UK Research and Innovation (EPSRC and STFC)

NQS Mission 2 Coordination Network

EPSRC-led funding to set up a single academic-led national Coordination Network for Mission 2 of the UK National Quantum Strategy. The network will connect researchers, industry, network operators, policymakers, infrastructure providers and end users across quantum networking and communications, and coordinate the Mission 2 research portfolio. The project lead must be at a UK research organisation eligible for EPSRC funding. The network can cost up to £630,937 full economic cost, of which EPSRC pays 80% (£504,750), over up to 33 months from a fixed start date of 31 May 2027.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: £1 – £630,937
Deadline: 37 days left; 24 November
Effort: Heavy; budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

Open to organisations with standard UKRI eligibility; UKRI individual eligibility rules apply (see EPSRC's eligibility page)
The project lead must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for EPSRC funding, and only the lead research organisation can submit
The network must be academic-led
A person can be project lead on no more than one application but project co-lead on any number
International collaborators and UK partners not at approved organisations take part as project partners, and Norway-based project co-leads (international) are not allowed
End users and stakeholders from industry, telecoms, government, regulators, standards bodies, investors and infrastructure providers should be active partners, making in-kind contributions
Businesses and charities can be partners but cannot lead
No institutional matched funding is required beyond the standard 20% of FEC

What it funds

A Mission 2 Coordination Network that acts as a focal point for the UK quantum networking and communications community, funding:

Project lead and co-lead salaries for time spent setting up and leading the network
Community building and networking activities, such as horizon-scanning and road-mapping studies, reports, websites and briefings, networking events, expert working groups, workshops, webinars and sandpits, online discussion forums, lectures and seminars, problem-solving workshops and staff training
Travel and subsistence for the core team and network members, within the UK and internationally where justified
Professional enabling staff, including a dedicated grant manager (expected) and, if justified, facilitators, science communicators, industrial liaisons, coordinators, administrators, technology transfer officers, commercialisation, engagement or impact staff
Smaller items of equipment individually under £25,000

the network must be co-created with end users, engage actively with Mission 2 research projects (including the concurrent Components, systems and architectures opportunity) and Innovate UK supported testbeds, and complement rather than duplicate funded projects. Extra reporting, monitoring and evaluation conditions apply, and extensions will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

What it will not fund

Project lead or co-lead positions outside UKRI current research organisation eligibility
Equipment over £25,000 in value (inclusive of VAT)
PhD studentships
Uninvited resubmissions
Norway-based project co-leads (international): the UKRI-RCN money follows cooperation agreement does not apply

How to apply

Make sure your research organisation is registered on the UKRI Funding Service (you cannot apply on Je-S)
Start an application on the UKRI Funding Service (https://funding-service.ukri.org/OPP1330/apply/1356), confirm you are the project lead and sign in or create an account
Answer the questions: summary, core team, Vision and Approach (uploaded PDF), national importance, governance, applicant and team capability to deliver (R4RI), project partners, resources and cost justification, data management and sharing, ethics and RRI, animals, genetically modified organisms, human participation, and Trusted Research and Innovation
Upload partner letters or emails of support as a single PDF
Send the application to your research office for checking; they submit it to UKRI by 4pm on 24 November 2026
Answer panel members' clarification questions in writing within two weeks if asked

the Find a Grant listing gives the closing time as 11:59pm, but the UKRI page (header and Deadline section) says EPSRC must receive applications by 4pm UK time on 24 November 2026; work to 4pm and to your organisation's earlier internal deadline.

Have ready

Vision and Approach: a single PDF of no more than eight sides of A4 (11-point Arial, 2cm margins), plus one optional page for a diagrammatic workplan, no larger than 8MB, named with the Funding Service number followed by 'Vision and Approach'
Project partner letters or emails of support: a single PDF, in English or Welsh, up to two sides of A4 per partner

other sections are answered in Funding Service text boxes (applicant and team capability 1,650 words, resources and cost justification 1,000, summary 550, governance 500, national importance 300, data management 250). Do not include letters of support from the host or co-leads' research organisations.

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