Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) 2026

Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) 2026 is sponsored by Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) 2026. Funding opportunity from Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

Apply via the UKRI portal.

Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) 2026 – UKRI Funding opportunity: Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) 2026 Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) 8 September 2025 9:00am UK time 27 August 2026 4:00pm UK time Apply for funding to Projects Peer Review Panel 2026. Only invited applicants, who have undergone a successful statement of interest (SoI) stage are eligible to apply.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for STFC funding. The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be agreed with specific programme areas and STFC will fund 80% of the FEC. The funding opportunity will open on 8 September 2025.

More information will be available on this page then. You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited you to do so following a successful Statement of Interest . To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation.

Check if your organisation is eligible . Speak to your programme manager (see the ‘Contact details’ section) for advice on: specific eligibility requirements whether to submit a statement of interest to the STFC Science Board 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 UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

We support large or complex projects that have significant scientific priority in one of the following: computing for PPAN Programme Large projects could involve: participating in new, or developing existing, high priority experiments or missions developing new instruments or accelerator technologies developing new, or upgrading existing, detectors purchasing new, or upgrading existing, major high performance computing facilities the ongoing operation of existing facilities developing new initiatives in the field of e-science, including modelling and data management Please contact relevant programme manager as listed under the ‘Contact details’ section.

For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the ‘Additional information’ section. The duration of this award is as required to deliver the project. The FEC of your project can be up to the budget envelope advised and agreed by the STFC programme manager.

STFC will fund 80% of the FEC. We will not fund project studentships. 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) UK Research and Innovation (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. Only invited applicants, after a successful statement of interest (SoI) stage, are eligible to apply for this opportunity.

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. Select the invitation link which has been provided by email.

Confirm you are the project lead. 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.

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 may 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 the date specified by the programme manager. 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.

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 Malcolm. booy@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 .

Application outcome is intimated to the applicants, not publicly listed. There is no competitive process and no rank order. Projects are assessed on their own merit on the published criteria and not tensioned against other projects.

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: project co-lead (UK) (PcL) professional enabling staff research and innovation associate Only list one individual as project lead.

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 70 sides of A4, single spaced in paper in 11-point Arial (or equivalent sans serif font) with margins of at least 2cm. This document should also include your response to the Project management section below.

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 personal 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 The following can be included to support your response: the technical importance of the project the strategic value within the STFC programmes: the extent to which the project and facility benefits from and contributes to coherence and synergies and linkages with other programmes and facilities, including international subscriptions the measures in place to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion 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 clear 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 describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place, and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work The following can be included to support your response: justification of staff time and its effective distribution across the project, including assessment of the descope options details of adequate governance and monitoring arrangements References may be included within this section.

The below questions need to be included within the Vision and Approach document. Please confirm you have done this within this text box.

What the assessors are looking for in your response a project management plan: outline an effective and appropriate project management measures to achieve objectives based on STFC’s Project Management Framework details of staff roles and responsibilities details of project schedule and reporting arrangements details of the change control process details of the monitoring and reporting process details of the project organisation and structure descope options which should describe and detail the implication of 10% reduction in overall project cost details of the project feasibility and evaluation of the risks (including technical) associated with implementation of the project and the risks associated with the economic and societal impact and leadership objectives details of the mechanism to maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

Applicant and team capability to deliver Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

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) to deliver the proposed work the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work 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 limit 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 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. 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 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). Complete this as a narrative.

Do not format it like a CV. References may be included within this section. The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI) What are the ethical or 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.

Research involving the use of animals Does your proposed research involve the use of vertebrate animals or other organisms covered by the Animals Scientific Procedures Act? What the assessors are looking for in your response If you are proposing research that requires using animals, download and complete the Research involving the use of animals template (DOCX, 52.

5KB) , which contains all the questions relating to research using vertebrate animals or other Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulated organisms. Save it as a PDF. The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service. Conducting research with animals overseas Will any of the proposed animal research be conducted overseas?

What the assessors are looking for in your response If you are proposing to conduct overseas research, it must be conducted in accordance with welfare standards consistent with those in the UK, as in Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research . Ensure all named applicants in the UK and overseas are aware of this requirement.

If your application proposes animal research to be conducted overseas, you must provide a statement in the text box. Depending on the species involved, you may also need to upload a completed template for each species listed.

Provide a statement to confirm that: all named applicants are aware of the requirements and have agreed to abide by them this overseas research will be conducted in accordance with welfare standards consistent with the principles of UK legislation the expectation set out in Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research will be applied and maintained appropriate national and institutional approvals are in place Overseas studies proposing to use non-human primates, cats, dogs, equines or pigs will be assessed during NC3Rs review of research applications.

Provide the required information by completing the template from the question ‘Research involving the use of animals’. For studies involving other species, such as: xenopus laevis and xenopus tropicalis Select, download, and complete the relevant Word checklist or checklists by exploring NC3Rs checklist for the use of animals overseas . Save your completed template as a PDF and upload to the Funding Service.

If you use more than one checklist template, save it as a single PDF. The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. If conducting research with animals overseas does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Resources and cost justification What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular: significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences) any equipment that will cost more than £25,000 any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities all facilities and infrastructure costs all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’ You can request costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project.

For further information see Disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders . 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 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 contributions for example cash, donated equipment and resources, or staff seconded to the project, or indirect and in-kind contributions for example use of project partner’s equipment, datasets, or facilities.

Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.

