DARE UK Real-world Research Exemplar Programme (Grant)

This funding opportunity supports research teams applying for funding across the remit of any UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) research councils. It will enable teams to partner with TREs to deliver real-world research utilising capabilities introduced through the DARE UK TREvolution programme.

To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible.

Who is eligible to apply

To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must:

• be employed by an eligible research organisation

• show that you will lead the project and be actively engaged in the work

• have the relevant expertise and experience to lead or contribute to cross domain research utilising capabilities currently being developed through the TREvolution programme

• meet individual eligibility requirements

• partner with appropriate TREs

For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application the research organisation is confirming, if it is successful:

• contracts will be extended six months beyond the end date of the project

• all necessary support for the project and the applicants will be provided

A research organisation may lead or partner on more than one application and applications may comprise more than one research organisation.

Individuals may be project lead on only one application. However, individuals can act as project co-leads on any number of applications.

Applicants do not need to have previously received funding from MRC to be eligible to apply.

Partner TREs are encouraged to participate as co-leads if eligible for UKRI funding. Alternatively, partner TRE(s) may participate as sub-contractors. Partner TRE(s) may participate in any number of applications.

Who is not eligible to apply

You are not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity as a project lead if you are based at an international research organisation. This does not include project leads from MRC Unit The Gambia or MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

International researchers

As MRC is a lead funder for this funding opportunity, international researchers, can apply as project co-lead (international).

Project co-leads (international) make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the project. Their contribution and added value to the research should be clearly explained and justified in the application, see ‘Applicant and team capability to deliver’.

Read the UKRI project co-lead (international) eligibility for more details. Please contact us if you are uncertain about eligibility.

You should include all other international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity 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 disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

Aim

This funding opportunity aims to support real-world, cross-discipline research exemplars to use, evaluate, and shape emerging TRE capabilities. Data governance allowing, researchers could utilise these TRE capabilities to carry out new research using sensitive data within TREs as part of the exemplar project. Research exemplars that are relevant to policymakers, the Government Missions and development of the National Data Library are particularly welcome.

Successful applicants will have a unique opportunity to influence the future of TRE infrastructure, publish novel methodologies, and raise their visibility as a researcher, whilst developing research outputs. The primary purpose of this funding opportunity is to test emerging TRE capabilities to validate their usefulness in research studies. Though strongly encouraged, the development of research study outputs is secondary to this purpose.

This initiative offers a platform to build lasting collaborations with national data custodians, engage with public stakeholders, and help shape long-term policy decisions: ultimately unlocking novel research opportunities and innovations that are not currently possible.

DARE UK Programme overview

Phase 1 of the DARE UK programme delivered the first versions of essential software capabilities, standards and recommendations needed for federation, semi-automated disclosure control and support for AI model training and disclosure control in TREs. As part of Phase 2 of the DARE UK programme, UKRI is funding the continued development and maturation of these capabilities through the TREvolution programme, as well as supporting the development of an underpinning interoperability layer.

The DARE UK Early Adopter programme is funding a pioneering group of UK TREs to evaluate these capabilities in real-world environments and provide dynamic feedback to the TREvolution programme teams.

Purpose and scope

This funding opportunity complements the Early Adopter Programme by enabling pioneering research teams to evaluate the TREvolution programme capabilities from their perspectives as ultimate end-users. It also allows researchers to shape the development of these technologies, and to influence the direction and development of their final versions. The 2024 report Scientific use cases for cross-domain sensitive data research in the UK offers possible examples of the kinds of aspirational projects that future phases of the DARE UK programme aim to support.

The selected research studies will serve the following dual purposes:

• as test cases, to strengthen TRE capabilities and move them toward production-level maturity. Applications must test one or more of the capabilities currently in development, testing and hardening by the TREvolution programme

• as showcases, demonstrating the utility of TRE technologies in addressing complex, real-world research questions

We invite research teams from across UKRI research councils to partner with TREs to test and evaluate one or more of the following capabilities introduced through the TREvolution programme:

• data federation, enabling a researcher to be able to log in to one TRE and work transparently with approved data held in other remote TREs

• analytics federation, enabling a researcher to be able to log in to one TRE and send computational jobs to run in other remote TREs against approved data

• semi-automation of output disclosure checks, including from complex artificial intelligence (AI) such as machine learning (ML) models

All types of sensitive datasets, as well as any datasets that could become sensitive through linkage, are within scope. This includes, but is not limited to, health data, administrative data, smart data, commercial data, and industry data. Where necessary, due to timeliness of data governance applications, synthetic data versions of sensitive data may be used to demonstrate the viability and utility of these capabilities.

