Research and knowledge exchange

Demand managed funding calls

Demand managed funding calls are those where the number of applications an institution can submit or the number of awards the funder will make is limited. In these cases, the University is required to coordinate internal review processes to preselect the applications which can be submitted to the funder for consideration.

Open calls with demand management

MRC Centres of Research Excellence - Round 3

Round 3 of the MRC call for Centers of Research Excellence is now open and institutions can only submit a single bid.

MRC CoREs will support bold and ambitious research focused on a defined challenge. Tackling such challenges will be transformative to biomedical research, health research or both within 14 years, and will enhance approaches to the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, improving health and wellbeing for all.

Following a call for Expressions of Interest a preferred application has been selected for development ahead of MRC's outline deadline of 13 February 2025

NERC Pushing the Frontiers

NERC's Pushing the Frontiers call is looking to fund ambitious, high risk and high reward curiosity-driven projects in environmental research.  NERC's deadline is 21 January 2025.  Sussex can submit a single application.

If you are interested in applying for this call please complete the NERC Pushing the Frontiers internal proforma January 2025 [DOCX 28.76KB] and return to research.initiatives@sussex.ac.uk by 12 noon Monday 11th November 2024.

Please contact Debbie Foy if you have questions about the internal selection process and your Research Development Manager if you would like to discuss the scheme and your eligibility.

UKRI Cross Research Council Responsive Mode Pilot Round 2

The UKRI cross research council responsive mode call opened on 2 September 2024 and Sussex is limited to 7 applications. The UKRI deadline for outline applications is 19 November 2024.

The internal deadline for Sussex-led applications was 12 September 2024.  The outcome of the internal selection process has been communicated to all applicants.

UKRI hosted a webinar on 5 September for potential CRCRM applicants and provided the following resources: 

EPSRC Strategic Infrastructure 

The EPSRC Strategic Infrastructure call provides minimum funding of £400k for institutions to purchase strategic infrastructure including equipment, resources, or both.

EPSRC expects institutions to take a strategic approach to prioritise applications which are of the highest strategic importance as institutions can submit no more than six applications in the period 18 June 2024 to 18 June 2025.

If you are interested in applying to this scheme please discuss with your Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange and Debbie Foy.

NIHR Research Professorship and Global Health Research Professorships

The NIHR calls for Research Professorships and Global Health Research Professorships opened on 26 September 2024 and instittions are limited in the number of bids they can submit based on the sex (not gender) and ethnicity of the applicants.  The NIHR deadline for both calls is 11 December 2024.

The internal deadline for was 23 October 2024 and the outcome of the internal selection process has been communicated to all applicants.

Please contact Debbie Foy if you are interested in applying to a future round of these calls as RIS will be hosting a workshop for interested applicants early in 2025.

Future calls with known demand management

Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Awards

Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Awards of up to £1M are available for talented scholars who have launched a University career but who need to build a team to address a distinct research problem. Institutions are limited to a single bid.

Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellowships

The Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellowships are prestigious long-term awards that will support emerging research leaders to undertake high-quality, original research. The programme is aimed at outstanding mid-career STEM researchers and will provide grants of up to £8M over a ten-year period.

The Royal Society does not limit institutions in the number of bids it can submit, however, there is an expectation that institutions will only submit the the highest quality applications to this new scheme - the RS intends to offer 7 awards per round.

The deadline has passed for round 1, however the Royal Society has indicated that future rounds will open annually in Agust.

Details on the internal selection process will be added in due course.