
Approach to knowledge transfer and exchange
Word limit: 1,000
How will you approach knowledge transfer and exchange?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you plan to maximise engagement with relevant stakeholders (academia, industry, charities) to ensure the appropriate sharing of knowledge and expertise, including:
- identification and engagement with key stakeholders at the appropriate time
- your approach to collaborative working with stakeholders to enable porous cross sector working
- how knowledge exchange will be enabled in practice, such as the connections and methods you will use
Approach to environmental sustainability
Word limit: 1,000
How will you approach environmentally sustainability?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you have considered environmental impact of the MRC CoRE and relate to this your environmental sustainability strategy and action plan, including:
- general environmental impacts relevant to the MRC CoRE and potential mitigations
- your environmental sustainability strategy and how this aligns with the host research organisations sustainability plan and policies
You should also describe the actions you will take, such as:
- how you will consider and promote environmental sustainability and appropriately reflect it in your research design and operations
- what sustainability standards you will adopt
- your targets, aligned with the greening government commitments 2021 to 2025
- the reporting systems you will use
The MRC CoRE must have an environmental sustainability strategy. This may be the host research organisation’s (or organisations’) strategy and, if so, you must be explicit that you are fully adopting and complying with it.
Data management and sharing
Word limit: 1,500
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 which should clearly detail how you will comply with MRC’s published data management and sharing policies, which includes detailed guidance notes.
Provide your response in the text box following the headings in the MRC data management plan template. You are not required to upload the document to your application.
The length of your plan will vary depending on the type of study being undertaken, as follows:
- population cohorts, longitudinal studies, genetic, omics and imaging data, biobanks, and other collections that are potentially a rich resource for the wider research community: maximum of 1,500 words
- all other research, less complex, the plan may be as short as 500 words
Leadership, operations and decision-making
Word limit: 2,000
How will you approach running the MRC CoRE?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
MRC CoRE is flexible long-term funding to address a defined challenge, and it is recognised that it’s not possible to set out detailed research plans for the full 14 years at the outset, and that the research landscape will evolve over the lifetime of the MRC CoRE. In this section the assessors are looking for information on how you will lead and operate an agile and responsive MRC CoRE.
Explain how the proposed MRC CoRE:
- will be effectively and inclusively managed, including describing the leadership team and how leadership will be drawn from participating organisations (if applicable)
- has clear leadership team roles and responsibilities and defined succession plans to enable development of future leaders over the lifetime of the award
- has clear plans for communication across the MRC CoRE to ensure the leadership team benefit from the breadth of thought and ideas available
- will approach decision making and agility in response to new scientific developments, and the processes and criteria to take decisions on future research directions, including to discontinue activity if required and to manage conflicts and agreements
- has clear governance plans to successfully function as a research entity, and coordinate activities across multiple sites (if applicable)
How the MRC CoRE will access the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the proposed research should be described in the ‘Your host research organisation support’ section.
MRC CoRE management structure
Include an organisational chart or other visual plan of your ‘MRC CoRE management structure’.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Research culture
Word limit: 2,000
How will you achieve and continually strengthen a positive research culture?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Using the following guidance, describe your research culture action plan.
