To: Heads of Research England-funded higher education providers
Reference: RE-CL-2025-06
Enquiries to: researchpolicy@re.ukri.org
Dear Vice-Chancellor or Principal
This letter confirms Research England’s allocation of £21,073,927 of International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) Institutional Support Grant (ODA) funding for financial year 2025 to 2026.
Allocations are made to higher education providers (HEPs) that received ISPF Institutional Support Grant funding from 2023 to 2025, as described in the eligibility section.
This is a year’s extension of the previous two-year allocation arising from ISPF, received from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). Information about this fund was initially communicated in our 24 November 2023 circular letter.
Eligibility
HEPs are eligible for this funding if they meet all the following criteria:
- participated in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021)
- are registered with the Office for Students in the category ‘approved (fee cap)’
- confirmed acceptance of this funding in late 2023 as required under our November 2023 circular letter, which can be found on the ISPF institutional support grant (ODA) funding page
Allocation basis
This funding has been allocated to eligible HEPs in line with historic official development assistance (ODA) funding received by HEPs, including:
- Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund amounts
- UK Research and Innovation research council competitive grants not originally designated as ODA that were subsequently found to meet ODA eligibility criteria (also referred to as ‘other ODA’)
Use of funding
The grant must only be used to fund activities that are ODA compliant as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). To be ODA compliant, all funded activity must:
- have as its main objective the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries on the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee list
- be concessional in character
Activities funded through ISPF Institutional Support Grant (ODA) funding must also adhere to the legislation governing UK ODA funding:
- the International Development Act 2002 as amended
- the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014, which requires that aid must be ‘likely to contribute to reducing poverty in a way which is likely to contribute to reducing inequality between persons of different gender’
This funding provides flexible institutional grants that can be used strategically to support ODA eligible activity, including:
- underpinning ISPF activity funded through other delivery partners
- directly supporting research that addresses the problems faced by developing countries that are not funded through the ISPF grants of other delivery partners
As directed by DSIT, the ISPF Institutional Support Grant (ODA) shall not be used to deliver activities within China, in partnership with or otherwise benefitting China.
The funding allocated in this letter is for financial year 2025 to 2026 and so must be spent in full by 31 March 2026.
Use of this funding in a non-compliant manner will be considered to breach Research England’s terms and conditions of grant, and may result in funds being recovered by Research England.
Monitoring
HEPs in receipt of ISPF Institutional Support Grant (ODA) allocations:
- are required to include it in their routine annual accounting reporting
- may be subject to monitoring spot checks by DSIT, which would require HEPs to provide programme-level examples of how they have spent this funding in line with ODA compliance requirements
Allocation amounts and payment
The ISPF Institutional Support Grant (ODA) allocations for each HEP in receipt of these funds are listed in Annex A.
These grant allocations will be paid in full in November 2025.
Further information
Questions about ISPF Institutional Support Grant (ODA) allocations should be directed to researchpolicy@re.ukri.org
Yours sincerely
Professor Dame Jessica Corner FMedSci, MAE, RN
Executive Chair, Research England
Annex A
| UK provider reference number | Higher education provider | Funding allocation 2025 to 2026 (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 10007759 | Aston University | 22,535 |
| 10000571 | Bath Spa University | 11,993 |
| 10007760 | Birkbeck, University of London | 11,177 |
| 10007140 | Birmingham City University | 2,148 |
| 10000824 | Bournemouth University | 2,853 |
| 10000961 | Brunel University London | 63,206 |
| 10001478 | City St George's, University of London | 227,409 |
| 10001726 | Coventry University | 320,225 |
| 10007822 | Cranfield University | 134,192 |
| 10001883 | De Montfort University | 50,755 |
| 10007143 | Durham University | 358,402 |
| 10007823 | Edge Hill University | 5,373 |
| 10002718 | Goldsmiths, University of London | 57,567 |
| 10003270 | Imperial College London | 1,093,628 |
| 10007767 | Keele University | 118,289 |
| 10003645 | King's College London | 789,173 |
| 10003678 | Kingston University | 2,787 |
| 10007768 | Lancaster University | 255,730 |
| 10003861 | Leeds Beckett University | 2,923 |
| 10003956 | Liverpool Hope University | 768 |
| 10003957 | Liverpool John Moores University | 44,632 |
| 10003958 | Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine | 871,383 |
| 10007769 | London Business School | 4,643 |
| 10007771 | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | 2,707,427 |
| 10004113 | Loughborough University | 183,085 |
| 10004180 | Manchester Metropolitan University | 13,475 |
| 10004351 | Middlesex University | 6,772 |
| 10007799 | Newcastle University | 614,764 |
| 10001282 | Northumbria University | 19,262 |
| 10004797 | Nottingham Trent University | 12,548 |
| 10004930 | Oxford Brookes University | 46,337 |
| 10007774 | University of Oxford | 2,274,519 |
| 10007775 | Queen Mary University of London | 354,628 |
| 10005553 | Royal Holloway, University of London | 79,099 |
| 10007780 | School of Oriental and African Studies | 228,253 |
| 10005790 | Sheffield Hallam University | 14,414 |
| 10007161 | Teesside University | 1,295 |
| 10004063 | The London School of Economics and Political Science | 573625 |
| 10007773 | The Open University | 115,089 |
| 10007816 | The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama | 337 |
| 10007779 | The Royal Veterinary College | 342,945 |
| 10007785 | The University of Bradford | 14,428 |
| 10007788 | The University of Cambridge | 838,974 |
| 10007791 | The University of Essex | 25,309 |
| 10007150 | The University of Kent | 160,834 |
| 10006842 | The University of Liverpool | 596,359 |
| 10007156 | The University of Salford | 64,173 |
| 10007160 | The University of Surrey | 90,648 |
| 10007165 | The University of Westminster | 6,361 |
| 10007784 | UCL | 1,328,642 |
| 10007789 | University of East Anglia | 196,045 |
| 10007850 | University of Bath | 188,612 |
| 10007152 | University of Bedfordshire | 3,708 |
| 10006840 | University of Birmingham | 490,972 |
| 10000886 | University of Brighton | 18,004 |
| 10007786 | University of Bristol | 543,004 |
| 10007851 | University of Derby | 780 |
| 10007792 | University of Exeter | 315,091 |
| 10007146 | University of Greenwich | 74,675 |
| 10007147 | University of Hertfordshire | 26,076 |
| 10007148 | University of Huddersfield | 70,152 |
| 10007149 | University of Hull | 13,643 |
| 10007141 | University of Lancashire | 41,701 |
| 10007795 | University of Leeds | 922,332 |
| 10007796 | University of Leicester | 103,787 |
| 10007151 | University of Lincoln | 51,345 |
| 10007798 | The University of Manchester | 575,176 |
| 10007154 | University of Nottingham | 271,386 |
| 10007801 | University of Plymouth | 52,037 |
| 10007155 | University of Portsmouth | 19,116 |
| 10007802 | University of Reading | 265,030 |
| 10007776 | University of Roehampton | 5,668 |
| 10007157 | The University of Sheffield | 290,613 |
| 10007158 | University of Southampton | 416,543 |
| 10007806 | University of Sussex | 218,720 |
| 10007163 | The University of Warwick | 207,388 |
| 10007166 | University of Wolverhampton | 931 |
| 10007167 | University of York | 514,860 |
| 10007164 | University of the West of England | 11,136 |
| Total | 21,073,924 |