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With this funding, we aim to support collaborations established within the Symposium, bringing together researchers, innovators, and practitioners from different disciplines, sectors, and countries to explore and test promising new ideas for tackling circular economy transition challenges and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The Frontiers programme is funded by the UK Government’s International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF).

Key information

    • Award value: up to £20,000.
    • Deadline: 11 November 2026, 5.00pm (GMT).
    • Projects must start on 18 January 2027 and must be no longer than 12 months.
    • The lead applicant must provide a letter (declaration) from the organisation confirming that the application is acceptable in principle to the lead organisation/research institution/university and that all internal authorisations have been received. Please see the details and mandatory text in the application guidance. 

Eligibility criteria – who can apply for funding?

Team requirements

    • At least two team members (including the lead applicant) must have attended the Frontiers symposium ‘Community-led circular solutions for inclusive climate action’.
    • At least one team member must be based in an International Science Partnership Fund (ISPF) Priority Partner Country eligible for Official Development Assistance (ODA) (see the country list below). Once this requirement is met, the team may include members from any country. The lead applicant can be based in any country. If the lead is based outside of an ISPF priority country, you must make it clear how benefits will primarily accrue in an ISPF priority country, and clearly explain the connection and reasoning behind the decision.
    • The team must be a newly formed partnership. Team members must not have worked together on the proposed project before.
    • The lead applicant must be affiliated with an organisation that can receive and manage the funding on their behalf.

Project requirements

    • The project must address a challenge related to the transition to a circular economy.
    • The project must address challenges in one or more ISPF Priority Partner Countries eligible for ODA.
    • The project must be interdisciplinary, pilot-stage and challenge-based.
    • The project must progress towards one or more of the SDGs.
    • Projects must not harm gender equality, and where possible promote it (even when impacting gender equality is not the primary research or innovation objective). This will be considered in the application review.

ISPF Priority Partner Countries eligible for ODA:

    • Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.
    • Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and Yemen.
    • Caribbean and Latin America: Haiti, Brazil.
    • Middle East: Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan.
    • Pacific: Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

Application Process

  1. Register and create a profile via the grant system.
  2. Read the Applicant Guidance notes available in the grants system.

Register and apply

Contact us

If your question is not covered in the FAQ page please contact the Frontiers team:

[email protected]

 

Project budget

Projects may be awarded up to £20,000 per award. The total project budget may exceed the maximum funding participants can request under this scheme. Participating institutions or other sources must cover additional costs. If this is the case, the contribution of each institution/source should be stated.

Eligible expenses include the following:

    • Staff costs for lead applicants, co-applicants and collaborators.
    • Small stipends, typically not exceeding 5% of the total grant, can cover expenses that enable people to engage in the project. This might include, for example, local community groups, indigenous people, women, young people, or students. It should not usually cover costs for project team members, which should be included as staff costs.
    • Travel and subsistence. Subsistence costs should reflect the normal rates applied at the host institution/s. All other costs should be based on the best value option. Exchanges can include breaks between visits, which should not be considered when calculating the requested funding.
    • Consumables, including project-specific costs of small equipment, computer software licenses or publication costs. No single item may cost more than £10,000.
    • ‘Other costs’, which include conferences and seminar fees.
    • Necessary service provisions related to the project, such as translation or IT services.
    • The host institution(s) can include up to 10% of the grant as a contribution to project management, administrative and other running costs. The award funds can be dispersed to different project partners as appropriate for the project activities.

The following costs are not eligible:

    • Funding activities outside of the project objectives and scope.
    • Funding activities contrary to the values of the Royal Academy of Engineering. 
    • Loans, further grants or revolving funds.
    • Infrastructure, buildings, large physical assets and vehicles over the value of £10,000.
    • Facilities, such as air conditioning units, office buildings, furniture, etc.
    • The funding cannot cover any indirect costs or overheads related to staff costs.

Assessment of applications

A panel of Academy Fellows and experts from relevant disciplines will evaluate applications. Each application will be checked for eligibility before a minimum of two panel members assess it, at least one with technical expertise in the application. A Sift Panel of reviewers and Fellows decides the final outcome.

All applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

The project's quality 

Reviewers will assess the quality of the proposed project, including:

    • how clear and relevant the aims and objectives are, and whether the proposed activities are appropriate to achieve them
    • whether the project is realistic and achievable within the proposed time frame and resources
    • the strength of the approach to monitoring and evaluation 
    • suitability of the budget and value for money
    • the quality and appropriateness of research methods and ethical and inclusive experimental design

Collaboration and learning

Reviewers will consider how effectively the project brings together different disciplines, expertise and perspectives to address the challenge:

    • whether team members have clear and complementary roles
    • whether expertise and perspectives from different disciplines are integrated effectively within the project
    • whether the collaboration is likely to support knowledge sharing and learning between partners
    • whether the project will help build relationships and capacity that could support future collaborative work

The outcome and impact 

Reviewers will assess the extent to which outcomes and impact are clear, realistic and achievable:

    • the contribution the project could make to addressing the identified challenge and any likely benefits for the target communities, organisations, sectors or countries
    • the potential for the project to generate evidence, learning, tools or approaches that could be used beyond the project
    • the potential for the project to lead to future activity, partnerships or funding

Reasonable Adjustments 

We want to ensure all applicants can participate and present their best selves during the application process, and for the duration of the Frontiers Seed funding if you are successful.

If you need any adjustments or changes to support your participation in the process or throughout the programme, please contact Alice Marks by +44 (0)20 7766 0685 or [email protected] to discuss your needs.

All information shared will be treated confidentially in line with GDPR principles. For more details, please see the Academy’s privacy policy.

We encourage you to get in touch at least 10 working days before the submission deadline, so we can respond accordingly and tailor possible adjustments to your circumstances.

Grant agreement

If you are successful, your funding will be awarded under the Research Development and Innovation Terms and Conditions found on the Academy’s website. This agreement has been developed to ensure funding aligns with our Academy values, is used for the purposes for which it was awarded, and is managed in compliance with our own funders’ agreements, UK legislation and funding best practice.