Transforming global evidence: AI-driven evidence synthesis for policymaking (Grant)

Before applying for funding, check the Eligibility of your organisation.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new UKRI Funding Service.

For full details, visit Eligibility as an individual.

International applicants

Project leads from non-UK organisations are not eligible to apply for funding for this opportunity.

Applicant teams must include at least one project co-lead (international) (PcL (I)) in their application. Read the project co-lead (international) policy guidance for details of eligible organisations and costs.

Please refer to the ‘Eligible international costs’ section.

Business, third sector or government body project co-leads

Business, third sector or government body project co-leads based in the UK can also be included on research grant proposals as a project co-lead. Read Including project co-leads from business, third sector or government bodies for details of eligible organisations and costs.

Resubmissions

We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI

Find out more about ESRC’s resubmissions policy

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

• career breaks

• support for people with caring responsibilities

• flexible working

• alternative working patterns

Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI.

Remit

Complete and submit the remit query form, if you are unsure whether your proposed research falls within the remit of ESRC

Aim

This funding opportunity aims to support the development of a transformative global infrastructure capable of providing the latest, relevant, high-quality evidence to national and international policymakers to address key policy challenges and accelerate delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will harness the potential of AI and build the capability of researchers to produce faster, more relevant and more cost-effective evidence syntheses. The opportunity also aims to accelerate the use of evidence to inform decision-making by policymakers, including through capacity strengthening.

Scope

Global uncertainties and shared global challenges, from climate change and energy security to economic growth and social inequalities, mean that decision makers need rapid and easy access to relevant and robust scientific evidence. These global uncertainties and challenges are reflected in national government agendas, as well as international frameworks, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Evidence synthesis refers to the process of bringing together the best available relevant evidence to answer a specific question. It is based on a rigorous and systematic approach to searching, identifying, collating, quality appraising, and analysing relevant evidence from multiple studies, based on pre-defined criteria, to inform scientific understanding and decision-making on specific issues. This includes the production of evidence and gap maps, rapid or systematic evidence reviews, realist reviews and living evidence reviews, as well as the design of tools and methods to communicate evidence synthesis outputs effectively to policymakers. The most effective evidence synthesis is often an ongoing iterative process co-owned by synthesis producers and users. By providing access to the highest quality current evidence on an issue, ideally with priority issues defined by end-users from the outset, evidence synthesis serves as a critical and powerful tool for decision makers when formulating policy or designing public services. By policymakers, we primarily refer to governments, parliamentarians, and international governmental organisations.

Recent analysis commissioned by the Government Office for Science and ESRC indicates that UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s research investments alone respond to 81% of all priority evidence gaps identified by UK government departments and agencies in their Areas of Research Interest questions. This analysis, along with international analysis by Nesta (see Additional information), shows a pressing need to build more effective mechanisms to review, synthesise and share existing evidence. There is increasingly relevant evidence being generated that could be used in policymaking, but it is not always easy to access and apply.

A range of factors, from historic patterns of R&D investment by many research funders to researcher incentives structures, contribute to the lack of evidence synthesis activity and the underutilisation of existing evidence for decision-making. At the same time, advancements in AI techniques offer opportunities, when combined with expert human judgment, to dramatically improve evidence synthesis. These advancements have the potential to greatly improve the speed, quality and useability of evidence synthesis. By integrating cutting-edge AI technologies and investing in human capability and knowledge exchange, we can significantly improve the speed, accuracy, and accessibility of scientific evidence, offering decision-makers synthesised insights at an unprecedented pace. These advances are not without challenges (for example, around bias and data extraction and coding), which need to be acknowledged and responded to.

We are looking to fund one consortium to build a transformational infrastructure and a global framework which will, over five years, address the following aims:

Advance evidence synthesis capabilities:

• develop and deploy AI capability and tools to produce evidence synthesis more rapidly, accurately and cost effectively

• develop researcher capabilities to produce high-quality, user-focused evidence syntheses

• create a powerful, integrated approach combining human and AI capabilities for synthesising, analysing and interpreting evidence in an equitable and inclusive manner

• build capability amongst relevant public and civil service professionals to apply evidence-synthesis in policymaking

Deliver nationally and internationally relevant evidence synthesis products:

