Eligibility criteria
- Applicants must be based outside of the UK and not currently have a substantive research or innovation presence in the UK. Please refer to Substantive research or innovation presence in the UK for more details.
- Applicants must be a recognised leader in their field or show clear potential to become a leader in their proposed area of work.
- Applicants must be able to demonstrate that their proposed project warrants consideration on an accelerated timeframe. This may include the project’s urgency, strategic importance, or the risk of missed opportunities – such as time-sensitive partnerships, competitive offers from international counterparts or the need to rapidly establish a research presence in the UK to enable development and scale up of the proposed climate solution – which would not be possible via submission to the annual Green Future Fellowship call.
- Awards must be held at a UK-based organisation. This may be a university, research institute or company. For for-profit organisations, special rules on the types of application and funding allowed will apply – these are set out below. If you are in doubt over whether an organisation is eligible, please contact the team to discuss. Applicants may propose hosting the award within a new startup company that will be created for the project. In this case, additional financial and reporting requirements will apply.
- Proposed projects must demonstrate the potential to deliver impact that benefits the UK, alongside any global impact.
- There are no nationality or age restrictions for applicants.
- There are no limitations on the career stage of applicants. Applicants are not required to hold a PhD.
- Applications are welcome for innovations at all stages of development, from basic principles to proof of concept, demonstration and application with no restrictions based on Technology Readiness Level (TRL). Applications must be centred around enabling and driving scalability of the proposed climate technology solution and demonstrate excellence or the potential for excellence in engineering or technology.
- The Green Future Fellowship should be the applicant’s primary source of employment. Applicants are eligible to hold other awards but must be able to dedicate the majority of their working time to Green Future Fellowship programme of work.
- Green Future Fellowships can be led by individuals from non-engineering backgrounds or disciplines, but they must provide clear evidence of how their research or innovation promotes engineering excellence and supports engineering outcomes.
- Applicants are only permitted to have one Green Future Fellowship application under consideration at any given time. Applicants are not permitted to apply simultaneously to the annual Green Future Fellowship call and the Green Future Fellowship Accelerated International Route.
Substantive research or innovation presence in the UK
Applicants must not have a substantive research or innovation presence in the UK.
Applicants are not eligible to apply for GFF AIR if they meet any of the following criteria:
- they are currently resident in the UK
- they are currently on secondment outside of the UK but retain a substantive employment contract with a UK-based organisation
- they are eligible for submission under the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF)
Please note non-UK-based applicants who already have a substantive presence within the UK are eligible to apply via the annual Green Future Fellowship call.
The following do not constitute a substantive connection to the UK and therefore would not preclude an applicant from applying to GFF AIR:
- holding an honorary or affiliate position at a UK-based organisation that is nominal only and does not involve any active duties or salary
- serving as an advisor to a UK-based company, provided this is ad hoc and does not constitute employment with the company
- collaboration on UK-based awards, provided the applicant is not the named award holder or recipient of any UK-based funding or awards.
- co-authoring academic papers with UK-based collaborators
- having financial investment in a UK company, so long as the applicant is not currently employed in the UK
- being an external examiner for UK-based PhD students