Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: The UKRI Ayrton challenge programme full stage (invite only)

Apply for funding for interdisciplinary, challenge-led research projects enabling the transition to low carbon energy in developing countries.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will fund around 10 projects between £2 to £3 million for up to three years. 80% of the full economic costs (FEC) will be available for the UK component of each project. Partners in countries on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list will be funded at 100% of FEC.

You must be invited to apply for the full stage of this opportunity.

Who can apply

You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited you to do so following a successful outline application.

Before applying for funding, check the Eligibility of your organisation.

UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new UKRI Funding Service.

For full details, visit Eligibility as an individual.

Who is eligible to apply

The project lead (PL) must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI funding and must be eligible to hold UKRI grants and be from:

  • a UK higher education institution
  • a research council institute
  • an independent research organisation eligible for UKRI funding

International partnership

Proposals must be co-designed and delivered in equitable partnerships with ‘in-country’ researchers who should be included as project co-lead (international) (PcL (I)). PcL (I)s must be based in a country on the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list of Official Development Assistance (ODA) recipient countries. The strength and equitability of this partnership will be assessed, and applications must make clear that this condition has been met.

The PcL (I)s must be from eligible research performing organisations. These include:

  • higher education institutes: the organisation must be approved and registered to receive standard funding for research, postgraduate training and associated activities from the relevant national bodies
  • research institutes: institutes with long-term investment by public funders
  • other independent research organisations: these should fulfil the following criteria:
    • be established for public benefit and not-for-profit, for example. a registered or approved charitable organisation or non-governmental organisation (NGO)
    • be independent of direct government control and not reliant on more than 50% of direct government funding
    • be primarily based in the country of the PcL (I)
    • be able to demonstrate that satisfactory controls are in place to manage research funding and to have the independent capability to undertake and lead research programmes (minimum of 10 researchers with PhD or equivalent experience, track record of staff leading or co-leading innovative research projects while at the organisation)
    • have sufficient financial support for research available at organisational level to ensure availability of essential infrastructure and long-term sustainability of research activity
    • have a track record to of maximising impact and value of its research for economic and societal benefits

Who is not eligible to apply

The Ayrton challenge programme is not able to use ODA funding to support a partnership with either China or India. The UK works with India on development to achieve the SDGs and seeks partnerships with China to address key global challenges. Current and upcoming programmes with both India and China are supporting these partnerships and therefore due to these other opportunities applications must not include researchers and partners based in either India or China and must not list these countries as beneficiaries.

UKRI is not able to fund private companies through this opportunity and therefore businesses should not be listed as PcL (I)s. Profit-making companies are allowed to apply only as project partners and are expected to provide contributions to the delivery of the project and should not therefore be seeking to claim funds for research from UKRI. However, there may be specific circumstances where project partners do require funding for minor costs to enable the delivery of impact for the project, which will be funded at 80% FEC if fully justified.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

The Ayrton challenge programme will adopt inclusivity, equitability and gender equality as core principles. See section ‘What we are looking for’ for more information on how principles of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) should be integrated into each project and how this will be assessed.

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

Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI.

What we're looking for

Aim

Through the Ayrton challenge programme, UKRI seeks to help drive forward the clean energy transition in developing countries and deliver real change in clean and just energy for the world’s poorest.

Objectives

The Ayrton challenge programme will be centred on the delivery of impact with proposals expected to have clear plans for the transition of research to implementation in developing countries.

The funding objectives are to:

  • deliver a programme of high quality, interdisciplinary research related to the Ayrton themes of Low Carbon Supplies, Super-Efficient Demand, and Smart Delivery
  • deliver tangible and sustainable benefits to the welfare of people living in beneficiary countries that drives forward the Global South energy justice research agenda, making progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and 13 (Climate Action)
  • foster engagement with diverse and relevant partners in developing countries and in the UK to ensure that research is co-created, co-designed and co-delivered with stakeholders, researchers and users
  • embed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within both research activities and operations, including clear consideration for specific EDI context and challenges within the proposed research areas, stakeholders and community

Scope

The Ayrton challenge programme will deliver a portfolio of research to drive forward the clean energy transition in developing countries by funding both the development of innovative technologies and the knowledge needed to enable delivery of long-term sustainable change in developing countries.