• pilot a series of demonstrator projects to create a comprehensive suite of AI-supported evidence synthesis products focused on topics of international interest, in collaboration with national and international policymakers. This could include mapping existing evidence and producing high-quality, comprehensive living evidence reviews

• you should use the Nesta scoping report (see Additional Information) to identify priority policy areas of international relevance. It is suggested that you select three or four of these areas

• in identifying priority policy areas, you should demonstrate how these areas align with the UN SDGs and how users of evidence synthesis play a key role in informing the chosen policy areas

Improve the accessibility and useability of evidence synthesis for decision makers:

• develop innovative approaches to translating the results of evidence syntheses into formats that are easy for decision makers to interpret and act on, including use of digital tools

• identify and develop mechanisms for embedding evidence synthesis outputs in the working lives of policymakers. This will likely involve using iterative, collaborative approaches that include co-design and user testing with policymakers

• ensure effective international collaboration around the production of these cross-national evidence synthesis mechanisms and tools to ensure the effective transferability and contextualization of evidence internationally

• enhance capability and capacity development with both potential producers and users of evidence synthesis, including contributing to broader efforts to improve capacity for using evidence in policymaking

Partnerships

To realise the transformative ambitions of this funding opportunity, it is essential that the winning bid coordinates with existing global evidence architecture. Partnership working will therefore be essential. You will need to build trusted relationships across the global and national evidence ecosystem, especially with existing networks, research groups, and evidence users.

We expect the successful team to work with a number of partners, including:

 The United Nations (UN)

The UN is a key strategic partner in this investment. At the September 2024 United Nations Summit of the Future, and in the Pact for the Future, Member States are anticipated to commit to using science and digital technologies in helping decision makers accelerate progress towards the UN SDGs.

The UN can provide expertise and facilitate strategic connections for the successful consortium, providing access to key international stakeholders beyond the UK needed for the delivery of the UN SDGs. The UN can act as a gateway to support the successful applicant in ensuring the infrastructure is a global public good and that the demonstrator projects are internationally relevant and align with the UN SDGs.

The UN also possesses a large volume of globally significant evidence, including evaluations, which should be integrated into evidence synthesis activity. You must demonstrate how they would collaborate with the UN Evaluation Offices and Global SDG Synthesis Coalition, and build upon existing evaluation, evidence mapping, synthesis and AI tool development activities within the UN system, to ensure your work is of global relevance.

UK Government stakeholders

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is a co-funder of this funding opportunity. Their interest is in the application of AI for scientific understanding and advancement. The Government Office for Science, Cabinet Office, and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office have also been consulted as part of the development of this investment. You will need to demonstrate how you will engage with these departments, and others, in shaping and delivering this investment. You are asked to consider how your proposed demonstrator projects could contribute to the new UK government missions.

UKRI

Working with the research councils to identify evidence gaps, to inform future investment priorities, and create opportunities to maximise impact from existing investments.

ESRC

Existing ESRC investments which support evidence synthesis include the What Works Network, and the UKRI Local Policy Innovation Partnerships. You should articulate how you will build on and add value to existing investments.

You are asked not to contact any of the partners above at this stage. Introductions will be facilitated by ESRC once the award has been made.

You will need to articulate how you will build on, and where appropriate collaborate with, evidence synthesis investments made by other organisations (for example, Wellcome Trust and the National Institute for Health and Care Research), as well as international investments and networks that are relevant to their suggested programme.

You should ensure the infrastructure has sufficient capacity to engage with these partners and stakeholders, and to engage with ESRC to ensure effective investment management of the infrastructure. This will include providing reporting and monitoring information for the funder and engagement with governance structures.

You should also ensure you have capacity to engage with ERSC’s externally commissioned evaluation for this investment. The successful team will be expected to work with the evaluators to ensure relevant data and evidence is collected to support the evaluation.

Considerations

You will need to consider the following aspects of the investment and evidence how you plan to respond.

Leadership

It is expected that the leadership of this investment will be composed of internationally-recognised experts in evidence synthesis methods who are able to use and drive cutting-edge developments in tools and methods, including in the application of artificial intelligence.

It is expected that the demonstrator projects will require a consortia approach, bringing together experts from relevant subject areas to collaborate with the leadership team of evidence synthesis experts. We require there to be at least one project co-lead (international) making a significant contribution to the project team. The leadership team must also demonstrate cutting-edge expertise in bridging research, evaluation and policymaking.