Describe how you will build and sustain positive research culture, including:
- committed leadership
- support for career development paths
- leadership training
- mentoring, supervision and pastoral care
Describe how you will embrace and realise the benefits of team science, including:
- building and strengthening effective collaboration across multidisciplinary teams, wider stakeholders and public contributors, drawing on the whole talent pool
- establishing common understanding and effective communication plans for collaborations beyond the MRC CoRE and across sectors
Explain how you will use the physical environment and infrastructure to enhance research culture, including:
- the use of space and support staff to create opportunities for interaction and outreach
- sharing of facilities and specialist equipment
- relevant tools, such as electronic lab books and platforms to facilitate collaboration
Describe your approach to the promotion of good practice and open research, including:
- demonstrating best research practice
- adoption of open research practices as the default way of working
- alignment with the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) data principles
- diversity and inclusion in experimental design, and across all research activities
Explain your approach to reward and incentives including:
- fair and transparent methods to assess performance and support career progression
- practices for acknowledgement of contribution in research outputs
- incentives for continuous improvement
- upskilling of everyone involved to enable a positive research culture
Describe your approach to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), including:
- how you will integrate EDI into all aspects of the MRC CoRE’s activities
- how you will ensure that the policies and practices of the MRC CoRE and host organisation(s) are aligned with UKRI and MRC EDI strategy and policies
It is important that you also describe how you will:
- integrate meaningful public involvement and engagement (PIE) into your research strategy and delivery, and its purpose in relation to the challenge-led research agenda
- develop creative approaches to leadership
Within the research culture section, we also expect you to describe the activities you will undertake to build on and enhance your host organisations’ research culture plan or strategy. These should support the following principles which underpin a positive research culture:
- research is conducted with integrity, centred on reproducibility, responsible innovation, collaboration, interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity
- research is communicated to maximise impact, built on transparency and openness, and partnership with the public
- career paths and training environment, are provided to recognise a diversity of talents, skills and outputs, and embrace team science as the way of working
It is not sufficient to simply describe your host organisations’ plans in this section. We are looking for clear and specific plans for how you will underpin a positive research culture within your MRC CoRE. You should identify your intended research culture outcomes, actions to achieve these, and the relevant timescales, success criteria and evidence for each outcome.
In describing your plans for research culture across the MRC CoRE you may need to refer to details in the Leadership, operations and decision-making section, and the Training and career section. You should not duplicate information provided in these sections.
Data sharing logistics should be included in your response on data management. Operational leadership plans, including leadership roles and responsibilities should be included in your response on MRC CoRE leadership, operations and decision making.
Research culture maturity model
In addition to explaining your research culture action plan, the assessors are also looking for you to complete the research culture maturity model template (DOCX, 30KB) which is a self-assessment of your initial level of research culture maturity.
The maturity model template asks you to benchmark your initial research culture status and evidence how your planned activities will enable you to progress through maturity levels to your stated future outcomes.
You should use the maturity model to challenge assumptions and set priorities, and it will enable you in future to map progress and celebrate successes.
You should download the research culture maturity model template, and complete and upload it using the guidance provided.
Training, careers and capacity building
Word limit: 2,000
What is your approach to training and capacity building in the MRC CoRE and how does this help to address the challenge?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain your approach to and plans for training, careers and capacity building, of all types from undergraduates to senior leaders, including how you will:
- support training, careers and capacity building, in line with the overall strategy of the MRC CoRE
- provide the innovative training and capacity building needed to deliver on the research challenge
- through training, enhance equality, diversity and inclusion of the MRC CoRE’s people across career stages and job roles
- through training, support interdisciplinary research
- recognise the range of people, skills and career pathways required to deliver innovative training
- ensure an inclusive and progressive research training environment free from unnecessary barriers to entry and progression
- support all career stages, pathways and types
- add value by convening and aligning existing training activity across the UK
- share good practice in training and careers
- prepare trainees for the challenges and opportunities available to them after their time at the MRC CoRE
- provide robust management and governance structures for training activities, including a named training lead
Justify the training and capacity building proposed, in context of activities already on offer either within participating research organisations or nationally and explain the rationale and evidence for strategic training needs in the challenge area.
You should identify your intended training, careers and capacity building outcomes, actions to achieve these, and the relevant timescales, success criteria and evidence for each outcome. You may include a small number of key indicators that will showcase the success of your plans.
Managing doctoral training
Word limit: 500
What is the relationship with existing doctoral training programmes?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you are requesting funding for PhD students, explain the relationship with the relevant MRC Doctoral Training Programme (DTP) as follows:
- confirm that the MRC CoRE students will be managed as part of an existing MRC DTP
- include a statement of support from the relevant MRC DTP lead
- explain how the existing MRC DTP will accommodate these additional studentships and continue to deliver high quality training experience for all students
Applicant and team capability to deliver
Word limit: 3,250
Why are you the team to successfully deliver the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Evidence of how 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, including details on the tools and methods that different individuals will contribute
- how the skills of the team will be effectively used and integrated
- 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
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 3,250 words: 2,750 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 explain with precision the range of relevant skills your team have and how this will help deliver the proposed MRC CoRE. The team described should include all leadership team members and any other applicants with relevant experience, skills and expertise you wish to highlight, this could include technical or facility staff and professional services. 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 provide an integrated view of the skills and collective value of the team as a whole as they relate to the proposed challenge. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings in relation to your proposed MRC CoRE, rather than listing the skills of each individual:
- 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, including public partnerships
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.
