EPSRC-Defra Reimagining Circularity Full-Stage Grant 2026–2027: Up to £4.328 Million for UK Circular-Economy NetworkPlus Projects

EPSRC-Defra Reimagining Circularity Full-Stage Grant 2026–2027: Up to £4.328 Million for UK Circular-Economy NetworkPlus Projects

The EPSRC-Defra Reimagining Circularity: full stage opportunity is an open UKRI grant call for invited teams that can build a national research and innovation network around one of two circular-economy challenges: textiles, or data and metrics. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is delivering the programme for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The call opened on 7 September 2026 and closes at 4:00pm UK time on 3 November 2026.

This is not a general-purpose grant for a single recycling experiment, business, or academic project. It is the second stage of a two-stage competition. The outline stage is complete, and only applicants invited to full stage can submit. A successful team will run a NetworkPlus for up to 36 months, beginning on the fixed start date of 1 October 2027. The network is expected to connect academic researchers with industry, government, policy, third-sector and community partners, then use a substantial flexible fund to seed further work, demonstrators and translation.

Key details at a glance

The funding figure needs careful reading. The headline maximum of £5.41 million is the project’s full economic cost, not the amount EPSRC will pay. UKRI will fund 80% of that cost, which is up to £4.328 million. The call also lists a total competition fund of £8.656 million and says it intends to support two investments. Your own application must therefore show a credible costed programme within the full-cost ceiling and the rules for the 80% contribution.

What the Reimagining Circularity grant supports

The programme is designed to move circular-economy research beyond a narrow focus on recycling. UKRI describes the desired direction as extending the life of structures, products, components and materials and maximising their value. Relevant approaches include redesign, retrofit, reduce, reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose, servitisation and circular business models. Recycling and energy recovery are explicitly not the named circular solutions for this opportunity, so a proposal based only on improving recycling rates would be a weak fit.

Each award will be a NetworkPlus. That means the grant supports community building, knowledge exchange, horizon scanning, research coordination and pathways from research to practical impact. The network must also run a “Plus” element through a flexible fund. UKRI identifies three streams for that fund: seed-corn funding, demonstrators or feasibility studies, and research-to-innovation or translational research. These mechanisms are intended to lower barriers for new collaborations, test early ideas in real settings and move useful outputs toward later investment or adoption.

The textiles challenge covers the full value chain. It includes clothing, fibres, furniture such as carpets and underlays, household textiles, specialised uniforms, personal protective equipment-related textiles and technical textiles where they materially contribute to a final product. Examples of relevant work include designing for durability and repair, advanced manufacturing methods for circular textiles, reuse or rental models, better collection and sorting, secondary markets, and collaboration across the value chain.

The data and metrics challenge is cross-sector. It can cover agri-food, the built environment, chemicals and plastics, electrical and electronic equipment, textiles, and transport. UKRI is seeking robust indicators and frameworks that measure environmental, social, technical and economic performance; support traceability and interoperability; allow ethical data governance; and help businesses and policymakers make decisions. Strong concepts should generate scalable, policy-relevant evidence rather than a dataset with no defined users or decisions attached.

Who can apply

The first eligibility question is whether your team was invited to full stage. The official page says that stage one has been completed and that this opportunity is stage two. An organisation cannot use this listing to submit an unsolicited new outline or a fresh full application. If your team did not succeed at outline stage or did not receive an invitation, this particular deadline is not an open entry route.

For invited teams, the lead organisation must be an eligible UK organisation. The listed categories are UK higher education institutions, research council institutes, UKRI-approved independent research organisations, eligible public sector research establishments, and NHS bodies with research capacity. UKRI’s individual eligibility rules also apply. Businesses cannot be applicant organisations for this funding opportunity, although industry participation is mandatory through project partnerships.

The team must bring together at least two researchers representing at least two areas of expertise. UKRI strongly encourages an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary approach. A merely multidisciplinary structure, in which disciplines work in separate packages with little integration, is not within the intended scope. The team should also include industrial partners and should show how non-academic participants will help define, deliver or use the network’s work.

International researchers may contribute as visiting researchers, project partners or advisory-board members. They cannot normally be project leads or co-leads. The page identifies a limited exception for researchers based at Norwegian institutions who may be eligible as co-leads, and it describes international co-lead participation through the UKRI-RCN Money Follows Cooperation or UKRI-IIASA agreements. Other international collaborators should be listed as project partners unless a specific rule says otherwise.