Geographical focus

The delivery team will need to work with UK policymakers and consider the balance of their delivery with UK, national and international policymakers and the applicability of their approaches in international settings, including the Global South.

Diversity, strength and quality of evidence

You will need to demonstrate how the infrastructure and demonstrator projects will define and work with different types of evidence, including quantitative, qualitative and evaluation evidence, and consistently assess the strength and quality of that evidence.

It is expected initially that work will focus on published research and grey literature (for example, government and international evaluations). The UN, for example, holds a database of roughly 25,000 evaluations, with over 4000 reports being published since 2021 and you should consider how to interpret and use this evidence. Longer term, you should investigate the potential opportunity to also integrate relevant raw data streams.

Transferability of evidence

The applicability of evidence depends on the context. The delivery team needs to consider how to understand and communicate the transferability of evidence, including across different places in the UK as well as internationally, and how they might draw on contextualized forms of evidence to support this. This might include contextual analysis, including of local political economy, local knowledge and contextual factors, to better understand what works where and how much confidence we have that bodies of evidence can be applied in different contexts and to particular interventions and outcomes (such as the UN SDGs).

Local policymaking

This investment is co-funded by the UKRI Creating Opportunities Improving Outcomes strategic theme. You will need to demonstrate how the investment will develop evidence synthesis that is useful to decision makers at a sub-national level in the UK (as in, local and regional).

Existing landscape

ESRC is strongly committed to a collective impact approach across funders and living evidence synthesis producers, which includes working towards a common agenda, shared measurement, sharing data and capacity, and mutually reinforcing activities. We expect you to support that vision and engage with other funders and producers. You will need to articulate how you will build on current and previous UKRI investments, including the What Works Network and the UKRI Local Policy Innovation Partnerships. You will also need to articulate how you will build on evidence synthesis investments made by other organisations.

Integration with government systems

You must demonstrate how you will integrate evidence synthesis within government policymaking systems. For example, UK government departments are developing and trialling tools that leverage AI in the production of tailored policy briefings. Civil servants can use tools like the Cabinet Office Redbox Copilot to interrogate and summarise thousands of policy documents as they produce briefings for ministers and other officials.

You should consider how to integrate with these systems, for example, through building an application programming interface or API. You should also consider how to learn from experiences of applying evidence synthesis in government contexts from other countries, and from within the UN system.

AI for science

AI is transforming the practice of science with researchers and evaluators having access to powerful AI tools to retrieve, synthesise and evaluate bodies of existing evidence rapidly and reliably. You should consider how your work will impact the scientific process more broadly, the implications of this change and how to integrate evidence synthesis tools within broader science systems. You should also consider how you will keep your proposed tools flexible and up-to-date given rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. You should also consider how your tools will be applicable to different types of evidence, including how you can respond to the particularities of UN evaluations.

Flexibility to respond to a rapidly changing landscape

You must build this infrastructure in such a way that it is able to seek, and take advantage of, opportunities to take on additional funding, including from stakeholders and additional partners (for example tech companies), and to be agile in responding to technological advancements and changes in the broader science system.

Sustainability

The project team is expected to think critically about how to ensure the project’s sustainability. This involves identifying potential risks, identifying future funding sources and opportunities to secure the project’s legacy and ensure its benefits continue to be realised over time.

Demonstrator projects

You should clearly articulate your approach to the demonstrator projects, with reference to both the Nesta scoping report (link provided under Additional information) and the UN SDGs (see UN reports under Additional information). This might include:

• evidence and gap maps: the production of interactive visual overviews of gaps and concentrations in the availability of relevant systematic reviews, research and evaluations, alongside an assessment of the quality of these outputs

• living evidence reviews: production of ‘living evidence reviews’ that will demonstrate how up-to-date evidence synthesis serves the needs of decision makers in the UK and internationally

Timings

The award must begin by 1 September 2025 and is expected to deliver to the following timeline:

• Zero to nine months: further scoping, engagement with key partners (see the previous Partnerships section) and development of this collaborative infrastructure, its vision and work programme alongside some early activity. The work programme must be a collaborative proposal which meets identified user need and puts in place interventions which will overcome identified barriers

• 10 months: submission and formal review of longer-term plans (specifics provided under the Stage gate review section)

• 11 to 60 months: implementation of longer-term plans

You are asked to note that the successful investment is subject to a formal gateway review after an initial nine-month scoping phase. Applications for this funding opportunity should cover five years of activity and associated costs.

