Funding for Research Staff

Explore funding opportunities tailored for research staff, including the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship scheme, the Research Staff Dissemination Fund, and the Research Staff Collaboration Fund. These schemes support career development, collaboration, and dissemination of research outcomes.

Research staff are defined as individuals employed on a substantive contract whose primary responsibility is to conduct research and who are usually supported by grants which are of a fixed duration. This includes research assistants, research associates, postdoctoral research associates and research fellows including Presidential Fellows. 

 

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships scheme

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships scheme – call for expressions of interest

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced Round 10 of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships scheme. The University of Manchester is seeking Expressions of Interest (EoIs) by 16:00 on Friday 7th February 4pm.

We encourage applications from the widest range of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences possible, including external candidates, to ensure all talented applicants have an equitable chance to succeed as per the assessment criteria. However, all applicants to the scheme need to be nominated by their host institution so please follow the process below.

We will follow the same transparent and consistent process across all faculties in keeping with the funder’s guidance on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Each Faculty will hold online information sessions for potential applicants in mid-January. Dates and joining instructions will be shared on this website. Please email your faculty contact (listed at the end of this announcement) to be notified when they are announced.

Eligibility

The scheme is open to early career researchers or innovators who are either:

  • looking to establish or transition to independence.
  • developing their own original and ambitious plans within a commercial setting.

You do not need to hold a PhD and there are no eligibility rules based on the number of years since your PhD. However, if you do not hold a PhD, you must be able to demonstrate equivalent research or innovation experience or training.

Your project can last for up to four years, with the option to apply to renew for a further three years. Fellowships may be held on a part-time basis over a longer period (to a minimum of 50% of the Full Time Equivalent) in order to combine research and/or innovation with personal responsibilities.

Visit the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship webpage for full details.

Application process

Institutions are limited to a specific quota of applications and The University of Manchester has been given the maximum allocation of 10 applications. To triage applications and minimise burden for applicants, we will run a transparent and consistent two-stage selection across all three faculties.

If you are an external applicant, please contact the relevant faculty contact (details at the bottom of this page) for guidance before submitting an application.

Each Faculty will hold an online information session for potential applicants. Dates and joining instructions will be listed on this page shortly.

Review process and timeline

  1. Applicants are asked to submit an Expression of Interest (EoI) to their relevant faculty contact (see below) by Friday 7th February 2025 (16:00) using the UKRI FLF EOI template on this page (top right). Please note, this now includes a short Resume for Research and Innovation (R4RI) rather than a traditional CV. Further guidance is provided in the application form.
    • Applicants whose projects span more than one faculty should make one submission and request that their bid be considered by more than one panel, explaining in one or two sentences by email why this is appropriate.
  2. Expert reviewers will provide comments to a Faculty panel, who will rank the applications.
  3. The top four applications from each Faculty will be submitted to a central panel, chaired by the Vice President for Research. This panel will decide which ten applicants to take forward for submission to UKRI.
  4. Decisions will be communicated to applicants on 24th March 2025.
  5. The faculties will support the ten applicants selected by the panel to develop full applications. These will be submitted to UKRI by Wednesday 18th June 2025.

Queries should be directed to the relevant Faculty contact in the first instance.

Research Staff Dissemination Fund

The Research Dissemination Fund aims to provide support to research staff to disseminate and communicate their research findings and share their research knowledge and material beyond their immediate peers. The fund is an opportunity for research staff to develop their presentation and communication skills, engage with both academic and non academic audiences and establish networks for potential future collaborations.

Examples of dissemination activities include but are not limited to conference presentations, public engagement workshops, publication costs, working with policy makers, adapting materials for different audiences, virtual networking events.

Applicants in FSE can apply for the cost of dissemination activities up to a maximum of £1000.

Applicants in BMH and HUMS can apply for the cost of dissemination activities up to a maximum of £500.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their application at least eight weeks in advance of the dissemination activity

Please note the deadlines for FSE for 2024/25 are: 23rd September, 21st October, 18th November, 20th January, 24th February, 24th March, 21st April, 19th May and 23rd June.

Deadlines for BMH and HUMS will be assessed bi-monthly and the dates are: 23rd September, 18th November, 24th February, 21st April and 23rd June.

Research Staff Collaboration Fund

The Research Collaboration Fund aims to provide support to research staff to establish a collaborative research project with a cross disciplinary partner. The fund is an opportunity for research staff to build their interdisciplinary research and develop a collaborative research grant or fellowship application.

Applicants from BMH can apply for costs up to a maximum of £5,000. The funds can cover networking costs, workshops costs, staff and consumable costs for feasibility and pilot studies or preliminary research data collection in an interdisciplinary area which has the potential to lead to an external funding bid.

In 2024/25, there are two application deadlines – 19th November 2024 and 16th June 2025. 

For the 19th November 2024 deadline we are only accepting applications from researchers in BMH. 

Other Funding Opportunities

CAPE Collaboration Funding Opportunities

Funding for collaborative projects between academics and policy professionals.

Public Engagement Professional Development Fund

If you want to develop your own public engagement skills or those of your team you can apply to the Professional Development Fund.