How to test whether your idea fits

Start by naming one challenge area: textiles, or data and metrics. A network that tries to cover both without a clear primary focus may be difficult to assess. Then state the circular solution or measurement problem in operational terms. For textiles, that might mean extending product life through repair, improving sorting so valuable products reach secondary markets, or testing a service model that changes how products are used. For data and metrics, it might mean establishing a verifiable cross-sector indicator, a traceability protocol, or a governance framework that changes a real investment or policy decision.

Next, identify the community that does not yet have enough capacity to solve the problem. The NetworkPlus should create visible, inclusive connections across academia, industry and policy, and it should identify research priorities that can lead to later projects. The proposal should explain what the network makes possible that a single research award could not: shared evidence, new partnerships, small competitive awards, real-world tests, policy access or a lasting community.

The fit is strongest when the work includes a whole-systems view. UKRI asks applicants to consider technical, economic, social, cultural, political and environmental factors, including trade-offs and unintended consequences. A technical intervention can be relevant, but the application must show how it sits within supply chains, user behaviour, regulation, local places and future adoption.

Award size, budget and delivery expectations

Projects may last no more than 36 months and must start on 1 October 2027. The maximum 100% FEC is £5.41 million. EPSRC will fund 80% of FEC, up to £4.328 million. The budget can cover lead and co-lead salaries, a dedicated grant manager, administrative support, travel and subsistence, engagement, horizon scanning, communications, events, facilities and equipment used for networking and communication.

The budget has an important structural requirement. UKRI says 60% of the overall award value must be allocated to the flexible fund. At the maximum project cost, that is £3.246 million at 100% FEC, with an EPSRC award value of £2.5968 million at 80%. The remaining 40% is for the network activities fund and related delivery. Applicants must explain how the flexible fund will be managed across seed-corn funding, demonstrators or feasibility studies, and research-to-innovation or translational research. They should also describe transparent competitive processes where appropriate, monitoring, reporting and governance for money later distributed through the network.

The call expects a dedicated grant manager to be a core member of the team. It also expects a management structure, advisory arrangements, progress monitoring and key performance indicators. Annual progress reporting and six-monthly reporting to the advisory board, UKRI and Defra are part of the delivery context. Treat coordination, governance and evaluation as core work, not overhead that can be explained later.

How to apply through the UKRI Funding Service

Applications use the new UKRI Funding Service, not the former Je-S system. The organisation must be registered, and the project lead is responsible for completing the application while team members and partners contribute. Only the lead research organisation can submit to UKRI.

The practical sequence is:

1. Select “Start application” on the official Funding Finder page.
2. Confirm that you are the project lead.
3. Sign in or create a Funding Service account and select the organisation.
4. Complete the questions and upload documents requested by the service.
5. Review the read-only version carefully before sending it to the research office.
6. Send the completed application to the research office for institutional checks.
7. Allow the research office to submit the checked application to UKRI.

Research-office and finance checks cover hosting arrangements and financial eligibility, but the applicant remains responsible for complying with every requirement. Build in internal time before 4:00pm on 3 November. A technically complete application sent too late for institutional submission is not a safe plan.

Required materials and assessment criteria

The full-stage application asks for a coherent programme, not just a statement of ambition. The assessment areas are vision and approach, governance and advisory structures, applicant and team capability, ethics and responsible research and innovation, resources and cost justification, the flexible fund, the EDI plan, added value, co-creation and systems approach, environmental sustainability, and place. The governance section also needs clear and credible targets and success measures, including KPIs.

The application must explain the chosen challenge area in five words or fewer. It must show how the flexible fund will be distributed and governed. The EDI plan is limited to 1,000 words and should be specific to the NetworkPlus rather than repeating institutional policy. The added-value and co-creation sections each have a 500-word limit, while the environmental-sustainability section has a 500-word limit and the place section has a 750-word limit. The applicant and team capability section allows up to 1,650 words, including the R4RI modules and optional additions.

Project partners must be entered with organisation and contact details, contribution type and monetary value. Industry partners are mandatory. The application must include a single PDF containing letters or emails of support from the named partners. Each partner letter may be no more than two sides of A4 and should confirm commitment, explain relevance and benefits, and describe the partner’s additional value. If facilities are needed, obtain agreement and use only facilities on the relevant UKRI information list. The Funding Service also asks about trusted research and innovation, including collaboration risks, the National Security and Investment Act and export controls where relevant.

