UKRI Translation: EPSRC Prosperity Partnerships 2027

UKRI Translation: EPSRC Prosperity Partnerships 2027

This entry is a historical reference for the 2027 round. The official UKRI opportunity page records the round as closed after its deadline of 21 May 2026 at 4:00 PM UK time. It does not announce a replacement round or a new deadline, so this page should not be read as an invitation to submit a late application. The page remains useful for organisations reviewing the scheme, preparing for a future announcement, or documenting the requirements of the closed competition.

At a glance

The date in the front matter is the real closing date for the archived round. The historicalReference flag is intentional: there is no current deadline to publish, and replacing the date with a guessed future cycle would mislead applicants.

What Prosperity Partnerships 2027 was designed to support

EPSRC described this opportunity as support for ambitious collaborative research programmes co-created and co-delivered by business and academic partners. The work had to aim at long-term prosperity for the UK, such as jobs, revenue growth, or responses to wider societal and sustainability issues. A proposal needed more than a general statement that industry might benefit later. It needed a credible partnership in which the business and academic researchers made distinct intellectual contributions and jointly shaped the research programme.

The scientific scope was broad across EPSRC’s remit, but it was not open-ended. Projects had to be fundamental or applied research firmly grounded in engineering and the physical sciences. Cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary projects were welcome. The opportunity also said that assessment would prioritise clear strategic alignment with high-potential areas in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and associated sector plans, while considering other prominent and current national strategies.

This combination matters for interpreting the call. It was neither an academic-only grant nor a straightforward product-development competition. The research had to be ambitious and scientifically strong, while the partnership had to show why the business relationship was necessary to create knowledge, innovation, approaches, or technologies with wider impact.

Funding and match requirements

The total programme funding was £40,000,000. Individual applications could request from £500,000 FEC upward and could run for up to five years. EPSRC would fund 80% of the application’s FEC. The business cash contribution then had to match or exceed the amount requested from EPSRC.

The official example makes the arithmetic clear. For a project with an FEC of £625,000, EPSRC would contribute £500,000. The business partners would need to provide at least £500,000 in eligible cash, making the combined FEC and business cash value at least £1,125,000. Cash could include eligible internal investments and salaries of business employees, subject to the definitive list on the official page.

For a single primary business partner, that partner had to provide the cash match. For a consortium, the combined cash contributions from business partners had to meet the match requirement, and the primary business partner’s contribution had to be the greatest single business contribution. UKRI, public, or government funding could not be used as match. In-kind support such as data, software, management time, or facilities access was welcome and could demonstrate commitment, but it did not count toward the required industry cash match.

Requested EPSRC funds could cover staff costs, impact-related costs, travel and subsistence, skills and talent training, small equipment under £25,000 per item, and equipment between £25,000 and £400,000 per item, where justified. There was no separate application route for smaller projects. Instead, the round used one assessment route for applications from £500,000 upward, with the panel judging whether the requested amount was appropriate to the partnership and proposed work.

Who was eligible

The opportunity was open to organisations with standard EPSRC eligibility. A primary academic partner could be a UK higher education institution, research council institute, UKRI-approved independent research organisation, public sector research establishment, or NHS body with research capacity, provided it was eligible to receive EPSRC funding.

The primary business partner had to have an established relationship with the lead academic partner and meet one of the official business definitions. It could be a UK-based business of any size; a business of any size with a UK presence and significant UK-based research activity; a public sector research establishment whose match contribution did not come from public funds; or the lead of a consortium whose members met those requirements. International partners could participate, but the required match had to come from a qualifying partner or consortium.

The partnership itself had to be established for at least one year before application. UKRI’s definition covered both the relationship between the two people leading the project and the broader relationship between the organisations. Applicants had to show individual relationships at the core, recognition by both organisations, at least one year of significant and regular collaborative research projects developed and progressed together, and a clear trajectory for future collaborative work. A memorandum of understanding or collaboration agreement could form part of the evidence, but paperwork alone was not the whole test.

The primary academic partner was responsible for creating and submitting the application on the UKRI Funding Service. All partners were expected to contribute to developing it before it was entered into the system, and only the lead research organisation could submit. The call did not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects submitted to UKRI or another funder.

How applications were structured

The round used the new UKRI Funding Service rather than Je-S. Applicants had to register their organisation and build the application in that system. The primary academic partner was added as the named project lead, while the primary business partner’s details were provided in the capability and project-partner sections. The two primary partners were treated as joint leads for assessment even though only the academic partner submitted.

