AHRC is delivering this funding opportunity in collaboration with Research Ireland via the new UKRI Funding Service. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
Only the lead UK research organisation can submit an application to UKRI. The UK project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and partners to contribute to the application.
Only the UK project lead needs to register with the Funding Service directly. Project co-leads (both UK and international) will receive an email notification when the project lead has entered their details into the system. This email will guide individuals to create an account on the Funding Service by verifying their details. This will allow them to view and read the application.
Please note that for administrative purposes, all named researchers from the Irish team must be listed as ‘project co-lead (international)’.
Important information for Irish lead
The Irish lead applicant must provide the UK lead applicant with the information required in the ‘Research Ireland documentation’ question in the Funding Service. The templates to use to do this can be accessed on the Research Ireland website. Required documentation includes the following mandatory elements:
- Research Ireland budget form
- Research Ireland application cover sheet
- Budget justification (up to two sides of A4)
- Gender/Sex dimension declaration form
- Letter of Endorsement from the Irish Co-Lead’s Eligible Research Body
A PDF copy of the research proposal submitted through the Funding Service must be sent to creative.economies@researchireland.ie by 24 March 2026 at 4:00pm (UK time). Files must be named as follows: IrishPI’sLASTname(IrishERB)_UKinstitution_FileNAME (Example: Murphy(DCU)_LSE_Research Ireland.
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. 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.
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): AHRC-UKRI
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.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI): Research Ireland
Research Ireland does not prohibit applicants from using generative AI in the preparation of their grant applications, however, the responsibility to abide by the principles of research integrity and accountability while using generative AI lies with the applicants and host institutions. The use of such tools must not, in any way, compromise the originality of the proposed research.
Deadline
AHRC and Research Ireland must receive your application by 24 March 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time. Please 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
AHRC, 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.
AHRC, as part of UKRI, will need to share the application and any personal information that it contains with Research Ireland so that they can participate in the assessment process.
For more information on how Research Ireland uses personal information, read our privacy notice.
Sensitive information
If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email international@ahrc.ukri.org
Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].
Typical examples of confidential information include:
- individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
- declaration of interest
- additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
- conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
- the application is an invited resubmission
For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.
Institutional Matched Funding: AHRC-UKRI
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
AHRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity via UKRI’s news page in August 2026.
Research Ireland will publish the outcomes for this funding opportunity via the Research Ireland news page.
If your application is successful, UKRI will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Reporting
In the spirit of the consortium-based nature of this bilateral funding opportunity, Research Ireland and AHRC have converged to similar reporting requirements. The Irish lead will be asked to submit annual progress reports to Research Ireland, following the same calendar as the UK lead. The reporting templates, which will be circulated at the post-award stage, will be based on the ResearchFish structure. At a kick off meeting early in the award, the templates for these will be discussed in more detail as well as the clear monitoring, learning and evaluation considerations appropriate to the scale of the award which applicants will include as part of their approach section.
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)
- project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
- specialist
- grant manager
- professional enabling staff
- research and innovation associate
- technician
Only list one individual as project lead. This must be the UK project lead for the purpose of submission. This requirement is just for the submission process as there must be a UK and Irish project lead as part of the equitable partnership requirement.
Please note that for administrative purposes, all applicants and co-applicants from the Irish team must be listed as project co-lead (international) in this section of the UKRI application. This will not determine the status of researchers within the Irish team, which must still have a project lead and can optionally include additional team members.
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: 1,000
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 field(s) or area(s)
- has the potential to advance current understanding, generates new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
- is timely given current trends, context and needs
- impacts world-leading research, society, the economy or the environment (with particular focus on economic growth and policy impact)
- demonstrates the added value of UK-Ireland research collaboration
- will embed EDI considerations into, and how these will guide your aims, as well as other activities such as stakeholder engagement, events and networking
Within the Vision section we also expect you to:
- demonstrate the alignment of the application to the funding opportunity objectives
- clearly state the research challenges that you will address
References may be included within this section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Approach
Word limit: 2,000
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
- is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
- uses a clearly written and transparent methodology
- summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed
- will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
- includes clear monitoring, learning and evaluation considerations appropriate to the scale of the award
- will build EDI considerations into the formation, operation and governance of the network
- explain how you will embed environmental sustainability within your activities
Within the Approach section we also expect you to:
- demonstrate access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the application
- provide a detailed and comprehensive project plan including milestones and timelines
- explain how the partnership will be planned and managed, ensuring that there is clear explanation of the responsibilities and contributions of the Irish co-lead as well as the UK co-lead. Explain how the partnership will enable stakeholders to work together, network and build capability in a strategic area
- outline future plans for sustaining the UK-Irish partnership beyond this application, or for funding research which may develop from the partnership
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.
Applicant and team capability to deliver
Word limit: 1,650
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 (appropriate to career stage) 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
- contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community
The word limit or this section is 1,650 words, 1,150 words to be used for Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) modules and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.
Use the R4RI format to showcase the range of relevant skills you, and if relevant your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help to deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.
Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed below. 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).
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.
Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
Word limit: 500
What are the ethical and RRI considerations, implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:
- the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
- how you will manage these considerations
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 re-use of data)
- formal information standards that your proposed work will comply with
Please refer to the UKRI position statement on funding ethical research and responsible innovation for more information around our expectations on ethical and responsible research and innovation.
Resources and cost justification
Word limit: 1,000
What will you need to deliver the UK component of 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
- 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’
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
Research Ireland documentation
Please upload a completed Research Ireland budget form and a single PDF document that contains the following documents that are required by Research Ireland:
- Research Ireland application cover sheet
- detailed budget justification (in addition to the Resources and cost justification section of the Funding Service application)
- gender/sex dimension declaration
- letter of endorsement from Irish co-lead’s Eligible Research Body
Templates for required Research Ireland documentation can be found on the Research Ireland website.
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.
Discipline classification – primary
Word count: 5
Please provide the primary discipline classification of your proposal. This information will be used for the purposes of processing your proposal and in the selection of appropriate assessors.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
You must select from one of these research disciplines:
- archaeology
- area studies
- classics
- cultural and museum studies
- dance
- design
- development studies
- drama and theatre studies
- education
- history
- human geography
- information and communication technologies
- languages and literature
- law and legal studies
- library and information studies
- linguistics
- media
- music
- philosophy
- political science and international studies
- social anthropology
- theology, divinity, and religion
- visual arts
Discipline classification – secondary
Word count: 50
Please describe, using keywords, the research area of your proposal and where relevant the approach, time period or geographical area. This will further help with the selection of appropriate assessors.
Sector classification
Word limit: 100
Please select one or more of the sub-sectors listed below on which your network will focus:
- advertising and marketing
- architecture
- crafts
- design (includes product, graphic and fashion design)
- film, TV, video, radio, and photography
- IT, software, digital games, and computer Services
- publishing
- museums and galleries
- music, performing and visual arts
- cross-sectoral policy theme. If using this sub-sector, please state what policy theme and which sub-sectors
Project partners
Add details about project partners’ contributions.
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 (UK & Ireland): 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.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box. 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 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 & Research Ireland require formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Do not include:
- generic letters of support
- letters of support from host and project co-leads’ research organisations in the UK or Ireland
- letters of support from any UK and Irish research organisations
- letters of support from contractors engaged with either component of the project
