UKRI Future Round 11: Up to £3 Million for Research and Innovation Leaders in the UK

UK Research and Innovation has opened applications for Future Leaders Fellowships Round 11, offering substantial long-term funding to talented researchers and innovators who have the potential to become leaders in their respective fields.

Through this round, UK Research and Innovation, commonly known as UKRI, plans to invest up to £110 million in ambitious research and innovation programmes. A proportion of this funding will support fellows hosted by businesses and other non-academic organisations, with the competition administered by Innovate UK on behalf of UKRI.

Successful applicants may request between £100,000 and £3 million in eligible grant funding to undertake an ambitious four-year programme of research or innovation. Fellowships may also be extended for up to three additional years, subject to the applicable requirements and approval process.

The competition is open to talented researchers and innovators from the United Kingdom and other countries. However, every applicant must secure the support of an eligible UK-based host organisation, and the majority of the funded work, expenditure and exploitation of results must take place in the United Kingdom. Future Leaders Fellowships Round 11 at a Glance

• Programme name: Future Leaders Fellowships: Round 11, Business and Non-Academic
• Funding organisation: UK Research and Innovation
• Competition administrator: Innovate UK
• Total available programme funding: Up to £110 million
• Individual grant request: Between £100,000 and £3 million
• Standard fellowship duration: Four years
• Possible extension: Up to three additional years
• Competition opening date: 22 June 2026
• Application deadline: 4 November 2026 at 11:00 a.m. UK time
• Expected interview period: May 2027
• Expected applicant notification date: 31 July 2027
• Earliest project start date: 1 October 2027
• Eligible research categories: Industrial research and experimental development
• Geographical requirement: An eligible UK-based organisation must host the fellow
• International applicants: Permitted with the support of an eligible UK host organisation
• Academic qualification requirement: A PhD is not mandatory

About the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Programme

The Future Leaders Fellowships programme supports outstanding individuals working across research, innovation, business, public service, creative industries, charities and other knowledge-based environments.

The programme is intended to help promising researchers and innovators establish independent careers, develop leadership capabilities and deliver ambitious programmes with significant benefits for the United Kingdom.

Rather than funding only a narrowly defined research project, the fellowship is structured to support the individual’s long-term professional and leadership development. Successful fellows receive sustained resources to pursue an ambitious programme while accessing tailored training, mentoring, career development and leadership opportunities.

The programme also helps UK organisations retain their most promising researchers and innovators or attract outstanding talent from other countries.

UKRI states that applicants should clearly explain how the fellowship will accelerate their development as independent research or innovation leaders. Their proposed programme must also demonstrate meaningful benefits for the UK economy, society, knowledge base, public services or wider research and innovation ecosystem. Objectives of Future Leaders Fellowships Round 11

The principal objectives of the competition are to:

1. Provide sustained funding and resources to talented individuals with the potential to become future leaders in research and innovation.
2. Enable promising individuals to establish independent research or innovation careers.
3. Strengthen the leadership capabilities of fellows.
4. Support high-quality, impactful and ambitious programmes aligned with UK strategic priorities.
5. Help organisations develop, attract and retain talented researchers and innovators.
6. Enable fellows to deliver innovative work that goes beyond normal organisational activities.
7. Generate benefits for the UK economy, public services, society and wider research and innovation environment.

The fellowship should not merely finance routine organisational work. Applicants must propose a distinctive and ambitious programme that demonstrates genuine novelty, a strong strategic rationale and a clear pathway towards leadership development.

Total Funding Available

UKRI has allocated up to £110 million for projects supported under this round. The final amount awarded will depend on the number and quality of applications received.

Each fellowship application must normally request eligible grant funding of between:

• Minimum grant request: £100,000
• Maximum grant request: £3 million

The competition operates within a fixed funding limit. As a result, an application may receive strong assessment scores but still remain unfunded because of budget constraints, portfolio considerations or the availability of funds.

The competition page indicates that experience from similar competitions suggests applicants may have approximately a 13% chance of success. This figure is an estimate rather than a guaranteed success rate and highlights the highly competitive nature of the programme. Important £1.4 Million Soft Cap

Although applicants may request up to £3 million, UKRI has introduced a soft monitoring cap of £1.4 million.

