This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible.

Who is eligible to apply?

You must be resident in the UK.

You must meet UKRI’s individual eligibility policy to hold research grants and it must be your first application to us as project lead.

Those with fixed-term appointments cannot depend on the success of a new investigator award application, and the organisation must provide the same support as for permanent staff.

Postdoctoral research contracts are not considered to be an ongoing substantial relationship for the purposes of the New Investigator Award funding opportunity.

We do not consider years post-PhD or job title to be a marker of career progression. Eligibility is determined on the basis of funding history.

You can apply if:

• this is your first application as project lead to EPSRC
• you consider yourself to be an early-career individual (someone who has capacity to use the funds available to transition to independence, establish their own research group and develop their own, independent research vision, per the scheme aim)
• you have not been the project lead or equivalent on any grant, funded project or programme that was a single award valued at over £175,000 FEC (or GBP equivalent)
• you have not held a position where you supervised postdoctoral staff for more than 12-months (cumulative)
• you can show evidence of the assessed criteria

Who is not eligible to apply (note exceptions in further eligibility information)

You are not eligible if:

• this is not your first application to EPSRC as a project lead
• you have previously applied to an EPSRC New investigator Award scheme, whether successful or unsuccessful
• you have an application for a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Type 1: Early Independence Fellowship or a UKRI new investigator award that is currently being assessed
• you are an established researcher, or someone who has demonstrated sustained career independence, vision and leadership, at odds with the aim of the scheme
• you have been the project lead or equivalent on any grant, funded project or programme that was a single award valued at over £175,000 FEC (or GBP equivalent)
• you have held a position where you supervised postdoctoral staff for more than 12-months (cumulative)
• you hold, or have previously held, a comparable grant designed to support early independence and leadership, per this award (for example, other council New Investigator Awards; Wellcome Early Career Award)

Further eligibility information

Funding received from local sources while working overseas must be taken into consideration within the £175,000 award history limit, and the same scheme eligibility principles apply.

To establish whether you are eligible, please convert any grant totals received in foreign currency into British pounds using a commonly available currency converter, based on the exchange rate at the time the grant was awarded for comparison purposes. An approximate conversion is sufficient for this purpose.

If you have previously been part of a grant’s leadership and management team but not as project lead (for example, project co-lead), you are eligible to apply if you meet all eligibility criteria.

If you have held or currently hold a postdoctoral or early career fellowship, the value of the award may exceed £175,000 FEC without affecting New Investigator Award eligibility, though all other eligibility criteria must be met. Please pay particular attention to UKRI’s individual eligibility policy.

If you are on a fixed term contract, your research organisation must be able to confirm that the contract will last at least until the end date of the grant.

The application to the New Investigator Award scheme must be your first to EPSRC as a project lead, with the following exceptions:

• if your application was rejected at an outline stage
• overseas travel grant
• workshop grant
• funding opportunities which specifically note in the information to applicants that they do not affect the eligibility for the scheme, including for example: EPSRC New Horizons, EPSRC Mathematical Science Small Grants Scheme, EPSRC Unlocking the full potential of nature-based engineering scheme, EPSRC Early career researcher international collaboration grants scheme
• devolved funding from an EPSRC grant, for example funding from an EPSRC hub or receipt of an EPSRC studentship (such as doctoral training partnerships, university doctoral landscape awards, centres for doctoral training, doctoral focal awards, industrial CASE awards, or industrial doctoral landscape awards)
• applicants who have previously applied unsuccessfully to the EPSRC Early Career Fellowship, EPSRC Open Fellowship, or UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships

If you have previously collaborated with industry, or held an industry grant (for example, a Knowledge Transfer Partnership), you may apply, the eligibility criteria still applies.

Eligibility for the New Investigator Scheme is assessed at the point of application.

Applications that do not align with the aims of the scheme, which are to support early-career individuals transition to independence, establish their own research group and develop their own, independent research vision, will be rejected.

