Grants8 | The most comprehensive grants search on the web

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant, the Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) 2026, aims to fund large or complex research projects in highly specialized scientific fields. It's designed for UK-based research organizations that have been specifically invited to apply after successfully submitting a Statement of Interest (SoI). This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant, focusing primarily on areas like particle physics, nuclear physics, astronomy, particle astrophysics, accelerator physics, and computing for the PPAN Programme. The grant operates on a recurring basis, with frequent PPRP rounds, forming a core part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) funding landscape. The key filtering criteria for initial screening are the requirement for an invitation following a successful SoI, and being an eligible UK research organization focused on the specified scientific domains.

Financial Structure

The financial structure of this grant is based on the 'Full Economic Cost' (FEC) model, with specific funding limitations and requirements:

Budget Range: The total budget for your project can be 'up to the budget envelope advised and agreed by the STFC programme manager'. There is no fixed minimum or maximum grant amount specified in the general documentation for individual awards.
Funding Rate: STFC will fund 80% of the Full Economic Cost (FEC) of your project. This means the remaining 20% must be covered by the applicant organization or project partners.
Matching Fund Requirements: A 20% co-financing contribution (the difference to reach 100% FEC) is required from the lead organization and any additional submitting organizations. This is a hard requirement.
Eligible Costs: Costs associated with 'project staff', 'significant travel for field work or collaboration', 'equipment that will cost more than £25,000', 'consumables beyond typical requirements', 'all facilities and infrastructure costs', and 'all resources costed as 'Exceptions'' are eligible. 'Reasonable adjustments' costs related to working on the project are also eligible.
Ineligible Costs: 'Project studentships' are explicitly stated as not being funded by this grant.
Indirect Cost Policies: Most project roles (e.g., Project Lead, Project Co-lead, Research and Innovation Associate, Specialist) may attract 'estates' and 'indirect costs', provided 'double charging requirements' are met. Public contributors cannot attract these costs.
Costing and Justification: Applicants must demonstrate how proposed resources are 'comprehensive, appropriate, and justified', 'represent the optimal use of resources', and 'maximise potential outcomes and impacts'. Detailed line-by-line breakdowns are generally not required, but justification for more costly items is essential.
Project Partners Contributions: If project partners are involved, their contributions (direct/cash or indirect/in-kind like expertise, staff time, or use of facilities) must be detailed and have a monetary value assigned. Formal collaboration agreements are required if an award is made.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for this funding opportunity, your organization must meet several strict, non-negotiable criteria:

Invitation Only: You can only apply if you have been specifically invited by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) following a successful submission and assessment of a 'Statement of Interest' (SoI).
Organization Type: The project lead must be based at an eligible UK research organization. Eligible types include:
- 'higher education providers'
- 'research institutes'
- 'public sector research establishments'
- 'NHS bodies'
- 'independent research organisations'
- 'Catapult centres'
Geographic Location: The lead research organization must be based in the UK.
Project Lead Affiliation: The project lead must have a 'substantial relationship' with the eligible organization, such as 'emeritus status', 'honorary appointment', or a 'contract' outlasting the project duration. They are responsible for completing the application.
Unfunded Items: This grant will not fund 'project studentships'.
Organizational Registration: Your organization must be registered with the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service.

Application Process

Applying for the Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) 2026 grant is an invitation-only process, following a successful 'Statement of Interest' (SoI) stage. All applications must be submitted through the new UKRI Funding Service.