Applicants whose total application costs are expected to exceed £1.4 million must inform the Future Leaders Fellowships team by email. The message should be sent to fellows@ukri.org using the subject line:

Application over £1.4 million

Exceeding the £1.4 million soft cap does not automatically make an application ineligible. However, all costs above this level must be fully justified and must represent good value for money.

Applicants should therefore provide a detailed explanation of why the proposed scale of expenditure is necessary to deliver the fellowship’s objectives.

Fellowship Duration and Project Start Date

Each project must normally:

• Last for four years.
• Have the option to extend for up to three further years.
• Start no earlier than October 2027.
• Begin on the first day of a month.
• Not begin until the Innovate UK Grant Offer Letter has been formally approved.

The standard four-year funding period provides fellows with sufficient time to establish an independent programme, recruit and develop a team, conduct research or innovation activities, produce outputs and build leadership capacity.

Where a fellow works fewer than full-time hours on the fellowship, the award duration may potentially be extended on a proportionate basis, subject to approval and the maximum permitted duration.

Scope of the Fellowship

Applicants may submit proposals from all areas of research and innovation.

Eligible areas include, but are not limited to:

• Arts
• Humanities
• Social sciences
• Engineering
• Health and life sciences
• Environmental research
• Business innovation
• Creative and cultural sectors
• Public-sector innovation
• Service innovation
• Knowledge-based industries
• Digital technologies
• Artificial intelligence
• Cybersecurity
• Quantum technologies
• Supercomputing
• Blockchain technologies
• Big data
• Cloud and edge technologies
• Multidisciplinary research
• Interdisciplinary research

UKRI interprets research and innovation broadly. The programme is therefore not restricted to traditional laboratory science or university-based research.

Projects may originate in commercial businesses, public-sector organisations, charities, not-for-profit organisations, research and technology organisations, creative industries and other non-academic settings.

Proposals must demonstrate that the intended work is ambitious, high-quality, timely and capable of producing meaningful benefits for the United Kingdom. Five Critical Technologies and UK Strategic Priorities

Applications may address the five critical technologies identified in the UK Science and Technology Framework, although proposals are not restricted exclusively to these areas.

The programme also welcomes multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary projects that combine expertise from different sectors, technologies or research disciplines.

Applicants should clearly explain how their work contributes to relevant UK strategic priorities, economic opportunities, public needs, technological challenges or societal outcomes.

Eligible Research Categories

The competition will fund projects classified as:

1. Industrial Research

Industrial research involves planned investigation or critical research intended to generate new knowledge and skills.

This may include work aimed at:

• Developing new products, processes or services.
• Significantly improving existing products, processes or services.
• Creating components of complex systems.
• Developing laboratory prototypes.
• Testing systems through simulated interfaces.
• Establishing pilot lines.
• Validating generic technologies.

Industrial research may be undertaken in any sector and can include digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, cybersecurity, blockchain, big data, cloud technology and supercomputing.

2. Experimental Development

Experimental development involves acquiring, combining, shaping and applying existing scientific, technological, commercial or other relevant knowledge to develop new or improved products, processes or services.

Eligible activities may include:

• Concept development.
• Technical planning.
• Product or service design.
• Documentation of new solutions.
• Prototyping.
• Demonstration.
• Piloting.
• Testing.
• Validation in real-life or representative environments.
• Development of commercially usable prototypes where necessary.

Routine or periodic improvements to existing products, production lines, services or operational processes are not considered experimental development, even where those changes result in incremental improvements. Requirements for the Proposed Programme

A competitive proposal must:

• Present an ambitious programme with meaningful benefits for the United Kingdom.
• Go beyond business-as-usual activities.
• Demonstrate clear novelty and innovation.
• Explain how the fellowship will accelerate the applicant’s development as an independent leader.
• Include a well-defined leadership development plan.
• Provide explicit commitments from the host organisation.
• Explain the programme’s technical, commercial, organisational or societal importance.
• Present credible routes for exploiting and applying the results.
• Demonstrate value for money.
• Address project management, risk, ethics and data management requirements.