If you are still uncertain about your eligibility please see the ‘Additional Information’ section.

International researchers

The UKRI-RCN Money Follows Cooperation Agreement does not apply to this funding opportunity. As such grants submitted to this funding opportunity cannot include a Norway-based project co-lead (international)”.

You should include all international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners.

Resubmissions

We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI or any other funder.

Find out more about EPSRC’s resubmissions policy.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers including those who have taken a non-standard career path after their first degree.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

• career breaks
• support for people with caring responsibilities
• flexible working
• alternative working patterns

UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

New investigator award eligibility considers your experience, including your contributions to, and leadership of, past projects.

Demand management

Demand management is not currently being applied to this funding opportunity. However, should the level of interest exceed what can be managed within the assessment process, UKRI may introduce limits on the number of applications that can be submitted. Further details will be clearly communicated where this is the case. UKRI encourages organisations to support applicants in preparing well-planned, high-quality applications that are competitive for funding relative to the funding opportunity.

Aim

We are committed to the continued support of excellent responsive, discovery led research.

The new investigator award aims to support early career individuals in developing their own research vision, establishing a research group to pursue it, and build research independence and leadership in their field.

A new investigator award is not intended to be an alternative to a fellowship, standard mode grant or other similar funding mechanism.

Scope

New investigator awards should have a single research vision with clearly defined objectives and outcomes. Complex, multi-faceted research projects with many objectives are not appropriate to the new investigator award.

You should typically seek 10% to 20% of the project lead (previously principal investigator) time. Those who are seeking to substantially exceed this should consider other funding opportunities.

We encourage you to have early discussions with your institution to identify what training and development opportunities are available to meet your aspirations over the duration of the award. Your research organisation’s statement of support is important.

You can apply for a new investigator award in any field of research relevant to our remit. We support high quality research in:

• artificial intelligence (AI)
• resilience and security
• clean energy
• engineering
• healthcare technologies
• information and communication technologies (ICT)
• sustainable manufacturing
• mathematical sciences
• physical sciences
• quantum technologies

You will be asked to signpost which remit your research falls into in your application. This will not be used to change the rank order of applications for funding. Applications received will be considered on their scientific and engineering merit in competition with all other applications. Find out more about our research areas and themes.

The majority of your research must fall within our remit.

We will work with other research councils to ensure that applications close to remit boundaries are assessed by the most appropriate lead council.

We encourage you to contact us first to discuss your application if you believe your research may cross research council boundaries. See our remit query form.

For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the Additional information section.

Duration

There is no limit on the length of your project. However, new investigator awards are typically one to three years in duration.

Funding available

There is no limit on the value of the grant.

We will fund 80% FEC of your project.

What we will fund

We will fund:

• staff costs
• equipment (between £25,000 to £400,000 per item)
• other items required to carry out the project
• costs related to impact
• travel and subsistence

Quotes for equipment do not need to be included in your application, but please retain quotes for equipment costing more than £138,000 as we may ask for these at post-panel stage before releasing funds. For details of how to include equipment in your application see Equipment on research grants.

All resources and costs must be comprehensive, appropriate and justified, representing optimal use of resources to achieve intended outcomes. Resources and costs requested will be part of the overall assessment.

What we will not fund

We will not fund:

• doctoral studentships
• funding to use as a ‘bridge’ between grants
• publication costs

Costs for students supporting research under a new investigator award must not be charged to the grant. A doctoral student may work with the you on related research, providing a valuable training and development opportunity for the applicant.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.

See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where you can find additional support.

Application process

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service, so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.

The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

To apply

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page:

1. Confirm you are the project lead.
2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password.
3. 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.
4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.

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 onto 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 will 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:

• how applicants use the Funding Service
• how research offices use the Funding Service
• how reviewers use the Funding Service

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)

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.

