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BBSRC 2025 Transformative Research Technologies (25TRT)

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

Opportunity status:

Open

Funders:

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

Funding type:

Grant

Total fund:

£3,000,000

Maximum award:

£225,000

Publication date:

24 November 2025

Opening date:

26 November 2025 9:00am UK time

Closing date:

11 February 2026 4:00pm UK time

Apply for funding to pursue early-stage development of cutting-edge research technologies with transformative potential in the biosciences. You must be a researcher or research technical professional based at a UK research organisation eligible for Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funding.

You can only apply as project lead (PL) on one submitted application. You can be project co-lead (PcL ) on multiple applications.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £225,000. BBSRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

Applications must be between six and 18-months duration.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Alignment with BBSRC’s Strategic Priorities or Research Themes

BBSRC often defines thematic priorities (e.g. biotechnology, sustainability, agriculture, translational biology, innovation) — proposals aligned to these stand stronger.

Highly relevant biological / biotechnological questions: developmental biology, genomics, agriculture, microbiology, environmental biology, synthetic biology, etc.
Predictor: Good alignment with BBSRC’s missions or priority themes increases funding chances.

2. Strong Scientific Merit & Novelty — Hypothesis-Driven, Mechanistic Insight or Innovation

Projects that offer novel hypotheses, new methodologies, or transformative technologies — rather than incremental “me-too” studies — tend to stand out.

If applying for technology/platform or resource grants: innovative technologies, high-throughput platforms, or cross-disciplinary methods (omics, computational biology, synthetic biology, bioengineering) tend to be more competitive.
Predictor: Novel, high-quality science or innovative methods increase likelihood of support.

3. Rigorous, Well-Designed Experimental Plan & Feasibility

Clear aims and hypotheses, robust methodology, appropriate controls or comparative analysis, and realistic timelines.

For lab-based experiments: reproducibility, statistical planning, feasibility given resources, risk mitigation (e.g. backup plans, alternative approaches).

For collaborative or multi-institutional proposals: clear project management, defined roles, shared resources, and realistic coordination plans.
Predictor: A detailed, realistic, and scientifically rigorous plan reduces risk and improves funder confidence.

4. Track Record & Investigator / Institutional Capacity

For established investigators: a history of publications, prior funding, relevant expertise, and proper infrastructure.

For early-career or new investigators: strong mentoring environment, institutional support (labs/core facilities), realistic scope for early-stage research, and clear potential for growth.
Predictor: Experienced teams with appropriate capacity — or new investigators with strong support — do better.

5. Impact — Scientific, Societal, Economic or Translational

BBSRC values not just pure basic science but also translation, application, societal benefit, e.g., agriculture, health, sustainability, biotechnology, food security, environmental impact, innovation.

Projects that address global challenges (food security, environmental change, pandemics, sustainability, resource use) often carry added value.
Predictor: Clear demonstration of potential impact — beyond academic publication — increases competitiveness.

6. Collaboration — Interdisciplinary, Cross-Institutional, Academia-Industry

Collaborative research — combining different disciplines (biology + computational, engineering, social science), or institutions, or academic–industry partnerships — tends to be valued.

Shared resources, multicentre studies, or cross-country collaborations often get attention for broader impact.
Predictor: Well-structured, multidisciplinary collaboration increases proposal strength.

7. Realistic Budget, Timeline & Resource Use

Budgets must match what’s needed — no over-estimation or unnecessarily inflated resource requests.

Timeline should be reasonable, milestones clearly defined.

Resource requests should reflect efficient use and avoid waste; major equipment or large infrastructure often require separate justifications or different grant types.
Predictor: Well-justified, lean, realistic budgets help pass peer review checks.

8. Ethical Compliance, Data/Model Sharing & Reproducibility

Ethical standards (for animal work, human data), compliance with regulations, and clarity about data management and sharing.

Increasingly in biosciences: emphasis on reproducibility, open data, sharing resources — proposals that build in reproducibility and open access/data sharing practices fare better.
Predictor: Ethical compliance + open science practices increase reviewer trust.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls / What Weak Applications Look Like

Research question not well aligned with BBSRC priorities or too tangential / niche.

Vague or overly ambitious aims with unclear feasibility.

Lack of strong preliminary data or poor justification for riskier projects.

Weak institutional support or inadequate infrastructure.

Poorly justified budgets or unrealistic resource requests.

Insufficient attention to ethical, regulatory, or reproducibility aspects.

Lack of translational or societal impact — purely academic but low real-world relevance.

🎯 What This Means If You Plan to Apply to BBSRC

If you intend to apply, you should:

Ensure your research question lands within BBSRC’s thematic priorities or clearly justifies why it matters.

Build a strong, novel, and hypothesis-driven proposal — avoid incremental or overly safe science if possible.

Design realistic, feasible aims, with clear methodology, timeline, and milestones.

Show that your institution has appropriate capacity and infrastructure; or, if early-career, that you have mentoring and core-facility support.

Emphasize impact — scientific, translational, societal or economic.

If possible, propose collaborative, interdisciplinary, or translational projects.

Prepare a realistic budget and resource plan, and think carefully about resource needs vs deliverables.

Address ethical, reproducibility, and data-sharing considerations upfront.

Specialties

Data Science

Technology Development

Eligibility Requirements

This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible.

The 2025 Transformative Research Technologies funding opportunity is open to researchers and research technical professionals (RTPs) normally eligible for funding from BBSRC. Check if you’re eligible for BBSRC funding.

You can only apply as PL on one submitted application. You can be PcL on multiple applications.

The New Investigator Award, Industrial Partnership Award and LINK schemes that feature in BBSRC’s Responsive Mode opportunities do not apply to this funding opportunity. First time PLs should note that, if successful, being the PL on a grant which includes funding for postdoctoral research assistant (PDRA) staff support costs will subsequently make them ineligible for the BBSRC New Investigator Award.

PhD students or student costs should not be included on applications to 2025 Transformative Research Technologies (25TRT).

Individuals based at an international organisation are not eligible to be a member of the core team as they are not eligible for this opportunity. International collaborators can be added as project partners on an application, please see Roles in funding applications: eligibility, responsibilities and costings guidance for more information.

Research technical professionals (RTPs)

Building on the Technician Commitment UKRI Action Plan and the UKRI people and teams action plan, we particularly encourage applications from RTPs and research software engineers (RSEs) as either PLs or PcL.

A RTP can be listed as a project lead or PcL, provided that their level of responsibilities and duties is appropriate to a person with substantial research experience. If you are unsure if you are eligible, contact technology.development@bbsrc.ukri.org

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

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: Polaris House, North Star Avenue Swindon, SN2 1UH

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