This list identifies competitive research fellowships that inherently require or support research independence, as confirmed by the respective funders. It serves as a reference for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) when determining which staff meet the criteria for research independence under REF 2029, in line with guidance in section 9.2.1 of the Volume Measure Guidance. Fellowships listed here are considered indicative of research independence and may support the classification of contracts as REFQUALCON/ (volume-contributing).
The list is presented alphabetically by funder and includes fellowships that either require independence from the outset or support the transition to independence (marked with an asterisk*). It is not exhaustive and does not include all relevant schemes, such as those funded directly by HEIs
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- AHRC
- BBSRC
- British Academy
- British Heart Foundation
- Cancer Research UK
- EPSRC
- ESRC
- European Research Council
- Health Education England
- Leverhulme Trust
- MRC
- NC3R
- NERC
- NIHR
- Royal Academy of Engineering
- Royal Society
- Royal Society and Wellcome Trust
- Royal Society of Edinburgh
- Sêr Cymru
- STFC
- UKRI
- Wellcome Trust
AHRC
- AHRC Leadership Fellowships – Early Career Researchers
- AHRC Leadership Fellowships
BBSRC
- BBSRC David Phillips Fellowships
- BBSRC Discovery Fellowships
British Academy
- BA/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowships
- British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships
- JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships
- Mid-Career Fellowships
- Newton Advanced Fellowships
- Newton International Fellowships
- Wolfson Research Professorships
British Heart Foundation
- BHF-Fulbright Commission Scholar Awards
- Career Re-entry Research Fellowships
- Clinical Research Leave Fellowships
- Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellowships
- Intermediate Clinical Research Fellowships
- Senior Basic Science Research Fellowships
- Senior Clinical Research Fellowships
- Springboard Award for Biomedical Researchers
- Starter Grants for Clinical Lecturers
Cancer Research UK
- Advanced Clinician Scientist Fellowship
- Career Development Fellowship
- Career Establishment Award
- Senior Cancer Research Fellowship
EPSRC
- EPSRC Early Career Fellowship
- EPSRC Established Career Fellowship
- EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship*
ESRC
- ESRC Future Cities Catapult Fellowship
- ESRC Future Leaders Grant
- ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship*
- ESRC/Turing Fellowships
- ESRC/UKRI Early Career Researcher Innovation Fellowships
European Research Council
- ERC Advanced Grants
- ERC Consolidator Grants
- ERC Starting Grants
Health Education England
- Integrated Clinical Academic Programme Clinical Lectureship*
- Integrated Clinical Academic Programme Senior Clinical Lectureship
Leverhulme Trust
- Early Career Fellowship
- Emeritus Fellowship
- International Academic Fellowship
- Major Research Fellowship
- Research Fellowship
MRC
- MRC Career Development Awards*
- MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowships*
- MRC New Investigator Research Grants (Clinical)*
- MRC New Investigator Research Grants (Non-clinical)*
- Senior Clinical Fellowships
- Senior Non-Clinical Fellowships
NC3R
- David Sainsbury Fellowship
- Training fellowship
NERC
- Independent Research Fellowships
- NERC/UKRI Industrial Innovation Fellowships
- NERC/UKRI Industrial Mobility Fellowships
NIHR
- Advanced Fellowship*
- Career Development Fellowship
- Clinical Lectureships*
- Clinician Scientist*
- Post-Doctoral Fellowship*
- Research Professorships
- School for Primary Care Post-Doctoral Fellowships*
- Senior Research Fellowships
Royal Academy of Engineering
- Industrial Fellowships
- RAEng Engineering for Development Research Fellowship
- RAEng Research Fellowship
- RAEng Senior Research Fellowship
- UK Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Royal Society
- Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship*
- JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Newton Advanced Fellowship
- Royal Society/Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship
- Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship
- University Research Fellowship*
Royal Society and Wellcome Trust
- Sir Henry Dale Fellowship*
Royal Society of Edinburgh
- RSE Arts & Humanities Awards (for permanent staff)
- RSE Personal Research Fellowship
- RSE Sabbatical Research Grants (for permanent staff)
Sêr Cymru
- Recapturing Talent*
- Research Chairs
- Research fellowships for 3-5 year postdocs
- Rising Stars
STFC
- CERN Fellowships
- Ernest Rutherford Fellowship
- ESA Fellowships
- Innovations Partnership Scheme Fellowships
- Returner Fellowships
- RSE/STFC Enterprise Fellowships
- Rutherford International Fellowship Programme
UKRI
- UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships
- UKRI Innovation Fellowships
Wellcome Trust
- Intermediate Fellowship in Public Health and Tropical Medicine
- Principal Research Fellowships
- Research Award for Health Professionals
- Research Career Development Fellowship
- Research Fellowship in Humanities and Social Science
- Senior Research Fellowship