Opportunity status:
Upcoming
Funders:
Funding type:
Grant
Minimum award:
£15,000
Publication date:
20 March 2025
Opening date:
21 August 2025 9:00am UK time
Closing date:
16 October 2025 4:00pm UK time
You can apply for travel and subsistence in support of competitively awarded science observation time at astronomy facilities available to the UK research community.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for STFC funding.
You can apply for:
* travel grants: funding for groups with travel costs of more than £7,500 a year (application deadline in October each year)
* travel claims: for applicants who neither hold nor have access to a travel grant awarded by the panel (no deadline)
For further details of travel claims go to the ‘Related opportunities’ section.
STFC will fund 100% of the full economic cost.
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. .
You must be at an eligible UK institution, travelling for competitively awarded science observation time and either:
* be a permanent member of staff
* hold a fully-tenured post
Eligibility of observers
Observers are eligible to use the funds awarded in support of an approved programme of observations if they are:
* the project lead or project co-lead or a nominated representative
* a member of academic or research staff at the institution of the project lead
* a student attached to the institution of the project lead whose credentials have firmly established them as a bona fide observer
You must be satisfied that your nominated representative is experienced and qualified to use or operate the facility on which an allocation of time has been awarded.
A project lead must not authorise the use of travel funds to support any students undertaking observations that will form part of their PhD preparation. You should contact us if you are unsure about the eligibility of the student.
The funding we provide will normally be for one observer per visit only. If you need a second observer, you must get approval from us at least four weeks in advance.
This funding should be used to support UK-based observers only.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We are for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.
We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:
* career breaks
* support for people with caring responsibilities
* flexible working
* alternative working patterns
UKRI can offer during the application and assessment process.
Scope
We’re looking to support UK-based observers visiting a range of astronomy facilities.
There are two funding opportunities related to travel and subsistence in support of competitively awarded science observation time at astronomy facilities.
This funding opportunity is for travel grants: two-year funding for groups with travel costs of more than £7,500 a year (application deadline in October each year).
There is a separate funding opportunity for travel claims: for applicants who neither hold nor have access to a travel grant awarded by the panel (no deadline). See the .
Travel grants for costs and subsistence
You can apply for the full cost of expenses for travel and subsistence in support of competitively awarded science observation time. Any other costs associated with the research, such as postdoctoral salaries, equipment, and applicant time, are assumed to be covered by the relevant research grant awarded.
We will not fund commissioning work or observation at private facilities.
The scheme covers costs for travel and subsistence only.
How funding can be used
You may use the awarded funds, without seeking further approval, in support of observing runs on the following:
* facilities in direct receipt of STFC funds, for example e-MERLIN, ING, LT
* facilities approved by our Panel for the Allocation of Telescope Time (PATT). For details, refer to the
You should only use travel funds when the presence of a UK observer is essential to the observing programme or required by the facility.
Funding use which requires approval
While you can apply for travel funds in support of observing runs on non-approved telescopes you must first get approval from us.
Only in exceptional cases can you apply for funding for:
* the collection or collation of data
* data reduction visits
The default is that PATT is not the appropriate source of funding for the collection of data. You should seek guidance from the STFC office before applying. Please use the email details in the ‘Contact details’ section.
Your application must include a justification for a physical journey, for example because of the complexities of the data or difficulties in transporting the data.
If you need to change or cancel an agreed observing programme, you must get approval from the STFC office for any alternative plans.
Funding for visits to both approved and non-approved telescopes is not guaranteed.
You should not book flights or make other travel arrangements unless we have confirmed funding.
Duration
The duration of this award is two years.
Grants must start on 1 April 2026.
Funding available
STFC will fund 100% of the full economic cost .
What we will fund
You can apply for the full cost of expenses for travel and subsistence in support of competitively awarded science observation time. Any other costs associated with the research, such as postdoctoral salaries, equipment, and applicant time, are assumed to be covered by the relevant research grant awarded.
The scheme covers costs for travel and subsistence only.
Please refer to the for the guideline travel and subsistence rates.
What we will not fund
We will not fund commissioning work or observations at private facilities.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)
UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.
As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.
See, including where you can find additional support.
We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
To apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
1. Confirm you are the project lead.
2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email
Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
3. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.
When including images, you must:
* provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)
* insert each new image on a new line.
* use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include:
* sentences or paragraphs of text
* tables
* excessive quantities of images
A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.
Watch our .
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
* * *
References
References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:
* references are easily identifiable by the assessors
* references are formatted as appropriate to your research
* persistent identifiers are used where possible
General use of hyperlinks
Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI)
Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.
For more information see our .
Deadline
STFC must receive your application by 16 October 2025 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Personal data
Processing personal data
STFC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
Sensitive information
If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email and
Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].
Typical examples of confidential information include:
* individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
* declaration of interest
* additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
* conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
* the application is an invited resubmission
For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read .
Publication of outcomes
STFC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at .
Summary
Word limit: 550
In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.
We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:
* opinion-formers
* policymakers
* the public
* the wider research community
Guidance for writing a summary
Please add the following text to this box: The funds awarded will be used to pay for travel and subsistence costs associated with observing runs on telescopes around the world.
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
* project lead (PL)
Only list one individual as project lead.
UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.