National Nuclear User Facilities access scheme management group (Grant)

Before applying for funding, check if you are eligible for research and innovation funding.

EPSRC standard eligibility rules apply. For full details, visit EPSRC’s eligibility page.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new UKRI Funding Service.

For full details, visit Eligibility as an individual.

Resubmissions

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

Find out more about EPSRC’s resubmissions policy.

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

Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI.

Scope

The National Nuclear User Facility (NNUF) is a distributed centre of excellence in nuclear science and technology dedicated to the provision of national and internationally leading facilities.  It has two core activities, which are:

• the operation of key facilities needed to undertake research and development on the operation and future development of nuclear plant in the UK

• the training of the next generation of nuclear scientists in core skills and the use of modern equipment

The first two rounds of funding provided £100 million of funding to establish 30 facilities housed in 12 universities, the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the National Nuclear Laboratory and Diamond Light Source.

EPSRC is inviting eligible academics to submit proposals to run the management group for the NNUF, whose role will entail running a series of user access calls, and collating data for EPSRC reporting.

Expectations

The management group will be expected to:

• distribute user access funds via a peer review process to eligible UK researchers

• maintain and develop the US irradiated materials exchange scheme

• promote the NNUF as a facility both nationally and internationally

• maintain the coherence of the NNUF community

• maintain the NNUF website

The group will also be expected to provide a consolidated report to EPSRC every six months consisting of:

• access awards funded

• facility user statistics

• impact of the access funds (as in, papers, patents, follow on grants, training statistics)

Duration

The duration of this award is for a maximum of 60 months.

Funding available

The total FEC of your project can be up to £5.94 million. EPSRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

A maximum of £625,000, (80% FEC) is available to directly support the management group. The remaining balance of more than £4.1 million (80% FEC) is available to support the user access calls.

A non-standard profile for expenditure will be agreed between the host institution and EPSRC before the grant is authorised and funding is allocated. You should provide, as part of the case for support, a preferred expenditure profile for the full duration of the grant. EPSRC expects the profile to taper off during the lifetime of the grant as NNUF facilities become more self-sustaining.

EPSRC reserves the right to adjust the profile of the funding allocation prior to award or during the course of the grant following consultation with successful applicants.

Please note that on the National Nuclear User Facilities access scheme management group application travel and subsistence is allowed. However, post-doctoral research assistants, equipment and research consumables are not.

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. Further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support, can be found on UKRI’s website.

Assessment process 

We will assess your application using the following process.

Expert peer review panel

We will invite a panel of experts to review your application independently, against the specified criteria for this funding opportunity.

Each panel member will provide their (reviewer) comments back to the project lead prior to the interview panel.

Interview

An expert interview panel will conduct interviews with applicants after which the panel will make a funding recommendation.

We expect interviews to be held in January 2024.

EPSRC will make the final funding decision. EPSRC reserves the right to modify the assessment process if there are an unexpectedly high number of submissions.

Feedback

We will give feedback to those applications invited to interview with the outcome of your application. No other feedback will be provided.

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.

Assessment areas

The areas we will assess your application against are:

• vision

• approach

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

• resources requested to do the project

• ethical and responsible research and innovation considerations of the project

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

Click here to start application on the UKRI Funding Service: https://funding-service.ukri.org/OPP672/apply/801

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 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. You should:

• use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words

• insert each new image onto a new line

• provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)

• ensure files are smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format

Watch our research office webinars about the new Funding Service.

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

Applications should be self-contained, and hyperlinks should only be used to provide links directly to reference information. To ensure the information’s integrity is maintained, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers should be used. Assessors are not required to access links to carry out assessment or recommend a funding decision. Applicants should use their discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.

References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application and be easily identifiable by the assessors for example (Smith, Research Paper, 2019)

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.

Deadline

EPSRC must receive your application by 4:00pm UK time on 5 November 2024.

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. If an application is withdrawn prior to peer review or office rejected due to substantive errors in the application, it cannot be resubmitted to the opportunity.

Personal data

Processing personal data

EPSRC, 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.

Publication of outcomes

EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at EPSRC Funding Application 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

Core team

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

• project lead (PL)

• project co-lead (UK) (PcL)

• grant manager

• professional enabling staff

Only list one individual as project lead.