The main Vision and Approach response had to be supplied as one PDF of no more than eight sides of A4, single spaced, in 11-point Arial or an equivalent sans serif font, with margins of at least 2cm. A separate additional page could contain a diagrammatic work plan. The file name had to use the Funding Service number followed by “Vision and Approach”.

The application questions covered the proposed vision and approach, fit to the Prosperity Partnerships opportunity, applicant and team capability, costs and resources, partner contributions to costs, ethics and responsible research and innovation, and trusted research and innovation where relevant. The application also needed a project-partner breakdown, contribution information, and support material. The primary academic partner’s research organisation statement had to provide evidence of the established partnership, including its duration, what it had delivered, its longer-term direction, and the cash or other support available. Project-partner letters or emails had to describe the relationship, the partner’s role and benefit, and the full breakdown of any cash contribution.

Assessment and published timeline

This round used a single harmonised assessment process regardless of project size or duration. There was no postal peer-review stage. UKRI first carried out internal office checks, then used two assessment stages.

At stage one, a shortlisting panel with business and academic representation assessed the “Fit to Prosperity Partnerships Opportunity” criterion. UKRI said that all applicants would receive feedback after this stage and that shortlisting outcomes were expected by the end of July 2026. Shortlisted applications proceeded to stage two, an interview panel that considered the remaining criteria. Up to three people could attend, including the primary academic partner, the primary business partner, and one other relevant person. Applications were ranked into bands of similar quality, with portfolio balance also considered in the final funding decision.

The official timeline listed the opening at 9:00 AM on 12 March 2026, a webinar at 10:00 AM on 19 March 2026, and the closing date at 4:00 PM on 21 May 2026. It then listed prioritisation and shortlisting in July 2026, interview invitations in August 2026, and interview panels in October 2026. Funding decisions were expected after the interviews by December 2026, with grants expected to start in the first half of 2027.

What a future applicant could learn from the closed round

An organisation considering a later Prosperity Partnerships announcement should preserve evidence of the relationship well before any deadline. That evidence should show regular collaborative research, contributions from both sides, what the work delivered, and a credible route to future joint activity. The core question is not whether a business can provide a letter at the end; it is whether the partnership has already been working together in a meaningful way.

The budget should also be built backwards from the match rule. Start with the FEC, calculate the 80% EPSRC request, and then identify eligible business cash that equals or exceeds that request. Separate eligible cash from in-kind support. For consortia, check that the primary business partner provides the greatest single contribution and that all cash sources satisfy the restriction on UKRI, public, and government funds. Keep records that can support an audit if requested.

The research case should connect scientific ambition, the industry challenge, and the intended prosperity outcomes. A technically impressive programme can still be a poor fit if the partners’ intellectual roles are unclear or if the business contribution is treated as sponsorship. Likewise, a strong commercial objective is not enough if the proposed research is not firmly grounded in engineering and physical sciences. Milestones, staff time, equipment, facilities, partner input, responsible research, and routes to impact should describe one coherent programme.

Finally, the application process required early coordination. The lead research organisation had to submit through the Funding Service, while partner statements, contribution tables, institutional approvals, and the Vision and Approach PDF all needed to be ready. The closed round’s two-stage process also meant that a team had to explain fit clearly at the first panel and retain enough detail for a later interview. These are planning lessons from the archived competition, not instructions to submit after its deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply to this page now?

No. The 2027 round is closed. The official page gives 21 May 2026 at 4:00 PM UK time as the closing date and does not announce a new round or replacement deadline.

Was there a smaller-project route?

No. The round had a single assessment route, with applications from £500,000 upward. Less-established partnerships were expected to apply for smaller grants within that route, while larger requests needed stronger partnership evidence.

Did the business match have to be cash?

Yes. Business cash had to match or exceed the EPSRC request. In-kind contributions were encouraged but did not satisfy the minimum match requirement.

Could a consortium participate?

Yes. Additional business and academic partners could participate. Business partners could combine their cash contributions, provided the primary business partner made the greatest single contribution and the consortium met the eligibility conditions.

Where is the authoritative record?

Use the official UKRI opportunity page linked below for the archived requirements, assessment details, contact information, and any future update. The opportunity contact listed by EPSRC was prosperitypartnerships@epsrc.ukri.org. The Funding Service helpdesk contact was support@funding-service.ukri.org.

Official source

The authoritative source for this historical entry is the UKRI Translation: EPSRC Prosperity Partnerships 2027 opportunity page. It contains the eligibility rules, funding examples, application questions, partner contribution guidance, assessment process, timeline, updates, and contact details. Check that page for any future Prosperity Partnerships announcement rather than treating this closed-round entry as current funding.