UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships is sponsored by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The Future Leaders Fellowships scheme supports ambitious researchers and innovators to tackle major challenges. It provides funding and support for the best early career researchers and innovators who are transitioning to or establishing their independence.

Future Leaders Fellowships: round 9 – UKRI Funding opportunity: Future Leaders Fellowships: round 9 UK Research and Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) , Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) , Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) , Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) , Medical Research Council (MRC) , Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) , Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) , Innovate UK 29 February 2024 9:00am UK time 18 June 2024 4:00pm UK time Last updated: 25 September 2024 - see all updates Applicants from non-academic host organisations must apply via the Innovation Funding Service .

Funding to support ambitious research and innovation across UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s remit. You must be an early career researcher or innovator who is either: looking to establish or transition to independence developing their own original and ambitious plans within a commercial setting You must be based at, or have the support of, an eligible academic or non-academic institution, eligible for UKRI funding.

There is no minimum or maximum project cost. UKRI will fund 80% of the full economic cost (FEC). Your project can last for up to four years, with the option to apply to renew for a further three years.

Fellowships must be held at a UK-based organisation that meets the following criteria: a UK-based organisation currently registered as eligible to apply for funding from UKRI any non-academic organisation eligible to receive subsidies from the UK government that will provide an innovation or research environment of international standing before applying for funding, check the Eligibility of your organisation .

Academic-hosted applicants should apply via UKRI Funding Service and non-academic hosted applicants (including Catapults) via Innovation Funding Service For full details, visit Eligibility as an individual . Early career researchers and innovators who are either transitioning to or establishing independence or developing their own original and ambitious plans within a commercial setting.

There are no eligibility rules based on whether you currently hold a permanent or open-ended position or job role. To assess and justify your suitability, go to supporting documents in the ‘Additional information’ section and read the person specification annex in the guidance document. For applicants based in academic organisations, there is a fixed cap on the number of applicants who can apply from each institution.

Full details are provided in the ‘Additional information’ section. Please ensure you notify your host organisation of your intention to apply and allow time for internal shortlisting processes. UKRI cannot confirm eligibility prior to submission.

Who is not eligible to apply You are not eligible to apply if: you have already achieved research or innovation independence (for example, by securing funding aimed at this career stage, or by already managing your own significant programme of work within a business), you should not apply you are a senior academic or innovator 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.

The fellowship offers flexibility to support outstanding individuals who are: from diverse career backgrounds returning from a career break or returning to research or innovation following time in other roles wishing to work part-time or in job shares in order to combine the fellowship with personal responsibilities coming to the UK from abroad.

Researchers and innovators are eligible for a Global Talent visa under the ‘exceptional promise’ category for future research leaders. They must have the support of their host organisation 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’.

The team should choose one of the fellow’s organisations to be responsible for submitting the grant application and administering the grant should the application be successful. Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI .

This funding opportunity aims to: develop, retain, attract and sustain research and innovation talent in the UK foster new research and innovation career paths including those at the academic, business and interdisciplinary boundaries, and facilitate movement of people between sectors provide sustained funding and resources for the best early career researchers and innovators provide long-term, flexible funding to tackle difficult and novel challenges, and support adventurous, ambitious programmes In your application, you must clearly demonstrate and articulate the following: what are you hoping to achieve with and how will you deliver your proposed work why are you the right individual to successfully deliver the proposed work?

why is this fellowship the right way to develop your career and how will you use it to benefit others? how will the host organisation support your fellowship? what are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work?

what will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost? Applications are encouraged from the entirety of the UKRI remit. We welcome and encourage applicants from remits including the arts, humanities and social sciences and the five critical technologies as set out in the Department for Science and Innovation’s Science and Technology Framework .

Fellowships can also lead and develop innovation. We define innovation as the practical translation of disruptive ideas into novel, relevant and valued products, services, processes, systems or business models, making them readily available to markets, government and society, creating economic or social value from ideas.

Future Leaders Fellowships (FLF)’s are personal awards to support fellows to develop as impactful and influential research or innovation leaders. You are encouraged to think broadly about the type of activities you may pursue as part of your research or innovation objectives.

This could include: time for work in other environments developing international links developing new skills (for example, in policy or commercialisation) You should also consider what career development support opportunities are appropriate. This could include mentoring and professional training and development, and relevant training courses that will underpin your future career ambitions and learning.

A clear programme of skills development is an essential component of this fellowship. The fellowship may be made up of a single programme of work, or multiple consecutive or concurrent interlinked projects, led by the fellow (known as a ‘Portfolio Fellowship’).