To support applicants and their TRE partner(s) with the conceptualisation of their proposed work, some examples could be:

• a research study that requires or would benefit from a federated analysis pipeline across two or more SATRE-compliant TREs

• a research study that requires or would benefit from a federated analysis pipeline across two or more SATRE-compliant TREs, where the analysis is embedded in the ACRO tool. The workflow proceeds through the SACRO output checker for disclosure control and produces a provenance record that can be published across partner TREs

• a research study using traditional analytics workflows, existing federated analysis pipelines or machine learning (ML) models in one or more TREs, that would benefit from the use of enhanced SACRO disclosure control features. Outcome of study to provide feedback on new tooling such as researcher-facing user interfaces and tools for managing research sessions, amongst others

• a research study that requires or would benefit from a partner TRE(s) deploying and testing the K8TRE reference implementation and providing feedback on its use as a production TRE. Or a study assessing existing TRE(s) for compliance with the K8TRE specification and piloting relevant component integrations to support the research study

• a research study that requires or would benefit from a partner TRE(s) evaluating themselves against the SATRE specification, sharing that evaluation if possible and providing feedback to help improve the SATRE specification

This funding opportunity is designed to bring together researchers, TRE operators, and information governance data custodians to collaboratively trial TREvolution programme capabilities. While the primary aim is to evaluate and refine technical and governance approaches, not to conduct full-scale research, each stakeholder stands to benefit as follows:

• researchers can gain early access to pioneering tools for data and analytics federation, as well as emerging disclosure control mechanisms, supporting more ambitious, cross-domain research

• TRE operators can test, validate, and enhance their infrastructure in real-world conditions, accelerating readiness for production-level capabilities

• information governance and data custodians can explore practical governance adaptations, helping shape scalable policies that enable secure, multi-TRE collaboration

We encourage applications that include all three roles. Applications will be viewed favourably if they:

• involve existing research projects looking to scale populations across TREs (federating across a combination of Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish and English datasets, for example)

• seek to enrich original cohorts with additional attributes from other datasets (connecting health and education data, for example)

• augment individual-level data with complex reference data (geographical and environmental, for example)

• explore the secure export of trained AI or ML models, testing disclosure controls in collaboration with TRE and information governance teams

• explore cross-TRE federation workflows, incorporating appropriate information governance modifications, which themselves form part of the testing process (applies primarily to projects that already have data access approval across multiple TREs)

Datasets may be real or synthetic. Use of real-world data is not a strict requirement, however, applications that include an information governance application to test TREvolution capabilities on real data will be viewed favourably. Applications that test both technical and governance aspects are likely to score higher.

Applicants are required to partner with one or more TREs and provide a statement that demonstrates engagement and co-designing of application with partner TREs. For more information, please see ‘Trusted Research Environment (TRE) Engagement’ in the How to apply section. Partner TREs are encouraged to participate as co-leads eligible for UKRI funding, alternatively partner TREs may participate as sub-contractors.

The technical maturity and feasibility of TRE partners in terms of their readiness for provisioning the capabilities introduced through the TREvolution programme to research teams will be critically assessed. TRE partners that have already installed and tested the TREvolution capabilities will be viewed favourably.

For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the Additional information section.

Duration

The duration of this award is 12 months.

Projects must start by 1 April 2026.

Funding available

The FEC of your project can be up to £594,384.

Medical Research Council (MRC) will fund 80% (up to £475,507) of the FEC.

Find out more about full economic costing.

What we will fund

You can request funding for costs such as:

• a contribution to the salary of the project lead and co-leads

• costs associated with collaborating with TRE partners

• costs incurred by TRE partners as a result of their direct participation in this project (such as TRE access, setup and configuration of new TREvolution capabilities, usage, and administration)

• costs for public involvement and engagement activities, including payments to public contributors

• support for other posts such as research and technical staff (including TRE partner(s) staff)

• research consumables, including cloud computing

• equipment, less than £25,000

• travel costs

• data preparation, provision, preservation and sharing

• knowledge mobilisation and dissemination costs, such as conferences and seminars for a policy or practice audience or pursuit and development of new user contacts

• estates and indirect costs

• costs to support the use and development of open-source software for project delivery

You can also request costs for work to be undertaken at international organisations by international project co-leads. We will fund 100% of the eligible costs.