ORCID iD
Within the R4RI format, team members should include their ORCID iD as part of the ‘short role descriptor’.
You may reuse information from your outline application. You can refine your team membership and update information from your outline application as needed.
The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.
Your host research organisation(s)
Word limit: 2,500
How will your research organisation(s) support the MRC CoRE?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your research organisation(s) will support the MRC CoRE and how the MRC CoRE will be positioned within the host research organisation(s) including:
- how the strategies of the organisation(s) and the MRC CoRE research challenge align
- evidence of sustained commitment to the MRC CoRE, from the outset and for the duration of the 14-year funding period, including enabling access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the proposed MRC CoRE
- how the organisation(s) will help the MRC CoRE meet funder expectations and tackle its research challenge, including through cooperation and the agile use of resources. This is particularly important for partnerships of more than one organisation
You should also describe the necessary support and facilities for the MRC CoRE that the organisation(s) will provide, such as:
- laboratory space
- access to facilities and equipment
- access to necessary digital support infrastructure
- support to manage estates
- human resources services
- finance services
- underpinning of key staff positions
- access to additional sources of funding and support available to other researchers across the research organisations
Include all participating host research organisations. You may reuse information from your outline application and add and update information as needed. If the MRC CoRE is to be hosted by a single research organisation you may only need 1,000 words.
Your partnerships and collaborations
Word limit: 1,000
How will your partnerships and collaborations enhance the MRC CoRE and help to address the challenge?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your project partners and collaborators will:
- provide distinct and beneficial support to the MRC CoRE
- provide specialist input that aligns with the MRC CoRE team in addressing the research challenge and achieving objectives
- add value in allowing research to be undertaken, or undertaken to a quality level or timescale not otherwise possible
- promote translational objectives
- contribute to a stimulating multi or interdisciplinary research environment
In the response you should also:
- describe the timeline for collaborative research activities with project partners and collaborators named in the application
- describe how relationships with partners and collaborators and risks relating to partnerships will be managed
- explain your approach to developing new opportunities and establishing additional partnerships and collaborations arising during the life of the MRC CoRE
We are looking for an integrated overview of how the MRC CoRE will approach and benefit from partnerships and collaborations beyond the MRC CoRE host research organisations. Individual project partner details, including industry collaboration framework information, project partner financial contributions and project partner statements of support, are not required here and should be provided in the relevant sections.
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 person or organisation who will have an integral role in your proposed research. Their involvement may include direct (cash) and or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time, use of facilities or recruitment of research participants. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.
A project partner is not anyone in your core team or anyone from your organisation or any of the other organisations represented by core team members.
Add the following project partner details:
- the organisation name (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)
- the project partner contact name and email address
- the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value
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.
If there are specific circumstances where project partners do require funding for minor costs such as travel and subsistence, these project partner costs should be claimed and justified within the resources and costs section of your application.
Important information
If you are adding a project partner to this section, you must ensure they provide you with a letter or email of support and you upload it to ‘Project partners: letters or emails of support’.
If your project partners are from industry or a company, you must also complete the ‘Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)’ section.
Project partners: letters (or emails) of support
Word limit: 10
Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the ‘Project partners’ section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
What supporting statements we are looking for
We are looking for you to provide letters or emails of support from all your identified project partners.
What we are not looking for
We don’t want any other letters (or emails) of support, from people who are not your identified project partners, such as those simply expressing general support for your project. If these are included by you, they will be ignored by us and will not be used in the assessment process.
Important information
You should only provide letters or emails of support from people you have identified in the project partner section of your application, who will have an integral role in your proposed research.
What each project partner letter or email of support must include
Each project partner letter or email you provide should:
- include the name of the project partner organisation and contact information
- explain the project partners’ commitment to the project
- explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the proposed work, to them
- describe any additional value they will bring to the project
- not exceed two sides of A4 per project partner
Project partner letters and emails of support are not required to be on headed paper or include handwritten signatures (electronic signatures are acceptable).
