Independent report

UKRI peer review interventions

Summary of analysis of randomisation and anonymisation in EPSRC ‘New Horizons’ and NERC ‘Pushing the Frontiers’.

• From: EPSRC, NERC, UKRI
• Published: 17 July 2025

Documents

UKRI peer review interventions summary

PDF, 143 KB

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EPSRC ‘New Horizons’ funding opportunities: analysis of the influence of review anonymisation interventions

PDF, 149 KB

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NERC ‘Pushing the Frontiers’: analysis of the influence of the partial randomisation intervention

PDF, 332 KB

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Details

Interventions in UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) peer review processes, such as double-anonymisation and funding by partial randomisation, have the potential to counteract bias in research funding decisions that are associated with applicants’ personal characteristics.

This summary analysis draws on the evidence and conclusions found in two separate, more technical, analyses of UKRI review processes, one each for:

• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) ‘New Horizons’
• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) ‘Pushing the Frontiers’