Opportunity status:
Open
Funders:
Funding type:
Grant
Total fund:
£3,000,000
Award range:
£100,000 - £800,000
Publication date:
6 August 2025
Opening date:
6 August 2025 9:00am UK time
Closing date:
15 October 2025 4:00pm UK time
Last updated: 6 August 2025 -
Apply for Follow-on Funding (FoF) to bridge the gap between bioscience research and achieving economic and societal benefit.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funding.
Follow-on Funding (FoF) applications must draw substantially on current or prior BBSRC funding.
FoF awards progress discoveries to a stage where the route to practical application is clear.
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £800,000. BBSRC will fund 80% of the FEC.
FoF awards support defined programmes of work for up to two years.
Who can apply
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. .
Who is eligible to apply
In order to be eligible for FoF funding:
* applications must have a direct link to current or previous BBSRC-supported funding
The project lead must be:
* based at a UK research organisation eligible for BBSRC funding, which will be responsible for submitting the grant application to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
* resident in the UK for at least 183 days in a tax year
* hold a lecturer or lecturer-equivalent position at a UK higher education institution, research council institute or a UKRI-approved independent research organisation
* employed at the submitting research organisation at lecturer level, or equivalent, or due to move to the organisation before the start date of the grant
* employed or if not, have an agreement that the research will be conducted at the submitting research organisation, as if you were an employee at lecturer level or equivalent
Co-applicants must be employed at an eligible organisation and meet the same employment criteria as the project lead.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
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
for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.
What we're looking for
Aim
The aim of our Follow-on Fund (FoF) is to help researchers maximise the commercial, economic, and societal benefits of their research.
Scope
The BBSRC FoF is designed to enable researchers, with a sound understanding of the market opportunity of their intellectual assets, to execute a defined programme of work that has clear objectives.
Projects considered through this programme must:
* draw upon current or previous BBSRC supported research, or other type of BBSRC research investment, or both
* enable research outputs to be further developed into practical application to deliver benefit and impact
We support both early-stage projects aimed at de-risking innovative ideas and later-stage projects that encompass significant technical milestones.
It is recognised that smaller scale, in particular early-stage, projects may not require the full word count allowance for each application section.
Successful applications may be invited to participate in a BBSRC ICURe Discover cohort, targeted towards BBSRC Follow-on Fund holders. BBSRC ICURe Discover is a 10-week, part-time online market discovery programme, and participation may support researchers to further explore the market potential of an idea.
FoF projects must seek to provide demonstrable benefit within the UK. Project outcomes may also provide benefits within international markets, provided that the primary aim is to provide significant benefits to the UK.
We will checks applications to ensure their alignment with the designated scope and we retain the authority to reject applications that are considered to be out of scope before assessment by the FoF Committee. Our decision to decline applications in this circumstance will be final and is not subject to appeal.
If an application is declined for assessment, then you will be provided with feedback to support the development of your future applications.
Remit
Applications to the FoF must be within. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the remit of your proposed project, please see the ‘Contact details’ section.
We check applications to ensure their alignment with our remit and we retain the authority to reject applications considered out of remit before assessment by the FoF Committee. Our decision to decline applications in this circumstance will be final and is not subject to appeal.
If an application is declined for assessment, then you will be provided with feedback to support the development of your future applications..
We may share applications with other UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) councils to consider remit and direct you to the most appropriate council.
Project partners
Involvement of industry and users as project partners is strongly encouraged. Applications which do not have project partners are expected to clearly articulate how industry and users have shaped the project to date and how they will be engaged in the future development of the project. Project partners who wish to access foreground intellectual property (IP) generated during the project must make either a cash or in-kind contribution or a combination of both.
Project partner contributions must fully comply with the guidance in the ‘Project partner’ section.
If you are interested in including investors as project partners, please contact the FoF team () to discuss this further.
Webinar
The FoF applicant webinar will be held on the 20 August 2025 1:00pm to 2:00pm UK time. To register for this webinar, please see the ‘Additional information’ section. We will also provide a link to the recording of the webinar for those unable to attend.
Duration
The duration of this award is a maximum of two years.
Funding available
The FEC of your project can be up to £800,000.
BBSRC will fund 80% of the FEC.
Additional support
We aim to support Follow-on Fund award-holders to successfully progress towards impact as part of a wider vision to build and strengthen pathways for bioscience translation.
We may contact award-holders to make invitations to participate in opportunities ranging from support for skills development and training, networking and engagement events, dissemination and communication activities, and access additional support to help maximise the impact of your project, including BBSRC ICURe Discover, as described in further detail in the Additional Information section.
What we will fund
FoF grant applications must demonstrate that the proposed work programme:
* is based on a sound understanding of the market need and opportunity that its product, service or technology aims to satisfy
* is robust and designed to optimise the commercial, economic, and societal benefit derived from the grant
* has a substantial link to BBSRC funding
What we will not fund
Applications to FoF should have a primary focus on the translation of research or knowledge, or both. The following examples would be ineligible:
* projects focused solely on delivering training
* new research or extending an existing research grant
* applied or contract research conducted on behalf of commercial organisations
* applications outside of our remit
* supporting the direct costs associated with applying for Intellectual property (IP) protection, for example patent filing
Supporting skills and talent
We encourage you to follow the principles of the and the .
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.
, including where applicants can find additional support.
How to apply
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
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 funding opportunity, that 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.
Your application may be rejected if images are provided without a descriptive legend in the text box or are used to replace text that could be input into the text box.
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 policy on the .
Deadline
BBSRC must receive your application by 15 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
BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our .
Sensitive information
If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email .
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
BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at .
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the.
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
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
* context
* the challenge the project addresses
* aims and objectives
* potential applications and benefits
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
* project lead (PL)
* project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
* specialist
* research and innovation associate
* technician
* researcher co-lead (RcL)
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.