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 indirect) 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 partners’ 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 have a page limit of two sides A4 per partner 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.

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

What the assessors are looking for in your response If you need to use a facility, 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.

For each requested facility you will need to provide the: name of facility, copied and pasted from the facility information list (DOCX, 42KB) 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 do not need to use a facility, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Does your proposed work relate to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation principles?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Demonstrate how your proposed work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation principles including: list any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research if this project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act , please list the area(s) please read the academic export control guidance and confirm if an export control licence is required for this project and the status of any application(s) if your project involves any items or substances on the UK strategic export control list, please list these We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information later, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions (RGC 2.

6. 2, 2. 7.

1 and 2. 7. 2).

International collaboration Does the proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement? What the assessors are looking for in your response Provide details about your expected international collaboration or engagement, including: a list of the countries your international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in.

Please also include details of any subcontractors or service providers is this application part of an experiment at an international facility? If yes, please indicate which facility If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, please confirm this here. How we will assess your application We will assess your application using the following process.

Assessing statements of interest (SoIs) The appropriate programme manager will review your SoI to ensure that the data required for its consideration is complete. They will then pass your SoI to the STFC Science Board for review. You will receive feedback on your SoI from the office of the Executive Director of Programmes on behalf of STFC.

STFC aims to provide feedback within 20 working days. Any STFC Science Board member with a personal conflict of interest will withdraw from the review process for the duration of the consideration of your proposal. We will invite experts to use the evidence provided by reviewers and your applicant response to assess the quality of your application and make a funding recommendation.

Project management and delivery review Each proposal is also subject to a project management and delivery review. This is undertaken by a relevant project management expert, who will be given access to the proposal through the peer review extranet. The default approach is for this review to be undertaken by an appropriate member of PPRP.

Where this is not possible, alternative reviewers will be sourced who will conduct the review under the same protocols as PPRP members (agreement to these protocols will be sought prior to the review being conducted). The review will be sent to applicants through Office Message Encryption (OME) by the PPRP secretariat around two weeks before the panel for the applicants to provide a response.

This response should be returned by OME within five working days of receipt. In order to assist PPRP with its deliberations, the project management reviewer (whether a PPRP member) will attend the meeting to raise questions on the project management aspects of the proposal. You are asked to engage positively with these questions, which form a key part of PPRP’s consideration of proposals.

Preliminary assessment of the proposal and resource work packages will be made by STFC staff. You will be contacted directly if there are any areas of the proposal that require more detail or rework in advance of the PPRP meeting. The PPRP meeting takes place to assess the proposal and question the applicant.

The meeting consists of open sessions, where you will give a presentation and members of the public can attend, and closed sessions. In its assessment of proposals, the panel will look at each category referred to within the ‘Vision and Approach’ document as well as the sections on ‘Governance’, ‘Applicant and team capability to deliver’, ‘Resources and cost justification’ and ‘Ethics’ to ensure all requirements are met.

The panel also assess the reviews from external reviewers, the project management and delivery review along with the applicants response to them. Applicants are given the opportunity to present during the PPRP meeting, followed by question and answer sessions.

If undergoing the non-light touch process (see the ‘Light touch process’ section below), feedback questions from the meeting are sent to the applicants to respond to ahead of the visiting panel. This includes requests for descopes (see the ‘Descopes’ section below). These responses are assessed at the visiting panel meeting.

The visiting panel meeting carries out a detailed assessment of the proposal. The meeting consists of panel experts and members of PPRP (a subset of those who attended the full meeting). The final recommendation usually takes place at the end of this meeting during a closed session.

A report from the visiting panel is written by the PPRP secretary in conjunction with the STFC programmes directorate and agreed and finalised by the visiting panel chair. The report presents the visiting panel’s findings and is submitted to the next STFC Science Board meeting. STFC Science Board meeting At the STFC Science Board meeting, the meeting chair presents PPRP’s recommendations.

The Science Board provides strategic advice and recommendations on the proposal, which are shared with the executive board and council. Following the Science Board’s recommendations, the STFC executive will make a funding decision on the proposal and will inform the applicant and research organisation of STFC’s decision. This will include any relevant information from the Science Board’s consideration of the proposal.

On average, a successful proposal will take six to nine months to go through the process (excluding the grant being awarded). PPRP will be informed of the recommendations made by the Science Board (and the actual funding decisions made by the STFC executive) at the next PPRP meeting. PPRP has a light touch process which skips the visiting panel, with all recommendations reached within the PPRP meeting.

Where this process is utilised, you will be asked by the PPRP secretariat to respond to clarification questions generated by the PPRP assessor and panel experts ahead of the meeting. You may also be asked about additional descope scenarios. Questions will be sent by and should be responded to through OME.

This is in addition to the postal expert review comments and project management and delivery review in the full process. Applicants who are subject to this process will be informed by the relevant programme manager. As an essential test of value for money, it is a key part of the PPRP process to request ‘descope’ (reduction) scenarios for all proposals.

Such scenarios are requested whether there is sufficient budget to fund the proposal in full and are in addition to any reductions in scope made prior to PPRP (such as in the consideration of the statement of interest). You are requested to fully engage with this process in preparing credible scenarios for the cuts requested.

Artificially inflating the grant or not engaging with these requests seriously runs the risk of the panel recommending cuts not in your control. STFC will make the final funding decision. We aim to complete the assessment process within nine months of receiving your application.

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 . Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review Reviewers and panellists are not