Early Independence: Ernest Rutherford Fellowships 2026

Early Independence: Ernest Rutherford Fellowships 2026 is sponsored by UK Research and Innovation, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Fellowships to support researchers in establishing their own research niche and independence.

Early Independence: Ernest Rutherford Fellowships 2026 – UKRI Funding opportunity: Early Independence: Ernest Rutherford Fellowships 2026 Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) 3 June 2026 9:00am UK time 30 September 2026 4:00pm UK time STFC offers up to 10 Ernest Rutherford Fellowships (ERFs) to applicants on an upward trajectory to pursuing working independently and developing research leadership are encouraged to apply if your research focus is within the remit of STFC core science programme.

hold a PhD or have relevant experience be hosted by a research organisation with an STFC ERF quota show clear plans for establishing your own research niche that enables a step-change towards independence We will fund your application at 80% of its full economic cost for up to five years. The host research organisation must agree to fund the rest. This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility.

Check if your organisation is eligible . Ernest Rutherford Fellowships (ERFs) are open to applicants who hold a doctorate or who can evidence equivalent research experience and are aiming to establish their own research niche and independence.

This fellowship is open to a diversity of research and innovation staff, including researchers, innovators, research technical professionals and research software engineers, who can meet the aims of the funding opportunity. We value intellectual, methodological and technical career paths and there are no time-bound eligibility criteria, for example years of postdoctoral experience.

evidence skills, experience, career development and productivity across past appointments have your own research plans that do not significantly overlap with those of others have the support of an eligible UK organisation If you secure an academic position at lecturer level prior to the offer of a fellowship, you will be ineligible to hold the fellowship.

Fellowships may be held at any eligible UK research organisation that holds a STFC ERF application quota.

Who is not eligible to apply You are not eligible to apply if: you have applied for another UKRI Early Independence Fellowship that will realise equivalent outcomes to this fellowship, and your award is being assessed you have been awarded another UKRI Early Independence Fellowship that will realise equivalent outcomes to this fellowship you have been awarded a comparable fellowship supporting early independence or a new investigator award from any organisation where you have secured grants as Project Lead, that includes support for and leading of research staff such as postdoctoral research associates as this would indicate that you have already made the step-change to independence you are not eligible to apply if you hold or have held a post or position at lecturer level (or equivalent in an institution other than a university) that has enabled you to establish a research niche and independence you are not eligible to apply if you have applied for another UKRI fellowship and your application is being assessed If you are unsure of your eligibility status, please email fellowships@stfc.

ukri. org to confirm before you apply. STFC does not define eligibility for ERFs in terms of a minimum number of years of experience.

Instead, you should read the assessment criteria to determine if you have the skills, knowledge and experience to apply. ERF research organisation quota You are advised to contact your proposed host organisation, before the application deadline, to determine if they hold an ERF application quota.

Research organisations may have internal processes to select which candidates to support and the deadlines for these may be several weeks in advance of the STFC ERF closing date. Host organisations should not expect you to accept an offer to be hosted before 17 July 2026. STFC sets a strict limit on the number of applications that each research organisation may submit.

Therefore, it may not be possible for a host to support all interested applicants. Please see the list of research organisation, contacts and internal deadlines. Any applications submitted through research organisations who do not have an ERF application quota will be rejected.

Any research organisations who exceed their limit will be required to withdraw the excess applications. It is therefore very important that you seek assurance from your proposed host organisation that your application can be accommodated within its limit.

Host organisation equality, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I) Statement Host organisations must provide a statement describing the inclusive process they have used to select their chosen candidates by completing an online survey by 30 September 2026. Submission of the ED&I statement is a mandatory requirement for research organisations submitting an ERF application.

ERF applications that are submitted from a research organisation that has either failed to submit or submitted an inadequate ED&I statement will not be considered until an adequate statement has been received. ED&I Statements will be assessed by a sub-panel of the Education, Training and Careers Committee (ETCC) to ensure satisfactory processes are in place.

The outcome of the assessment will have no bearing of how applicants are scored, unless an inadequate score for the ED&I statement is given. The intention of this survey is to better understand the process by which host organisations are selecting candidates and to identify examples of best practice. The statement should describe the process used to identify potential candidates.

