Project Start-up Grants
| Frequency | once per term |
| Upcoming deadline | 09 October 2025, 12pm |
| Funding Amount | up to £30,000 |
| Funding Duration | up to 12 months |
This funding programme is designed to support the establishment of new, stellar quality, visionary projects. Trustees will be looking for relevant expertise and the attainment of results in the time available.
Projects might include:
- Developing existing work in a new direction
- Establishing a new explorative methodology
- Innovative research and scholarship unlikely to be funded from standard sources. This would include topics falling between the remit of two Research Councils or niche interdisciplinary research
- Seed-corn funding
- Start-up costs
The named applicant should be a PI or independent researcher. Where a researcher seeks a contribution to their own salary, the applicant should be the Head of institution.
Established College Teaching Officers may also apply for research support for a sabbatical term or terms. In the case of a College Teaching Officer applying for research support, the application should be supported by the College Senior Tutor with formal support from the relevant Institution.
Priority will be given to applicants who are Early Career Researchers
Research-active recent retirees may also apply
Please note that the INT does not reconsider unsuccessful applications for the same project unless there has been a substantial material change in circumstances.
The INT strives to be as flexible as possible to ensure the success of your research project. Therefore, if your proposed project costs are not covered by this summary, please ask.
Eligible Costs:
- Postdoctoral Research Associate salary costs up to spine point 044. If project staff members are currently paid at a higher spine point, it is expected that any difference in salary is met using alternative funding. Staff may work on a part-time or full-time basis. If project staff members are working part-time, this cannot be used as justification to pay salary costs higher than spine point 044 or extend the project further than 3 years
- Consumables
- Equipment essential to project success. It is expected that a quote is provided as part of your application. Other sources of funding should be approached and contribute to the overall cost. If this is not possible, full justification must be provided.
- Facility access costs. Usage should be charged at the 'internal' rate wherever possible and the applicant's Head of Department should specify why the usage cannot be paid for by the Department
- National Insurance, Pension, and Inflation (as set at time of application)
- Travel expenses, in line with the University travel expenditure policy
Ineligible Costs:
- Apprenticeship levy
- ‘Buying out’ PI time or contributions to PI salary (unless application is made on behalf of CTO for support to undertake period of research leave)
- Conference Hosting
- Overheads and indirect costs
- Publication and open access costs
- Relocation or Visa costs
- Research Assistant salary costs
- Research that falls under the remit of major funders, such as UKRI
- Studentships
- Visitors
Applications must be completed by established PIs from the University, with the assistance of your departmental Research Grants Administrator. Calculating staff costs in a Worktribe standalone budget is recommended.
Applications should be submitted using our online Project Start-up Grants application form.
You will be asked to upload:
- The project academic case. This should be no longer than 4 sides of A4, including references. All text within your academic case should be no smaller than font size 11, Calibri, Aptos, or Arial. All A4 margins should be set at a minimum of 1 inch
- A completed Financial Summary Table. Please download the Fiancial Summary Table template here
- A copy of a quote for any requested equipment, if applicable to your application
- A completed Head of Institution Support Form. Please download the Head of Institution Support Form template here
- Reference statements from 3 referees. These collected references should be concatendated into a single document. Please see information below regarding referee eligibility
- A copy of the applicant CV and the CV of any staff named in the application. CVs should be no longer than 4 pages
Referee eligibility:
- None of the experts must be from the Institution making the application
- At least 2 of these reviews must be provided by an individual from outside the University of Cambridge
- Reviewers should not be co-authors of papers, co-editors of projects, or co-applicants for grants
- Reviewers should not be former PhD supervisors of any member of the application team during the last five years
- If there is existing independent peer review feedback available for this project, such as from a bid to UKRI, you may use these in the place of up to 2 references
All decisions are made at Trustee meetings, which happen once a term on the dates given below. Please note that the INT will not consider applications made between the advertised funding rounds or by those from outside of the University of Cambridge.
|
|
Michaelmas 2025 |
Lent 2026 |
Easter 2026 |
|
Application Deadline |
09 October 2025, 12pm |
05 February 2026, 12pm |
04 June 2026, 12pm |
|
Trustees' Meeting |
20 November 2025 |
19 March 2026 |
16 July 2026 |
|
Outcome Announced |
27 November 2025 |
26 March 2026 |
23 July 2026 |
