FUNding OpportunitiesA selection of the latest calls for funding
Our selection of funding opportunities, from current calls with deadlines approaching or no closing date to industry collaborations and fellowships, have particular emphasis on the AAA sector - Animal Health, Agritech and Aquaculture.
This is a growing sector and represents three of the Scottish Life Sciences sectors (including Digital Healthcare), having a distinct crossover with biotech, gene modification, gene editing etc. for food security and in crop science and environmental research.
Scotland is the ideal environment to carry out research and development in the area of domestic livestock, companion animals, aquaculture and plant science. We offer a truly world–leading scientific expertise, access to state of the art research facilities, a pool of highly skilled personnel and a growing cluster of innovative bioscience companies.
Smart is Innovate UK’s responsive grant funding programme. It has focused eligibility criteria and scope to support SMEs and their partners to develop disruptive innovations with significant potential for rapid economic return to the UK.
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £25 million for game changing and commercially viable R&D innovations that can significantly impact the UK economy. This funding is from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.
Proposals must be business focused, with deliverable, realistic, adequately resourced plans to achieve return on investment, growth and market share following project completion. Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy, such as, but not exclusively, net zero, the arts, design and media.
Food & Agriculture Science Transformer (FAST)
Programme in partnership with Deep Science Ventures (DSV) and the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute.
Applications ongoing. Reviewed within 10 working days of receipt and if the candidacy successful, it normally takes no more than 2-3 weeks to get started.
* PLEASE NOTE: This is a pre-announcement, and the information may change. The opportunity will open during late September 2023 - more information will be available in due course *
The prosperity partnership funding opportunity aims to fund business-led research that arises from an industrial need, with the work being co-delivered between the business and project leads. The opportunity is aimed at supporting excellent, world-leading discovery research and innovation, which has clear benefit to the businesses involved, resulting in accelerated impact arising from the new knowledge, innovations, or technologies.
Bids must be led by the business lead at the outline stage. Business leads must be:
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £9.8 million for Small R&D Partnership Projects from the Industry-led R&D Partnerships Fund, a part of the Farming Innovation Programme. This funding is part of Defra's Farming Innovation Programme which is a partnership with UKRI's Transforming Food Production Challenge and delivered by Innovate UK.
The aim of this competition is to:
Apply for funding to bring academia and industry together to co-develop solutions to key innovation challenges impacting upon the sustainable growth of UK aquaculture.
You are invited to submit proposals for collaborative research and development projects, feasibility and pilot studies, that explore the following challenges in the context of sustainable aquaculture:
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £4.5 million for feasibility projects. This funding is from the Industry-led R&D Partnerships Fund, a part of the Farming Innovation Programme.
The aim of this funding competition is to fund feasibility studies investigating new solutions that will address major on-farm or immediate post farmgate challenges or opportunities. This will include projects that:
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will partner with Enterprise Singapore (“EnterpriseSG”) to invest up to £5 million in innovation projects. The aim of this competition is to fund business led, collaborative research and development (CR&D) net zero and sustainability projects focused on industrial research, for innovative proposals developed between the UK and Singapore.
UK registered businesses must collaborate with at least one Singapore registered business applying under the equivalent Singapore programme. The aim of this competition is to fund business led, collaborative research and development (CR&D) net zero and sustainability projects focused on industrial research, for innovative proposals developed between the UK and Singapore. Your project must directly address Sustainability and Net Zero challenges. This can include but is not limited to the following key technological areas:
Our standard research grants are for researchers at eligible organisations that include:
You can apply if you:
We are looking for partnerships that help businesses to innovate, develop, grow and become more productive by employing academic expertise that they do not have in-house.
Your project can focus on any type of innovation in any sector but it must aim to deliver results that your business would not otherwise be able to deliver. As a business, you may be looking for an academic partner to help you to address a particular innovation challenge.
Partnerships are part-funded by a grant. Your business will have to contribute to the costs of the project, including the salary of the graduate, known as the associate, and the cost of a supervisor to oversee the project. The associate is employed by the academic partner but works in the business and brings new skills and thinking to deliver a specific innovation project. The project will last between 12 and 36 months.
Project costs vary greatly but typically a small or medium sized business might expect to contribute £35,000 a year and a large company in excess of £50,000. Your company may have additional costs such as purchasing capital equipment, which are not covered by this grant.
Key features of a UKRI Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) are that:
All sectors are eligible. You may be eligible if:
The RSE Joint Projects aims to facilitate international collaboration between researchers based in Scotland with researchers overseas. Applications for two-year joint projects are invited from Scottish-based researchers to include an overseas Higher Education Institution (HEI), Research Institute (RI) or Cultural Institution of your choice (open to all countries).
The RSE provides up to a maximum of £6,000 per year and up to a maximum of £12,000 over two years. The collaborating institution is expected to provide the equivalent level of funding per two-year joint project. Funding areas: Arts and Humanities, Career Development, International, Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM), Social Sciences.
