Funding opportunity: EPSRC open fellowship

Opportunity status: Closed Funders: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Funding type: Fellowship Publication date: 2 December 2020 Opening date: 2 December 2020 Closing date: 30 March 2023 4:00pm UK time

This funding opportunity is now closed on Je-S. It will reopen on the new UKRI Funding Service in May 2023.

This guidance page is no longer in use.

Find the latest guidance for EPSRC responsive mode: open fellowship.

Apply for a fellowship focusing on any topic in the EPSRC portfolio.

You must have either:

a PhD
at least four years’ experience in a relevant field by the start of your fellowship.

You must be hosted and supported by an eligible UK research organisation during your fellowship.

Your fellowship can be up to five years long. This is prorated for part-time fellows, at a minimum of 50% full-time equivalent.

Your project can use one or a combination of:

discovery science
innovation
instrumentation and technique development
software engineering.

There is no limit on how much funding you can request. We cover 80% of your full economic costs. Your research organisation must fund the remaining 20%.

Who can apply

Research grants are open to UK higher education institutions, research council institutes, UKRI-approved independent research organisations, Public Sector Research Establishments and NHS bodies with research capacity.

Read the guidance on institutional eligibility.

You can apply if you have a PhD or have worked in a relevant field for at least four years by the start date of your fellowship.

There are no eligibility rules about how many years of postdoctoral experience you need or whether you are currently in a permanent academic position.

We encourage applications from candidates who have taken a non-standard career path after their first degree.

We also welcome applications from candidates who want to move back into research after a career break or any other type of break from active research.

There are no restrictions on nationality.

For more information, read our fellowship application guide.

We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have already been submitted to UKRI or any other funder.

Submissions to this call will count towards the EPSRC repeatedly unsuccessful applicants policy.

What we're looking for

You could consider applying for an open fellowship if you:

have already been in receipt of significant funding or have been leading in an area of technical development
have a planned programme of work up to five years in duration which will deliver high quality research with a focus on discovery science, innovation, instrumentation or technique development, or software engineering
can demonstrate that you have acquired the skills and expertise to successfully deliver your research proposal, and that you are committed to being an advocate for EPSRC and to implementing good practice in creating a modern and inclusive research environment
have identified training and development needs to enable you to expand or enhance your role and career.

Additionally, if you want to use this opportunity to design a package of work which meets your wider aspirations, there is an option for you to add a ‘Plus’ component to your fellowship application.

This will enable you to allocate 20% to 50% of your time spent on the fellowship to create positive change in the research community. You'll do this by championing a topic aligned to EPSRC aspirations to deliver improvements in research culture in topics such as:

equality, diversity and inclusion
responsible research and innovation
public engagement.

If you haven’t already been in receipt of significant funding or been leading in an area of technical development, you may wish to apply for a post-doctoral fellowship.

Research organisations may wish to show their commitment to applicants by providing additional support and resources as evidenced in the host organisation statement (EPSRC).

You can apply for up to five years for an open fellowship award. We will also allow fellowships over shorter periods. You can spend between 50% and 100% of your time on a fellowship.

If you want to work part-time, you can hold your EPSRC fellowship part-time as well, at a minimal level of 50%. In these circumstances, the duration of your fellowship can be extended pro rata.

We will fund 80% of the full economic costs of your project. You may request funding for:

staff costs
equipment and other items needed to carry out the project
costs related to impact
travel and subsistence.

If you are a research organisation

We expect eligible research organisations to submit the most suitable candidates for these fellowships and identify the additional support and resources they will provide the applicant with if successful.

If you are a research organisation, you must:

make sure that the experience, aims and aspirations of the applicant are suitable for a fellowship application
commit to supporting the applicant to ensure their knowledge and expertise in implementing good practice in creating a modern and inclusive research environment is continually updated
identify the additional support you will provide to ensure successful project delivery and opportunities for the applicant to expand or enhance their current role
for those applicants who are choosing to add the additional plus component, you should indicate how the topic they have chosen to champion fits the work your organisation is doing in this area, and how you will assist the applicant to lead their chosen area.

Find details of current fellows

We invest in people with leadership potential at all career stages, helping them to lead excellent research projects.

Read more about the inspiring scientists and engineers who are our current fellows and find out how taking part in a fellowship has influenced their careers.

