Funding international collaboration through grants’

All Research Councils support international collaboration through their grant funding. UK researchers can apply for funding in their grant applications, which is relevant to their research project, including:

• support for travel and subsistence to allow UK researchers to travel overseas to undertake relevant work at a partner’s institution or laboratory, fieldwork, and to support networking activities specific to the grant;
• to help promote Pathways to Impact; international collaboration can make an important contribution to the generation of impact;
• for basing equipment overseas so long as ownership is retained by the UK Research Organisation. This may be used for items of equipment that are to be used at international facilities e.g. ESRF or CERN.

Grants can also include international researchers:

• Visiting researchers – funding can be requested for researchers from overseas who are of acknowledged standing, to visit and work in the Principal Investigator's institution.

Grants can also include international collaboration from project partners or consultants:

• Project partners – international collaborators bring their own funding to the grant, including funding in kind.
• Subcontractors – are allowed where there is a lack of appropriate expertise in eligible institutions. The grant is paid to the UK Research Organisation who may sub-contract to the service provider e.g. in industry or overseas in accordance with their own financial regulations relating to tendering/purchasing.

RCUK works in a variety of ways to facilitate international collaboration, so please contact your Research Council to discuss relevant opportunities or see their website.