The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Pioneer awards are for early-stage research with the potential to transform our fundamental understanding of biological systems.
Proposals should be focused on BBSRC’s Understanding the rules of life theme, and:
- should be original and visionary, challenging current thinking and paradigms
- must focus on exploring and revealing novel insights and theories relating to our fundamental understanding of biological systems
- must be early stage and untested, lacking preliminary data and perhaps involving creative or unconventional approaches to the research challenge
- may involve a high level of uncertainty or require a range of exploratory investigations, such that while there are clear aims to explore, the outcomes are neither predictable nor guaranteed
- can involve any combination of experimental, analytical and theoretical work, potentially crossing disciplinary boundaries, including non-bioscience fields
The full economic cost of a project can be up to £200,000; 80% of FEC will be funded by BBSRC.
Projects are expected to last between 6 months and 2 years, and to start between July and September 2023.
The application process is two stages:
- Stage 1: Applicants submit an Expression of Interest, deadline: 10 January 2023 at 4.00pm
- Stage 2: Applicants successful at Stage 1 will submit a Full Proposal, deadline: 14 March 2023 at 4.00pm
Both the Expression of Interest and Full Proposal must be submitted via the UKRI Funding Service, not via Je-S.
It is possible that the BBSRC may ask universities to carry out an internal selection process, if too many applications are submitted that do not meet the above criteria.
Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to speak to their department or faculty before submitting an expression of interest, to assess if the Pioneer scheme will be an appropriate fit for their research.
Applicants are invited to register for a webinar, which will be held on 24 November 2022 at 2.00pm. Further information about this, and the Pioneer awards more generally, can be found on the BBSRC website.
