Fund for International Collaboration

The Fund for International Collaboration is a £160 million fund supporting international collaborations. It enhances the UK’s ability to build new, and strengthen existing, partnerships with global research and innovation leaders.

We have worked with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to identify key partner countries for collaboration including:

  • China
  • Canada
  • South Korea
  • the US

There are 20 partner countries involved in our bilateral and multilateral programmes to date.

In February 2022, BEIS announced that the Fund for International Collaboration, alongside the Global Challenges Research Fund and the Newton Fund, will not continue in their current format, but legal commitments will be met until their natural conclusion.

UKRI has confirmed that it will support projects still running as part of these funds for the remainder of their grant period.

Where we have invested

The fund has already supported more than 30 international collaborative programmes of research, innovation and infrastructure across UKRI’s remit. Examples include:

  • supporting business-led collaboration on research and innovation with global partners under the EUREKA framework
  • UK-US collaboration to advance and accelerate crop breeding
  • building competitive and resilient economies through the UK-Canada collaboration on artificial intelligence
  • supporting cutting-edge research to tackle incurable degenerative conditions through the UK-Japan Regenerative Medicine initiative
  • UK taking the lead to develop our understanding of the universe through the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatories (aLIGO) project
  • supporting doctoral students to develop into global citizens through the UK-Canada Doctoral Exchange scheme
  • UK-China collaboration strengthening creative industries and delivering economic, cultural and intellectual benefits to both countries

Read our publication on the Fund for International Collaboration to find out more about how we are enhancing the UK’s excellence in research and innovation through global engagement.

Contact us

Email us for more information about the Fund for International Collaboration.

Email: fic@ukri.org

For information about a specific funding opportunity under the Fund for International Collaboration contact the relevant council directly.

Last updated: 15 February 2023

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