Deadline

Due to systems requirements, a closing date will appear on the Funding Service. Please do not wait for this date to submit your application. You should apply when your application is ready for submission. Applications submitted to this funding opportunity will be batched and processed regularly.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

If an application is withdrawn prior to peer review or office rejected due to substantive errors in the application, it cannot be resubmitted to the opportunity. This application would count as your first submission to EPSRC as project lead. If this happened, you would no longer be eligible to the new investigator award scheme.

Personal data Processing personal data

EPSRC, 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.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email TFSchangeEPSRC@epsrc.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

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.

Specifically for this new investigator award funding opportunity we expect appropriate institutional support to be provided in line with the research organisation support assessment criterion.

Publication of outcomes

EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at EPSRC Funding Applications Outcomes.

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

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)
• specialist
• grant manager
• professional enabling staff
• research and innovation associate
• technician
• visiting researcher

Only list one individual as project lead.

Project co-lead (PcL)

Project co-leads are generally not permitted on new investigator award applications, as the purpose of the award is to establish an individual’s research independence, which co-lead arrangements do not support. This is an individual award designed to help the project lead develop their independence, and applications should be structured with this objective in mind.

We would consider project co-leads on a new investigator application in exceptional circumstances where they are contributing expertise that is not available in the skill set of the project lead and such expertise is essential to the success of the project. This expertise should be critical and complementary. For example, clinicians as project co-lead on new investigator projects associated with healthcare technologies research.

In most cases we would not expect the co-lead to be from the same department, school, or similar facility as the project lead.

International researchers

The UKRI-RCN Money Follows Cooperation Agreement does not apply to this funding opportunity. As such grants submitted to this funding opportunity cannot include a Norway-based project co-lead (international).

You should include all international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners.

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 Thematic area alignment

Word count: 1

Select the EPSRC thematic area your application most closely aligns to. This should be the theme where the majority of the novelty in the research lies.

In the text box, copy the letter corresponding to your selected theme:

A. artificial intelligence (AI)
B. resilience and security
C. clean energy
D. engineering
E. healthcare technologies
F. information and communication technologies (ICT)
G. sustainable manufacturing
H. mathematical sciences
I. physical sciences
J. quantum technologies

Additional guidance

This is for administrative purposes to help the initial application processing. We will check your choice and make a final decision on which theme will lead the peer review of your application.

We will not publish closing dates for individual rounds, instead we will batch applications internally. You should apply when your application is ready for submission and not be concerned about a closing date.

Applications that gain enough support from reviewers will be batched for assessment and sent to the most appropriate responsive mode panel meeting when they reach this stage of the process.

Vision and Approach

Create a document that includes your responses to all criteria. The document should not be more than eight sides of A4, single spaced in paper in 11-point Arial (or equivalent sans serif font) with margins of at least 2cm. You may include images, graphs and tables.

One of the eight A4 single-sided pages should be used for a used for a project plan/Gantt chart using the same font and spacing.

For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘Vision and Approach’.

Save this document as a single PDF, no bigger than 8MB. Unless specifically requested, please do not include any sensitive personal data within the attachment.

If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

What are you hoping to achieve with and how will you deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

For the vision, 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, or generate 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

Within the vision section we also expect you to:

• identify the potential local, regional or national impacts, both direct and indirect, and who the beneficiaries might be

For the Approach, explain how you have designed your work 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 (if applicable)
• summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed (if applicable)
• will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
• describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work

Within the Approach section we also expect you to:

• demonstrate access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the proposed work
• (if a doctoral student is aligned to the project) clearly describe how their work will contribute to the project, demonstrate that their success is not dependent on the project, and explain how this alignment has been established
• provide a maximum one single-sided page A4 project plan including milestones and timelines in the form of a Gantt chart or similar (this contributes to the total eight pages)

References may be included within this section.

