UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). It brings together seven disciplinary research councils, Research England (which is responsible for supporting research and knowledge exchange at higher education institutions in England) and Innovate UK (the UK’s innovation agency).
While Research England is responsible for creating and sustaining the foundations for research and knowledge exchange by awarding block grants to HEIs, the seven discipline-specific research councils offer funding to researchers for specific programmes and projects via a competitive peer-review process.
Each research council represents a broad subject area outlined below.
The UK’s largest provider of response-led and strategic funding, advanced skills training and career development across the whole range of arts and humanities. All of human history is within its scope, but so are contemporary challenges – for example, the design and effectiveness of digital content and the impact of artificial intelligence.
AHRC funds research in the following areas:
- Archaeology
- Classics
- Cultural and museum studies
- Development studies
- History
- Human geography
- Information and communication technologies
- Law and legal studies
- Library and information studies
- Philosophy
- Political science and international studies
- Theology, divinity and religion
- Creative and performing arts
- Drama theatre studies
- Media
- Music
- Visual arts
- Languages and literature
- Linguistics
For example:
AHRC Community-led Heritage Research and Skills Hub – Apply to lead a community-driven heritage research and skills hub. The hub will support delivery of community-led research projects across the UK, equipping heritage organisations and their communities with research and digital skills and establishing networks for further research collaboration).
AHRC Responsive Mode: standard research grant – round four – AHRC standard research grants support well-defined collaborative projects across the arts and humanities in areas covered by our remit).
View all AHRC funding opportunities
Aimed at advancing the frontiers of biology and driving towards a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future by delivering ground-breaking discoveries and bio-based solutions that contribute to tackling global challenges such as sustainable food production, climate change and healthy aging.
BBSRC funds research in areas including:
- plants
- microbes
- animals (including humans)
- tools and technology underpinning biological research
This includes support for innovation from bioscience research – for example, in collaborative programmes of research that connect academic and industry partners.
Funding is available for investigations on all scales, from molecules, cells and tissues to whole organisms, populations and landscapes.
For example:
Bioinformatics and Biological Resources Fund (24BBR) – Apply for funding to implement, improve or consolidate bioinformatics or biological resources in support of UK bioscience, helping to drive forwards progress in bioscience research and innovation.
Pre-announcement: strategic Longer and Larger (sLoLa) grants – Apply for funding to undertake large team-based fundamental bioscience research projects which push the frontiers of human knowledge.
View all BBSRC funding opportunities
The UK’s largest funder of economic, social, behavioural and human data science, aimed at understanding people and the world around us. Desired impacts include, but are not limited to, raising productivity, addressing climate change, improving public services, and generating a prosperous, inclusive, healthy and secure society.
ESRC funds research in a broad range of social disciplines:
- area and development studies
- demography
- economic and social history
- economics
- education
- environmental planning
- human geography
- international relations
- linguistics
- management and business studies
- politics
- psychology
- science and technology studies
- social anthropology
- social policy
- social statistics, methods and computing
- social work
- socio legal studies
- sociology
For example:
Apply for research into care sector labour force shortages – Apply for funding to conduct innovative social science research on the topic of ‘labour force shortages within the long-term care sector’.
ESRC responsive mode: research grants – This opportunity funds researcher-driven basic, applied, and strategic research from any disciplines and on any topics in ESRC’s remit, as long as the social sciences are more than 50% of the focus and effort.
View all ESRC funding opportunities
The main funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK, aimed at benefiting society and the economy through its diverse portfolio ranging from digital technologies to clean energy, manufacturing to mathematics.
EPSRC funds research and invests in facilities in areas including:
- chemistry
- engineering
- information and communications technologies
- materials
- mathematical sciences
- physics
EPSRC’s remit is not limited to these areas but most funded research is in engineering and the physical sciences.
For example:
Pre-announcement: Technologies to enable independence for people living with dementia – Apply for funding to develop a network plus focused on the development and use of tools and technologies to enable people with dementia and their carers to live independently.
Transforming prediction and early diagnosis in the community – Apply for funding for research to develop novel tools and technologies for patient-specific prediction, early and accurate diagnosis of physical and mental health conditions for use in the community.
View all EPSRC funding opportunities
MRC’s mission is to prevent illness, develop therapies and improve human health.
Funds are available for research in the following areas:
- global health research
- infections and immunity
- methodology development: better methods, better research
- molecular and cellular medicine
- MRC response to COVID-19
- neurosciences and mental health
- population and systems medicine
- translational research: driving innovation
High priority is given to research that is likely to make a real difference to clinical practice and the health of the population.
For example:
Understanding public involvement in non-clinical research – Apply for funding to improve public involvement in non-clinical health and biomedical research. The methodology research proposed should be designed to deliver generalisable learning and support best practice.
Applied global health research: stage one – Apply for funding to support applied research that will address global health challenges and inequities.
View all MRC funding opportunities
The driving force of investment that places environmental science at the heart of responsible management of our planet.
NERC funds research in areas including:
- atmospheric physics and chemistry
- climate and climate change
- ecology, biodiversity and systematics
- geosciences
- marine environments
- polar sciences
- science-based archaeology
- terrestrial and freshwater environments
For example:
Pushing the frontiers of environmental research: July 2024 – Apply for funding to pursue an ambitious, high risk and high reward project in environmental research.
Addressing environmental challenges: NERC highlight topics 2024 – Apply for funding to address one of five environmental research challenges.
View all NERC funding opportunities
A multidisciplinary science organisation with the goal of delivering economic, societal, scientific and international benefits to the UK and its people.
STFC funds research in the following core areas:
- astronomy, solar and planetary science
- particle physics
- particle astrophysics
- nuclear physics
- accelerator science
- computational science
It also funds research that takes skills, techniques and technologies developed in those core areas, and seeks to transfer them into other areas.
For example:
STFC Public Engagement Spark Awards 2024A – Apply for funding to engage the public with Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) supported science, people, technology or facilities.
STFC leadership fellowships in public engagement 2024 – Apply for funding to support a fellowship in the leadership of engaging the public with STFC supported science, technology or facilities.
View all STFC funding opportunities
The UK’s national innovation agency, helping businesses to grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services.
Although Innovate UK’s focus is business-led innovation and most of its funding opportunities are directed at businesses (each with their own eligibility and scope requirements), there are opportunities for universities to participate as partners. For example, a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a three-way partnership between:
- a UK registered business of any size or a not-for-profit organisation (including social enterprises and charities)
- a knowledge base (e.g. a university or research institute)
- a suitably qualified graduate (the ‘associate’) with the capability to lead a strategic business project
A KTP provides the business with academic knowledge and skills to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project. The knowledge base recruits the ‘associate’ to work on the project. The ‘associate’ then leads on a strategic development within the business, developing new skills and gaining valuable experience in the process.
Find out more about how to apply for KTPs
View all Innovate UK funding opportunities
UKRI also has two themed funds operating across its research councils, giving an indication of current funding priorities reflecting its strategic themes:
- Clean growth
- Ageing society
- Future of mobility
- Artificial intelligence and data economy
- Environment
- Biology and biomedicine
- Artificial intelligence
- Productivity
- Infrastructure
- Health, wellbeing and human rights
- Digital
- Productivity and technical
Further examples of cross-UKRI funding opportunities:
Maximising UK adaptation to climate change research projects – Apply for funding for transdisciplinary research projects under the UKRI-Defra co-funded Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change programme to help improve the UK’s resilience to climate change impacts.
Future Leaders Fellowships – Funding to support ambitious research and innovation across UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s remit. Candidates must be an early career researcher or innovator.