Detailed plans for the first 10 months of activity should be provided and include deliverables that will demonstrate the functionality of the infrastructure from the outset, as well as resourcing and funding plans to engage with key stakeholders, including, for example, inception and stakeholder workshops.

An overview of plans and approaches to deliver the longer-term ambition should also be included. We recognise that these plans will be subject to refinement and review during the first nine months. You should ensure that there is sufficient flexibility in the budget to accommodate any changes and include consideration of future virement of funds that must be in line with UKRI virement rules.

Team requirement

It is expected that the leadership team for this investment will include a diversity of skills and experience, for example:

• internationally-recognised experts in evidence synthesis methodology to accelerate cutting-edge developments in methods

• expertise in the innovative use of AI-powered research tools, with a good understanding of ethical considerations

• demonstrable expertise in synthesising evidence, including evaluative evidence for policymakers

• cutting edge expertise in bridging research, evaluation and policymaking

• at least one expert international project co-lead

It is expected that the teams working on the demonstrator projects will bring together experts from relevant scientific and policy fields (thematic experts) to collaborate with the evidence synthesis methodology experts.

For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the Additional information section which includes links to the Nesta scoping report and two reports on the UN SDGs.

Duration

The duration of this award is five years.

Projects must start by 1 September 2025.

Funding available

The 100% FEC of your project can be up to £11.5 million.

ESRC has a total fund of £9.2 million for this funding opportunity.

Eligible international costs

Applicant teams must include a project co-lead (international) (PcL (I)) in their application. All justified costs for the PcL (I) must be added under the exceptions cost heading. ESRC only covers specific costs of PcL (I)’s involved in applications led by UK project leads, up to a limit of 30% of the overall cost of the project. All costs must be fully justified and will be assessed in the context of the application as a whole.

There is an exception for applications involving partners from countries on the OECD DAC list (excluding India and China) DAC list of ODA recipients | OECD. ESRC will consider providing some overheads support for project co-leads in countries on the OECD DAC list (excluding India and China) and where it can be shown that it will assist in developing research capacity. In this case overheads are usually paid at 20% of the international research organisation’s directly incurred costs.

Please note that PcL (I)’s from business, third sector or government organisations cannot be included in the applicant team.

What we will not fund

We will not fund:

• a leadership team which does not include internationally-recognised experts in evidence synthesis methodology, including artificial intelligence

• a leadership team which does not include a PcL (I)

• a leadership team which does not include cutting-edge expertise in bridging research, evaluation and policymaking

• a team which is not able to demonstrate how it will work collaboratively and iteratively with partners both locally, in the UK and internationally

• an infrastructure which does not demonstrate the flexibility to adapt to changing priorities and partnerships, additional investment and opportunities

• bids led from a limited thematic angle (for example, bids focused on a single topic or disciplinary area), rather than from a broader perspective based on a foundational and transformational evidence synthesis infrastructure

Mobility: UK and international

As research is an increasingly international endeavour, we are keen to support grant holders in developing links with leading researchers in their field both in the UK and internationally.  We encourage research visits to one or more internationally leading research organisations, either in the UK or abroad, for the purposes of research collaboration, training, or access to data or other resources not available at the applicant’s host organisation.

We encourage research applications that use and develop international comparative methods. The opportunities provided for mobility should support this.

Where a long-term overseas visit is planned, you are required to name a second  mentor at the overseas host organisation. You must also articulate how the research team will be managed effectively whilst you are overseas. However, the majority of the your time should be in the UK at your host research organisation.

We also recognise that long-term mobility may be difficult or impossible for researchers  with disabilities or caring responsibilities. You will therefore not be disadvantaged for not including a mobility element. In those instances, you may wish to consider alternative mechanisms for enhancing collaboration through your grant, such as hosting  short visits from collaborators, or using information technology to develop and sustain   collaborations.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.

Further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support, can be found on the UKRI website.