It should not include personal details of potential candidates nor any details that may enable them to be identified. A complete list of the survey questions is provided in the Additional Info section. We recognise that mobility is not the only means to acquire the skills and experiences necessary to build a research career.

We also recognise the need for having a fixed institution to provide unique facilities or opportunities, and other circumstances where moving would be unsuitable, such as domestic arrangements. To demonstrate a commitment to the development of ERFs, we expect you to have agreed host organisation support with the Head of Department.

This should be evidenced in the ‘Host Organisation Support’ section of the application You can apply to the ERF 2026 fellowship round if you were previously unsuccessful with the same, modified or a different fellowship application from a previous ERF round providing that you still meet the eligibility criteria.

If you are resubmitting the same, revised or new project, you should ensure that any relevant feedback provided by the panel has been addressed. STFC reserve the right to reject an application if the panel’s comments have not been addressed. Please note, STFC’s ERF resubmission policy is under review, and we may not accept uninvited resubmissions in future opportunities.

You should not be in receipt of duplicate funding for the same or similar application from more than one funding agency. Details of similar applications that have been submitted to other funding agencies must be added in the ‘Other funding support’ section of the application. You must advise STFC if a successful funding decision is made by the other funding agency.

International researchers Fellowships are open to applicants of any nationality. Where applicable, you will need to comply with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requirements and hold a work permit prior to taking up the Fellowship. Work permits are a matter for direct negotiation between the institution, UKVI and the Home Office.

All successful applicants who require a visa to work in the UK will be eligible to be considered under the Global Talent visa route.

In line with the highly prestigious nature of the award, this visa route is designed for people who are internationally recognised as world leaders or potential world-leading talent in the fields of science and the arts and enables the holder to be both adaptable and flexible during their research in the UK. The grant of any visa is always subject to the standard Home Office general grounds for refusal of a visa.

UKRI is able to provide additional guidance regarding the appropriate evidence required to complete the visa application process under the Global Talent visa route. Applications are welcome from candidates who intend to use the Fellowship as a means of re‐establishing themselves in the UK following a period overseas. 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: support for people with caring responsibilities alternative working patterns job shares (contact us for further guidance) For this funding opportunity, joint applications on a job-share basis are permitted.

If your application is a proposed job-share, please state this where relevant in your application and set out your proposed arrangements in the ‘Applicant Capability to Deliver’ and ‘Career Development’ sections. Both applicants for any joint applications will be able to list themselves as the fellow. UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

Fellowships can be held either on a full‐time or a part‐time basis by applicants wishing to combine their fellowship with caring responsibilities. We will also consider requests to hold the fellowship on a part-time basis to allow the fellow to reduce their overall working time (full-time equivalent). A part‐time award can be held at 50% or above of full‐time equivalent.

A part‐time fellow may not hold another part‐time position in conjunction with the fellowship. The period of award for fellowships held on a part‐time basis can be extended on a pro rata basis following discussion with STFC. Demand management is being applied to this funding opportunity.

Further details are provided in the ‘additional information’ section. This is an Early Independence Fellowship, as described in the Fellowship investment framework , to support you to establish your own research niche and independence. This scheme supports excellent investigator-led research across the breadth of our remit.

STFC is offering up to 10 ERFs to exceptional researchers at an early stage of their career. Applicants on an upward trajectory to pursuing working independently and developing research leadership are encouraged to apply.

The project must afford scope for original work and align to STFC strategic objectives and core business areas: astronomy, solar and planetary science We welcome multidisciplinary applications that cross into other research council areas but expect the primary focus of your work to fall within STFC remit. We welcome projects of all types of research activity.

This includes those that develop original theoretical and analytical outputs and those that design and build cutting edge experiments, instrumentation or software development that fundamentally underpin and further research in STFC core business areas. We work with other research councils to ensure that applications close to remit boundaries are assessed by the most appropriate lead council. Please contact fellowships@stfc.

ukri. org with any queries about the suitability of your application before applying.

This fellowship supports talented researchers who have evidence of career consolidation and productivity across past appointments to: lead research plans to establish their research niche make the first step-change towards establishing independence You must provide strong evidence of working towards these goals, demonstrating an upward trajectory to pursuing independent work within a host organisation.

