We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
To apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
- Confirm you are the project lead.
- Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password.
- Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
- Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
- Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
- Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.
When including images, you must:
- provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it 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:
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
STFC must receive your application by 25 August 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Personal data
Processing personal data
STFC, 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: stfcpublicengagement@stfc.ac.uk
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, beyond the standard 20% FEC. 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
STFC, 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
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
- context
- the challenge the project addresses
- aims and objectives
- potential applications and benefits
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
- specialist
- grant manager
- professional enabling staff
Only list one individual as project lead.
It is mandatory for every application to include a SME in an STFC funded remit area. The SME can be any one of the PL, PcL or specialist role holders.
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: 500
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your proposed work:
- is of high quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
- is timely given current trends, context and needs
- promotes wider advocacy, leadership, promotion and championing of public engagement
Approach
Word limit: 850
How are you going to deliver your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you have designed your approach so that it:
- clearly describes the different engagement, networking, or capacity building activities planned as part of the project
- clearly identifies target audiences
- provides clear evidence of audience demand for the project
- demonstrates the appropriateness of the methodology proposed to reach and appeal to the intended audiences
- demonstrates and builds upon learning from previous activities and wider sector good practice
- is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
- is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
- embeds equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI)
You are expected to upload a single PDF document to provide evidence of audience demand. If you are not doing so, you will need to provide a reason.
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.
Applicant and team capability to deliver
Word limit: 750
Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:
- the relevant experience to deliver the proposed work
- the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
- the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
You should complete this section as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.
The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.
Resources and cost justification
Word limit: 500
What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:
- project staff
- travel and subsistence
- travel and subsistence
- other costs
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 work:
- are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
- represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
- maximise potential outcomes and impacts
This funding opportunity is outside of the FEC framework. However, the Funding Service does not currently capture non-FEC cost headings. Therefore, for this funding opportunity, please put all requested costs under the individual ‘Exceptions’ fund headings.
Evaluation plan
Word limit: 750
How will the outputs, outcomes and impacts of the project be captured, evaluated and shared?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
You will need to supply clear evidence of the following:
- a detailed evaluation plan including methodology
- how the evaluation is linked to the STFC Public Engagement Evaluation Framework, as funded applicants will be required to report to this framework
- how learning from the proposed activity will be captured and shared
Dissemination plan
Word limit: 400
What the assessors are looking for in your response
You will need to supply clear evidence of the following:
- planning for dissemination of the resources, outcomes, outputs, and so on, to relevant audiences
- how wider audiences could benefit through activities, such as the sharing of good practice or sharing learning
Target audience
Word limit: 100
We expect that projects will focus on audiences based in the UK.
Please show the total number estimated number of people who will be reached within each audience group shown below and express this as a percentage (which must total 100%):
- primary school children
- secondary school children (up to 16 years old)
- 16 to 19-year-olds
- teachers
- general public
- families
- other
You are asked to show a breakdown of Wonder and non-Wonder audiences, where applicable.
If you are targeting a specific subset of the general public not mentioned above, please use the entry for ‘general public’ and specify here (for example gender specific or SEN audiences).
Wonder initiative
Word limit: 300
If appropriate, how will your project engage with the Wonder Initiative audience and what is the anticipated impact?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Please provide details of the following:
- clear evidence of demand
- clear evidence of how the audience would be reached and how proposed activities would appeal
- the appropriateness of the activities to the audience
- the potential impact on the audience
The Wonder initiative aims to connect people from all backgrounds with our science, technology and research. Wonder is about giving under-served communities an equal voice by listening, understanding and responding to what people want to know about science and technology.
The Wonder Initiative focuses on working with participants from the 40% most socio-economically deprived areas of the UK, in particular eight to 14-year-olds and their families and carers.
Applications that are regarded as fundable and have a strong Wonder focus will be prioritised.
Safeguarding and use of data
Word limit: 650
What are the ethical, RRI and safeguarding considerations, implications and issues relating to the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Specifically, any potential issues with respect to vulnerable adults, children and young people should be considered and mitigated.
If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical, RRI or safeguarding issues, explain why.
Demonstrate that you have identified, evaluated and mitigated:
- the relevant ethical and RRI considerations, including both the topic area itself and the design and delivery of the project
- how you will manage these considerations throughout the lifecycle of the project
- how you manage any, and all, safeguarding issues
If you are collecting or using data, you should identify:
- any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing and storing the data (including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical considerations and, in particular, strategies to not preclude further reuse of data)
- formal information standards that your proposed work will comply with
- how you will ensure that all data and content from activities that involves vulnerable adults, children and young people is securely and appropriately managed
See further information around our expectations on ethical and responsible research and innovation.
STFC programme area
Word limit: 50
List which of the STFC funded remit areas are relevant to your project. You will need to have provided clear evidence of links to the STFC’s funded remit elsewhere in the application.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Please show the percentage of relevant programme areas and approximate percentages (which must total 100%):
The STFC funded remit areas are:
- astronomy, solar and planetary science
- particle physics
- particle astrophysics
- nuclear physics
- accelerator science
- computational science
- quantum technologies
Linkage to specific STFC funded science, technology and research
Word limit: 300
Clearly describe how the activities that are proposed in your project link directly to STFC funded science, technology or research that is funded by STFC as part of its remit.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
The information should correlate to the percentages that have been supplied in the response to the STFC programme area question above.
It is essential for any application for projects that include quantum technologies to demonstrate clear links to the STFC-delivered and funded centres, programmes and facilities.
Provide a clear, evidenced, description of how the proposed project activities map onto the STFC funded remit areas.
Your organisation’s support
Word limit: 500
Provide details of support from your research organisation.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide a statement of support from your research organisation detailing how they will support you, as the applicant, and your proposed activities. This should include details of any additional support that might add value to the work.
Assessors will be looking for a strong statement of support from your organisation. This information should have been approved for submission by an appropriate authority.
You must also include the following details:
- a significant person’s name, their position and office or department, or all
- office address or web link
Upload details are provided within the Funding Service on the actual application.
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.
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 two sides A4 per partner
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the Project partners section.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)
Trusted Research and Innovation 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 about:
- which areas of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act your project relates to
- who you intend to collaborate with and how
- if 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.