This funding opportunity is part of the Ayrton Fund, a UK government commitment of up to £1 billion that aims to accelerate the clean energy transition in developing countries, by creating and demonstrating innovative clean energy technologies.

The Ayrton Fund supports research around three themes:

  • lower-cost, flexible clean energy supplies suited to the resources of developing countries
  • super-efficient demand via innovative services, processes and equipment meeting the needs of poor consumers and enterprises
  • smart delivery systems and resources to manage variable clean energy and reduce the costs of delivering reliable clean energy

Under these themes sit 12 Ayrton Fund challenge areas. Projects must focus on one or more of these themes and make clear in the project vision how the research will yield a step change in one or more of the specific challenges. Each project should fully justify which challenge area(s) it will address in its application. Each project should address one or more of the following challenge areas:

  • clean hydrogen: scaling zero carbon thermal gas production and uses, reducing remaining need for fossil fuels in hard to abate sectors
  • critical minerals: address critical minerals as a key enabler in clean energy transitions and the high political and commercial interest on supply chain sustainability for clean energy technologies
  • clean transport: support innovative clean transport solutions in developing countries by accelerating readiness for wide uptake (attractive, affordable, accessible options), as part of the global clean energy transition
  • energy efficiency: improve the efficiency, performance, availability, and affordability of a range of appliances and productive equipment for some of the world’s poorest people
  • energy storage: create and commercialise innovative battery technologies and associated business models for generator displacement and mobility applications in developing countries and emerging economies
  • inclusive energy and leave no-one behind: ensure that the benefits of the clean energy revolution reach the poorest and most marginalised, for example women, people with disabilities, refugees or IDPs, and healthcare patients in unelectrified clinics
  • industrial decarbonisation: support industrial decarbonisation technology innovation in developing countries to accelerate the pilot-testing of innovative clean technologies towards commercialisation
  • modern cooking services: unlock the transition from biomass to genuinely clean cooking, delivering major health and environmental benefits
  • next generation solar: enable new, sustainable, locally-manufacturable solar PV supplies, reducing the emissions and transport costs of solar expansion
  • smart energy systems: accelerate a series of related technologies which enable more efficient and effective network delivery of energy
  • sustainable cooling for all: help to meet growing global cooling demand in a warming world, in a sustainable way
  • zero emissions generators: replace fossil-fuelled generators in an increasing number of use-cases with zero emissions alternatives

Projects must be appropriately balanced in scope to meet the funding opportunity objectives, balancing both the requirement for delivery of impact within the beneficiary country and the generation of new research.

For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the Additional information section.

Duration

The duration of this award is up to three years.

Projects must start by 1 January 2025 with no slippage allowed.

Funding available

UKRI will fund around 10 projects between £2 million and £3 million for up to three years. The maximum award that UKRI will make is £3 million.

80% of the full economic costs will be available for the UK component of each project. Overseas costs for research partners in countries on the DAC list of Official Development Assistance (ODA) recipient countries will be funded at 100% of full economic cost.

What we will fund

Successful research projects will be challenge-focused and interdisciplinary, working to deliver solutions capable of providing the answers needed to enable real world change. To tackle the Ayrton challenges the projects should bring together a breadth of expertise from both the UK and beneficiary countries, including research collaborators, delivery partners and stakeholders. Successful awards must be co-created, co-designed and co-delivered and underpinned by inclusive and equitable partnerships.

Awards will drive forward the clean energy transition in terms of the low carbon energy research agenda, while strongly grounding the projects in the research needs and local context of beneficiary countries. The projects should focus on an outcome delivery, contributing towards meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) or 13 (Climate Action) and lead to climate change mitigation and solutions to energy inequity in developing countries.

Work funded will span the Ayrton themes and projects should be clear in their route to tackling the Ayrton Fund challenges. The Ayrton Fund in its totality represents a much larger ecosystem than what is being funded through this funding opportunity, and therefore successful awards will be expected to engage with other Ayrton Fund platforms and programmes throughout their lifecycle to leverage developments and further enhance and enable routes to impact.

Successful awards will integrate principles of EDI within the team, project design, development and implementation. Projects are especially expected to include diversity within the research design, integrating EDI analysis into the research itself, as well as ensuring research outputs are accessible and inclusive. The extent to which this has been done will be assessed at the panel across each of the assessment areas. The EPSRC expectations for equality, diversity and inclusion are a useful resource to illustrate how EDI can be embedded in all stages of research.

