UK Catalysis Hub Flexible Funding Schemes

 

Funding Schemes

The Flexible Fund operates through three distinct schemes:

Scheme 1 – Proof of Concept (PoC)
Scheme 2 – Short-Term Feasibility Studies with Industry
Scheme 3 – National & International Partnerships through Researcher Secondments

Please note the schemes have different eligibility criteria please check you are eligible before applying.

What We Fund

The Flexible Fund supports postdoctoral salary, travel, and consumables only.
Indirect costs are not included, and the award (all schemes) will be funded at 80% fEC.  Applicants must have approval from their research office or equivalent. Please copy the research office on your application.

This must be accepted by the applicants’ institution before applying.

Assessment Criteria (all schemes)

Proposals will be assessed against:

  1. Scientific quality, feasibility and Responsible Research and Innovation
  2. Alignment with Hub III themes
  3. Interaction with the UK Catalysis hub and the catalysis community 
  4. Leverage and partnerships

  5. Outcomes, impact, and follow-on funding

Calls for each scheme will Open in May and closes end of September, with awards made by end of November. This will be an annual call  and will run over 5 years.

All applications must be a maximum of 2 pages (Arial, Helvetica, or Calibri, minimum size 11pt single line spacing minimum. Proposals that are incorrectly formatted may not be accepted.

Applications forms can be found under each scheme on the hub website and must be sent to the Project manager with the Subject: ‘Flexible Fund applications Scheme X’ (where X is scheme 1 2 or 3 as appropriate. Each applicant may only submit a single application across all schemes.

Prioritisation Panel

The prioritisation panel will be chaired by a member of the Hub Management group with at least one other member of the management group. Other members of the Panel will be made up of 1 member of the Industrial Advisory Panel and Members of the Steering Group and UK Catalysis Community to give a broad range of expertise. The panel will pre score the proposals ahead of the panel meeting against the project criteria above.  All proposals that fit the criteria will then be discussed and ranked in the panel meeting. The prioritized list will be used by the Management Group to assign Hub resources.

Conflicts of interest

If any members of the Panel are named on proposals this must be declared to the panel,  PI’s on proposals will not be part of discussion and will leave the panel meeting  for their own proposal, CoI’s and where there is an institutional clash, will declare a conflict of interest and may not comment / contribute to discussion and scoring. 

RRI

Any application should ensure  responsible research and innovation has been considered and the project follows the UKRI guidelines on responsible research and innovation (RRI) and, where relevant, Trusted research considerations.  It is the responsibility of the applicant and their employing institution to ensure consideration and compliance with all UKRI expectations for RRI and trusted research status. Any questions on this should be addressed to EPSRC/ UKRI or to the applicant’s employer.

Read more about our new schemes below.

General flex fund FAQs

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No. The Flexible Fund is designed to support high-risk, high-reward proof-of-concept, feasibility, and partnership-building activities that generate new preliminary data or collaborations. It is not intended to provide top-up funding for existing grants unless the work represents a clearly distinct and novel direction aligned with Hub priorities.

No. The fund does not support PhD student time under any scheme.
Eligible costs include postdoctoral salary (Scheme 1 & 2), travel and consumables only.

No. The secondment scheme follows standard EPSRC eligibility rules to hold grants.

A PDRA cannot apply independently unless they meet EPSRC eligibility criteria to hold a grant. In most cases, the eligible academic employing the PDRA should apply on their behalf.

No. Indirect costs and estates are not included in any scheme. All awards are made at 80% fEC and institutions must agree to support the project without overhead recovery before submission. Please ensure your research office or equivalent has approved your application and budget before applying.  

Yes. All projects must be catalysis projects, but they may cover any aspect of catalysis and must align with at least one Hub III theme (Net Zero, Sustainability, Computational & Digital Catalysis, Advanced Characterisation).

No.

Yes, but:

  • The proposal must be clearly distinct.
  • You must demonstrate added value and new objectives.
  • Strong justification will be required if there is overlap in topic area.

Yes. The 8-year post-PhD window for Scheme 1 allows for career breaks and time away from research.

Yes.

International collaborators are particularly encouraged under Scheme 3 (Secondments).
For Scheme 2, industrial partners may be international if appropriately justified.

No. Visa and relocation costs are not covered under any scheme.

No hiring costs are not covered.

Budget & Financial Questions

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All awards are made at 80% of the full economic cost.
The maximum award amounts are:

  • Scheme 1 (PoC): £26,000 at 80%
  • Scheme 2 (Feasibility): £13,000 at 80%
  • Scheme 3 (Secondment): £5,000 at 80%

Institutions must agree to cover the remaining 20% and waive indirects.

  • Scheme 1: the investigator PDRA salary (1–6 months) may be supported.
  • Scheme 2: Academic salary is not eligible. PDRA, technician, or research assistant time only.
  • Scheme 3: No salary support — travel and subsistence only.

Under Scheme 1, small equipment under £10k may be included if fully justified.

Scheme 2 and 3 are not intended to support equipment purchases.

Yes:

  • Scheme 1: Yes
  • Scheme 2: Yes
  • Scheme 3: No

Scheme

Who Can Apply

Duration

Maximum Award (80%)

What It Covers

Scheme 1 – PoC

PDRAs within 8 years of PhD, transitioning to independence

1–6 months

£26,000

Investigator salary + consumables

Scheme 2 – Feasibility

Any EPSRC-eligible academic

1–3 months

£13,000

PDRA/tech salary + consumables + travel

Scheme 3 – Secondment

Any EPSRC-eligible academic

1 week–3 months

£5,000

Travel & subsistence only
Resource

Please note the budget for projects is set across the Hub by what was granted by EPSRC in the grants and thus is fixed.

For more information contact:

Project Manager
Dr Josie Goodall
josie.goodall@rc-harwell.ac.uk