Research organisation support

Word limit: 500

What support will be provided by the research organisation for your new investigator award?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Ensure the head of department (or equivalent) of the host organisation provides you with a supporting statement (which they have written), that includes:

• the name and title of the head of department (or equivalent) providing the written statement
• how your expertise fits within the wider interest and strategies of the research organisation and department
• development and training opportunities to be provided by the organisation and considering your career trajectory, how they form a cohesive career development package tailored to you
• mentoring and support arrangements proposed and how they are appropriate to you, include the name of any current or future mentors
• financial support to be provided, including the contribution to your salary, and how this improves the application

Within the research organisation support section we also expect you to:

• provide clarity on any provision by the university of a suitable doctoral student supervision opportunity. This could be from a UKRI training grant or similar, or an individual funded student through other means

The statement of support provided by your host organisation should be copied and pasted into the text box. You cannot upload the statement of support to this section as an attachment. Your application may be rejected if you upload a host organisation statement of support to the ‘Project partners: letters (or emails) of support’ section or any other section of your application.

We reserve the right at any time to check that resources and support promised in this response are provided to the applicant as stated.

Applicant fit to the funding opportunity

Word limit: 400

How do you consider yourself eligible for this funding opportunity?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Give a clear description of why you are eligible for funding through this funding opportunity and according to the specific expectations of the council to which you are applying. In your response you should consider the funding opportunity eligibility, considering and demonstrating where relevant, that you:

• have not previously applied to EPSRC as a project lead (or if you have, your grant is within the exceptions)
• have not previously applied to an EPSRC New investigator Award scheme, whether successful or unsuccessful
• have not currently got an application for a UKRI Type 1: Early Independence Fellowship or a UKRI new investigator award that is currently being assessed
• are not an established researcher, or someone who has demonstrated sustained career independence, vision and leadership, at odds with the aim of the scheme
• consider yourself to be an early-career individual (someone who has capacity to use the funds available to transition to independence, establish their own research group and develop their own, independent research vision, per the scheme aim)
• have not led a single award valued at over £175,000 full economic cost (or GBP equivalent)
• have not held a position where you supervised postdoctoral staff for more than 12-months (cumulative)
• have not met the aims and ambitions of this opportunity through other means
• do not hold, or have not previously held, a comparable grant designed to support early independence and leadership, per this award (for example, other council New Investigator Awards; Wellcome Early Career Award)

Career development

Word limit: 500

How will this award contribute to your career development as a project lead?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain why you are applying for this new investigator award and demonstrate how it will support you in achieving your:

• long-term career goals and chosen career route
• plans to develop your own research profile
• independence, as the sole intellectual leader of the proposed work
• plans to secure further grant support during or after this award
• plans to establish and lead a research team

Within the Career development section we also expect you to:

• demonstrate how you will instigate positive change in the wider research and innovation community, for example through Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), advocacy or advisory roles, stakeholder engagement, participation in expert review, influencing policy, public engagement, or outreach

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)
• the right balance of skills and expertise
• the appropriate leadership and management skills and your approach to develop others
• contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

The word limit for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) modules (including references) 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 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. 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).

Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.

References may be included within this section.

The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

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 and RRI considerations, including both the research or topic area itself and the design and delivery of the project
• the wider implications of the proposed work, and how you will maximise the positive societal, environmental, and economic benefits arising from the project, while minimising unintended negative impacts, such as research misuse or accidental harm
• how you will manage these considerations throughout the lifecycle of the project

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 reuse of data)
• formal information standards that your proposed work will comply with

Additional sub-questions (to be answered only if appropriate) relating to research involving:

• animals
• human participants
• genetically modified organisms

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

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.

Animal involvement and “3Rs”

You must complete this section about how your proposed project will involve or impact animals.

If your project does not involve or impact animals, you must confirm this on the next page.

You may be asked about:

• what animals you are involving
• the severity of the procedures you are using
• where the procedures will take place
• welfare standards you aim to meet
• the relevance of your project to the development, validation or dissemination of the 3Rs

You may also need to download, complete, and upload at least one set of additional questions. You will be told how to do this towards the end of this section.

