Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: Pre-announcement: transdisciplinary funding to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

Apply for transdisciplinary funding to tackle AMR.

Phase one (£3 million): transdisciplinary networks to connect and expand the UK AMR communities with researchers from a broad range of disciplines with the knowledge and skills to transform our understanding of AMR and deliver innovative and effective solutions by developing and applying a diverse range of methods.

Phase two (£7 million): transdisciplinary research grants to facilitate evidence-based decision making through timely, high impact, and independent research on AMR that meets the needs of policymakers, practitioners, industry, civil and broader society.

Open only to the membership and leadership of the networks established in phase one.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding.

Expressions of interest should be submitted by 5 May 2023.

This is a pre-announcement, and the information may change. The funding opportunity will open in September 2023. More information will be available on this page by then.

Who can apply

The principal investigator for this funding opportunity can be from any discipline but must be based at an organisation in the UK eligible for UKRI funding for the duration of the grant.

Eligible organisations are:

  • UK higher education institutions
  • research council institutes
  • UKRI-approved independent research organisations
  • public sector research establishments
  • NHS bodies with research capacity

Check if your institution is eligible for funding.

This funding opportunity is being administered by BBSRC on behalf of UKRI.

Standard BBSRC eligibility rules for co-investigators apply.

What we're looking for

Phase one (£3 million)

Transdisciplinary networks to connect and expand the UK AMR communities with researchers from a broad range of disciplines (across all UKRI council remits). The networks will have the knowledge and skills to transform our understanding of AMR and deliver innovative and effective solutions by applying and developing a diverse range of methods. We expect networks to work effectively across all disciplines.

Networks must be open to new members throughout the lifetime of the networks. Members could include:

  • academics from any discipline
  • members of the business community
  • policymakers, in the public, private and third sectors
  • end users of research, such as farmers and clinicians
  • representatives of civil society and people with lived experience

Resistance by all microbes are within the scope of this funding opportunity, including:

  • bacteria
  • fungi
  • viruses
  • protozoa

Resistance within and between all reservoirs of AMR are within the scope of this funding opportunity, including:

  • humans
  • animals (including companion animals and aquaculture)
  • plants (including trees)
  • natural environments
  • human made environments
  • the food chain

We have identified several priority areas for this funding opportunity, while applicants are encouraged to address these, this is not mandatory and alignment to these areas will not form part of the assessment process. We do not expect these areas to map exactly to network proposals. A single network may address several, one or none of these areas.

The priority areas are:

  • AMR in crop production, including impacts on other reservoirs of resistance and on food security
  • methods, technologies and common frameworks for data collection and analysis, including rapid pathogen sequencing and antimicrobial usage
  • non-pharmaceutical and non-chemical pesticide countermeasures, including social, cultural and economic interventions and solutions
  • impact of climate change on AMR

The networks should engage with existing relevant networks and will be required to work collectively in areas of common interest, such as:

  • how to work effectively across disciplines
  • ensuring just solutions
  • data standards across reservoirs of resistance
  • data collection methodologies
  • methodology development such as systems approaches, human centred design, evaluation methods
  • synthesis of existing evidence
  • data analysis and presentation
  • involving the public, practitioners and people with lived experience

Funding available

The total funding available for phase one is £3 million.

We expect to fund four to six interdisciplinary networks covering a range of subject areas.

Examples of activities that networks may apply for funds to support include:

  • networking activities, including meetings, travel and subsistence
  • communication and knowledge exchange activities
  • network management, administration and technical support
  • small short-term projects, including staff costs incurred
  • training and exchanges

Process

  1. Potential applicants, either individually or as a group, submit an expression of interest to UKRI. Expressions of interest will not be assessed (see How to apply).
  2. Potential applicants and other interested parties register for one community meeting.
  3. Expressions of interest are circulated to all community meeting registrants.
  4. Facilitated coalescing and pitching of network ideas take place at community meetings.
  5. Funding opportunity for network proposals opens. Network proposals are not required to match the ideas developed at the community meetings.

How to apply

Expressions of interest must be submitted as part of the community meeting registration no later than 5 May 2023.

Expressions of interest will not be assessed.

The expression of interest should include:

  • the name or names of the submitters
  • their organisation
  • one paragraph (100 to 200 words) on the topic covered by the proposed network, or
  • one paragraph (100 to 200 words) on a topic that would benefit from being included in a network

By submitting an expression of interest, you agrees to this information being provided to all community meeting registrants.

Expressions of interest may be submitted both by potential applicants for funding, such as academic researchers, and by other stakeholders ineligible to receive funds, such as members of the business community and practitioners. Non-academic stakeholders are potential unfunded project partners.

Where expressions of interest are submitted by groups, group members should consider registering for different community meetings.

Details of how to apply for funding will be released when the funding opportunity is launched. Applicants to the funding opportunity are not required to have submitted an expression of interest.

How we will assess your application

This information will be released when the full funding opportunity is launched.

All UKRI councils will be involved in agreeing the review process and subsequently selecting reviewers, to reflect the transdisciplinary nature of this funding opportunity.

Contact details

Ask about this funding opportunity

Cross-council AMR team

Email: ukri-amr@ukri.org

We aim to respond within three working days.

Additional info

This activity falls under the umbrella of the UKRI tackling infections strategic theme, one of five UKRI strategic themes identified through our five year strategy 2022 to 2027: transforming tomorrow together.

Community meeting recordings

Birmingham community meeting (17 May 2023)

Virtual community meeting (22 May 2023)

Edinburgh community meeting talks (25 May 2023)

Updates

  • 14 September 2023
    Phase one opening date changed from '22 September 2023' to '18 October 2023'. Phase one closing date changed from '9 November 2023 4:00pm UK time' to '13 December 2023 4:00pm UK time'.
  • 5 July 2023
    Community meeting recordings added in 'Additional info' section.

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