You must show high potential to become future research leaders. The duration of this award is 5 years. Projects must start by 31 March 2028.

STFC will fund 80% of the FEC. Fellowship applications are costed on the basis of full economic cost (FEC). If a fellowship is awarded, STFC will provide funding at 80% of the FEC requested.

The host institution must agree to fund the balance of FEC for the application from other resources. Universities and other higher education organisations use the transparent approach to costing (TRAC) methodology to calculate FEC. For further information about FEC, see the STFC guidance for applicants.

ERFs provide funds to cover your salary, the costs of personal travel and some minor equipment costs. These will have been awarded under the Directly Incurred Costs heading. Fellows who have returned from a career break may also use funds applied for retraining and updating their skills where this has been justified in the context of the proposed research project.

You may request costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project however, your host organisation must provide funding for any costs associated with reasonable adjustment as part of your employment. Your salary will have been agreed with your proposed host institution prior to submitting an application.

The agreed salary should be in accordance with the institution’s standard recruitment and employment practices. The appointment level on the institution’s salary scale should be justified in the application. The salary costs requested should include employer’s national insurance and superannuation contributions.

Salary increments over the period of the fellowship should be taken into account, but not anticipate future pay awards. STFC will award funds based on the agreed salary scales at the time of announcement, with provision for future years increase based on standard UKRI indexation rates. Once announced the grant will not normally be increased to take account of different indexation rates.

Personal travel is taken to include necessary collaborative visits and fieldwork, and attendance at one conference workshop or symposium during each year of the fellowship. This excludes fieldwork and visits that form part of the work of a research group with which you may be associated.

If you are associated with an STFC research grant, you must ensure that any travel connected with the research project for which the grant was given is claimed from that source. You should estimate in your application all personal travel and subsistence funds required during the lifetime of the fellowship. Travel and subsistence costs are expected to be around £2,200 each year.

If there are circumstances for applying for additional funding in excess of the guidance levels, please give justification in your application. Applicants may request minor equipment and consumables up to a guided total of £5,000 for the duration of the fellowship under ‘directly incurred other costs’. At the end of the fellowship, any resources purchased will belong to the institution.

If there are reasons for applying for more than the guideline level of £5,000, then justification of these costs should be included in your application. Examples of justification could include the greater costs needed for resources if your work is focused on designing and building cutting edge experiments and instrumentation. We do not fund mentoring time and this cost should not be included in the funding costs.

Laptops may be costed where a new member of staff (for example, a fellow) who is employed purely for the grant will require this, or where a higher specification is required for the completion of specific grant related activities such as data modelling or enhanced graphics. These costs should be applied for under ‘directly incurred other costs’.

Applicants moving to the UK from overseas to take up an award may request relocation and visa costs including Immigration Health Surcharge and Certificate of Sponsorship. These costs should be applied for under the ‘directly incurred other costs’ heading on the proforma and are in addition to the £5,000 under ‘other costs’.

STFC will award relocation costs up to a maximum of £1,200 if moving from Europe or £3,000 if moving from outside of Europe. Costs that are explicitly identifiable as arising from the conduct of a project are charged as the cash value actually spent and are supported by an auditable record. ERFs provide funds to cover your salary, the costs of personal travel and some minor equipment costs.

These should be requested under the ‘directly incurred costs’ heading. Applicants who are returning from a career break may also apply for funds for retraining and updating their skills where this can be justified in the context of the proposed research project. Estates costs include building and premises costs, basic services and utilities and appear under the ‘directly allocated costs’ heading.

Estates costs are calculated by the research organisation on application. Pooled technician costs can also be claimed under ‘Other Directly Allocated’ costs. Indirect costs include the costs of administration, such as personnel, finance, library and some departmental services.

As with estate costs, indirect costs will be calculated by the research organisation and a single figure will be entered on the application. Read about funding available in the STFC guidance for applicants . STFC will not provide funding in research grants for any publication costs associated with peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers.

UKRI provides direct funding to research organisations for this purpose. Fellows that were awarded publication costs associated with research outputs other than journal articles and conference papers, such as books, monographs, critical editions, catalogues may, however, claim these as a Directly Incurred Other Cost. The Ernest Rutherford Fellowship is for an independent research project.