Eligibility for Scotland-based researchers:
Eligibility for international researchers:
Project eligibility:
Award opens: 7 September 2023
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is one of seven Research Councils that work together as Research Councils UK (RCUK). Funded by the Government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
BBSRC provide a range of funding opportunities to enable individuals and groups to pursue world-class bioscience research. This includes joint opportunities with other Research Councils and organisations.
The BBSRC Grants Guide covers all aspects of research grant funding, including: eligibility, research equipment and application procedures.
If you can't find what you're looking for please contact:
Research grant submission: jeshelp@rcuk.ac.uk t: 01793 444164
Grant eligibility: eligibility@bbsrc.ukri.org
Remit: remit@bbsrc.ukri.org
UK Research and Innovation is a new body 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, working with many partners to benefit everyone through knowledge, talent and ideas, with a combined budget of more than £7 billion.
UKRI provides a range of funding opportunities to enable individuals and groups to pursue world-class research and innovation.
Innovate UK is part of UKRI, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government.
As the UK's innovation agency, Innovate UK works with people, companies and partner organisations to fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into research and development and realise the potential of new ideas that grow the economy, including those from the UK’s world-class research base.
How to Apply:
Contact your local KTP Adviser or Office or call +44 (0) 300 321 4357.
A KTP can last between 12 and 36 months depending on the project and the needs of the business. It is part-funded by a grant. The amount businesses need to contribute is different for SMEs and larger companies.
The KTP programme runs continuously throughout the year.
The Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) is part of Innovate UK's suite of business support products. It is a well established process to connect public sector challenges with innovative ideas from industry, supporting companies to generate economic growth and enabling improvement in achieving government objectives.
SBRI provides innovative solutions to challenges faced by the public sector, leading to better public services and improved efficiency and effectiveness. It generates new business opportunities for companies, provides small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) a route to market for their ideas and bridges the seed funding gap experienced by many early stage companies. It supports economic growth and enables the development of innovative products and services through the public procurement of research and development (R&D).
The aim of the Medical Research Council (MRC) is to improve human health through world-class medical research, from fundamental science to early clinical trials and preventive medicine. The MRC works in partnership across UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and devolved administrations, the NHS, charities and industry.
The Biomedical Catalyst (BMC) is a unique partnership between the MRC and Innovate UK, providing responsive and effective support to the most innovative life sciences opportunities regardless of scientific approach.
The BMC aims to de-risk innovative science and commercialise ideas arising out of academia and industry helping UK SMEs to develop into competitive and sustainable organisations. This accelerates the progress of novel products to market, facilitates onward investment and bridges “the valley of death”.
MRC supports academically-led feasibility research through the Confidence in Concept which is open to institutions but not individual researchers. Academic-led applications for Early and Late Stage awards are primarily administered through the Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS).
Since BMC launched in April 2012, the scheme has awarded more than £250m funding, matched by £150m of private finance, to over 300 projects seeking to develop a wide range of therapies, diagnostics and devices.
Check direct with the funding organisation for information and any updates.
AgriFood Africa Connect brings innovative people and organisations across the UK and Africa together to address key AgriFood challenges in Africa. They build diverse connections across the UK and Africa to drive positive change that aligns with the UK’s Overseas Development Assistance goals.
The goal is to realise sustainable management of the food production systems in Africa in a way that alleviates poverty, enhances economic prosperity and delivers improved well-being.
We are a worldwide network of public, private and third sector organisations spanning the GovTech, CivTech and CivicTech spectrum to support and nurture an ecosystem developing products and services which make citizens’ lives better.
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £25 million for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy. This funding is from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.
Your proposal must be business focused, with deliverable, realistic, adequately resourced plans to achieve return on investment, growth and market share following project completion. Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy, such as, but not exclusively net zero, the arts, design and media.
The Moredun Foundation Award recognises the value of education, collaboration, experience and travel in improving knowledge of farming and livestock industries.
As part of its charitable activities, the Moredun Foundation established an award scheme to provide an opportunity for individuals in the UK to pursue a short term project to broaden their education and experience in areas relating to livestock health and welfare and the agricultural industry.
The Moredun Foundation Award supports personal development and encourages innovative and diverse contributions to our mission to prevent and control infectious diseases of livestock.
The RSE grants funding and awards to recognise excellence and support leading research that benefits Scotland's cultural, economic and social wellbeing.
The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) is a five year £1.5 billion resource funding stream, announced as part of the 2015 spending review, to ensure that UK research takes a leading role in addressing the problems faced by developing countries.
The GCRF will deploy the UK’s world-class research capability to address the challenges faced by the developing world.
UK-registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £25million for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy. This funding is from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.
Pathfinder is a fully funded opportunity for entrepreneurs to accelerate their new product or business in only six months. Participants will be taught practical tools and techniques to interrogate their idea, plan for opportunities and optimise for marketplace success.
