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Mid-range equipment for biosciences research

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

Opportunity status:

Open

Funders:

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

Funding type:

Grant

Total fund:

£20,000,000

Award range:

£200,000 - £1,500,000

Publication date:

23 October 2025

Opening date:

24 October 2025 9:00am UK time

Closing date:

20 January 2026 4:00pm UK time

Last updated: 25 November 2025 - see all updates

Apply for funding to purchase mid-range equipment for research across Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)’s scientific areas through ALERT 2025.

You must be a researcher or a research technical professional from an eligible UK research organisation to apply for funding.

You can only apply as project lead on one application.

This is an equipment only grant. The full economic cost (FEC) you request can be between £200,000 and £1.5 million. BBSRC will fund 100% of the FEC.

Awards last for 12 months and must start by 3 August 2026.

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

Biomedical Engineering

Eligibility Requirements

The ALERT 2025 funding opportunity is open to research organisations, researchers, and research technical professionals (RTPs) normally eligible to apply to BBSRC, as described in the BBSRC guidance for applicants.

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

A research organisation may submit more than one application, but we strongly encourage research organisations to discuss and prioritise submissions given the highly competitive nature of this opportunity and scale of funding available. In the case of exceptional demand, we reserve the right to ask research organisations to undertake further internal prioritisation.

As an individual, you can only be the project lead on one submitted application, but you can still be project co-lead on a different application. However, as submissions will be in direct competition, this is not recommended unless the applications are in very different areas

Applications involving two or more collaborating research organisations are welcome but must be submitted as one application on the UKRI Funding Service by the lead research organisation.

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 as either project leads or project co-leads. Further guidance on RTP eligibility criteria is provided within the Funding Service and in the ‘How to Apply’ section of this funding opportunity.

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

UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UK Research and Innovation (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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