To complete this section and check whether your project is in the scope of the questions, refer to the UKRI policy for research and innovation involving animals.

What counts as an animal

UKRI policy relates to all animals in the Kingdom Animalia, including vertebrates and invertebrates.

Genetically modified organisms and biological risk

You must complete this section if your project will include genetically modified organisms or genetic technologies.

If you project does not involve genetically modified organisms or genetic technologies, you must confirm this on the next page.

You may be asked about:

• the type of organism your project will involve and the procedures your project will include
• the intended use of the organism or genetic technology
• the genetic, biological and environmental risks of your project

For more information, see UKRI’s guidance on genetic technologies.

Human participation in health-related research

You must complete this section about whether your project will include human participation.

If your project does not involve human participation, you must confirm this on the next page.

You may be asked about:

• what type of human participation your project includes
• the project design for human participation
• the phase of the clinical trial
• whether the project will be in an NHS setting, if so, how the project will be registered
• whether diversity and inclusion will be considered

For more information, see UKRI’s guidance for human participants in research.

Resources and cost justification

Word limit: 1,000

What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

Using the costs table within the resources and cost summary, provide details of the total funding required under each fund heading. You should include high-level costs only, not a detailed breakdown of individual items.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Justify the application’s more substantial costs, in particular:

• project staff
• significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)
• any equipment that will cost more than £25,000
• 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

Project partners

Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.

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 in-direct) 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: letters (or emails) of support

Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the Project Partner section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box, or if you do not have any project partners enter N/A.  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
• have a page limit of two sides of A4 per partner

Do not provide letters of support from host and project co-leads’ research organisations.

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 requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.

Unless specifically requested, please do not include any sensitive personal data within the attachment.

Facilities

Word limit: 250

Does your proposed research require the support and use of a facility?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If you will need to use a facility, follow your proposed facility’s normal access request procedures. Ensure you have prior agreement so that if you are offered funding, they will support the use of their facility on your project.

For each requested facility you will need to provide the:

• name of facility, copied and pasted from the facility information list (DOCX, 42KB)
• proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list
• confirmation you have their agreement where required

Facilities should only be named if they are on the facility information list above. If you will not need to use a facility, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

Trusted Research and Innovation is the protection of the UK’s intellectual property, sensitive research, people, and infrastructure from potential theft, misuse, and exploitation.

Organisations receiving UKRI funding are obliged to act in line with UK government legislation. They are also expected to undertake appropriate due diligence assessment of organisations involved in research partnerships, collaboration agreements, and commercial contracts.

You will be asked about:

• which areas of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act your project relates to
• who you intend to collaborate with and how
• if your project requires an export control licence

Your answers may affect the T&Cs of your funding agreement if you are successful. We may use your answers to determine that our current T&Cs are sufficient or if additional T&Cs are required.

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process.

Expert review

We will invite experts to review your application independently, against the specified criteria for this funding opportunity.

You will not be able to nominate reviewers for applications on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service. Research councils will continue to select expert reviewers.

Shortlisting

We will review the comments and scores for each application. Shortlisted applications will go to a panel who will make a funding recommendation.

If your application is shortlisted, you will have 14 days to respond to reviewers’ comments.

Panel

If your application gains enough support from reviewers during the expert review, the application will move to panel stage.

We will invite experts to use the evidence provided by reviewers, and your applicant response, to assess the quality of your application and rank it alongside other New Investigator Award applications, after which the panel will make a funding recommendation.

Applications will be grouped and referred to the most appropriate responsive mode panel meeting once they reach this stage. These panels typically meet on a quarterly basis.

Our responsive mode panels are structured as follows:

• mathematical sciences
• information and communication technologies (ICT)
• engineering
• physical sciences

Panel membership for each panel is taken from across the disciplines to cover the breadth of applications considered in each panel.