ESRC data infrastructure

ESRC supports a range of data infrastructure. Where relevant, we encourage you to consider whether the use of these resources could add value to the project. See Facilities and resources for information on finding and using ESRC datasets which are available across the UK.

Where relevant, details of datasets and infrastructure to be used in your project should be given in the Facilities section.

Data requirements

ESRC recognises the importance of data quality and provenance. Data generated, collected or acquired by ESRC-funded research must be well-managed by the grant holder to enable their data to be exploited to the maximum potential for further research.  See our research data policy for details and further information on data requirements. The requirements of the research data policy are a condition of ESRC research funding.

Where relevant, details on data management and sharing should be provided in the Data management section. See the importance of managing and sharing data and content for inclusion in a data management plan on the UK Data Service (UKDS) website for further guidance. We expect you to provide a summary of the points provided.

The UKDS datasharing@ukdataservice.ac.uk will be pleased to advise you on the availability of data within the academic community and provide advice on data deposit requirements.

Equitable partnership principles

When undertaking research and innovation activities outside the UK, you must recognise and address the possible impact of contextual, societal and cultural differences on the ethical conduct of those activities.

Researchers should also follow the principles of equitable partnerships to address inherent power imbalances when working with partners in resource-poor settings.

Applying the principles will encourage equitable access, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), while maintaining incentives for innovation. You should consider the principles from the start of the research and development cycle.

Read UKRI’s guidance on research in a global setting.

Research ethics

ESRC requires that the research we support is designed and conducted in such a way that it meets ethical principles and is subject to proper professional and institutional oversight in terms of research governance. We have agreed a Framework for Research Ethics that all submitted proposals must comply with. Read further details about the Framework for Research Ethics and guidance on compliance.

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process.

You should seek to address the objectives as set out in the scope detailed in the ‘What we’re looking for’ section and address the considerations outlined.

Any applications ESRC consider to be outside the scope of the funding opportunity, or not primarily within the remit of ESRC, will be rejected prior to assessment.

Peer review

We will invite experts to review your application independently, against the specified criteria for this funding opportunity.

You will not be able to nominate reviewers for applications on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service. Research councils will continue to select expert reviewers.

We are monitoring the requirement for applicant-nominated reviewers as we review policies and processes as part of the continued development of the new Funding Service.

You will have 10 working days to respond to reviewers’ comments.

Panel

Following expert review, we will invite experts to use the evidence provided by reviewers and your applicant response to assess the quality of your application and rank it alongside other applications.

The primary assessment criteria are those under the Vision section, however panel members will be guided to take account of all of the assessment criteria in deciding which proposal to recommend for funding.

Interview

If shortlisted you will be invited to interview in June 2025 (provisional date: 5 June 2025), after which the funding recommendation will be made.

The funding partners will make the final funding decision.

Principles of assessment

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI Principles of Assessment and Decision Making.

Sharing data with co-funders

We will need to share the application (including any personal information that it contains with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) so that they can participate in the assessment process.

We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

• vision

• approach

• applicant and team capability to deliver

• ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

• resources and cost justification

• data management and sharing

• equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

• embedding environmental sustainability

Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the Application questions heading in the How to apply section.

Webinar for potential applicants

We will hold a webinar on 9 October 2024 at 2:30pm to 3:30pm UK time. This will provide more information about the funding opportunity and a chance to ask questions.

Please contact aievidencesynthesis@esrc.ukri.org to register to attend the webinar.

Click here to start application on the UKRI Funding Service:  https://funding-service.ukri.org/OPP706/apply/738

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.

The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

To apply

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

1. Confirm you are the project lead.

2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org

Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this funding opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.

1. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.

2. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.

3. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.

4. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. You should:

• use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words

• insert each new image onto a new line

• provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)

• files must be smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format

Watch our research office webinars about the new Funding Service.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:

• how applicants use the Funding Service

• how research offices use the Funding Service

• how reviewers use the Funding Service

References

Applications should be self-contained, and hyperlinks should only be used to provide links directly to reference information. To ensure the information’s integrity is maintained, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers should be used. Assessors are not required to access links to carry out assessment or recommend a funding decision. Applicants should use their discretion when including reference and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.

References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application and be easily identifiable by the assessors, for example (Smith, Research Paper, 2019).

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.