Application Deadline: The specific closing date for applications is 27 August 2026 at 4:00 PM UK time.
Opening Date: The funding opportunity will open on 8 September 2025 at 9:00 AM UK time.
Application Procedure:
- Invitation Required: Only invited applicants, following a successful SoI, are eligible to apply.
- UKRI Funding Service: Applications are submitted via the UKRI Funding Service. Organizations must be registered, and individuals need an account.
- Project Lead Responsibility: The project lead is responsible for completing the application.
- Team Contribution: All team members and project partners are expected to contribute.
- Research Office Submission: The lead research organization's research office must submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
- No Changes After Submission: Once submitted, applications cannot be changed or returned for amendment. Non-compliance with guidance may lead to rejection.
Required Documentation and Materials:
- Summary: A plain English summary (550-word limit) for identifying assessors, suitable for public release (no confidential info).
- Vision and Approach Document: A single PDF document (max 70 A4 sides, 11-point Arial, 8MB max) addressing 'Vision' and 'Approach' criteria. This also incorporates the 'Project Management' section.
- Project Management Confirmation: A text box (20-word limit) confirming that the project management plan is included within the 'Vision and Approach' document.
- Applicant and Team Capability: Submitted in 'Résumé for Research and Innovation' (R4RI) format (1,650-word limit, including a 500-word optional 'Additions' section for context like career breaks). This section evidences skills and experience across the team.
- Ethics and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI): (500-word limit) Details how ethical/RRI implications are identified and managed.
- Research Involving Animals (if applicable): Specific template to be downloaded, completed, and uploaded as PDF. Additional statements and checklists are required for overseas animal research, especially for certain species.
- Resources and Cost Justification: (1,500-word limit) Justifies all resources and costs, particularly significant ones.
- Project Partners (if applicable): Details of collaborating organizations and their contributions, plus separate letters or emails of support from each partner (single PDF, max 2 A4 sides per partner, English/Welsh only).
- Data Management and Sharing: (1,500-word limit) A data management plan detailing compliance with UKRI’s data sharing policy.
- Facilities (if applicable): Details of required facilities from the official list, with prior agreement for use.
- Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I): (100-word limit) Statement on how the work relates to UKRI’s TR&I principles.
- International Collaboration (if applicable): (100-word limit) Details of any international project co-leads, partners, visiting researchers, or subcontractors.
Submission Format: Predominantly text boxes within the online service, with specific sections requiring PDF uploads (Vision and Approach, Animal Research templates, Project Partner letters).
Application Assistance: The UKRI Funding Service Helpdesk (email: support@funding-service.ukri.org, phone: 01793 547490) and specific programme managers are available for queries. Your research office should be the first point of contact for costing and application writing advice.
Evaluation Timeline: The assessment process aims to be completed within nine months of receiving the application. A successful proposal typically takes six to nine months to go through the entire process, excluding grant award time.
Feedback: Feedback is provided for applications discussed by a panel.
Generative AI: Use of generative AI tools for application preparation is permitted, but caution is advised, especially regarding confidentiality.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications for the Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) 2026 grant are assessed rigorously across several key areas. The evaluation process includes a review of your Statement of Interest, external expert reviews, and a project management and delivery review, culminating in a panel meeting where applicants may present and respond to questions. There is no competitive ranking; projects are assessed on their own merit against the published criteria. Key assessment areas include:

Vision: Assessors look for proposals that demonstrate:
- Excellent quality and importance within or beyond the specific scientific fields.
- Potential to advance current understanding, generate new knowledge, thinking, or discovery.
- Timeliness given current trends, context, and needs.
- Significant impact on world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment.
- Technical importance of the project.
- Strategic value within STFC programmes, including coherence, synergies, and linkages with other programmes/facilities (including international subscriptions).
- Measures in place to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).
Approach: This section evaluates the project's design and feasibility, specifically:
- Whether the design is effective and appropriate to achieve objectives.
- Project feasibility and comprehensive identification/management of risks (including technical, economic, societal impact, and leadership objectives).
- Use of a clear and transparent methodology (if applicable).
- How previous work will be built upon and progressed (if applicable).
- Strategies to maximize translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts.
- How the research environment (place and relevance) will contribute to success.
- Justification of staff time and effective distribution, including descope options (implications of a 10% cost reduction).
Project Management: Requires a detailed plan outlining effective measures to achieve objectives, based on STFC’s Project Management Framework. This includes staff roles/responsibilities, schedule, reporting arrangements, Gantt chart, change control, monitoring, project organization/structure, and scope.
Applicant and Team Capability to Deliver: Evaluates the team's ability through the 'Résumé for Research and Innovation' (R4RI) format, focusing on:
- Relevant experience (appropriate to career stage).
- Balance of skills and expertise.
- Leadership and management skills and approach to developing others.
- Contributions to a positive research environment and wider community.
Ethics and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI): Applicants must identify and evaluate relevant ethical/RRI considerations and demonstrate how they will be managed. If no issues are identified, this must be explained.
Resources and Cost Justification: Assessors require justification for more costly resources (e.g., project staff, significant travel, equipment over £25,000, exceptional consumables, facilities/infrastructure). The overall proposal should demonstrate that resources are comprehensive, appropriate, justified, optimally used, and maximize potential outcomes/impacts.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I): Assessors will check how the proposed work relates to UKRI’s TR&I principles, including any 'dual-use' applications, relevance to the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, and export control requirements.