The total of such costs requested for international applicants from high-income countries (HICs) (those not on the OECD DAC list of ODA recipients), India and China must not exceed 30% of the total resources requested.

What we will not fund

We will not fund:

• any kind of studentships including stipends

• large items of equipment costing over £25,000

• NHS research costs when they are associated with NHS Studies

• animal costs

Public Involvement and Engagement (PIE)

An explicit and comprehensive work stream on PIE must be included in the ’Approach’ section of the application. This workstream should be informed by the guidelines set out in the DARE UK PIE guidelines document (PDF, 992KB) and should detail how the impact of PIE on your project will be clearly demonstrated.

The costs of all PIE activities must be identified and included in the ‘Resources and cost justification’ section of the application.

The following PIE requirements should be considered when developing the PIE plans for your application.

PIE roles and responsibilities

A dedicated PIE lead must be integrated into the project team, working closely with other project team members on the delivery of relevant PIE activities to support the work.

Members of the public (public representatives) should be involved in project delivery where appropriate, for example via attendance and involvement in project delivery meetings, strategic proceedings and decision-making processes.

Project timeline integration

Ensure that the project plan, in the ‘Approach’ section of the application, fully integrates PIE activities.

Highlight time points where PIE insights can shape the next stages of project development.

Diverse representation

Engage members of the public who reflect a wide demographic spectrum. Please see DARE UK PIE guidelines document (PDF, 992KB) for more details.

Engagement with existing community groups representing diverse public voices is strongly encouraged.

Feedback mechanism(s)

Establish a clear and robust mechanism for collecting feedback from public participants, with assessments possible before, midway through, and after the project.

Inform public participants of the potential for a post-project evaluation that may involve follow-up contact and request their consent and contact information (such as, their email address) if they are willing to participate.

Project teams should prepare and be available for a possible DARE UK PIE evaluation after project delivery.

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Set out PIE measurement indices at the start of the project and capture KPI data throughout PIE activities.

Focus on what you want to measure and why, and connect these KPIs to the established reporting requirements.

Include processes and documents to track and record (anonymous) demographic and engagement information about your public participants.

Project partner

A project partner is a collaborating organisation in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU, who will have an integral role in the proposed research. You may include project partners that will support your research project through cash or in-kind contributions, such as:

• staff time

• access to equipment

• sites or facilities

• the provision of data

• software or materials

• recruitment of people, such as research participants

• providing samples, such as human tissue, for the project

Each project partner must provide a statement of support. If your application involves industry partners, they must provide additional information if the project partner falls within the industry collaboration framework.

Find out more about subcontractors and dual roles.

Who cannot be included as a project partner

Any individual included in your application core team cannot also be a project partner.

Any organisation that employs a member of the application core team cannot be a project partner organisation, this includes other departments within the same organisation.

If you are collaborating with someone in your organisation, consider including them in the core team as project co-lead, or specialist. They cannot be a project partner.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

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 TR&I Principles 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 further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process.

Expert review

There will be no external written expert review for this funding opportunity. All applications will be assessed by an independent expert panel. The expert panel will consider the applications based on whether they are in alignment with the DARE UK vision, feasible to be delivered within the time scale, are robust enough to cater for a wide array of use cases and demonstrate a high probability of being adopted by the sensitive data research community.

The expert panel will comprise of experts in:

• Trusted Research Environment (TREs) and the sensitive data research space

• public involvement and engagement (PIE)

Shortlisting

We will review the comments and scores for each application. Shortlisted applications will be invited to a panel interview after which a funding recommendation will be made.

If your application is shortlisted, you will have seven days to prepare for the panel interview.

Expert panel interview

For shortlisted applications, an expert interview panel will conduct interviews with applicants after which the panel will make a funding recommendation. You will be expected to:

• present an overview of your project

• participate in a short Q&A session led by the expert panel

The expert panel will make a funding recommendation at the conclusion of the interview session.

Medical Research Council (MRC) will make the final funding decision.