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
Project partners from industry or a company
Industry or company project partners are required to download and complete the industry or company letter of support template. You must also complete the ‘Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)’ section. Find out more about ICF.
Project partners responsible for recruiting research participants or providing human tissue or samples
If the project partner is responsible for the recruitment of people as research participants or providing human tissue their letter or email of support should include:
- agreement that the project partner will recruit the participants or provide tissue
- confirmation that what is being supplied is suitable for the proposed work
- confirmation that the quantity of tissue being supplied is suitable, but not excessive for achieving meaningful results (if applicable)
Agreement with your project partners
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.
Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)
Word limit: 4,000
Does your application include collaboration with industry or company project partners?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
The assessors are looking for you to confirm if your proposed work involves collaboration with an industry or company project partner. If it does, you will need to follow the MRC industry collaboration framework (ICF).
By ‘industry or company’ we mean an enterprise that puts or has intention to put goods or services on a market.
For guidance to assist your decision if your proposed work requires you to follow ICF, you should explore the ICF decision tree and find out more about ICF which includes:
- collaboration agreements
- definitions of basic or applied research
- internationally based companies
- subsidy control
- intellectual property (IP) arrangements
- fully flexible and gated contributions
- the ICF assessment criteria
Enter ‘Yes’ in the text box if you have industry or company project partners and you are likely to follow ICF. You should also confirm your answers to the ICF questions one to nine in the text box for each ICF project partner.
Contact core@mrc.ukri.org if you are unsure if your application should follow ICF.
In addition to the project partner information completed in the previous section, the assessors are looking for information relating to the nature, goals and conditions of the collaboration and any restrictions or rights to the project results that could be claimed by the industry or company project partner.
Confirm your answers to the ICF questions in the text box, repeat this process for each ICF project partner.
- Name the industry or company project partner considered under ICF.
- Indicate whether your application is basic research or applied research.
- Explain why, in the absence of the requested UKRI funding, the collaboration and the planned research could not be undertaken.
- State whether your application is under the category of fully flexible contribution or gated contribution (based on the IP sharing arrangements with the industry or company partner).
- Outline the pre-existing IP (‘background IP’) that each partner, including the academic partner, will bring to the collaborative research project and the terms under which partners may access these assets.
- Outline the IP that is expected to be developed during the collaborative research project (‘foreground IP’) and briefly outline how it will be managed, including:
- who will own this IP
- what rights industry or company partners will have to use academically-generated foreground IP during and after the research project, for internal research and development or for commercial purposes
- any rights of the academic partner to commercialise the foreground IP, including foreground IP generated by industry or company partners
- Outline any restrictions to dissemination of the project results, including the rights of the industry or company partner to:
- review, approve or delay publications (including the time period associated with such rights)
- request or require the removal of any information
- Declare any conflicts of interest held by the applicants in relation to the industry or company project partners and describe how they will be managed.
- Justify collaborating with an overseas industry or company under ICF (if applicable).
Failure to provide the information requested for industry or company partners under ICF could result in your application being rejected.
You are recommended to discuss the goals and conditions of any collaboration with an industry or company with your technology transfer or contracts office before applying.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made. You must provide us with a copy of the collaboration agreement, signed by all partners, before work with the partner begins.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)
Word limit: 100
Does the proposed work involve international collaboration in a sensitive research or technology area?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate how your proposed international collaboration relates to Trusted Research and Innovation, including:
If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information later, in line with UKRI TR&I principles and funding terms and conditions (RCG 2.6.2, 2.7.1 and 2.7.2).
Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
Word limit: 500
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
Consider the MRC guidance on ethics and approvals.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Genetic and biological risk
Word limit: 700
Does your proposed research involve any genetic or biological risk?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
In respect of animals, plants or microbes, are you proposing to:
- use genetic modification as an experimental tool, like studying gene function in a genetically modified organism
- release genetically modified organisms
- ultimately develop commercial and industrial genetically modified outcomes
If yes, provide the name of any required approving body and state if approval is already in place. If it is not, provide an indicative timeframe for obtaining the required approval.
Identify the organism or organisms as a plant, animal or microbe and specify the species and which of the three categories the research relates to.