Through this funding opportunity UKRI is looking to fund a portfolio of research across the 12 Ayrton challenge areas. Funding decisions therefore will be made to ensure a spread of projects across these areas.

To see some other initiatives, partnerships and projects funded by the wider Ayrton Fund see the Ayrton Explorer Tool.

For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the Additional information section.

What we will not fund

Ayrton challenge programme applications must not include researchers or partners based in either India or China and must not list these countries as beneficiaries.

Single items of equipment above a value of £10,000 are not permitted.

UKRI will not fund businesses through this funding opportunity and therefore private companies are not eligible to be listed as PcL (I)s.

Studentship or PhD stipend costs cannot be claimed under this opportunity for both UK and partner countries.

UKRI eligibility requirements apply. Please see ‘Who can apply’ for more detail.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.

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

International collaboration requirements

The projects should bring together the right people and organisations, both from beneficiary countries and from the UK to tackle the challenges including research collaborators, delivery partners and stakeholders, for example: academics, businesses and research users, government and other policy makers, third sector organisations and NGOs, and community groups.

The minimum requirement is for one collaborating project co-lead to be based in a country on the OECD DAC list of ODA recipient countries. Equitable partnerships will be a cornerstone of the programme and projects will require genuine and substantive equitable partnerships to co-deliver the work, with a strong ethos of co-creation with the communities that stand to benefit from the work.

Successful bids will be expected to conduct stakeholder engagement en route to the development of research programmes, incorporating local community engagement, equitable project co-design and grounding in societal context.

Funded programmes should deliver inclusive and sustainable development, developing holistic solutions to real challenges facing those living in developing countries.

The strength and equitability of this partnership will be assessed.

Learn more about equitable partnerships.

Find out about getting funding for international collaboration.

Costs attributed to international project co-leads (PcL (I)) from developed countries (those not on the OECD DAC list of ODA recipients) must not exceed 30% of the full economic cost grant value. There is no cap on eligible funds going to PcL (I)s from DAC list countries.

Learn about the costs you can apply for.

ODA compliance

This programme will form part of the UK’s ODA, as defined by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

When applying to this funding opportunity it is important that you ensure your application is ODA compliant. It must be clear how the application is ODA eligible as defined by “administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as its main objective”.

Projects will be required to submit an ODA compliance statement as part of the application.

How to apply

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

Please use the invitation-only link sent to you by email. If you have not received this, please email ayrtonfund@ukri.org

  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. 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 TFS 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.
  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.

Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant:

  • use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words
  • insert each new image onto a new line
  • provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)
  • files must be smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format

Watch our research office webinars about the new Funding Service.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:

References

Applications should be self-contained, and hyperlinks should only be used to provide links directly to reference information. To ensure the information’s integrity is maintained, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers should be used. Assessors are not required to access links to carry out assessment or recommend a funding decision. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.

References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application and be easily identifiable by the assessors, for example (Smith, Research Paper, 2019).

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.

Deadline

UKRI must receive your application by 20 August 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

UKRI will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.

Publication of outcomes

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

Official Development Assistance transparency and reporting

As part of the government’s commitment to Official Development Assistance (ODA) transparency and in line with government ODA reporting requirements, UKRI is responsible for publishing information about UKRI ODA grants, including project titles and summaries, via the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) registry and via UK government national statistics.

The purpose of publishing information via the IATI registry is to make information about ODA easily accessible to governments, stakeholders and other relevant groups in beneficiary countries. All UKRI-funded projects from this programme will be published in this way.

You should write your project title and summary in such a way that they are meaningful and accessible to non-specialist audiences. Avoid the use of jargon, acronyms, puns and plays on words.

You should also make clear in your project title and summary how your project is ODA compliant, for example by identifying the development challenge(s) being addressed, the aims of the project and the beneficiary countries.

Summary

Word limit: 550

In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:

  • opinion-formers
  • policymakers
  • the public
  • the wider research community

Guidance for writing a summary

Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:

  • context
  • the challenge the project addresses
  • aims and objectives
  • potential applications and benefits
  • the Ayrton challenge area(s) your project will address, clearly explaining the justification for why your work will address the area(s)
  • how your project is ODA compliant, for example by identifying the development challenge(s) being addressed, the aims of the project and the beneficiary countries

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))
  • researcher co-lead (RcL)
  • specialist
  • grant manager
  • professional enabling staff
  • research and innovation associate
  • technician
  • visiting researcher

Only list one individual as project lead.