MRC reserves the right to review and make changes to this process as it deems necessary to support the proper assessment of applications

For more information about MRC’s assessment process, see:

• funding meetings

• MRC research priorities

• MRC place framework

Timescale

We aim to complete the assessment process within three months of receiving your application.

Feedback

We will give feedback with the outcome of your application.

Principles of assessment

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.

Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review

Reviewers and panellists are not permitted to use generative AI tools to develop their assessment. Using these tools can potentially compromise the confidentiality of the ideas that applicants have entrusted to UKRI to safeguard.

For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

• vision of the project

• approach to the project (including reproducibility and statistical design and data management)

• capability of the applicant or applicants and the project team to deliver the project

• trusted research environment (TRE) engagement

• ethical and responsible research and innovation considerations of the project

• resources requested to do the project

• project partners

• facilities

• trusted research and innovation (TRI)

Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Webinars for potential applicants

We will hold a webinar on 29 September 2025. This will provide more information about the funding opportunity and a chance to ask questions.

Register for the webinar.

Join the TREvolution team on 2 October for an interactive online collaboration cafe designed to help you explore potential partnerships and strengthen your application.

Register for the collaboration cafe.

We will also hold an online drop-in session on 23 October 2025. This will give applicants the chance to ask any final questions before the deadline.

Register for the drop-in session.

Click https://funding-service.ukri.org/OPP1072/apply/1099 in the UKRI Funding Service 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.

If the lead research organisation is an NHS organisation, check it is available in the Funding Service. You are encouraged to check this early as there may be additional steps for the organisation to be set up before you can apply.

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 support@funding-service.ukri.orgPlease 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.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:

• how applicants use the Funding Service

• how research offices use the Funding Service

• how reviewers use the Funding Service

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 use of generative AI in application and assessment.

Deadline

MRC must receive your application by 5 November 2025 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

Medical Research Council (MRC), 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 privacy notice.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email informatics@mrc.ukri.org

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 UKRI’s privacy notice.

Institutional matched funding

There is no requirement for matched funding from the institution(s) hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond any 20% FEC contribution. UKRI advises reviewers and panel members not to consider the level of matched host institution funding as a factor on which to base funding recommendations. Any project partners are expected to contribute to the project, either with cash or in-kind contributions.

Publication of outcomes

MRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at board and panel outcomes.

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

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

• planned public benefits of the project

Core team

List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:

• project lead (PL)

• project co-lead (UK) (PcL)

• project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))

• specialist

• grant manager

• professional enabling staff

• research and innovation associate

• technician

• visiting researcher

• researcher co-lead (RcL)

Only list one individual as project lead. If you include more than one project lead your application will fail at the checking stage

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.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.

Application questions

Vision

Word limit: 550

What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how your proposed work:

• is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)

• has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area

• is timely given current trends, context, and needs

• impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment

• identifies the potential local, regional and or national impacts, both direct and indirect, and who the beneficiaries might be

• enhances the UK’s research and innovation capabilities through local and or regional activity

Within the Vision section we also expect you to:

• identify the potential direct or indirect benefits and who the beneficiaries might be

• clearly articulate how this work will contribute to the DARE UK vision

• clearly articulate how this work will support and work with the broader UK TREecosystem (including DEA-accredited TREs)

References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Approach

Word limit: 2,800

How are you going to deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how you have designed your approach so that it:

• is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives

• is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed

• uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable)

• summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed (if applicable)

• will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts

• describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work

• has been designed so that it will generate local, regional and or national impacts

Within the Approach section we also expect you to:

• demonstrate access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the project

• provide a project plan including milestones and timelines, in the form of an embedded Gantt chart or similar

• explain and justify how you will approach diversity and inclusion in the study population and follow the MRC embedding diversity in research design policy (if applicable)

• show how you will use male and female animals or tissues and cells from female and male donors (if applicable) in your research. If you are not proposing to do work with both gender in your research (if applicable), please justify why

• explain and justify the inclusion of public partnerships (if applicable) and the added value these offer

• explain how you will appropriately embed PIE within your work, inline with the DARE UK PIE guidelines (PDF, 922KB) such as, but not limited to planning PIE activities across the project timeline, engaging with diverse public voices, having measurable PIE outcomes, demonstrating how public input will influence the proposed work and its outcomes

• identify a named PIE lead and involve public contributors in codesigning and decision-making

• identify whether you will use public data within your project and, if so, explain how it will be used

References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Reproducibility and statistical design

Word limit: 500

How will you ensure your proposed work is reliable, robust and reproducible?