Host commitments may include:

• Protected working time for the fellow.
• Access to specialist facilities.
• Access to equipment and infrastructure.
• Senior mentoring.
• Career development support.
• Training opportunities.
• Administrative or technical assistance.
• Support for team recruitment and development.

Single-Programme and Portfolio Fellowships

An applicant may propose:

• One integrated programme of work; or
• Several connected projects led by the fellow under a Portfolio Fellowship structure.

The portfolio approach can provide flexibility where the applicant’s leadership vision involves several related research or innovation projects.

Fellowship programmes may also be adjusted after they begin to respond to:

• Changes in the research or innovation landscape.
• New scientific or technological developments.
• Changes in market conditions.
• Emerging business needs.
• New findings generated during the programme.

Any material changes would remain subject to the applicable grant management and approval requirements.

Intellectual Property and Exploitation

Applicants and host organisations must give appropriate consideration to the protection of intellectual property generated through the project.

Applications should explain:

• What intellectual property may be created.
• Who is expected to own or manage that intellectual property.
• How the intellectual property will be protected.
• How project outputs will be commercialised, adopted, disseminated or otherwise exploited.
• How the proposed exploitation route will benefit the UK economy and wider society.

The programme requires meaningful UK benefit. Therefore, applicants must demonstrate that project outcomes will be used, commercialised, implemented or otherwise exploited primarily for the benefit of the United Kingdom.

Eligible Host Organisations

To host a Future Leaders Fellowship through the business and non-academic competition route, the lead organisation must be an eligible UK organisation.

Eligible host organisations may include:

• A UK-registered business of any size.
• A charity.
• A not-for-profit organisation.
• A public-sector organisation.
• An agri-tech centre.
• An eligible research organisation.
• A Catapult centre.

Research organisations that are eligible to receive UKRI funding generally cannot submit through this particular Innovation Funding Service competition form. Applications hosted by those research organisations must normally be made through the separate UKRI Funding Service.

However, Catapult centres must use the Innovate UK competition application route.

The host organisation must provide a suitable environment for the fellow, support the applicant’s career development and demonstrate a clear strategic commitment to the programme.

Requirements for the Fellow

The proposed fellow must demonstrate the skills, experience and knowledge required to lead and deliver the programme.

The fellow must provide evidence of:

• Readiness to lead an ambitious programme of research or innovation.
• The ability to establish an independent professional direction.
• Relevant technical, research, commercial or innovation expertise.
• Leadership potential.
• Teamwork and people-development capabilities.
• Contributions to the wider research and innovation community.
• A credible plan for future leadership development.

Applicants are not required to hold a PhD.

Individuals without a PhD must demonstrate equivalent research or innovation experience, professional training, technical expertise or practical achievement.

There is also no fixed eligibility rule based on the number of years that have passed since an applicant completed a PhD.

Early-Career and Leadership Positioning

The programme is designed for individuals who can become independent future leaders rather than people who are already operating as fully established senior leaders.

Projects submitted by senior innovators may be considered outside the programme’s scope where the individual is already:

• Running major research or innovation programmes.
• Managing substantial teams.
• Holding an established senior leadership position.
• Operating at a level where the fellowship would not materially accelerate leadership development.

Applicants must therefore demonstrate both strong existing potential and a genuine need for the fellowship to reach the next stage of their leadership journey.

Applications from Outside the United Kingdom

Researchers and innovators from outside the UK may apply, provided they have the support of an eligible UK-based host organisation.

International applicants are not restricted to a specific country, region, nationality or continent.

However:

• The host organisation must be based and registered in the UK.
• The majority of project activity must take place in the UK.
• Most of the funding must be spent in the UK.
• The applicant and host must intend to exploit the results primarily in the UK.
• Any overseas activity must be fully justified.

International fellows may potentially qualify for the UK Global Talent visa under the “exceptional promise” category for future leaders in research and innovation. Visa eligibility remains subject to the relevant immigration requirements and is separate from the fellowship selection process. Career Breaks, Part-Time Work and Job Sharing

The Future Leaders Fellowships programme is designed to support individuals from different career pathways and personal circumstances.