Please ensure you have correctly assigned each individual to the role they will be performing, with reference to the eligibility requirements for this opportunity. UKRI will reject any application which does not include an eligible core team.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.

Application questions

Vision

Word limit: 2,500

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 excellent quality and importance within or beyond the fields or areas
  • has the potential to advance current understanding and generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the identified area of low energy technology
  • is timely given current trends, context, and needs
  • is grounded in the local context of the beneficiary country, and how research outcomes will address concerns of affordability and equitability of access
  • will make progress towards UN Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 13
  • is appropriate and balanced in its scope to meet the objectives of the funding opportunity

Within the Vision section we also expect you to:

  • identify the specific Ayrton theme that your work will fall under, and the step change your work will lead to in the one or more specific Ayrton challenges your project will tackle
  • identify the beneficiary country and the tangible and sustainable benefits your project will make to the welfare of people living in that country

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

References may be included within this section.

Approach

Word limit: 2,500

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:

  • is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives.
  • brings together the right interdisciplinary approaches to deliver complete real-world solutions.
  • has a clear plan for the realisation of sustainable development outcomes.
  • embeds equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within both research activities and operations, including clear consideration for specific EDI context and challenges within the proposed research areas, stakeholders and community
  • will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
  • is feasible, and identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed

Within the Approach section we also expect you to:

  • identify the engagement and co-creation and co-design that has taken place with communities and stakeholders in the beneficiary country
  • where appropriate and relevant, identify existing and potential opportunities for engagement with other projects and programmes within the wider Ayrton Fund portfolio

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

References may be included within this section.

Applicant and team capability to deliver

Word limit: 4,000

Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:

  • the right interdisciplinary balance of skills and expertise, across both the UK and beneficiary country, to cover the proposed work
  • included a range of suitable stakeholders and delivery partners necessary to ensure sustainable development and the adoption of technologies in the beneficiary country
  • will demonstrate the principles of equitable partnership, and embed inclusivity in the delivery of your research
  • co-created, co-designed and co-delivered the project as a partnership between the UK and beneficiary country

Within the Applicant and team capability section we also expect you to:

  • demonstrate the experience and capability of project co-leads in the beneficiary country, illustrating why the international team is the appropriate team to deliver the project

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 4,000 words: 3,500 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:

  • contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
  • the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
  • contributions to the wider research and innovation community
  • contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit
Additions

Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).

Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.

References may be included within this section.

UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new Funding Service.

For full details, see Eligibility as an individual.

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

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

Resources and cost justification

Word limit: 1,000

What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

What will you need to deliver the proposed work which will be funded by UKRI and how much will it cost? Please include any low and middle-income country (LMIC) costs that will be covered by UKRI.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:

  • project staff
  • significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)
  • any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities
  • all facilities and infrastructure costs
  • all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’
  • support for public involvement and engagement
  • support for preserving, long-term storage, or sharing of data

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
  • are equitably shared

Official Development Assistance (ODA): compliance eligibility

Word limit: 500

How does your proposed work meet ODA compliance eligibility?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

To demonstrate how your proposed work meets ODA compliance criteria, please explain:

  • which country or countries on the DAC list will directly benefit from this proposal
  • how your proposal is directly and primarily relevant to the development challenges of these countries
  • how you expect the outcomes of your proposed activities will promote the economic development and welfare of a country or countries on the DAC list
  • how the proposed activity is appropriate to address the development need
  • the approaches you will use to deliver development impact within the lifetime of the project and in the longer term, considering the potential outcomes, the key beneficiary and stakeholder groups and how they will be engaged to enable development impact to be achieved

This funding opportunity is part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment. This is government aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries as its primary objective.
You should ensure that your proposal focuses on the challenges specific to the partner country or countries and not broader global issues, meaning those that are transboundary beyond LMICs. It is accepted that ODA-funded research may have benefits to the UK or other high-income countries, however, these should be secondary to be development objectives of the project.

