Funding Opportunities to Support Research Impact and Engagement

Lancaster University is pleased to announce the launch of three internal funding streams designed to support researchers at all career stages in delivering impactful, engaged, and inclusive research. These opportunities are part of our broader commitment to enhancing research culture and harmonising application processes across funding calls. Researchers can now apply for:

1. Policy Support Fund

Supports research that engages with policymakers at local, regional, national, and international levels to shape policy through evidence-based insights.

2. Participatory Research Fund

Enables co-produced and inclusive research with communities, stakeholders, and users of research, ensuring that knowledge is created collaboratively and equitably.

3. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)

This fund supports the translation of EPSRC-funded research into real-world applications, helping researchers work with external partners to accelerate the societal, economic, and policy impact of their work. This call focuses on projects aligned with the UK Government’s IS-8 innovation priorities.

Each fund offers streamlined application processes, tailored support, and flexible funding options. All funds must be spent by 30 June 2026.

Application deadline: 28th November

Further details and the application forms are below. Examples of previously funded Quality research (QR) projects are available.

Information session: The team will be running an online and in-person event to outline the aims and expectations around each fund. To register, please sign up for Tuesday 4th 12.00-12.45 (online) and/or Wednesday 5th 13.00-14.00 (in-person)

For questions or tailored advice, contact the individuals below or attend the information session(s). Note that the contacts below can only provide high-level information rather than extensive review of drafts. Panel members are also asked to limit any advice and guidance to potential applicants to a high-level. To find out more we strongly recommend interested applicants to attend one of the information sessions.

Policy Support Fund – Advancing Research Impact in Policymaking

Lancaster University is inviting applications to the Policy Support Fund. This fund is quality-related research (QR) funding from UKRI designed to support researchers in engaging with local, regional, national, and international policymakers; helping to shape policy through evidence-based research.

‘Policy’ can refer to a wide range of principles and procedures in different settings, in this context, a policy is a set of principles, implemented by government, detailing a plan or a course of action which is usually backed by law.

Policy defines how society runs and has a huge direct impact on our everyday life. Influencing policy to be in line with latest research and evidence is one of the best ways you can affect the real world and improve lives.

Call Focus

The panel will be assessing your application for potential policy impact.

Government missions and strategy. All applications to the policy fund should identify a UK or other government priority. For example, for UK Government this will be a link to an Area of Research Interest, part of the Industrial Strategy or other government departmental published challenge eg Plan for Change – Milestones for mission-led government.

Training. Academics applying to the open call should have already taken part in internal or external policy training or commit to do so in the coming academic year. This ensures a full understanding of the aims of the fund and increases chances of policy impact. The next policy training session is on Wednesday, 5 November Introduction to policy engagement in Parliament.

We are keen to encourage applications from all career stages and for new research as well as developed research themes.

Funding Available and How to Apply

Eligibility

  • Open to Lancaster University researchers across all disciplines
  • Activities must be focused on policy engagement or impact
  • External policy partners are encouraged but not required

Support Available

The team will be running an online and in-person event to outline the aims and expectations around each fund. To register, please sign up for Tuesday 4th 12.00-12.45 (online) and/or Wednesday 5th 13.00-14.00 (in-person).

For advice on identifying policy engagement opportunities, please contact: Janine Bickerstaff, Research Policy Impact Manager: j.bickerstaff@lancaster.ac.uk.

Participatory Research Fund: Creating Co-Produced and Inclusive Research with communities

Lancaster University is inviting applications to the Participatory Research Fund, a strategic QR funding stream designed to support co-produced, inclusive, and community-engaged research. This fund is for researchers to collaborate meaningfully with communities and users of research in equitable, participatory ways, to generate shared knowledge throughout any of the stages of the research project; from identifying the problem, to developing the research question, conducting the research, and mobilising research findings.

Call Focus

Participatory or co-produced research strengthens research outcomes by involving the communities and users of research, better recognising their experience, needs and preferences, and giving greater agency to communities to put findings into practice.

The fund will be split into two streams:

1. Pilot Project Awards £20k total (up to £5k per applicant)

  • For early-stage projects and new interventions. 
  • Focus on sharing authority with partners and communities. 
  • Partners should influence project direction and decision-making, with potential to carry the work forward, and this should be evidenced in application. 
  • Sustainability eg about potential for scaling or further work, planning for after the project ends

2. Follow-on Awards £70k total (£15-20k applications)

  • Building directly on pilots and existing projects.
  • Community need must be clearly rooted in earlier work. 
  • Strong emphasis on impact and a clear plan for future. 
  • Whilst achieving impact in a year isn’t possible, applicants must demonstrate potential or a “pipeline” and how that will be evaluated. 