To help you execute your idea, Pathfinder delegates are coached directly by experts across a range of disciplines including new product development, innovation, business strategy, finance, investment and more. The programme includes a “Dragon’s Den” style pitching session in front of real investors in a safe environment to help to you prepare for just about anything in the commercial world.
Women with exciting, innovative ideas who will inspire others can apply for an award which includes a £50,000 grant and bespoke business support.
Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, is offering up to 50 Women in Innovation Awards to women entrepreneurs across the UK. The winners will receive a £50,000 grant and a bespoke package of mentoring, coaching and business support. Applicants must be confident, with the support of an award, that they can make a significant contribution to a pressing societal, environmental or economic challenge through their innovative project.
The competition is split into 2 phases. In the application phase 1, the awards will be assessed by independent experts. In the interview phase 2, the shortlisted applicants will be interviewed by a panel of experts.
This competition is open to single applicants only. To lead a project you must be a woman founder, co-founder or senior decision maker within a UK registered micro or small and medium-sized enterprise business that has been operating for at least one year by the competition closing date.
nnovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency. It supports business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions. It also helps businesses grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive, and easy to navigate.
The Grand Challenges family of initiatives fosters innovation to solve key global health and development problems. Each initiative is an experiment in the use of challenges to focus innovation on making an impact. Individual challenges address some of the same problems, but from differing perspectives.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Round 25 Challenges (Grand Challenges Explorations) has now closed.
The Grand Challenges family of initiatives fosters innovation to solve key health and development problems. See below for Grand Challenges grant opportunities with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as sole or contributing funder.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The are currently no open grant opportunities.
The Wellcome Trust has awarded the University of Edinburgh an Institutional Translational Partnership Award (iTPA) to diversify and intensify the support available to engage Wellcome- and non Wellcome-funded researchers across the medical, life and social sciences.
High potential translational projects will be considered for an award of up to a maximum of £20,000. The funds may be used on a broad range of activities aimed at stimulating future translation of specific early stage research projects. The award will support direct costs only, and be associated with a range of activities including but not limited to:-
Skills development via industry secondments, academic placements or people exchanges, or specialist training.
Some projects that have received funding:-
Edinburgh Innovations, University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service.
Applications are currently closed but please check Edinburgh Innovations for updates.
This long-standing scheme enables the mobility of talented scientists and engineers from industry and academia in order to move between the sectors. These secondments support the researcher's development, foster exchange of knowledge, stimulate longer-term collaborations, and establish personal, scientific and corporate links between sectors.
The Industry Fellowship, part of the Royal Society's Industry programme, aims to enhance knowledge transfer in science and technology between those in industry and those in academia in the UK.
The scheme provides a basic salary for the researcher and a contribution towards research costs.
This scheme, part of the Royal Society's Industry programme, enables scientists employed in industry or academia and/or their postdoctoral researcher to have shorter more dynamic engagements between academia and industry, working on a mutually beneficial and collaborative project.
Collaborations between academia and early-stage companies are particularly encouraged. It is anticipated that the personal and corporate links established by the researcher between the two sectors in the UK will seed longer-term collaborations and contribute to their long-term future development.
This scheme is for outstanding scientists who are in the early stages of their research career and have the potential to become leaders in their field. These long term fellowships provide the opportunity and freedom to build an independent research career in the UK or Republic of Ireland and pursue cutting-edge scientific research.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh Enterprise Fellowships enable promising science and technology researchers to grow into successful entrepreneurs.
Fellowships funded by Scottish Enterprise comprise the bulk of the programme. These awards are designed to encourage and enable the development of a new business based in Scotland around a technological idea developed by the Enterprise Fellow, either individually or with others, and within which the Enterprise Fellow would be expected to play a leading, though not necessarily the leading, role.
RSE Personal Research Fellowships provide eligible applicants with the opportunity to take between three 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 research leave, either in their own institution or elsewhere, whilst remaining in continuous employment with their present employer.
In addition to funding the salary for the replacement member of staff (including on costs), this grant funds research costs for the awardee.
Funding areas: Arts and Humanities, Career Development, Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM), Social Science.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh
There are currently no open fellowships.PhD and MScR opportunities are available at The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.
A number of studentships for taught and research postgraduates are offered each year.
PhD and MScR opportunities are available at The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.
A number of studentships for taught and research postgraduates are offered each year.
Click here for further information and details of open studentship calls at Easter Bush Campus.
AHDB fund a wide variety of PhD students to support the increase of new talent and ideas into our agricultural and horticultural sectors.
Requests for further information should be sent to studentships@ahdb.org.uk indicating to which sector(s) your question is addressed.
There are currently no open studentships.
New funding calls will be added regularly so please bookmark this page for the latest additions and those with deadlines approaching.
Roslin Innovation Centre
The University of Edinburgh
Easter Bush Campus
Midlothian EH25 9RG