Applicants cannot apply for costs to fund PDRAs or PhD students. 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. See further guidance and information about TR&I , including where you can find additional support.

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 fellow 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. Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page: Confirm you are the fellow. 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.

Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.

Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI. Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.

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

When including images, you must: provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit) insert each new image on a new line use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words.

The following are not permitted, and your application will be rejected if you include: sentences or paragraphs of text excessive quantities of images A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

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 should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application. Hyperlinks can be used in reference information.

When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that: references are easily identifiable by the assessors references are formatted as appropriate to your research persistent identifiers are used where possible General use of hyperlinks Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information.

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment . STFC must receive your application by 30 September 2026 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 this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

STFC, 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 .

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email fellowships@stfc. 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) 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 .

Institutional matched funding There is no requirement for matched funding from the institutions hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond the standard 20% FEC. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations.

Direct and in-kind contributions from third party project partners are encouraged. This policy does not remove the need for support from host organisations who must provide the necessary research environment and infrastructure for award-specific activities funded by UKRI. For example, research facilities, training and development of staff.

STFC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at Board and panel outcomes If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research . In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually 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: the wider research community Guidance for writing a summary Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of: the challenge the project addresses potential applications and benefits List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: Only list one individual as fellow. UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type.

Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application. Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications . Create a document that includes your responses to all criteria.

The document should not be more than 6-sides of A4, single spaced in paper in 11-point Arial (or equivalent sans serif font) with margins of at least 2cm. You may include images, graphs, tables. For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘Vision and Approach’.

Save this document as a single PDF file, no bigger than 8MB. Unless specifically requested, please do not include any sensitive data within the attachment. If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. What are you hoping to achieve with and how will you deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response For the Vision, explain how your proposed work: is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s) has the potential to advance current understanding, generates new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area is timely, given current trends, context, and needs impacts world-leading research, society, the economy or the environment supports wider capacity development in the field(s) or area(s) of focus Mobility and knowledge exchange: identifies the potential local, regional or national impacts, both direct and indirect, and who the beneficiaries might be enhances the UK’s research and innovation capabilities through local, regional or both activity describe how your research plans fit into an international context show the importance and alignment of the project to the STFC Programme For the Approach, explain how you have designed your work so that it: is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed if applicable, uses a clearly written and transparent methodology if applicable, summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts Mobility and knowledge exchange: will increase the mobility of knowledge and research between sectors by supporting knowledge exchange and the movement of people between sectors is embedded and develops impact and knowledge exchange after the funding has ended communicates and disseminates impact, knowledge exchange, outcomes and outputs Within the Approach section we also expect you to: demonstrate access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the proposed work provide a detailed and comprehensive project plan, including milestones and timelines in the form of a chart or diagram describe how the planned programme of research shows potential to significantly advance the field with the appropriate balance of risk versus reward detail a project that is feasible within the period of the fellowship demonstrating a rigorous approach to reach achievable goals References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service. Data management and sharing How will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed research?

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. Applicant capability to deliver Why are you the right individual to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Evidence of how you have: the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to make best use of the benefits presented by this funding opportunity to develop your career the right balance of skills and aptitude to deliver the proposed work contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community the appropriate team working or leadership skills (appropriate to career stage) You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

Further details are provided in the Funding Service. The word limit for this section is 1,650 words, 1,150 words to be used for Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions. Use the R4RI format to showcase the range of relevant skills you have and how this will help to deliver the proposed work.

You can include specific achievements and choose past contributions that best evidence your ability to deliver this work. Complete this section using the following R4RI module headings. You should use each heading once, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI .

You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasize where appropriate the key skills you bring: 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 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. The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles. Why is this fellowship the right way to develop your career, and how will you use it to benefit others?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Ensure that you have identified: career development goals appropriate to the fellowship funding opportunity how the fellowship will provide a feasible and appropriate trajectory for your personal development and to achieve your stated career development goals (as appropriate to your career stage and field) an appropriate trajectory for you to acquire additional skills, like research, leadership, communication and management how you will instigate positive change in