Identify the genetic and biological risks resulting from the proposed research, their implications, and any mitigation you plan on taking. Assessors will want to know you have considered the risks and their implications to justify that any identified risks do not outweigh any benefits of the proposed research.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Research involving the use of animals
Word limit: 10
Does your proposed research involve the use of vertebrate animals or other organisms covered by the Animals Scientific Procedures Act?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you are proposing research that requires using animals, download and complete the Animals Scientific Procedures Act template (DOCX, 74KB), which contains all the questions relating to research using vertebrate animals or other Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulated organisms.
Save it as a PDF. The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Conducting research with animals overseas
Word limit: 700
Will any of the proposed animal research be conducted overseas?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you are proposing to conduct overseas research, it must be conducted in accordance with welfare standards consistent with those in the UK, as in Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research. Ensure all named applicants in the UK and overseas are aware of this requirement.
If your application proposes animal research to be conducted overseas, you must provide a statement in the text box. Depending on the species involved, you may also need to upload a completed template for each species listed.
Statement
Provide a statement to confirm that:
- all named applicants are aware of the requirements and have agreed to abide by them
- this overseas research will be conducted in accordance with welfare standards consistent with the principles of UK legislation
- the expectation set out in Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research will be applied and maintained
- appropriate national and institutional approvals are in place
Templates
Overseas studies proposing to use non-human primates, cats, dogs, equines or pigs will be assessed during NC3Rs review of research applications. Provide the required information by completing the template from the question ‘Research involving the use of animals’.
For studies involving other species, such as:
- rodents
- rabbits
- sheep
- goats
- pigs
- cattle
- xenopus laevis and xenopus tropicalis
- zebrafish
Select, download, and complete the relevant Word checklist or checklists by exploring NC3Rs checklist for the use of animals overseas.
Save your completed template as a PDF and upload to the Funding Service. If you use more than one checklist template, save it as a single PDF.
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
If conducting research with animals overseas does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Research involving human participation
Word limit: 700
Will the project involve the use of human subjects or their personal information?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you are proposing research that requires the involvement of human subjects, provide the name of any required approving body and whether approval is already in place.
Justify the number and the diversity of the participants involved, as well as any procedures.
Provide details of any areas of substantial or moderate severity of impact.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Research involving human tissues or biological samples
Word limit: 700
Does your proposed research involve the use of human tissues, or biological samples?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you are proposing work that involves human tissues or biological samples, provide the name of any required approving body and whether approval is already in place.
Justify the use of human tissue or biological samples specifying the nature and quantity of the material to be used and its source.
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Resources and cost justification
Word limit: 2,000
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, for the first seven years, in particular:
MRC CoRE staff
- any equipment that will cost more than £25,000, including routine equipment and mid-range or large equipment considered at outline stage
- any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities
- resources for translational research and commercialisation
- activities to increase impact, for public partnerships and related activities, including public engagement and involvement and payments to public contributors, knowledge transfer and exchange or to support responsible innovation
- training, careers and capacity building, justifying why this cannot be addressed through existing funding routes
- resources developing or enhancing research culture
- initiatives to improve environmental sustainability
- all facilities and infrastructure costs
- animal costs, such as numbers that need to be bred or maintained and to maintain high welfare standards
- preserving, long term storage, or sharing of data, including open science
- any significant requests for flexible funds, including how these will be managed
- all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’
- support for international co-leads, demonstrating this is within the 30% costs cap for co-leads from developed countries, India and China, although we expect most costs to be incurred by UK organisations
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
- support the MRC CoRE as a whole or are allocated to areas of research activity
Provide a preliminary breakdown of costs for each research area, work-package or equivalent, described in the approach to research.
Explain your oversight and planning for long-term allocation of resources to activities.
Costings should be justified on the basis of the FEC of the project, not just on the costs expected from UKRI. Include resource from host organisations and how that enhances value for money.
Equipment
Word limit: 500
Do you want to request any mid-range or large equipment?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
If you want to request mid-range or large equipment critical to establish platforms or facilities at the MRC CoRE:
- justify why the equipment is needed to address the research challenge
- justify why existing or shared equipment cannot be used or accessed through collaboration
- explain how the equipment will be managed and potentially shared
- provide details of any discounts, organisational contribution or other factors that make this good value for money
If you do not want to request any mid-range or large equipment you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