Applications will be scored according to the below criteria:

  1. Need: A demonstration that the issue being addressed has been identified with communities.
  2. Project management: feasibility, scale, realistic scope (especially with international elements). 
  3. Partnerships and participation: Must include a non-academic partner and participatory methodologies. Assessment will consider who you’re working with and how decision-making is shared with communities. 
  4. Sustainability and Impact:  For pilots, potential and planning for scaling; for follow-on, demonstrable impact pathways and evidence of building from previous work. 
  5. Access and Inclusion: Considerations for ethical and inclusive practice and sharing of power.
  6. Value for money: Fair recognition of partner and participant time, appropriate use of funds, avoiding unpaid “in-kind” contributions by community members as much as possible. Equitable approaches as well as demonstrating return on investment in terms of social value.

Funding Available and How to Apply

  • Total fund: £96,000
  • Applications up to £20,000 depending on the stream (see above)
  • Deadline to apply: 28th November
  • Click here to view the application form and to submit your application
  • All funds must be spent by 30 June 2026

Eligibility

  • Open to Lancaster University researchers across all disciplines
  • Projects must demonstrate genuine participatory engagement and the above considerations
  • External partners (e.g. community groups, charities, public sector bodies) should be actively involved in the research process

Support Available

You can view examples of previously funded participatory projects here, including work on reproductive justice, climate resilience, digital fundraising, and inclusive heritage.

Resources 

Edinburgh University defines Participatory Research as “including all practices in which non-professional researchers are actively involved at any stage of the research process”. You can find further information about how they classify participatory research here as well as links to additional resources.  

You can find Lancaster University case studies as well as access resources via the Community Research Digital Toolkit website, currently in BETA version, which has been developed by Lancaster University researchers as part of the Wellcome Trust-funded Reimagining Research Practices project.  

Please refer to the Lancaster University Engagement Portal for an array of guidance and resources relating to engagement good practice.

The team will be running an online and in-person event to outline the aims and expectations around each fund. To register, please sign up for Tuesday 4th 12.00-12.45 (online) and/or Wednesday 5th 13.00-14.00 (in-person). For advice on shaping your proposal or identifying participatory research opportunities, please contact: Jess Shaw, Public Engagement Manager: j.shaw10@lancaster.ac.uk

EPSRC IAA Funding Call – Supporting the UK’s Industrial Strategy-8 (IS-8) Innovation Priorities

Lancaster University is launching a new EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) funding call to support projects that accelerate the impact of engineering and physical sciences research in alignment with the UK Government’s IS-8 priorities.

This call is part of our EPSRC IAA programme (2022–2027), which enables researchers to translate research into real-world impact through flexible, responsive, and creative approaches. It has been made possible by an additional EPSRC IAA allocation.

Call Focus: The IS-8 Priorities

The UK Government’s IS-8 identifies eight high-potential sectors that will drive future growth, resilience, and innovation. This funding call invites proposals that contribute to one or more of the following IS-8 sectors:

  • Advanced Manufacturing
  • Clean Energy Industries
  • Creative Industries
  • Defence
  • Digital and Technologies
  • Financial Services
  • Life Sciences
  • Professional and Business Services

For more information on the IS-8 sectors, visit the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Sector Definitions. Proposals must also align to an EPSRC research area.

Funding Available and How to Apply

  • Total Fund: ~£100,000
  • Up to £25,000 per project
  • Smaller pilot awards (<£5,000) encouraged
  • Larger awards considered with at least 1:1 matched cash contribution from external partners
  • Deadline to apply: 28 November 2025
  • Click here to view the application form and to submit your application

Eligibility

  • Open to Lancaster University researchers working in EPSRC research areas
  • Must involve at least one external (non-HEI) partner
  • Projects should demonstrate clear potential for societal, economic, or policy impact within IS-8 sectors

What We’re Looking For

  • Early-stage knowledge exchange and commercialisation
  • Innovative and imaginative approaches to impact (please state whether contributing to a REF Impact Case Study).
  • Secondments, placements, and people exchange
  • Projects that enable “fast failure” and learning

Support Available

The team will be running an online and in-person event to outline the aims and expectations around each fund. To register, please sign up for Tuesday 4th 12.00-12.45 (online) and/or Wednesday 5th 13.00-14.00 (in-person).

For advice on suitability of IAA, please contact:Jamie Hodge, Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) Partnership Development Manager: j.p.hodge@lancaster.ac.uk