You should consider whether these countries are likely to continue to be eligible for the duration of the research, noting that ODA funding cannot be used to support research that does not promote a DAC list country. Please note there may be eligibility restrictions specific to the opportunity you are applying to; you and other applicants should refer to the Funding finder to confirm eligibility before applying. When assessing whether an activity is eligible for ODA funding under this funding opportunity, UKRI will consider whether projects satisfy OECD criteria on eligibility.

Applications will be assessed through a competitive peer review process with ODA eligibility being a criterion for approval, that is, projects must be fully ODA compliant to be considered for funding. Initial ODA compliance checks will be carried out by UKRI, proposals that do not meet the eligibility criteria may be rejected without reference to peer review. Peer reviewers will also be provided with this guidance and asked to comment on ODA compliance and likelihood of significant development impact.

ODA Gender Equality Statement

Word limit: 400

How does your proposed work demonstrate sufficient consideration of gender equality?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Provide a Gender Equality Statement that explains:

  • how measures have been put in place to ensure equal and meaningful opportunities for people of different genders to be involved throughout the project, including the development of the project, the participants of the research and innovation and the beneficiaries of the research and innovation
  • the expected impact of the project (benefits and losses) on people of different genders, both throughout the project and beyond
  • the impact on the relations between people of different genders and people of the same gender. For example, changing roles and responsibilities in households, society, economy, politics, or power
  • how any risks and unintended negative consequences on gender equality will be avoided or mitigated against, and monitored
  • if there are any relevant outcomes and outputs being measured, with data disaggregated by age and gender (where disclosed)

All ODA funding must adhere to the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014. To meet this, all applications to UKRI ODA funding opportunities must provide a Gender Equality Statement. Read further guidance for applicants on writing Gender Equality Statements and how to consider gender within your research proposal.

For funding opportunities under the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF), all ODA funding must adhere to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) Gender Equality Policy. See more information on this policy and the related guidance for considering gender equality in your research.

UKRI and expert reviewers will assess whether your proposal has demonstrated sufficient consideration of gender equality.

Overseas research organisation statement of support

Word limit: 10

Please upload a signed and dated letter of support from each overseas based research organisation demonstrating support for the proposed research projects. If you will need to use an overseas facility, please ensure the letter confirms you have prior agreement in place if you are offered funding. Each letter should be signed by the international departmental head or equivalent.

In the overseas research organisation letter of support please include justification and explanation of that organisation’s eligibility as per UKRI eligibility guidelines.

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 (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities.

Important note: If your application includes industry project partners, you will also need to complete the Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF) section. Find out more about ICF.

Add the following project partner details:

  • the organisation name and address (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)
  • the project partner contact name and email address
  • the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value

If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.

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

Project partners: letters (or emails) of support

Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the Project partners section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box, or if you do not have any project partners enter N/A. Each letter or email you provide should:

  • confirm the partner’s commitment to the project
  • clearly explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the work to them
  • describe any additional value that they bring to the project
  • the page limit is two sides A4 per partner

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the 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 count: 1500

Does your application (both UK and international elements) include industry project partners?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If industry collaboration does not apply to any of your project partners, or you do not have any project partners, simply add ‘N/A’ into the text box.

If your research project involves collaboration between an academic organisation and an industry or company you are likely to need to follow the industry collaboration framework and answer this question, check using the ICF decision tree.

By ‘industry or company’ we mean an enterprise that puts goods or services on a market and whose commercial activities are greater than 20% of their overall annual capacity.

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 project partner.

Find out more about ICF, including:

  • 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

In addition to the project partner information completed in the previous section, confirm your answers to the ICF questions in the text box, repeat this process for each ICF project partner:

  1. Name the industry or company project partner considered under ICF.
  2. Indicate whether your application is either basic research or applied research.
  3. Explain why, in the absence of the requested UKRI funding, the collaboration and the planned research could not be undertaken.
  4. State whether your application is under the category of either fully flexible contribution or gated contribution (based on the IP sharing arrangements with the ICF partner).
  5. Outline the pre-existing IP (‘background IP’) that each project partner (including the academic partner) will bring to the collaborative research project and the terms under which project partners may access these assets.
  6. 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:
    • which project partners will own this IP
    • what rights project 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 project partners)
  7. Outline any restrictions to dissemination of the project results, including the rights of the project partner to:
    • review, approve or delay publications (including the time period associated with such rights)
    • request or require the removal of any information
  8. Declare any conflicts of interest held by the applicants in relation to the project partners and describe how they will be managed.
  9. If applicable, justify collaborating with an overseas industry or company under ICF.
    Failure to provide the information requested for industry 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 project partner with your university technology transfer or contracts office before applying.

