Research Councils (UKRI)
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a relatively new body (established in April 2018) which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish.
Operating across the whole of the UK with a combined budget of more than £8 billion, UKRI brings together the seven Research Councils (listed below), Innovate UK and Research England. It aims to maximise the contribution of each of its component parts, working individually and collectively. It works with many partners to benefit everyone through knowledge, talent and ideas.
To learn more about the central role of UKRI in the UK funding landscape, explore its Strategic Prospectus.
Within UKRI, the individual Research Councils maintain distinct research remits, characteristic funding schemes and separate Strategic Delivery Plans.
- Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
- Medical Research Council (MRC)
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
We recommend strongly that you become familiar with the Research Council covering your particular research area(s) and look at the different types of funding on offer. Schemes can include fellowships, early career opportunities, project grants, programme grants, international collaboration awards, and networking grants.
Funding applications to any Research Council are made via the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system. Applying can appear slightly complicated at first since it requires coordination of a detailed online form as well as numerous important attachments (some of which are lengthy) but the Research Development Manager assigned to your School will be happy to help.
UKRI also coordinates two major additional (thematic) funding streams: Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF; £1.5 billion across the 2016-2021 period) and the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF; £4.7 billion across the 2017-2021 period).
