The UK research community is set to benefit from key changes in UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) approach to equipment costs and capital thresholds, as well as clearer guidance on institutional matched funding. This will help support long-term financial sustainability in research and innovation<\/p>\n
From 1 April 2025, UKRI will introduce these changes on new funding opportunities launched in the UKRI Funding Service to:<\/p>\n
These changes align with UKRI\u2019s commitment to addressing the \u2018sustainability gap\u2019 in research funding, as highlighted in the Research financial sustainability: insights paper<\/a>.<\/p>\n UKRI will now fund all equipment purchases at 80% of their full economic cost (FEC), improving cost transparency across research projects.<\/p>\n Some exceptions remain, including:<\/p>\n The threshold for capital equipment will increase from \u00a310,000 to \u00a325,000.<\/p>\n Any single item above this amount will be classified as capital expenditure, requiring justification in grant applications.<\/p>\n This adjustment reflects the evolving costs of research and reduces administrative burdens on smaller purchases.<\/p>\n UKRI is also providing clearer guidance on institutional matched funding to ensure transparency and fairness in research funding.<\/p>\n The default position will be that there is no expectation of matched funding.<\/p>\n These updates build on UKRI\u2019s work to support more financially sustainable research.<\/p>\n The insights paper highlights that the cost of research has often exceeded available funding, affecting research quality, project scope and long-term investments in infrastructure and workforce development.<\/p>\n The paper is supported by two independent reports commissioned by UKRI:<\/p>\n By aligning funding policies with actual costs, UKRI aims to improve cost recovery and ensure research organisations can continue to deliver high-quality research without financial strain.<\/p>\n The changes also support fairer funding distribution and provide research organisations with greater clarity when planning their budgets.<\/p>\n Professor Dame Jessica Corner, Executive Chair of Research England, said:<\/p>\n I am very pleased to see this important work come to fruition.<\/p>\n I am confident these changes will be welcomed by the UK research community as a step toward greater financial sustainability.<\/p>\n By improving cost recovery and ensuring research organisations can plan with greater confidence, we are strengthening the long-term resilience of the UK\u2019s research and innovation system.<\/p>\n This will help institutions focus on delivering world-class research while investing in the talent and infrastructure needed for the future.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n UKRI\u2019s ongoing financial sustainability programme is working to improve funding mechanisms, streamline processes and enhance collaboration between research institutions and funders.<\/p>\n With these latest changes, UKRI is taking another step toward ensuring a resilient and world-leading UK research system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":162136,"template":"","categories":[90],"tags":[],"wf_news_folders":[],"class_list":["post-162021","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ukri"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/162021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/162021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164206,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/162021\/revisions\/164206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162021"},{"taxonomy":"wf_news_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_news_folders?post=162021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Key policy updates<\/h2>\n
Equipment costs<\/h3>\n
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Capital equipment threshold<\/h3>\n
Institutional matched funding<\/h3>\n
Strengthening financial sustainability<\/h2>\n
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Help institutions focus on delivering world-class research<\/h2>\n
A more resilient research future<\/h2>\n