How to Find Research and Innovation Funding Opportunities on UKRI's Website

UKRI's website is the starting point for finding current and future funding opportunities across its seven research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. The site features a dedicated "Future research and innovation funding opportunities" section, and you can also track openings through the news feed and the email subscription service. Because eligibility rules and application conditions sit with each individual opportunity, treat the website as a discovery tool and always check the specific call page before planning a bid.

Where funding opportunities appear on ukri.org

The homepage surfaces funding in three main places:

• Featured – highlights selected opportunities and programmes, such as the "Future research and innovation funding opportunities" item shown on the homepage.
• News – announcements of new calls and funding challenges. For example, a pinned article dated 2 October 2026 covers an £80m challenge for faster, better dementia diagnosis.
• Subscribe to UKRI emails – a sign-up for updates on funding, news and events, plus a weekly newsletter.

These are entry points, not a complete list. The homepage is a snapshot; the full set of opportunities is distributed across UKRI's councils and partner organisations.

Who the funding comes from

UKRI is not a single funder. As stated on the site, it is "the website for UKRI: our seven research councils, Research England and Innovate UK." Each body runs its own portfolio, so the right route depends on your discipline or sector:

If you already know which council fits your work, go to that council's section rather than browsing the homepage. If you are unsure, use the subject coverage described under "Who we are" to narrow it down.

A practical search sequence

1. Start with the funding opportunities section. Look for the "Future research and innovation funding opportunities" feature, which points to upcoming calls.
2. Check the news feed. New calls are announced as news items, often tagged with the responsible council (for example, MRC, STFC). This is useful for spotting opportunities that have just opened.
3. Identify the relevant council or organisation. Match your topic to one of the seven councils, Research England or Innovate UK.
4. Read the specific call page. Confirm eligibility, deadlines, funding scope and application requirements there — not from the homepage summary.
5. Subscribe for ongoing alerts. The email subscription covers funding, news and events, and includes a weekly newsletter, so you don't have to re-check the site manually.

What the site does and does not tell you

The homepage gives you scale and direction: UKRI invests more than £9 billion of public money each year into research and innovation, supporting fields from the arts and humanities through to biology, environmental sciences, physics and engineering. It also links to UKRI's five-year strategy, which is useful context for whether your area aligns with current priorities.

What it does not do is confirm your eligibility. The homepage excerpt does not list individual eligibility criteria, deadlines or application forms. Those details live on the individual opportunity pages, and you should verify them directly before committing time to a proposal.

Common sticking points

• Assuming the homepage list is complete. It is a curated selection. Browse by council or use the news feed to catch calls that don't appear in Featured.
• Missing council-specific calls. A funding opportunity may be announced under one council's news tag and never appear prominently on the main page.
• Relying on secondhand summaries. Eligibility and scope change between calls; always read the primary call documentation.
• Not subscribing. The email service is the lowest-effort way to keep up with funding, news and events, including the weekly newsletter.

If you want feedback on UKRI's online products and services, the site also invites you to get in touch — but for funding decisions, the individual call page remains the authoritative source.