Opportunity status:
Open
Funders:
Funding type:
Grant
Total fund:
£5,500,000
Award range:
£100,000 - £500,000
Publication date:
27 March 2026
Opening date:
27 March 2026 9:00am UK time
Closing date:
27 May 2026 4:00pm UK time
Apply for follow on funding to support early to mid‑stage commercialisation of research in Advanced Connectivity Technologies. Projects must build on engineering and physical sciences outputs to deliver economic, societal, policy and environmental benefits for a more sustainable and resilient UK. Funded topics must align with Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s (DSIT) Sustainable Networks and Secure and Resilient Networks connectivity challenge themes.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for EPSRC funding.
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £500,000. EPSRC will fund 80% of the FEC. Projects may be up to two years in duration. Funding is subject to business case approval.
Who can apply
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. .
EPSRC standard eligibility rules apply. For full details, visit .
Who is eligible to apply
The project lead is the individual who takes responsibility for the intellectual leadership of the project and its project management. They will be our main point of contact for the application and must be:
* based at a UK research organisation eligible for Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funding, which will be responsible for submitting the grant application to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
* hold a lecturer or equivalent position at a UK higher education institution, research council institute, or a UKRI-approved independent research organisation
* hold either a permanent contract with the relevant research organisation or be a fixed-term employee with a contract term that extends beyond the duration of the proposed research project
Project co-leads are expected to meet all the eligibility criteria of principal investigators except for the requirement to hold a contract that extends beyond the end date of the proposal.
The researcher co-lead role can be used for named postdoctoral (or equivalent) research assistants who merit appropriate recognition for making a significant contribution to developing the grant application or whose input is essential to its successful outcome.
We also welcome research technical professionals and professional research and investment strategy managers as co-applicants, where necessary.
Link to prior research
The fund will be open to researchers across the UK who can demonstrate prior awards relevant to engineering and physical sciences. Eligible previous funding may come from EPSRC, other UKRI councils, Horizon Europe, government departments, industry, international funders, and similar sources. To qualify, the award must have started on or after 1 January 2020.
Your application will need to clearly evidence how the proposed project directly follows on from the prior work.
Eligible grants may include (but are not limited to) the following:
* research grants
* fellowships
* training grants
Resubmissions
We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI or any other funder.