For more information on how we prioritise applications for funding please visit How we make decisions.

Timescale

We aim to complete the assessment process within six months of receiving your application.

Feedback

No further feedback beyond the reviewers’ comments will be provided after the panel.

Principles of assessment

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.

Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review

Generative AI may be used only for the purpose of language refinement during application assessment. When using generative AI to refine the language of a review, expert reviewers and panellists must ensure that:

• no part of the application being assessed is entered into a generative AI tool
• no personal information from the application is disclosed
• generative AI is not tasked with understanding, summarising or evaluating the application’s content

Expert reviewers and panellists must also:

• comply with relevant intellectual property and data protection legislation
• not take into account or speculate within their assessment whether generative AI has been used to develop the application

For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI.

Assessment areas

The criteria against which your application will be assessed directly relates to the core responsive mode application questions:

• vision of the project
• approach to the project
• capability of the applicant or applicants and the project team to deliver the project
• career development
• resources requested to do the project
• ethical and responsible research and innovation considerations of the project
• research organisation support

Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page

The helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility, content or remit of a funding opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

Contact details

For help and advice on costings and writing your application please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.

For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact EPSRC’s Talent and Skills – Research Careers team via researchcareers@epsrc.ukri.org

Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org
Phone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

• Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
• Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

To help us process queries quicker, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.

For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.

Background

We recognise that this funding opportunity is aimed at early career individuals who may not have applied to UK Research and Innovation before and therefore have provided further detail on the new investigator award opportunity.

Differences between a career development fellowship and a new investigator award

New investigator awards aim to support individuals seeking to transition to independence through their first grant as a project lead and clear host institution support.

The time spent on the new investigator award should be combined with a portfolio of other activities, such as:

• teaching
• administration duties
• other time spent in faculty
• time spent on other research grants

This list is not exhaustive.

A career development fellowship is a personal award that aims to support individuals seeking to transition to independence through protected research time and an ambitious programme of research training and personal career development.

Peer review

New Investigator Award applicants are encouraged to apply to become an EPSRC Peer Review College member. This will aid applicants in building an in-depth knowledge of EPSRCs peer review processes and principles, helping them to further increase their knowledge of reviewing and application writing.

Responsive mode statement

This funding opportunity replaces EPSRC new investigator award: Nov 2023: responsive mode (OPP320) and maintains our approach to applicant-led responsive funding opportunities without deadlines.

Due to systems requirements, a closing date will appear on the funding service. Please do not wait for this date to submit your application. You should apply when your application is ready for submission. Applications submitted to this opportunity will be batched and processed regularly.

Due to the agile development of the UKRI Funding Service, in the future we will need to make changes to this funding opportunity to allow technical updates or new policies to be implemented.

No further changes are planned to this EPSRC responsive mode funding opportunity at present. However, if updates are required, we will communicate these changes at least eight weeks before they are implemented (excluding major public holiday periods).

Research and innovation impact

Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.

Further detail on eligibility

Research offices should advise applicants on eligibility in the first instance. If multiple ineligible applications come from the same institution, we may engage with the research organisation before allowing further submissions.

We require candidates and research offices to be satisfied at the point of application that the candidate is eligible for the scheme.

If you are aligned with the funding opportunity aims, have read the guidance, FAQs, and spoken to your research office but are still unsure about eligibility, please contact researchcareers@epsrc.ukri.org with relevant details of your funding history and roles.

Where you are unsure, we will consider your current and historic grant and research portfolio and whether this duplicates the ambition and experience of the scheme in reaching a judgement.

Please note we cannot assess individual CVs or non‑EPSRC fellowships.

Research disruption due to COVID-19

We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:

• breaks and delays
• disruptive working patterns and conditions
• the loss of ongoing work
• role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic

Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.

Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.

Supporting documents

Equality impact assessment (PDF, 227KB)