Applications are currently being accepted for the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowships: Round 11 2026. Interested applicants are encouraged to click here to learn more about this opportunity and apply for it.
About UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships: round 11
The fellowships provide long-term funding, mentoring, and career development support, enabling fellows to tackle novel challenges and contribute to transformative research and innovation.
Benefits of UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships: round 11
- UKRI funds 80% of the full economic cost (FEC), with no minimum or maximum limit.
- Previous awards have ranged from £300,000 to over £2 million.
- Host organisations must commit to salary support, tapering over the fellowship period.
- Academic hosts must offer an open-ended UK-based position during or upon completion of the fellowship.
- Clinical applicants may spend a limited proportion of time on clinical duties, with specific allowances for patient-oriented research.
UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships: round 11 Requirements
Fellowships must be held at a UK-based organisation that meets the following criteria:
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a UK-based organisation currently registered as eligible to apply for funding from UKRI
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any non-academic organisation eligible to receive subsidies from the UK government that will provide an innovation or research environment of international standing
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academic-hosted applicants (including NHS trusts) should apply via the UKRI Funding Service and non-academic hosted applicants (including charities) via Innovation Funding Service. Catapults should apply through the Funding Service if eligible, if not they can apply via the Innovation Funding Service
Who is eligible to apply
- Researchers and innovators who are either transitioning to or establishing independence or developing their own original and ambitious plans within a commercial setting. There are no eligibility rules based on whether you currently hold a permanent or open-ended position or job role.
- For applicants based in academic organisations, there is a fixed cap on the number of applicants who can apply from each institution. Full details are provided in the ‘Additional information’ section. Please ensure you notify your host organisation of your intention to apply and allow time for internal shortlisting processes.
UKRI cannot confirm eligibility prior to submission.
Who is not eligible to apply
You are not eligible to apply if:
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you have already achieved research or innovation independence, for example, by securing funding aimed at this career stage or by already managing your own significant programme of work within a business
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you are a senior academic or innovator
Application Date and Process
Click on the link to the application website to apply to Start application:
- Confirm you are the fellow.
- Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email [email protected]
Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
- Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
- Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
- Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
- Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Application Deadline
16 June, 2026
Opportunity Application
View details of
UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships: round 11
Apply for UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships: round 11
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