Find examples of projects we have funded by searching for ‘fellowship’ in our online portfolio (EPSRC).

How to apply

The things you must do before you start your application for a fellowship:

ensure your application fits into the EPSRC remit. If you are not sure, contact the relevant portfolio manager or theme fellowship coordinator, or submit a remit query (EPSRC)
read the fellowship application guide.

You must apply using the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system.

We are always open for applications for fellowships.

When applying, select ‘new document’, then:

council: EPSRC
document type: fellowship proposal
scheme: EPSRC fellowship
call, type or mode: EPSRC open fellowship or EPSRC open plus fellowship.

Consider which options apply to your application from the list below and copy and paste into the keywords box:

discovery science
innovation
technical skills.

Your application should include the following attachments:

a case for support (nine pages, seven on the scientific case and two on the non-technical aspects (meaning, to cover the non-scientific elements of the assessment criteria) of your application. An additional two pages (eleven pages in total) are allowed for Open fellowships where the applicant is choosing the plus component option)
a work plan (one page)
a host organisation statement (two pages)
justification of resources (two pages)
narrative CV and track record (four pages) for the fellowship candidate only (see template)
project partner letters of support from all project partners included in the Je-S form (no page limit). Note that additional letters of support are not permitted on fellowship applications. Where applicants are collaborating with other departments at the host organisation this should be included in the host organisation statement
an equipment business case for any items of equipment or combined assets with a value above £138,000 including VAT (up to two pages) (allowed for Open fellowship applications only)
equipment quotes as appropriate
technical assessments for facilities listed as needing one in the Je-S guidance (no page limit)
a cover letter (no page limit), this will not be seen by peer reviewers.

You should attach your documents as PDFs to avoid errors and use single-spaced 11 Arial or similar sans serif typeface.

We recommend you start your application in good time. You can save completed details in Je-S at any time and return to continue your application later.

When you submit the application, it will first go to your host organisation for review.

See the Je-S handbook for full advice on completing applications.

You can find more details about the application process in our:

fellowship application guide
fellowship frequently asked questions

We will fund 80% of the full economic costs of your project. You may request funding for your salary, staff costs, equipment and other items required to carry out the project, costs related to impact, and travel and subsistence.

See our guidance on completing your application (EPSRC).

How we will assess your application

Your application is assessed by peer review. It will be sent electronically to at least three reviewers, including at least one nominated by you.

You will have the opportunity to respond to reviewer comments if your application gains enough support.

The proposal, reviewers’ comments and your response will then go to a panel that will score it against our assessment criteria and rank it with other proposals.

Panels are organised by theme and meet at different times of the year.

Our assessment criteria at the review stage:

research quality (primary criterion)
applicant and partnerships (secondary major criterion)
national importance (secondary criterion)
resources and management (secondary criterion)
fellowship vision and delivery
community leadership
team leadership
continued professional development
community champion (only assessed if the applicant has applied for the plus component).

Find out more about:

the assessment process in our guidance for reviewers (EPSRC)
assessment timescales in the EPSRC fellowships framework application guidance.

At the prioritisation panel, the panel will assess the application against:

research quality (primary criterion)
applicant and partnerships (secondary major criterion)
national importance (secondary criterion)
resources and management (secondary criterion).

Following the prioritisation panel, we will invite successful candidates to interview.

Interviews will take place around six weeks after the prioritisation panel meeting. An interview panel will assess your application against the criteria below:

fellowship vision and delivery
community leadership
team leadership
continued professional development.

Community champion (only assessed if the applicant has applied for the plus component)

Contact details

If you need any further general information about applying for a fellowship, email: researchcareers@epsrc.ukri.org.

If you are not sure if your research fits within the remit of this funding opportunity or if you have specific questions about our theme areas, you should contact the relevant portfolio manager or theme fellowship coordinator.

Additional info

EPSRC occasionally offers other fellowship opportunities, some of which are in partnership with external organisations or with other UKRI research councils. These fellowships may have different eligibility, application and review processes.

Check our Funding finder for details of the latest funding opportunities across UKRI.

Supporting documents

EPSRC fellowship guidance for applicants
EPSRC fellowship frequently asked questions
Equality impact assessment (PDF, 192KB)