Compliance & Special Requirements

The Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) 2026 grant includes several critical compliance requirements and special considerations:

Regulatory Compliance: Applicants must comply with:
- UK data protection legislation and UKRI's privacy notice regarding personal data.
- UKRI's Published Data Sharing Policy: A data management plan is required, detailing how data collected will be managed and shared, ensuring data is 'as open as possible and as restricted as necessary'.
- Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles: Proposed work must relate to UKRI's TR&I principles, requiring disclosure of any 'dual-use' applications (military/non-military), relevance to the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, and export control license requirements if applicable. Compliance with TR&I principles is a condition of funding.
- Ethical Standards: All research must adhere to relevant ethical considerations and responsible research and innovation (RRI) practices.
Research Involving Animals: If your project involves vertebrate animals or other organisms covered by the Animals Scientific Procedures Act, you must:
- Comply with UKRI's expectations for the 'responsible use of animals in bioscience research' (welfare standards consistent with UK, regardless of where research is conducted).
- Detail the maximum severity of procedures (mild, moderate, severe) and provide justification for moderate/severe procedures.
- Confirm Home Office approvals are in place (personal, project, establishment licences).
- Justify the species used and confirm no realistic non-animal alternatives exist.
- Detail experimental design, sample size justification, and statistical analyses.
- For specific species (non-human primates, dogs, cats, equines, pigs), provide details on sourcing, transport, husbandry (housing, environmental enrichment), single housing justification, and procedures (pain minimization, monitoring, humane endpoints, restraint, food/water control).
- Detail staff experience and training in animal care and welfare.
- Upload specific templates and checklists provided by UKRI/NC3Rs.
Intellectual Property: Ownership of data generated from UKRI funding resides with researchers/institutions, but copyright and IP should be managed to keep underlying research materials 'as open as possible'.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI): UKRI encourages applications from diverse researchers and supports flexible working, career breaks, and caring responsibilities. Measures to promote EDI can be included in the 'Vision' section and will be assessed.
Project Management: Requires an effective project management plan aligned with STFC’s Project Management Framework. This includes addressing project scope, organization, schedule, and crucially, descope options that describe the implications of a 10% reduction in overall project cost. This tests value for money.
International Collaboration: If applicable, applicants must provide details of collaborating countries, project co-leads, partners, visiting researchers, or subcontractors. For overseas animal research, specific welfare standards consistent with the UK must be confirmed.
Risk Management: Comprehensive identification and management of risks to delivery (technical, economic, societal impact, leadership objectives) are required. Compliance with UKRI's TR&I principles also includes identifying and proportionately reducing risks associated with international collaboration.
Reporting Compliance: Regular reporting on project progress and financial expenditure is implied by the nature of the grant and the project management requirements. Data management plans also outline reporting for data sharing.
Monitoring and Evaluation: The grant process includes various review stages (SoI, external reviews, project management review, panel meetings) to monitor proposal quality and delivery potential. Successful projects will also have ongoing monitoring.
Post-Grant Period Expectations: Successful projects may have personal information published on the 'UKRI Gateway to Research'. Formal collaboration agreements are required for project partners if an award is made.

Grant Details