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

Vision and Approach

Create a document that includes your responses to all criteria. The document should not be more than six sides of A4, single spaced in paper in 11-point Arial (or equivalent sans serif font) with margins of at least 2cm. You may include images, graphs, tables. References may be included but should not exceed 1 pages of your document. You can have an additional page for a diagrammatic workplan.

For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘Vision and Approach’.

Save this document as a single PDF file, no bigger than 8MB. Unless specifically requested, do not include any sensitive data within the attachment.

If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.

What are you hoping to achieve with and how will you deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

For the Vision, explain how:

• the group will support the UK nuclear community through the user access scheme

• they will promote and support access to NNUF facilities

• long term sustainability of NNUF will be achieved

• they will maintain an awareness of opportunities to collaborate with international facilities and partners

• engage and adapt to the needs of a diverse user community

For the Approach, explain how you have designed your work so that it:

• is effective and appropriate to achieve the objectives

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

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

• research outputs from the scheme will be disseminated

• if applicable, has a clear succession plan for senior staff

• has a clear and robust process for administrating the research resource

Within the Approach section we also expect you to:

• provide a project plan including milestones and timelines in the form of a Gantt chart or similar (additional one-page A4)

References may be included within this section.

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 count 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.

UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new Funding Service. For full details, see Eligibility as an individual.

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 organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities.

Add the following project partner details:

• the organisation name and address (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.

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

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

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box, or if you do not have any project partners enter N/A.  Each letter or email you provide should:

• confirm the partner’s commitment to the project

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

• describe any additional value that they bring to the project

• the page limit is two sides A4 per partner

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

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

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

Do not provide letters of support from host and project co-leads’ research organisations.

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’

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

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

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

Additional sub-questions (to be answered only if appropriate) will be included in the Funding Service. These will ask about numbers, species or strain and justification about:

• genetic and biological risk

• research involving the use of animals

• conducting research with animal overseas

• research involving human participation

• research involving human tissues or biological samples

Your organisation’s support

Word limit: 500

Provide details of support from your research organisation.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Provide a statement of support from your research organisation detailing why the proposed work is needed. This should include details of any matched funding that will be provided to support the activity and any additional support that might add value to the work.

The committee will be looking for a strong statement of commitment from your research organisation.

EPSRC recognises that in some instances, this information may be provided by the Research Office, the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) or equivalent, or a combination of both.

You must also include the following details:

• a significant person’s name and their position, from the TTO or Research Office, or both

• office address or web link

Upload details are provided within the Funding Service on the actual application.

Data management and sharing

Word limit: 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 that clearly details how you will comply with UKRI’s published data sharing policy, which includes detailed guidance notes.

Background

The goal of EPSRC’s Engineering Net Zero strategy is to invest in research and innovation critical to the discovery, development and deployment of technologies and solutions to increase the speed of the deliverability of net zero and to shift us away from environmentally detrimental industries and processes to more sustainable and circular alternatives. This includes pioneering new technologies and the rapid scaling and evolution of current technologies.Previous National Nuclear User Facility (NNUF) funding has delivered against multiple strands of this strategy including ‘tackling the biggest emitters’ by helping to decarbonise power generation; ‘Pioneering environmentally sustainable advanced technologies’ through development of novel materials for new reactors including both fission and fusion; and ‘delivering accessible and affordable net zero solutions’ by providing evidence to support extending the operational life span of existing reactors.The NNUF phase two scheme provided approximately £80 million worth of funding between 2019 and 2024 to build and utilise new nuclear facilities across the UK. £6.5 million of this funding was devoted to a user access scheme overseen by the management grant. This scheme was highly successful funding more than 172 awards during its lifetime.Awards ranged from a minimum  approximately £2,000 as part of the rapid turnaround scheme, to just over £90,000 in the standard calls. The average award over the lifetime of the project was approximately £25,000, although, this increased to £33,000 over the last four calls as more facilities came online.EPSRC expects all existing NNUF facilities to engage fully with the new management group. We expect all NNUF facilities to allow access to researchers outside of their own institution to use the equipment if funded by the user access scheme, and to provide facility usage data to the management group twice a year.

Additional disability and accessibility adjustments

UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process if required.

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

• EPSRC policies and standards

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 proposal 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:

Dr James Tarver James.tarver@epsrc.ukri.org or energyanddecarbonisation@epsrc.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.org

Phone: 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.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, please contact TFSchangeEPSRC@epsrc.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.