There is flexibility to alter the programme once a project is underway to ensure you can: react to the changing research landscape capitalise on advances in understanding react to changing business needs In all cases, the work must allow you to fully develop your leadership potential and result in high quality research or innovation, or both. The duration of this award is up to seven years.

Fellowships will be funded for four years in the first instance (or equivalent length of time extended pro rata for part-time applicants), with the option to apply to renew for a further three years during the last year of the fellowship. FLF awards allow fellows protected time to concentrate fully on their research or innovation, training and development and establishing an independent position by the end of the award.

In most cases a fellow is expected to spend 100% of their working time on their fellowship (which includes all activities associated with the fellowship). If you are hosted by an academic organisation, you may spend up to six hours a week (pro rata for part-time applicants) on other commitments or related activities, provided they enhance career development.

Clinically active applicants (including veterinarians) can work up to 20% of their time (on average over the lifetime of the grant) on their clinical commitments. Exceptions are made for applicants undertaking patient-oriented research as part of their fellowship, who may undertake up to 40% of their time on these duties. This is not in addition to the six hours per week.

If you hold substantial ongoing research commitments as a result of participation in other grants, you must relinquish these in order to hold a UKRI FLF award. Awardees will have the flexibility to develop a breadth of experience and partnerships, and secure further research/innovation funding later in the award but should ensure that these other activities do not compromise their focus, or achievement of the aims of the fellowship.

There is no limit to the amount of funding you can request under this scheme, but requests must be appropriate to the project and you must be able to justify the amount you need to meet the objectives of your proposal. The Future Leaders Fellowships scheme has funded fellowships from £300,000 to over £2 million, and there is no preference for lower or higher cost proposals. The fellowship will provide salary support.

This is tapered throughout the fellowship, with host organisations required to commit to funding an increasing percentage of the applicant’s salary as the fellowship progresses. The host organisation’s support should commit to the salary of the fellow.

For academic applicants, the host should confirm an open-ended UK-based independent research or innovation position to be taken up during or on the completion of the fellowship (in line with organisational employment policies and practices). Number of applications from academic host organisations The Future Leader Fellowship scheme is highly competitive.

Increasing numbers of applications in previous rounds led to the extension of timelines and an increased peer review burden on our research and innovation community. To administrate this funding opportunity in a timely manner, the number of applications which can be submitted by each academic host organisation is capped.

Read the section on application caps for academic host organisations in the ‘Additional information’ section for more information. It is the academic host organisation’s responsibility to ensure that applicants and research support staff have adequate time to work on their full submissions.

Inclusive selection process For round seven of the Future Leaders Fellowships scheme, host organisations were asked to provide statements describing the inclusive process they used to select their chosen candidates.

These statements contributed to an external review undertaken by the Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) titled Inclusive selection and support for the Future Leaders Fellowships scheme – Investigation of current practice and identification of good practice examples .

The UKRI response to CRAC report (PDF, 201KB) includes the implementation of a pilot, where academic host organisations wishing to submit applications to round nine of the Future Leaders Fellowships scheme must complete diversity monitoring templates to provide anonymised information on the number of prospective applicants by sex and gender, ethnicity, disability, and broad disciplinary groupings.

Hosts will also be asked to highlight any updates to their inclusive selection statements. Further details of this requirement by host organisations for round nine and questions to consider for updates to inclusive selection statements are contained within the UKRI response which can be found in the ‘Additional information’ section. Host organisations should complete the excel template and submit via email to fellows@ukri.

org Information provided will not be used in the assessment or outcome of this funding opportunity. Full proposals submitted by host organisations that have not reported on this process will be rejected prior to peer review. 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 .

International collaboration If your application includes international applicants, project partners or collaborators, visit UKRI’s trusted research and innovation for more information on effective international collaboration. Find out about getting funding for international collaboration .

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service for academic-hosted applicants and the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) for non-academic hosted applicants. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. You can find advice on completing your application in round nine guidance in the Additional information section.

Unlike earlier rounds of the Future Leader Fellowship scheme, there is no outline proposal stage required. You should ensure you are aware of and comply with any internal institutional deadlines that may be in place. We recommend you start your application early, liaising with your host organisation who may also be able to provide additional advice and guidance.

Inclusion and accessibility We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. As a pilot initiative, UKRI have appointed a third-party supplier to provide application support, in the form of reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

Applicants who wish to access this initiative should email fellows@ukri. org for more information, before preparing your application. Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

Non-academic applicants (including Catapults) should select the relevant link to IFS and associated guidance. A link to the IFS system will be available shortly. Academic applicants should select the Funding Service link and use the following guidance: Confirm you are the fellow.