Deadline

ESRC must receive your application by 12 December 2024 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

Personal data

Processing personal data

ESRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.

ESRC, as part of UKRI, will need to share the application and any personal information that it contains with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology so that they can participate in the assessment process.

Publication of outcomes

ESRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at What ESRC has funded.

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

Summary

Word limit: 550

In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We may make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:

• opinion-formers

• policymakers

• the public

• the wider research community

Guidance for writing a summary

Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:

• aims and objectives

• approach

• how you will address considerations

• leadership expertise

Core team

List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:

• project lead (PL)

• project co-lead (UK) (PcL)

• project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))

• specialist

• research and innovation associate

• technician

Only list one individual as project lead.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.

Application questions

Vision

Word limit: 1,000

What are you hoping to achieve with the proposed infrastructure?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how the proposed infrastructure will:

• be timely, given current trends and context

• meet the evidenced needs of clearly identified user groups

• have measurable impact

• enable high quality and important research

• meet the strategic aims of the funder or government

• offer training opportunities

• enhance, benefit and complement the existing landscape

• support innovation in research

• be of international importance (if applicable)

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

References may be included within this section.

Approach

Word limit: 2,000

What are your plans to manage and deliver the proposed infrastructure?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

We expect you to show how your approach includes:

• a credible management plan including strategic and operational matters

• if applicable, a legal model

• details of governance

• feasibility of the project plan including a work plan, milestones, and deliverables in the form of a Gantt chart or similar

• identification of risks and appropriate mitigation in the form of key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine the delivery of outputs and outcomes

• plans for support and maintenance of the proposed infrastructure over the estimated life span, identifying future needs and potential upgrades

• details of access and usage particularly where a culture of infrastructure sharing may extend use to the research community

• training and development of staff and those who may interact with the infrastructure, including Research Technical Professionals

• a description of the working environment

• identification of how accessibility and inclusiveness have been incorporated into the design of the project

• plans for operational sustainability and legacy beyond the end of UKRI funding – these could include cost recovery models, securing additional funding, development or expansion after the initial period of funding

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

References may be included within this section.

Please use the documents in the Additional information section to inform your approach.

Applicant and team capability to deliver

Word limit: 1,650

Why are you the right individual or team to deliver and manage the proposed infrastructure?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:

• the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage)

• the right balance of skills and expertise

• the appropriate leadership and management skills and your approach to develop others

• contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

The word count for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you, and if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on), have and how this will help to deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed below. You should use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:

• contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge

• the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships

• contributions to the wider research and innovation community

• contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit

Additions: Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).

You should complete this section as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.

References may be included within this section.

UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new Funding Service. For full details, see Eligibility as an individual.

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

Word limit: 500

What are the ethical and RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work?  If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:

• the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations

• how you will manage these considerations

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Additional sub-questions (to be answered only if appropriate) relating to research involving:

• human participants

Resources and cost justification

Word limit: 1,000 words

What will you need to deliver and manage the proposed infrastructure and how much will it cost?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:

• project staff

• significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)

• any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities

• all facilities and infrastructure costs

• if applicable, disposal or decommissioning costs

• all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’

• if applicable, subscription costs

Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work:

• are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified

• represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes

• maximise potential outcomes and impacts

Primary discipline classification

Word limit: 5

Enter the primary discipline for this project.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Select ONE primary area of research from the list of social disciplines below and enter into the text field. This information is used to determine eligibility for ESRC funding and to assist in the selection of appropriate reviewers.

• area studies

• demography

• development studies

• economics

• education

• environmental planning

• history

• human geography

• law & legal studies

• linguistics

• management & business studies

• political science & international studies

• psychology

• science and technology studies

• social anthropology

• social policy

• social work

• sociology

• tools, technologies & methods

Your organisation’s support

Word limit: 10

Provide details of support from your research organisation.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Provide a Statement of Support (one A4 side) from your research organisation detailing why the proposed work is needed. This should include details of any matched funding that will be provided to support the activity and any additional support that might add value to the work.

The panel will be looking for a strong statement of commitment from your research organisation.

ESRC recognises that in some instances, this information may be provided by the Research Office, the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) or equivalent, or a combination of both.

You must also include the following details:

• a significant person’s name and their position, from the TTO or Research Office, or both

• office address or web link

Upload details are provided within the Funding Service on the actual application.

