How to write a UK AI grant application

Start with the competition documents, not the idea

Every UK public call publishes a scope: what it will fund, what it will not, who can lead, whether you need a partner, the project size, the start date and the closing time. If your project only fits with a stretch, it probably does not fit. Assessors are asked to score against that scope first.

Open examples, which you can use as models while they are still open:

• Efficient, Structured and Controllable AI Systems is for UK-registered SMEs, for experimental validation of prototype AI systems. Project costs £50,000–£150,000, from a share of up to £1.66 million. It closes at 11:00am UK time on Wednesday 18 November 2026.
• The three BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst calls — BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Operational Systems, BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Assurance and Compliance and BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Decision Critical Systems — need a UK-registered AI SME lead, typically at TRL 5–6, plus a UK medium or large deployer. Grant requests are £100,000–£200,000, from a share of up to £5 million. All three close at 11:00am UK time on 8 December 2026.
• UKRI: Enabling AI adoption across science and engineering is for researchers at eligible UK organisations: maximum award £250,000, with UKRI funding 80% of full economic cost (FEC). It closes at 4:00pm UK time on 1 December 2026.
• UKRI: Integration of AI/HPC with quantum computing is larger: total fund £17 million, maximum award £3,750,000, closing at 4:00pm UK time on 8 December 2026.
• ARIA's ARIA Robot Dexterity: Benchmarks, Standards and Interoperability call (13:00 GMT, 1 December 2026) and ARIA Robot Locomotion programme call (concept papers) (concept papers 14:00 GMT, 4 December 2026; full proposals 1 February 2027) are two-stage. The locomotion call is open to any organisation, in any location, with a UK benefit case expected. Per-award amounts are not stated.

We explain which UK funder is which in UK grants for AI: Innovate UK, UKRI and ARIA. This article is about writing the application itself. Our grants guide covers how grants work more broadly.

Answer the funder's questions, in their order

Innovate UK and UKRI do not use the same form, and a good answer to one will not paste cleanly into the other.

For Innovate UK, official writing guidance stresses a need-led story: the market or user problem first, then why the approach is genuinely innovative, then a credible business case and a structured research and development plan with work packages, milestones and validation ^[source]. Answer every point the form asks for, in plain language.

For UKRI, the Funding Service core sections are typically Vision, Approach (including risk), Applicant and team capability (often in the Résumé for Research and Innovation, or R4RI, format), and Resources and cost justification — why the larger items are needed, not a line-by-line recap of the budget ^[source]. Write so an assessor from a neighbouring field can follow you.

ARIA concept papers are shorter: show a fit to the programme thesis, then add technical and cost detail if you are invited to a full proposal.

Budgets: "share of up to" and 80% of FEC

Two bits of wording cause more confusion than any other.

• "Share of up to." When an Innovate UK competition offers a share of up to £5 million, that is the total pot, not the amount you will receive. Your own bid has to sit inside the project-cost or grant-request band stated for that competition, for example £100,000–£200,000 for the BridgeAI Catalyst calls, or £50,000–£150,000 for Efficient, Structured and Controllable AI Systems.
• "UKRI funds 80% of FEC." Full economic cost is the full cost of the project to your organisation. UKRI typically pays 80% of it, and the organisation covers the rest ^[source]. That is why a call can quote both a maximum FEC and the share funded. For UKRI: Enabling AI adoption across science and engineering, the maximum award is £250,000 at that 80% rate.

Build the budget to the call's rules on project length, start date and eligible costs, and say why the larger items are needed. Do not pad a bid to the top of the band.

Partners and timing

Collaborative calls fail when the partnership is agreed too late. For the BridgeAI Catalyst competitions, a UK deployer is part of the eligibility test. Leave time to agree roles, costs and letters of support.

Closing times are not all the same. The Innovate UK competitions above close at 11:00am UK time; the UKRI calls close at 4:00pm UK time; the ARIA deadlines above are 13:00 or 14:00 GMT. Submitting on the afternoon of an Innovate UK deadline day is too late. Portals also slow down on the day, so submit a day early.

A smaller later option is the EPSRC AI ICURe Discover Sprint (February 2027), worth up to £2,500, opening 7 December 2026 and closing 18 January 2027 at 11:59pm, for a sprint starting 23 February 2027.

A short checklist before you press submit

1. The project sits inside the published scope, without special pleading.
2. Every eligibility line is met: organisation type, size, location, and partners if required.
3. Each form question is answered in the language of that question, not with a reused generic paragraph.
4. The budget matches the call's cost rules and is justified.
5. There is a clear route to impact: who uses the result, and how.
6. Someone who did not write it has read it against the guidance.
7. You have submitted a day early, at the right time of day.

Our grants list is filtered by the UK and sorted by deadline, and listings link to the official page.