In the case of a job share both applicants should be listed as the fellow. Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. 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: 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 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. Reference 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. Please note when you click submit on the Funding Service you will no longer be able to edit your application. UKRI must receive your application by 18 June 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. 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 . UKRI will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity.

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: context of the research or innovation the challenge the project addresses potential applications and benefits List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: research and innovation associate Only list one individual as the fellow.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications . Create a single PDF document that includes your responses to all criteria. The document should not be more than five 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. One of the five pages should be a diagrammatic workplan, for example, PERT or Gantt chart illustrating the full duration of the project with project-specific timelines and milestones clearly and accurately shown. 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. You should address the following question: 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, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area of its focus is timely, given current trends, context, and needs impacts world-leading research, society, the economy or the environment In the Vision section we also expect you to: identify the potential direct or indirect benefits and who the beneficiaries might be 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 you will manage them uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable) summarises the previous work and describes how you will build on and progress this work (if applicable) will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts Within the Approach section we also expect you to: demonstrate access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the proposed work 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 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 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 emphasise 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 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. 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) how you will instigate positive change in the wider research and innovation community, for example through Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), advocacy or advisory roles, stakeholder engagement, participation in peer review, influencing policy, public engagement, or outreach Within the Career Development section we also expect you to describe: how you will ensure continued research and professional development in those you will be managing on the project, to have a positive research and innovation experience, with opportunities or support to progress their own careers (useful links Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and Technician Commitment ) how the proposed work will provide a feasible and appropriate trajectory for you to acquire additional skills, like research, leadership, communication and management what mentoring arrangements are proposed and how they are appropriate to you Host organisation support How will the host organisation support your fellowship?

What the assessors are looking for in your response provide evidence detailing how the host will support you, as appropriate for your career development and the vision and approach of the fellowship who you have engaged with in your host organisation (name and role) how your research environment will contribute to the success of the work, in terms of suitability of the host organisation and strategic relevance to the project how the host organisation will ensure your time commitment to the fellowship is protected what development and training opportunities will be provided and how they form a cohesive career development package tailored to your aims and aspirations what financial or practical support, such as access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment, is being provided and how this strengthens your application Within the Host organisation support section we also expect you to describe: details of the fellowship work to be conducted at another UK or overseas host organisation and how they will support you (if applicable) Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI) 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.

Genetic and biological risk Does your proposed research involve any genetic or biological risk?

What the assessors are looking for in your response In respect of animals, plants or microbes, are you proposing to: use genetic modification as an experimental tool, like studying gene function in a genetically modified organism release genetically modified organisms ultimately develop commercial and industrial genetically modified outcomes If yes, provide the name of any required approving body and state if approval is already in place.

If it is not, provide an indicative timeframe for obtaining the required approval. Identify the organism or organisms as a plant, animal or microbe and specify the species and which of the three categories the research relates to. Identify the genetic and biological risks resulting from the proposed research, their implications, and any mitigation you plan on taking.

Assessors will want to know you have considered the risks and their implications to justify that any identified risks do not outweigh any benefits of the proposed research. If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this 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 Animals Scientific Procedures Act template (DOCX, 74KB) , 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, page 14 . 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, select, download, and complete the relevant Word checklist or checklists from this list: Additional questions on the use of rodents overseas (DOCX, 49. 1KB) Additional questions on the use of rabbits overseas (DOCX, 49.

2KB) Additional questions on the use of sheep overseas (DOCX, 50. 9KB) Additional questions on the use of goats overseas (DOCX, 47. 3KB) Additional questions on the use of pigs overseas (DOCX, 51.

4KB) Additional questions on the use of cattle overseas (DOCX, 57. 0KB) Additional questions on the use of Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis overseas (DOCX, 57. 3KB) 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.

Research involving human participation Will the project involve the use of human subjects or their personal information? What the assessors are looking for in your response If you are proposing research that requires the involvement of human subjects, provide the name of any required approving body and whether approval is already in place. Justify the number and the diversity of the participants involved, as well as any procedures.

Provide details of any areas of substantial or moderate severity of impact. If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service. Research involving human tissues or biological samples Does your proposed research involve the use of human tissues, or biological samples?

What the assessors are looking for in your response If you are proposing work that involves human tissues or biological samples, provide the name of any required approving body and whether approval is already in place. Justify the use of human tissue or biological samples specifying the nature and quantity of the material to be used and its source.

If this 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?

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 £10,000 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’ 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 For applications that include instrument development please