Recurring UK Funding Calls
Funding opportunities that are normally announced at the same time every year, usually from larger funding bodies
| Funder |
Call |
Description | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBSRC | Responsive Mode | Funding for research around BBSRC priority areas. |
24 April 2024 |
| BBSRC | Follow-on Funding |
Apply for Follow-on Funding (FoF) to help bridge gaps between early stage bioscience research and innovation with achieving wider commercial, economic and societal benefit. The scheme opens twice a years and has two sizes:
Both awards aim to take ideas through to a stage where the route to application is clear: |
27 March 2024 |
| EPSRC | Standard Research Grants | Funding varies (up to multi-million pound research programme). A wide variety of activities can be supported. | Rolling deadlines |
| MRC |
Molecular and cellular medicine - new investigator, Partnership, Programme Research grants. |
Funds fundamental research in MRC remit. Deadlines are linked to panel meetings.
|
15 May 2024
|
| MRC | Infections and immunity - new investigator, Partnership, Programme Research grants | Funds fundamental research in MRC remit. Deadlines are linked to panel meetings. |
15 May 2024 |
| MRC | Population and systems medicine new investigator, Partnership, Programme Research grants | Funds fundamental research in MRC remit. Deadlines are linked to panel meetings. |
15 May 2024 |
| NERC | Pushing the frontiers of environmental research | Apply for up to £1m to pursue an ambitious, high risk and high reward project in environmental research. |
Usually January / July each year |
| NERC | Exploring the frontiers of environmental research | Apply for up to £100k to explore new ideas and approaches that may open up novel paths of research or result in discipline-shifting discovery in environmental science. | Currently closed |
| NERC | Large Grants | These support innovative, large-scale and complex projects that tackle big science questions and have the potential to produce world-leading research. Your project must be predominantly within the NERC remit, although they do fund research that crosses over into other research council areas. You can apply if you are a research group or individual based at a UK university or other approved institution |
Outline proposal closing date in March 2024
|
| NERC | Urgency funding |
Urgency grants offer fast-track support (up to £100k) to respond quickly to short-lived and unexpected research opportunities that would result in a missed opportunity to collect valuable data should you conform to other available funding opportunities. These may be events affecting the environment created by the occurrence of sporadic natural events such as (but limited to):
We expect projects to last up to one year and focus on urgent data collection and essential initial analysis. You must have a clear strategy for taking the research forward once the urgent phase is complete. |
No closing date, two stage application process, outline proposal, then full proposal by invitation only. |
| Royal Academy Engineering | Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships |
This scheme aims to strengthen the links between industry and academia by supporting exceptional academics in UK universities to undertake use-inspired research that meets the needs of the industrial partners.
|
Currently closed |
| Leverhulme | Doctoral Scholarships | These scholarships enable UK universities to award full-time doctoral scholarships in a priority area for the institutions. The scheme offers 10 grants worth £2.15 million each over eight years | Currently closed |
| Leverhulme | Research Fellowships | These fellowships enable experienced researchers to complete a piece of research in any discipline. Worth up to £65,000 each over a period of three to 24 months. | Next round opens September 2024 |
| Leverhulme | Research Projects Grants |
Proposals may be in any field, except for studies of disease, illness and disabilities in humans and animals, and research that is intended to inform clinical practice or the development of medical applications. Closing dates are the same each year. Grants are worth up to £500,000 each and may be held for up to five years. |
Outline applications: Anytime Detailed Applications: 21 March, 01 September, 01 December each year |
| Leverhulme | Visiting Professorship | These enable UK institutions to host distinguished researchers from overseas, primarily to enhance the skills of academic staff or students at the host institution. Funding is worth between £10,000 and £150,000 for visits of between three months and a year. | 2 May 2024 and 3 October 2024 |
| Royal Society | Research Grant | ECRs or those returning from a career break. Covers specialised equipment and consumables. | 27 March 2024 |
| Royal Society | APEX Awards | These enable established, independent researchers with a strong track record in their respective area to pursue genuine interdisciplinary and curiosity-driven research to benefit wider society. Award £110,00 | Currently closed |
| Royal Society of Edinburgh | Personal Research Fellowships | These provide eligible applicants with the opportunity to take up to twelve months to focus on a research project of their choice. The award provides funding for the appointment of a temporary replacement to enable the awardee to take study leave, either in their own institution or elsewhere, whilst remaining in continuous employment with their present employer | 10 April 2024 |
| Royal Society of Edinburgh | International Joint Projects | These aim to facilitate international collaboration between researchers based in Scotland with researchers overseas. The RSE provides up to a maximum of £6,000 per year and up to a maximum of £12,000 over two years | 6 March 2024 |
| Cancer Research UK | Discovery Programme foundation awards | Programme Foundation Awards allow excellent mid-career researchers to develop their independent research group. Up to £1.5m |
Next outline application deadline: TBC Next full application deadline: TBC |
| Cancer Research UK | Discovery Programme Awards | Long-term support for broad, multidisciplinary research answering questions which span basic and translational research. Budget up to £2.5M |
Next outline application deadline: TBC Next full application deadline: TBC |
| Tenovus | Small Pilot Grants |
These support pump priming research studies. Grants are worth up to £20,000 for up to 18 months. Maximum award: £20,000 |
Currently closed |
| Wellcome | Discovery Award | This scheme provides funding for established researchers and teams from any discipline who want to pursue bold and creative research ideas to deliver significant shifts in understanding that could improve human life, health and wellbeing. |
16 April 2024 |
| Rosetrees Trust | Seedcorn Award |
Support for researchers to advance innovative and novel ideas related to the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of human diseases. Applicants are expected to have a novel hypothesis and some preliminary data that can be developed over 12-18 months to form the basis of larger grant applications. Funds up to £15k over 12-18 months. |
Currently closed |