What assessors are looking for in your response

Information about reproducibility and how you will ensure reliability and robustness of your proposed work, such as further details of statistical analyses, methodology and experimental design, not provided in your approach.

We expect you to seek professional statistical or other relevant advice in preparing your response, which should include, as appropriate:

• sample and effect sizes

• planned statistical analyses

• models chosen (for example animal model, cell line)

• potential sources of bias and how these will be mitigated during analysis

• how your approach to addressing diversity is reflected in the experimental design and analyses

Refer to the MRC guidance for applicants, for further information, examples and online tools.

If your proposed work involves animals, and you provide information on animal sample sizes and statistical analyses here, you should not duplicate it in the ‘Research involving the use of animals’ section. Use the ‘Research involving the use of animals’ section to provide information on the rationale for using animals, choice of species, welfare and procedure severity.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

The length of your response will vary depending on the type of project, you may not need to use 500 words.

Data management and sharing

Word limit: 1,500

How will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed research?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Provide a data management plan which should clearly detail how you will comply with MRC’s published data management and sharing policies, which includes detailed guidance notes.

Provide your response in the text box following the headings in the MRC data management plan template. You are not required to upload the document to your application.

The length of your plan will vary depending on the type of study being undertaken, as follows:

• population cohorts, longitudinal studies, genetic, omics and imaging data, biobanks, and other collections that are potentially a rich resource for the wider research community: maximum of 1,500 words

• all other research, less complex, the plan may be as short as 500 words

Applicant and team capability to deliver

Word limit: 1,650

Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:

• the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work

• the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work

• the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others

• contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

The word limit for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:

• contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge

• the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships

• contributions to the wider research and innovation community

• contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit

Additions

Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).

Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.

References may be included within this section.

The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.

Trusted Research Environment (TRE) engagement

Word limit: 1,000

How have TREs been engaged in the development and design of this project?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain the nature and extent of the TRE’s involvement, including how their expertise has informed the project’s design and delivery plans. Outline the TRE’s anticipated role if the proposed work is funded.

In your response, you should include the following for each TRE:

• the name of the TRE and its relevance to the project

• how and when the TRE was consulted or involved in shaping the project

• evidence of collaboration or co-design with the TRE

• the TRE’s intended contribution during the project lifecycle

• a statement of support written by a representative of the TRE confirming their engagement and commitment to the project. This should be pasted directly into the text box

Project partners

Add details about any project partners contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.

A project partner is a collaborating person or organisation who will have an integral role in your proposed research. This may include direct contributions for example cash, donated equipment and resources, or staff seconded to the project, or indirect and in-kind contributions for example use of project partner’s equipment, datasets, or facilities. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.

A project partner is not anyone in your core team or anyone from your organisation or any of the other organisations represented by core team members.

Add the following project partner details:

• the organisation name (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)

• the project partner contact name and email address

• the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value

If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.

If there are specific circumstances where project partners do require funding for minor costs such as travel and subsistence, these project partner costs should be claimed and justified within the resources and costs section of your application.

Important information

If you are adding a project partner(s) to this section, you must ensure they provide you with a letter or email of support and you upload it to ‘Project partners: letters or emails of support’.

If your project partners are from industry or a company, you must also complete the ‘Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)’ section.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Project partners: letters (or emails) of support

Word limit: 10

Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the ‘Project partners’ section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

What supporting statements we are looking for

We are looking for you to provide letters or emails of support from all your identified project partner(s).

What we are not looking for

We don’t want any other letters (or emails) of support, from people who are not your identified project partner(s), such as those simply expressing general support for your project. If these are included by you, they will be ignored by us and will not be used in the assessment process.

Important information

You should only provide letters or emails of support from people you have identified in the project partner section of your application, who will have an integral role in your proposed research.

What each project partner letter or email of support must include

Each project partner letter or email you provide should:

• include the name of the project partner organisation and contact information

• explain the project partner(s) commitment to the project

• explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the proposed work, to them

• describe any additional value they will bring to the project

• not exceed two sides of A4 per project partner

Project partner(s) letters and emails of support are not required to be on headed paper or include handwritten signatures (electronic signatures are acceptable).The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

Project partner(s) from industry or a company

Industry or company project partners are required to download and complete the industry or company letter of support template. You must also complete the ‘Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)’ section. Find out more about ICF.

