The UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) supports investment in higher education facilities across the UK. Universities must attract a further £2 from non-public sources for every £1 invested by the fund.
The UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) is the largest competitive grant funding scheme managed by Research England. It is designed to support investment in higher education research facilities.
Established in 2012, the scheme will have provided over £900 million of capital funding to 53 ‘state of the art’ research centres and facilities in universities across the UK by the end of 2022.
A unique and fundamental feature of the scheme is the ‘double match funding’ that is required from non-public investors. This means for every £1 awarded through UKRPIF, universities must attract £2 from other sources. To date, UKRPIF projects have secured commitments of over £2 billion of co-investment from industry partners, charitable organisations and philanthropic donors.
Over half of the projects are now operational, creating new space for academics to work alongside clinicians, industrial partners and local SMEs.
What UKRPIF funds
UKRPIF provides funding for infrastructure and capital projects underpinning excellent research. As part of the assessment criteria there is a need to demonstrate the importance of enhancing the research facilities of the higher education provider and how this benefits the research and strengthens the opportunity for strategic partnership.
Objectives
The objectives of the UKRPIF are to:
- enhance the research facilities of universities undertaking world-leading research
- encourage strategic partnerships between universities and other organisations active in research
- stimulate additional investment in higher education research
- strengthen the contribution of the research base to economic growth.
UKRPIF: Net Zero (pilot fund)
UKRPIF: Net Zero is an £18.9 million pilot funding initiative designed to support capital activities which will reduce the carbon emissions of existing UKRPIF-funded research facilities and make the research processes they support more environmentally sustainable. Funded activity will also support the core aims of the wider UKRPIF programme.
In 2021, UK higher education providers were invited to apply, on a competitive basis, for capital grants to enhance, upgrade and adapt existing UKRPIF-supported infrastructure and capital projects. As a pilot initiative, the funding opportunity aimed to support a range of activity to widen the understanding of best practice in environmental sustainability-focused capital projects.