Applications are welcomed from individuals who are:

• Returning after a career break.
• Returning to research or innovation after working in another sector.
• Moving between academic and non-academic careers.
• Seeking to work part-time.
• Seeking to undertake the fellowship through a job-share arrangement.
• Balancing professional work with personal or caring responsibilities.

Fellows may spend up to 50% of their working time on activities that are not funded by the fellowship where those activities are necessary or beneficial to career development.

Such activities may include:

• Existing organisational responsibilities.
• Other research or innovation grants.
• Ongoing professional contracts.
• Business-as-usual responsibilities.

Applicants cannot claim an additional salary from the fellowship for time spent on non-fellowship activities.

Applicants interested in job-sharing arrangements should contact the Future Leaders Fellowships team before submitting an application.

Project Partners

Project partners may be included where they bring complementary skills that are materially different from those of the fellow and host organisation.

The involvement of partners should normally be limited to a maximum of six months over the lifetime of the fellowship.

Partner organisations may include UK-registered:

• Businesses.
• Academic institutions.
• Charities.
• Not-for-profit organisations.
• Public-sector organisations.
• Research and technology organisations.

Partners must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the lead organisation. Each partner is responsible for entering its own costs and organisational information into the application.

International partners may also be included for a limited period where their involvement is fully justified.

The applicant must explain:

• Why the partner is essential.
• What specialist expertise the partner will provide.
• Why the required expertise cannot be obtained through normal mentoring or advisory support.
• How the fellow will retain leadership and ownership of the programme.

Non-Funded Partners

A project may include organisations that do not claim funding from the fellowship.

These organisations may contribute:

• Cash.
• Staff time.
• Specialist knowledge.
• Equipment.
• Facilities.
• Data.
• Access to users, communities or markets.
• Other direct or indirect resources.

Non-funded partners can be based in the UK, European Union or other countries.

Where non-funded partners are included, the applicant must provide details of their contributions and letters or emails of support. Supporting documents must generally:

• Identify the partner’s name and address.
• Explain the type and value of the contribution.
• Be provided on headed paper.
• Be signed by the participating partner.
• Be written in English or Welsh.
• Be combined into a PDF of no more than 10MB.

Formal collaboration agreements will be required for audit purposes where an award is made.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are permitted.

UK subcontractors must be selected through the applicant organisation’s usual procurement procedures.

Overseas subcontractors may be used only where the applicant provides a detailed justification explaining why a suitable UK subcontractor could not be used.

A lower price alone will not be accepted as sufficient justification for selecting an overseas subcontractor.

Applicants using overseas subcontractors must provide:

• Evidence of UK contractors approached.
• Reasons those contractors could not undertake the work.
• A clear explanation of the overseas subcontractor’s necessity.
• Full justification of all subcontracting costs.

International Collaboration

International collaboration is permitted where it strengthens the programme and is properly justified.

Applicants must identify:

• The names of international collaborators.
• The countries in which they are based.
• International partners.
• Visiting researchers.
• Overseas subcontractors.
• International service providers.
• The specific contribution of each international participant.

Despite international involvement, the majority of the project work and exploitation must remain in the United Kingdom.

Number of Applications

An individual fellow may lead only one application under this competition.

Applicants should therefore ensure that their selected proposal represents their strongest and most strategically important fellowship programme.

Funding Rates for Commercial or Economic Activities

Where an organisation is undertaking commercial or economic activity, the percentage of eligible costs that may be funded depends on the organisation’s size and the research category.

Industrial Research

Eligible funding may cover:

• Up to 70% of eligible costs for a micro or small organisation.
• Up to 60% for a medium-sized organisation.
• Up to 50% for a large organisation.

Experimental Development

Eligible funding may cover:

• Up to 45% of eligible costs for a micro or small organisation.
• Up to 35% for a medium-sized organisation.
• Up to 25% for a large organisation.

These limits apply even where an organisation normally performs non-economic activities but will undertake commercial or economic activity through the proposed project. Funding for Non-Economic Research Activity

Eligible organisations conducting non-economic research activity may receive higher funding percentages.

Depending on the organisation and nature of the activity:

• Research and technology organisations, charities, not-for-profit organisations, public-sector organisations and research organisations may receive up to 100% of eligible project costs.
• Academic institutions may receive funding equivalent to 80% of full economic costs.