Timeline and review process

The full-stage window opened on 7 September 2026 at 9:00am UK time. UKRI plans a webinar for invited applicants on 17 September 2026 at 2:00pm UK time. Applications close on 3 November 2026 at 4:00pm UK time. Shortlisted teams will go through an interview assessment panel, with virtual interviews scheduled for the week beginning 25 January 2027. UKRI says it expects to contact applicants within four weeks of the opening date to schedule interviews and aims to complete assessment within four months of receiving an application.

The panel will include expertise in circular economy, policy, large-investment delivery, and interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary working. Reviewers and panellists will consider the application, comments, the applicant response and the interview. The project lead gets 14 days to respond to reviewer comments before interviews. The final funding decision rests with EPSRC and Defra. Subject to the quality threshold, a portfolio approach may be used to seek sensible geographic coverage across the UK.

Preparation strategy for invited teams

Make the original outline your starting point. The full application should closely match the outline in activities and partnerships. The page allows teams to add or combine partners, including in response to outline feedback, but significant changes in scope or budget should be discussed with EPSRC before submission. A clear change log can help the team explain what has improved without making the full proposal look like a different project.

Build a one-page logic chain for internal use: challenge, network community, activities, flexible-fund decisions, outputs, outcomes, and long-term legacy. Every major cost should appear somewhere in that chain. If the proposal promises policy influence, name the policy users and the format of evidence they can use. If it promises business adoption, identify the industry partners and the decisions, pilots or standards they will help shape.

For the flexible fund, define who can apply for later support, how conflicts will be managed, what evidence is required, and how outcomes will be tracked. For EDI, give measurable actions and explain how access, participation and progression will be improved. For place, show why selected regions or local communities matter and how local assets, needs and strategies shape the work. Reviewers will have an easier time trusting a plan that specifies decisions, owners and measures than one that simply lists activities.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most serious mistake is treating the listing as an open call for anyone. This is an invited full-stage competition. Other common problems include making recycling the whole proposal when the call emphasises higher-value circular solutions; presenting a collection of disconnected disciplines; naming industry partners who have not agreed to participate; and putting a flexible-fund figure in the budget without a transparent allocation model.

Do not describe a national network without explaining its local and regional work. Do not treat the EDI plan as generic institutional wording. Do not leave governance, grant management or KPIs until the final paragraph. Do not assume that a compelling environmental goal removes the need to discuss trade-offs, risks, data governance, ethics or unintended effects. Finally, check the 80% funding rule and the limit on changes from the outline stage with the research office and EPSRC before finalising costs.

Frequently asked questions

Can a company submit as the lead applicant?

No. Businesses are not eligible applicant organisations for this opportunity, but industrial project partners are mandatory and should have an integral role.

Can an uninvited team apply directly to full stage?

No. Stage one is complete, and only teams invited after a successful outline application may apply.

Is £5.41 million the cash award?

No. It is the maximum 100% FEC. EPSRC will fund 80% of eligible FEC, up to £4.328 million.

Does the award support a normal three-year research project?

It supports a NetworkPlus lasting up to 36 months, with community, coordination and flexible-fund responsibilities. The fixed start date is 1 October 2027.

Which challenge area should a team choose?

Choose either textiles or data and metrics as the primary area. The textiles route covers the value chain and extending textile life. The data-and-metrics route is cross-sector and focuses on usable evidence, indicators, frameworks and governance.

Who can answer questions about the opportunity?

For opportunity-specific questions, UKRI lists [email protected] and asks applicants to include “EPSRC-Defra Reimagining Circularity” in the subject line. Questions about costings and proposal writing should first go to the applicant’s research office. Funding Service technical questions go to [email protected] or 01793 547490.

Official links and next steps

Read the complete EPSRC-Defra Reimagining Circularity: full stage guidance before relying on this summary. Invited teams should register or confirm access to the UKRI Funding Service through their organisation, confirm the internal submission timetable, and contact the listed EPSRC mailbox if outline-stage changes or eligibility questions need clarification.

The immediate checklist is short: confirm the invitation, select one challenge area, secure written industry-partner commitments, reconcile the budget with the outline application, design the 60% flexible fund, and schedule institutional review ahead of the 3 November deadline. Those checks will tell an invited team whether it has a deliverable NetworkPlus proposal rather than merely a promising circular-economy research idea.