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 that clearly details how you will comply with UKRI’s published data sharing policy, which includes detailed guidance notes.

Trusted Research and Innovation

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:

  • list the countries your international project co-leads, project partners and visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in
  • if international collaboration is involved, explain whether this project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act
  • if one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act are involved list the areas

We may ask you to provide additional information about how your proposed project will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help manage these risks.

How we will assess your application

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process.

Eligibility check

UKRI will conduct checks to ensure each project is eligible for funding. Any project deemed ineligible will be rejected and will not proceed to panel.

The success of an application at outline does not determine its eligibility at full stage. If applicants have any questions regarding the eligibility of their application, they should email ayrtonfund@ukri.org

Panel

We will invite experts to use the evidence provided by your application to assess the quality of your application and rank it alongside other applications, after which the panel will make a funding recommendation.

The panel will make a judgement on the balance of coverage across the Ayrton programme challenges. Final decisions will be taken to ensure an appropriate coverage across the challenges.

UKRI will make the final funding decision.

Timescale

We aim to complete the assessment process within two 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.

We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

  • Vision
  • Approach
  • Applicant and team capability to deliver
  • Resources and cost justification
  • Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
  • ODA compliance eligibility
  • Gender equality compliance

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

Important note: 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 or content/remit of an 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 proposal 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 ayrtonfund@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 quicker, 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.

See further information on submitting an application.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email ayrtonfund@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.

Additional info

Background

The Ayrton Fund is a UK government commitment of up to £1 billion that aims to accelerate the clean energy transition in developing countries, by creating and demonstrating innovative clean energy technologies and business models. It will demonstrate UK leadership and expertise in cutting global emissions through world-leading innovations.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) jointly manage the Ayrton Fund. They do this through a portfolio of ongoing, new, and scaled-up clean energy platforms and programmes, including thematic challenge programmes and country and regional demonstrators.

UKRI’s Ayrton challenge programme is one activity within the UK government’s Ayrton portfolio.

To see some other initiatives, partnerships and projects funded by the wider Ayrton Fund see the Ayrton Explorer Tool.

Low energy transitions for developing countries

The global transition to low carbon energy is a task much greater than any one technological solution with many distinct issues specific to the unique setting in different countries. For example, variations in local infrastructure, industry, energy markets, urban environments, and access to energy for the poorest will all impact on the deployment of low carbon technology.

This programme is funded through the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget. This means that as its primary goal the proposed research must deliver international development and bring a direct societal benefit to those in developing countries. Projects should be grounded in the context of challenges facing communities and societies where benefit may be realised.

Progress will not be made without addressing inequalities in energy access and the interrelated challenges of energy use, food security, health and sustainable urban development, for example. Research projects are expected to work to build new understanding of societal context, including gender equality, social inclusion and poverty alleviation.

Effective solutions to the Ayrton challenges will require both the technical solutions, as well as social and political transitions. Research funded through the Ayrton challenge programme will be expected to make progress on achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and 13 (Climate Action).

ODA compliance and gender equality

The Ayrton Fund is part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA). Its aim is to support cutting-edge research that addresses challenges faced by developing countries.

The Research Organisation must ensure the research that is undertaken as part of this grant is compliant with ODA rules and regulations as set out by the OECD. In the event that the research is deemed to no longer comply with ODA rules and regulations the Research Councils reserve the right to terminate the grant and recover funds spent on non-ODA compliant activities.

Find out more about ODA guidance.

Gender equality statements are mandatory for all applications at the full stage submission. This statement must outline how applicants have taken meaningful yet proportionate consideration as to how the project will contribute to reducing gender inequalities, as required under the International Development (Gender Equality) Act.

Additional disability and accessibility adjustments

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

Research disruption due to COVID-19

We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:

  • breaks and delays
  • disruptive working patterns and conditions
  • the loss of ongoing work
  • role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic

Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.

Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.

This is the website for UKRI: our seven research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Let us know if you have feedback or would like to help improve our online products and services.