Academic institutions must use the Transparent Approach to Costing method when calculating and submitting their costs.

Overhead Costs

The fellowship will fund overhead costs at a rate of 20% of labour costs.

Applicants should calculate overheads carefully and ensure that they comply with the competition-specific cost requirements rather than relying only on general Innovate UK cost guidance.

Projects That Will Not Be Funded

The competition will not fund projects that:

• Are led by established senior innovators for whom the fellowship would not accelerate leadership development.
• Primarily support routine business activities.
• Represent business-as-usual work.
• Lack clear novelty or ambition.
• Are conditional on export performance.
• Require the recipient to export a specified volume of products.
• Are conditional on using a fixed percentage of domestic inputs.
• Do not comply with relevant subsidy control requirements.
• Do not have the required permits or licences by the project start date.
• Fall outside the eligible research categories.
• Fail to demonstrate meaningful benefits for the United Kingdom.

Routine or periodic modifications to existing products, services, production processes or operating systems will not qualify as experimental development merely because they offer some improvement.

Sanctions and Financial Compliance

Funding cannot be provided where doing so would expose Innovate UK, UKRI or any beneficiary to a breach of UK sanctions.

Applicants, partners, subcontractors, suppliers and other entities involved in the project must comply with applicable sanctions restrictions.

Funding may also be refused, delayed or subjected to additional scrutiny where an applicant has:

• Outstanding payments owed to Innovate UK or UKRI.
• Failed to exploit the outcomes of a previously funded project.
• An overdue independent accountant’s report.
• Failed to comply with previous grant terms and conditions.
• Failed financial viability or eligibility checks.
• Been assessed as an organisation in financial difficulty.

Innovate UK may withhold payments where outstanding sums remain due in relation to other funded projects.

Subsidy Control

Funding for commercial or economic activities will be provided through the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme.

The scheme operates in accordance with the UK Subsidy Control Act 2022.

The award is classified as a subsidy and does not form part of an applicant’s Minimal Financial Assistance or de minimis allowance.

Applicants are responsible for understanding and complying with relevant subsidy-control and State-aid obligations. Organisations requiring advice on their particular legal position should obtain independent legal guidance.

Animal Research Requirements

Projects involving animals must comply with UKRI guidance and recognised standards for animal welfare.

Applicants must ensure that all animal-related activities conducted in the UK or internationally meet applicable ethical, welfare and legislative requirements.

Projects involving animals may be required to provide additional information during project setup, including details relating to:

• Animal welfare.
• Ethical approval.
• Experimental procedures.
• Applicable licences.
• Relevant legal compliance.
• Safeguarding arrangements.

This information will be reviewed before a final award is made.

Research Involving Human Participants

Applicants proposing research involving human participants may need to complete a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Template.

Relevant ethics approvals, cost attribution requirements, participant safeguards and research governance arrangements should be addressed in the application.

Projects involving human or animal participation must complete the required ethics and responsible research and innovation templates.

Where the templates do not apply, applicants must still upload the required document and state that the template is not applicable.

Resubmission of Previous Applications

Applicants may resubmit a proposal previously submitted to the Future Leaders Fellowships programme.

A resubmitted application must:

• Be identified as a resubmission.
• Include the previous grant reference.
• Explain the changes made since the earlier submission.
• Show how previous assessor or interview-panel feedback has been addressed.

Simply resubmitting the same material without responding to earlier feedback is unlikely to produce a competitive application.

Important Competition Dates

The official schedule is as follows:

• Competition opens: 22 June 2026
• Online briefing event: 26 June 2026
• Application deadline: 4 November 2026 at 11:00 a.m. UK time
• Expected invitation to interview: By 30 April 2027
• Interview panel period begins: 1 May 2027
• Interview panel period ends: 31 May 2027
• Expected applicant notification: 31 July 2027
• Projects may begin from: 1 October 2027

Applicants should not wait until the closing date to complete the submission. The application must be fully submitted before 11:00 a.m. UK time on 4 November 2026. Application Structure

The application is divided into three main sections:

1. Project details.
2. Application questions.
3. Finances.

Applicants must complete all required questions. Scored application answers should not contain website addresses or external links because assessors will not open them.