Project partner(s) responsible for recruiting research participants or providing human tissues or samples

If the project partner is responsible for the recruitment of people, as research participants or providing human tissue, their letter or email of support should include:

• agreement that the project partner will recruit the participants or provide tissue

• confirmation that what is being supplied is suitable for the proposed work

• confirmation that the quantity of tissue being supplied is suitable, but not excessive for achieving meaningful results (if applicable)

Agreement with your project partner(s)

Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the ‘Project partners’ section.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Industry Collaboration Framework (ICF)

Word limit: 1,500

Does your application include collaboration with industry or company project partners?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

The assessors are looking for you to confirm if your proposed work involves collaboration with an industry or company project partner. If it does, you will need to follow the MRC ICF.

By ‘industry or company’ we mean an enterprise that puts or has intention to put goods or services on a market.

For guidance to assist your decision if your proposed work requires you to follow ICF, you should explore the ICF decision tree and find out more about ICF which includes:

• collaboration agreements

• definitions of basic or applied research

• internationally based companies

• subsidy control

• intellectual property (IP) arrangements

• fully flexible and gated contributions

• the ICF assessment criteria

Enter ‘Yes’ in the text box if you have industry or company project partners and you are likely to follow ICF. You should also confirm your answers to the ICF questions one to nine in the text box for each ICF project partner.

Contact informatics@mrc.ukri.org if you are unsure if your application should follow ICF.

In addition to the project partner information completed in the previous section, the assessors are looking for information relating to the nature, goals and conditions of the collaboration and any restrictions or rights to the project results that could be claimed by the industry or company project partner.

Confirm your answers to the ICF questions in the text box, repeat this process for each ICF project partner:

1. Name the industry or company project partner considered under ICF.

2. Indicate whether your application is basic research or applied research.

3. Explain why, in the absence of the requested UKRI funding, the collaboration and the planned research could not be undertaken.

4. State whether your application is under the category of fully flexible contribution or gated contribution (based on the IP sharing arrangements with the industry or company partner).

5. Outline the pre-existing IP (‘background IP’) that each partner, including the academic partner, will bring to the collaborative research project and the terms under which partners may access these assets.

6. Outline the IP that is expected to be developed during the collaborative research project (‘foreground IP’) and briefly outline how it will be managed, including:

   • who will own this IP

   • what rights industry or company partners will have to use academically-generated foreground IP during and after the research project, for internal research and development or for commercial purposes

   • any rights of the academic partner to commercialise the foreground IP, including foreground IP generated by industry or company partners

7. Outline any restrictions to dissemination of the project results, including the rights of the industry or company partner to:

   • review, approve or delay publications (including the time period associated with such rights)

   • request or require the removal of any information

8. Declare any conflicts of interest held by the applicants in relation to the industry or company project partners and describe how they will be managed.

9. Justify collaborating with an overseas industry or company under ICF (if applicable).

Failure to provide the information requested for industry or company partners under ICF could result in your application being rejected.

You are recommended to discuss the goals and conditions of any collaboration with an industry or company with your technology transfer or contracts office before applying.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made. You must provide us with a copy of the collaboration agreement, signed by all partners, before an ICF award starts.

If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

Word limit: 100

Does your proposed work relate to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation principles?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate how your proposed work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation principles including:

• list any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research

• if this project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, please list the area(s)

• please read the academic export control guidance and confirm if an export control license is required for this project and the status of any application(s)

• if your project involves any items or substances on the UK strategic export control list, please list these

We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information later, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions (RGC 2.6.2, 2.7.1 and 2.7.2).

International collaboration

Word limit: 100

Does the proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Provide details about your expected international collaboration or engagement, including:

• a list of the countries your international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in

• details of any subcontractors or service providers

If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Facilities

Word limit: 250

Does your proposed research require the support and use of a facility?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If you will need to use a facility, follow your proposed facility’s normal access request procedures. Ensure you have prior agreement so that if you are offered funding, they will support the use of their facility on your project.

