Council transition to the new Funding Service – EPSRC

Applicants to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and other councils started making applications through the UKRI Funding Service rather than the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system in 2023.

UKRI principles of assessment and decision making will continue to underpin our peer review policies and processes during and after the transition to the UKRI Funding Service.

This transition from Je-S to the UKRI Funding Service is part of UKRI’s Simpler and Better Funding (SBF) programme.

Responsive mode funding opportunities for submissions between May 2023 and October 2023

We received a very large volume of applications for all responsive mode funding opportunities issued in May 2023, and closing October 2023. In response to this we:

  • adapted our processing timelines
  • are holding panels for responsive mode and fellowships funding opportunities in May, June and July 2024
  • processed applications by opportunity to manage internal resource, pressures on the reviewer community and budgets
  • prioritised processing of fellowships and new investigator awards

Functionality to share reviews with applicants who are unsuccessful at the review stage went live in April 2024. Applicants who are unsuccessful at this stage will be informed through the UKRI Funding Service.

Approach to responsive mode funding opportunities from November 2023

We relaunched our responsive mode and fellowship funding opportunities on the Funding Service in November and December 2023.

From November 2023:

  • there are no deadlines for submissions to responsive mode and fellowship opportunities
  • applicants should apply when their application is ready

The UKRI Funding Service system shows a closing date, do not wait for this date to submit your application. We will process applications on an ongoing basis.

We will batch applications for assessment and send them to the most appropriate responsive mode panel meeting when they reach this stage of the process. Applications submitted in late 2023 and early 2024 are likely to be considered at panels in autumn 2024. They will then run on a quarterly basis.

Our responsive mode panel meetings are:

  • engineering
  • information and communications technology (ICT)
  • mathematical sciences
  • physical sciences

This process applies to the following funding opportunities:

Information about EPSRC fellowship opportunities is available for:

Due to the agile development of the UKRI Funding Service, we will need to make changes to these funding opportunities to allow for technical updates or new policies. No changes are planned to EPSRC responsive mode funding opportunities before November 2024. If updates are required, we will communicate these changes at least eight weeks in advance (excluding major public holiday periods).

Additional functionality for responsive mode funding opportunities

For responsive mode funding opportunities from November 2023:

  • applicants can embed images in relevant sections of their applications
  • applicants can input project partner details in a more structured format
  • applications for overseas travel grants have revised application questions and criteria, agreed and harmonised across research councils

Read more about future functionality and how research offices use UKRI Funding Service.

Until we have the functionality to allow mathematical notation to be included, applicants should submit the ‘vision and approach’ section as a PDF attachment.

UKRI is developing the UKRI Funding Service in an iterative way, introducing and refining functionality and new features gradually. This means that timelines may be subject to adjustment, so that we can utilise new functionality as the Funding Service develops.

We will keep you informed if timelines change.

Grants on the Web

It is not possible to update Grants on the Web (GoW) to include information on EPSRC panels and panel outcomes where the panel has been run on the new UKRI Funding Service.

To maintain the transparency of our peer review process, we have introduced a Panel Outcome tableau tool to share information on EPSRC panel and panel outcomes. The Panel Outcome tableau tool launched on 18 January 2024, and is available at Tableau Public – EPSRC Funding Application Outcomes.

The tool will initially focus on opportunities that have been run on the UKRI Funding Service. In the longer term it will include information on earlier panels.

Publication of panel outcomes will initially take longer than the usual four weeks from the panel date. We aim to improve this over time.

Information on awarded grants on GoW is accurate only to the end of April 2024. Grants awarded on the UKRI Funding Service will not appear on GoW, so the accuracy of information on GoW will decrease as awards on the UKRI Funding Service increase.

More information is available on:

We plan to decommission Grants on the Web in autumn winter 2024.

Fellowships

We have launched our fellowship funding opportunities on the UKRI Funding Service. From December 2023 applicants for fellowship funding opportunities may apply at any time.

Postdoctoral fellowships are only available in certain discipline areas, you can search for funding opportunities. For more information about EPSRC fellowships, refer to the guidance for postdoctoral and open fellowships.

Other EPSRC funding opportunities

Strategic infrastructure

We have launched our strategic infrastructure funding opportunity.

The opportunity name has changed from ‘strategic equipment’ to ‘strategic infrastructure’ to integrate both the capital and digital investments available through this opportunity. The new name better indicates that both equipment and resources can be requested.

Programme grants

We have launched our programme grants funding opportunity. Applicants can search for funding opportunities.

We are currently reviewing the way we assess programme grants. This will not affect programme grant applications in progress.

Potential applicants should continue to contact the programme grant contact in the theme they wish to apply to, to discuss their interest and suitability in applying for a programme grant.

Mathematical sciences small grants

We have launched our mathematical sciences small grants funding opportunity on the UKRI Funding Service. From January 2024 applicants may apply at any time. Applicants can search for funding opportunities.

Opportunities with closing dates

Information on how to apply to funding opportunities with closing dates will be available when these opportunities are published. Applicants can search for funding opportunities.

Principles for the EPSRC transition

We are committed to giving researchers and research organisations the information they need to plan for the transition to the UKRI Funding Service.

The transition to the UKRI Funding Service will not affect EPSRC budgets, and the commitments made in EPSRC strategic delivery plan for 2023 to 2025 remain the same. We have planned our internal processing timelines and activities to ensure that the transition will not affect our strategic commitments.

Some funding opportunities will have additional questions due to their specific requirements. These will align with our current criteria. All assessment criteria will be published with the funding opportunity announcement.

We are dedicated to ensuring fairness and to understanding the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) impacts of the transition on our research community.

We will therefore aim to:

  • minimise disruption for applicants
  • provide at least eight weeks’ notice in advance (excluding major bank holidays and major holiday periods) of a funding opportunity’s closing date on Je-S and opening date on the UKRI Funding Service
  • uphold the commitments laid out in our strategic delivery plan

Equality impact assessment for transitioning opportunities

We have conducted and published equality impact assessments for transitioning always open opportunities.

We have undertaken mitigation work when planning our timelines because of this. As a result we:

  • have avoided placing key transition deadlines or dates on major public holidays, religious festivals and school holidays
  • have committed to giving you at least eight weeks’ notice in advance of a funding opportunity’s closing date on Je-S and opening date on the UKRI Funding Service (excluding major public or school holiday periods) to enable you to prepare for the transition
  • will continue to review our mitigations and take actions to reduce any disadvantages brought by our approach to transition to the UKRI Funding Service

Harmonisation across councils

Core assessment criteria and questions will be more consistent across councils as part of a harmonised responsive mode. This will simplify the submission process to UKRI’s funding opportunities.

Find out more about the applicant experience and our pathway for change.

Over the transition period and beyond, EPSRC will continue to support the new ideas and transformative technologies that will enable the UK’s creative researchers to deliver world-leading engineering and physical sciences research.

Keeping you informed

We are working with the UKRI Simpler and Better Funding (SBF) programme, along with the other research councils, to ensure a coordinated approach to the transition and our communications.

We will use our existing regular communications with the research community to provide updates, including:

UKRI is working closely with university research support services to ensure that they are informed and can support you.

Ask a question about the transition to the UKRI Funding Service

For questions related to specific EPSRC funding opportunities, email tfschangeepsrc@epsrc.ukri.org

For any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service, contact the helpdesk:

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org

Last updated: 24 May 2024

Last updated: 24 May 2024

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