Project Details

The project-details section requires applicants to provide:

• The application team.
• Project title.
• Proposed start date.
• Project duration.
• Research category.
• Project summary.
• Public description.
• Explanation of how the project meets the competition scope.

The project summary may contain up to 400 words and should clearly explain what makes the project innovative.

The public description may also contain up to 400 words. It should be written for publication and must not contain commercially sensitive information.

The scope response may contain up to 400 words and must demonstrate that the proposal fits the competition. Applications considered outside the scope will not proceed to assessment.

Application Questions

The application includes 22 questions. Questions 1 to 11 are not scored, while questions 12 to 22 form the principal scored assessment.

Non-Scored Questions

The non-scored section covers:

1. Applicant and organisation location.
2. Host organisation contact.
3. Core team members.
4. Non-funded project partners.
5. Animal testing.
6. Permits and licences.
7. International collaboration.
8. Export licences.
9. Trusted Research and Innovation requirements.
10. Resubmission status.
11. Reduced-hours arrangements.

Although these questions are not scored, incomplete or inaccurate responses may affect eligibility and compliance.

Scored Questions

The scored questions assess:

12. The vision for the fellowship.
13. The proposed approach and innovation.
14. The applicant’s capability to deliver.
15. Career development.
16. Host organisation support.
17. Ethics and responsible research and innovation.
18. Project management.
19. Project risks.
20. Added value of public funding.
21. Costs and value for money.
22. Data management and sharing.

Key Word Limits

Applicants should carefully observe the official word limits:

• Vision: Up to 1,500 words.
• Approach and innovation: Up to 1,500 words.
• Capability to deliver: Up to 1,650 words.
• Career development: Up to 1,000 words.
• Host organisation support: Up to 1,000 words.
• Ethics and responsible research and innovation: Up to 500 words.
• Project management: Up to 500 words.
• Risks: Up to 400 words.
• Added value: Up to 500 words.
• Costs and value for money: Up to 1,000 words.
• Data management and sharing: Up to 100 words.

Required Appendices

Depending on the proposal, applicants may need to upload:

• Letters of support from non-funded partners.
• Diagrams or charts supporting the innovation approach.
• Ethics and responsible research templates.
• Animal research templates.
• A project plan or Gantt chart.
• A risk register.
• Academic cost calculations.
• Other specifically requested supporting documentation.

Most appendices must be submitted as PDFs no larger than 10MB and must be legible when viewed at 100% zoom.

The project plan and risk register may each be up to two A4 pages.

Assessment Process

Each application will normally be reviewed by three independent assessors with expertise relevant to the proposed project.

The assessors will evaluate the written application and award scores against the published criteria.

All assessor scores will normally contribute to the total score used in funding decisions.

UKRI and Innovate UK may also apply a portfolio approach when selecting projects. This means that final decisions may take account of the desired balance across:

• Technologies.
• Markets.
• Research categories.
• Technology readiness levels.
• Sectors.
• Types of innovation.
• Equality, diversity and inclusion considerations where permitted.
• Broader strategic priorities.

Consequently, a high-scoring proposal is not automatically guaranteed funding. Shortlisting and Interviews

Applicants whose proposals reach the shortlisting stage will have an opportunity to respond to assessor feedback.

The response must be submitted as a single PDF or Word document of no more than three A4 pages. It may include diagrams and charts.

The shortlisting panel will consider:

• The original application.
• Independent assessor comments.
• Applicant responses to assessor feedback.
• Relevant portfolio considerations.

Applicants selected for interview will be assessed by an expert panel.

Interviews are expected to take place during May 2027. Each interview may last up to one hour and will include a short presentation by the applicant.

Following the interviews, the panel will make funding recommendations.

Accessibility and Inclusion

Innovate UK and UKRI welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.

Reasonable adjustments are available for applicants with disabilities, long-term health conditions or other accessibility barriers.

Applicants seeking adjustments should contact Innovate UK as early as possible and preferably at least 15 working days before the competition closes. Support options may be limited where requests are submitted very close to the deadline.

