UKRI-SBE lead agency opportunity
Forecasted
UKRI-SBE lead agency opportunity supports UK and US researchers’ joint projects across participating funders’ overlapping remits, reducing barriers to international collaboration through a single review.
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates: Paused until further notice (all routes) | No closing date (UKRI-led routes) | Programme deadlines (NSF-led routes)
Funding Amounts: UK costs: up to £1 million for BBSRC/ESRC routes; £300,000–£1.5 million FEC for AHRC-led projects, lasting up to four years
Summary: Supports collaborative UK–US research within UKRI councils’ and NSF/SBE’s overlapping remits through a single review process.
Key Information: An approved expression of interest is required before submitting a full proposal.
Description
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the US National Science Foundation’s Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (NSF/SBE) support joint UK–US research through a lead agency agreement. Participating UKRI councils are AHRC, BBSRC and ESRC. The arrangement reduces barriers to international collaboration by allowing a joint proposal to undergo one review process, rather than separate assessments in each country.
This is not a separate research funding scheme: applications enter existing programmes at the lead agency. Disciplinary and interdisciplinary projects must fall within the participating organisations’ overlapping remits, spanning arts and humanities, biotechnology and biological science, economic and social science, and social, behavioral and economic sciences. Review considers scientific merit and broader economic or societal impacts. The opportunity is paused and is not considering expressions of interest or applications until further notice.