For each requested facility you will need to provide the:

• name of facility, copied and pasted from the facility information list (DOCX, 42KB)

• proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list

• confirmation you have their agreement where required

Facilities should only be named if they are on the facility information list above. If you will not need to use a facility, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

Word limit: 500

What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:

• the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations

• how you will manage these considerations

Consider the MRC guidance on ethics and approvals.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Genetic and biological risk

Word limit: 700

Does your proposed research involve any genetic or biological risk?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

In respect of animals, plants or microbes, are you proposing to:

• use genetic modification as an experimental tool, like studying gene function in a genetically modified organism

• release genetically modified organisms

• ultimately develop commercial and industrial genetically modified outcomes

If yes, provide the name of any required approving body and state if approval is already in place. If it is not, provide an indicative timeframe for obtaining the required approval.

Identify the organism or organisms as a plant, animal or microbe and specify the species and which of the three categories the research relates to.

Identify the genetic and biological risks resulting from the proposed research, their implications, and any mitigation you plan on taking. Assessors will want to know you have considered the risks and their implications to justify that any identified risks do not outweigh any benefits of the proposed research.

If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Research involving the use of animals

Word limit:10

Does your proposed research involve the use of vertebrate animals or other organisms covered by the Animals Scientific Procedures Act?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If you are proposing research that requires using animals, download and complete the Research involving the use of animals template (DOCX, 52.5KB), which contains all the questions relating to research using vertebrate animals or other Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulated organisms.

Save it as a PDF. The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Conducting research with animals overseas

Word limit: 700

Will any of the proposed animal research be conducted overseas?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If you are proposing to conduct overseas research, it must be conducted in accordance with welfare standards consistent with those in the UK, as in Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research. Ensure all named applicants in the UK and overseas are aware of this requirement.

If your application proposes animal research to be conducted overseas, you must provide a statement in the text box. Depending on the species involved, you may also need to upload a completed template for each species listed.

Statement

Provide a statement to confirm that:

• all named applicants are aware of the requirements and have agreed to abide by them

• this overseas research will be conducted in accordance with welfare standards consistent with the principles of UK legislation

• the expectation set out in Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research will be applied and maintained

• appropriate national and institutional approvals are in place

Templates

Overseas studies proposing to use non-human primates, cats, dogs, equines or pigs will be assessed during NC3Rs review of research applications. Provide the required information by completing the template from the question ‘Research involving the use of animals’.

For studies involving other species, such as:

• rodents

• rabbits

• sheep

• goats

• pigs

• cattle

• xenopus laevis and xenopus tropicalis

• zebrafish

Select, download, and complete the relevant Word checklist or checklists by exploring NC3Rs checklist for the use of animals overseas.

Save your completed template as a PDF and upload to the Funding Service. If you use more than one checklist template, save it as a single PDF.

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

If conducting research with animals overseas does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Research involving human participation

Word limit: 700

Will the project involve the use of human subjects or their personal information?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If you are proposing research that requires the involvement of human subjects, provide the name of any required approving body and whether approval is already in place.

Justify the number and the diversity of the participants involved, as well as any procedures.

Provide details of any areas of substantial or moderate severity of impact.

If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Research involving human tissues or biological samples

Word limit: 700

Does your proposed research involve the use of human tissues, or biological samples?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If you are proposing work that involves human tissues or biological samples, provide the name of any required approving body and whether approval is already in place.

Justify the use of human tissue or biological samples specifying the nature and quantity of the material to be used and its source.

If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Resources and cost justification

Word limit: 1,000

What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:

• project staff

• significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)

• any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities

• all facilities and infrastructure costs

• all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’

• support for public involvement and engagement. Payments to public partners can be included under the exceptions fund heading

• support for preserving, long-term storage, or sharing of data

• support for international co-leads, demonstrating this is within the 30% costs cap for co-leads from high-income countries, India and China. There is no cap on costs requested for international applicants from DAC list countries

Outsourcing work

We recognise that sometimes it may be appropriate to outsource elements of your work to a subcontractor. If that is the case, provide the following:

• the scope of the outsourced activity: what is being undertaken and what will be delivered

• the relevance of the outsourced activity to the application

• why the outsourced activity cannot be undertaken in-house

• why this provider is the most appropriate

• the costs of the outsourced activity and the tendering process to be followed

• details of any conflicts of interest (potential or actual) between parties and how they will be managed

You can request costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project. For further information see Disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders.

Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work:

• are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified

• represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes

• maximise potential outcomes and impacts

Related applications

Word limit: 500

Is this application related to another application to MRC or other funding organisation?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If your application is not related to another, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

If your application is related to another, state your previous reference number and explain how this new application is related to the other application.

If the related application was submitted to another funder you should identify the name of the funder and when you applied.

Resubmissions: describe how this application differs from the previous application and how feedback on the previous application has been considered and acted on. You must wait 12 months before resubmitting an application previously submitted to MRC, another UKRI council or another funding body, unless we have informed you that you may resubmit early.

Duplicate submissions: you can only apply to us at the same time as another funder to support the same work if they are outside UKRI, also allow this and the application is time sensitive. You must explain the time sensitivity of the proposed research based on its urgency or feasibility and justify why a duplicate submission is necessary. The end of a grant or contract is not considered justification for duplicate submission. If there isn’t a clearly justified time sensitive research need your application will be rejected. For more information see Submitting your application.

Background

DARE UK (Data and Analytics Research Environments UK) is a programme that aims to establish a safe and collaborative network of Trusted Research Environments (TREs) where approved researchers can efficiently access and analyse sensitive data to advance research for public benefit. By co-creating this network with relevant communities and the public, we aim to enhance research while maintaining the security and confidentiality of sensitive data.

DARE UK was established with the vision for all research and innovation to benefit from seamless, secure use of diverse sensitive data at a pace, efficiency and scale that revolutionises research productivity and accelerates research to deliver public good. DARE UK’s mission is to put the UK at the forefront of sensitive data research and innovation by assembling the tools, technologies and standards needed to streamline secure data linkage and use.

DARE UK is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), with oversight from Health Data Research UK and Administrative Data Research UK. We work with key experts in the data research community through various exploratory projects and community-driven efforts, with public involvement at the heart.

The UKRI sector has a critical role to play in supporting the UK government’s national missions through the provision of world-class data research contributing evidence and innovation to tackle the UK’s pressing challenges.

This was reaffirmed in January 2025 in the UK Prime Minister’s response to the AI opportunities plan where the government stated “To make new advances in AI that benefit our society we need to ensure researchers and innovators have access to new data. We will responsibly, securely and ethically unlock the value of public sector data assets to support AI research and innovation through the creation of the National Data Library and the government’s wider data access policy. Both will be underpinned by strong privacy-preserving safeguards.”

Trusted research environments (TREs) are the foremost privacy-preserving safeguard for research with sensitive public data in the UK. This is a shift away from a ‘lending library’ model towards a ‘reference library’ model, where researchers must go to the data to work with them in situ, in a ‘reading room’ as it were, and cannot take the data away. As highlighted in the recent Sudlow Review, the UK must now enable research with data linked from multiple TREs.

To support the government’s ambitions for a National Data Library for research and realise the value of sensitive public data to support the government’s national missions, TREs need to innovate to remain fit for purpose in a rapidly changing global data ecosystem. The DARE UK programme and this funding opportunity will facilitate the necessary innovation that is required of TREs.

Research and innovation impact

Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.

Webinars for potential applicants

We will hold a webinar on 29 September 2025. This will provide more information about the funding opportunity and a chance to ask questions.

Register for the webinar.

Join the TREvolution team on 2 October for an interactive online collaboration cafe designed to help you explore potential partnerships and strengthen your application.

Register for the collaboration cafe.

We will also hold an online drop-in session on 23 October 2025. This will give applicants the chance to ask any final questions before the deadline.

Register for the drop-in session.

Global Talent visa

Early career researchers are eligible for a Global Talent visa under the ‘exceptional promise’ category for future research leaders.

Research disruption due to COVID-19

We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:

• breaks and delays

• disruptive working patterns and conditions

• the loss of ongoing work

• role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic

Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.

Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.

Related content

• UKRI policies and standards

• MRC policies and standards

• Digital Research Infrastructure Programme

• DARE UK

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the Helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding Finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility or content/remit of an opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

Contact details

For help and advice on costings and writing your application please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.

For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact informatics@mrc.ukri.org

For general questions related to MRC funding including our funding opportunities and policy email: rfpd@mrc.ukri.org

Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.orgPhone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

• Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm

• Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

To help us process queries quicker, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.

For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.