What Happens After a Grant Offer

Applicants receiving a grant offer must complete the project setup process through the Innovation Funding Service.

During project setup, Innovate UK and UKRI may conduct:

• Organisational eligibility checks.
• Financial viability assessments.
• Verification of eligible project costs.
• Review of project documentation.
• Bank-account verification.
• Subsidy-control checks.
• Ethics and animal-welfare checks.
• Review of collaboration arrangements.
• Other mandatory due-diligence procedures.

Applicants must use the unique project setup link included in their grant-offer notification.

A project must not begin until the Grant Offer Letter has been formally approved.

Feedback for Unsuccessful Applicants

Unsuccessful applicants will be able to access assessor feedback through their Innovation Funding Service account after the final decision.

A proposal may be unsuccessful because:

• Its average score was below the funding threshold.
• The competition budget was insufficient.
• It was not selected under the portfolio approach.
• It failed an eligibility or financial viability check.
• It did not sufficiently demonstrate leadership development, novelty, impact or value for money.

Applicants should use the feedback to strengthen any future submission.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted through the official Innovate UK Innovation Funding Service.

Before beginning the application, the proposed fellow and host organisation should:

1. Confirm that the host is eligible.
2. Confirm that the applicant is at an appropriate career stage.
3. Agree on the fellow’s protected time and employment arrangements.
4. Develop a clear independent research or innovation vision.
5. Prepare a leadership and career-development plan.
6. Determine whether partners, international collaborators or subcontractors are required.
7. Establish a realistic four-year project plan.
8. Calculate eligible costs and the required funding percentage.
9. Obtain necessary internal organisational approvals.
10. Prepare all mandatory appendices.
11. Review ethics, regulatory, data-sharing and intellectual-property requirements.
12. Complete every application section.
13. Ensure all partners accept the terms and complete their assigned information.
14. Submit the application before the deadline.

An application may be reopened after initial submission, provided this happens before the competition closes. However, the applicant must resubmit the revised application before the deadline. Click HERE to apply.

Application Deadline

The deadline for Future Leaders Fellowships Round 11 is:

4 November 2026 at 11:00 a.m. UK time

Applications submitted after the stated deadline will not be accepted.

Applicants based outside the United Kingdom should carefully convert the deadline into their local time zone and aim to submit well in advance.

Applicant Preparation Checklist

Before submitting, applicants should confirm that:

• The host organisation is eligible.
• The fellow is leading only one application.
• The project requests between £100,000 and £3 million.
• Any request above £1.4 million has been reported to the fellowship team.
• The programme lasts four years unless an exception has been approved.
• The project will not start before October 2027.
• Most project activity and spending will take place in the UK.
• The proposal goes beyond business-as-usual activity.
• A strong leadership-development plan is included.
• Host commitments are explicit and credible.
• International involvement is fully justified.
• All partner and subcontractor costs are appropriate.
• Required ethics and regulatory approvals are identified.
• The project plan and risk register are complete.
• All costs are eligible and represent value for money.
• No website links are included in assessed answers.
• All application sections are marked complete.
• Collaborative partners have accepted the relevant terms and conditions.
• The final application is submitted before the deadline.

Click HERE to learn more about the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Round 11.

Conclusion

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Round 11 represents a major opportunity for talented researchers and innovators seeking long-term support to establish themselves as independent leaders.

With up to £110 million available across the competition and individual funding requests ranging from £100,000 to £3 million, the programme can support ambitious research and innovation across almost every discipline, technology and sector.

The fellowship is particularly valuable because it combines substantial project funding with structured career development, mentoring, leadership support and access to organisational resources. It is not simply a research grant; it is a long-term investment in an individual’s potential to lead transformative research or innovation.

However, the programme is highly competitive. Successful applications will need to demonstrate genuine novelty, a compelling UK benefit, strong host support, credible project management, appropriate costs and a clear explanation of how the fellowship will transform the applicant into an independent future leader.

Prospective applicants should begin discussions with an eligible UK host organisation as early as possible and allow sufficient time to develop the proposal, secure internal approvals, prepare supporting documents and complete the financial information before the 4 November 2026 deadline.

For more global opportunities, click HERE.