Project partners

Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.

A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities.

Add the following project partner details:

• the organisation name and address (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)

• the project partner contact name and email address

• the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value

If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Project partners letters or emails of support

Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the Project partner section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box, or if you do not have any project partners enter ‘N/A’. Each letter or email you provide should:

• confirm the partner’s commitment to the project

• clearly explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the work to them

• describe any additional value that they bring to the project

• be no more than one A4 page in length

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the Project partners’ section.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Do not provide letters of support from host and project co-leads’ research organisations.

Data management and sharing

Word limit: 500

How will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Provide a data management plan that clearly details how you will comply with UKRI’s published data sharing policy, which includes detailed guidance notes.

Demonstrate that you have designed your proposed work so that you can appropriately manage and share data in accordance with ESRC’s Research Data Policy and ESRC Framework for Research Ethics (if applicable).

Within the Data management section we also expect you to:

• plan for the research through the life cycle of the award until data is accepted for archiving by the UK Data Service (UKDS) or a responsible data repository

• demonstrate compliance with ESRC’s Research Data Policy and ESRC Framework for Research Ethics. This should include confirmation that existing datasets have been reviewed and why currently available datasets are inadequate for the proposed research

• cover any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing or storing the data, including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical issues

• include any challenges to data sharing (for example, copyright or data confidentiality), with possible solutions discussed to optimise data sharing

If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

Word limit: 500

What approaches and activities do you have planned that will embed EDI into your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how your EDI plan:

• is effective and appropriate to embed EDI

• comprehensively identifies the key EDI challenges and how they will be addressed and managed

• will report and measure EDI outcomes

• will maximise awareness of and mitigate against bias in your team and the wider community in terms of gender, ethnicity or any other protected characteristic through processes, behaviours and culture

• describes how your approach will build upon and integrate existing EDI good practice into your proposed work

• will share good practice with the wider community to ensure your research has maximum impact

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

References may be included within this section.

Embedding environmental sustainability

Word limit: 500

How will you embed environmental sustainability within the grant activities.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how your proposed work will embed environmental sustainability throughout its aims, objectives, operations and research outcomes.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

References may be included within this section.

Facilities

Word limit: 250

Does your proposed work require the support and use of a facility?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If you will need to use a facility (including access to, and use of data infrastructure), follow your proposed facility’s normal access request procedures. Ensure you have prior agreement so that if you are offered funding, they will support the use of their facility on your project. ESRC encourages the use of secondary and linked datasets.

For each requested facility you will need to provide the:

• name of facility, copied and pasted from the facility information list (DOCX, 35KB)

• proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list

• confirmation you have their agreement where required

Facilities should only be named if they are on the facility information list above. If you will not need to use a facility, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Trusted Research and Innovation

Word limit: 100

Does the proposed work involve international collaboration in a sensitive research or technology area?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate how your proposed international collaboration relates to Trusted Research and Innovation, including:

• list the countries your international project co-leads, project partners and visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in

• if international collaboration is involved, explain whether this project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act

• if one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act are involved list the areas

If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

We may ask you to provide additional information about how your proposed project will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help manage these risks.

Research and innovation impact

Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.

Additional disability and accessibility adjustments

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process if required.

Research disruption due to COVID-19

We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:

• breaks and delays

• disruptive working patterns and conditions

• the loss of ongoing work

• role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic

Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.

Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.

Supporting documents

Equality Impact Assessment for the opportunity (PDF, 270KB)

United Nations report on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (PDF, 674KB)

United Nations report on how science, technology and innovation can be harnessed to advance the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (PDF, 1,990 KB)

Related content

• UKRI policies and standards

• ESRC research funding guide

• Guidance for applicants

• A Blueprint for Better International Collaboration on Evidence

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the Helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding Finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility or content/remit of an opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

Contact details

For help and advice on costings and writing your proposal please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.

For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact aievidencesynthesis@esrc.ukri.org

Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org

Phone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

• Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm

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To help us process queries quicker, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.

For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email aievidencesynthesis@esrc.ukri.org

Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include:

• individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)

• declaration of interest

• additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the Applicant and team capability section

• conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection

• the application is an invited resubmission

For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.