EPSRC ACT Proof of Concept

EPSRC ACT Proof of Concept sits under UK Research and Innovation and is delivered through the UKRI Funding Service. It is a grant round for UK research organisations that want to translate Advanced Connectivity Technologies research into something closer to adoption. The call sits inside the UKRI Translation umbrella and focuses on secure and resilient networks as well as sustainable networks. The 2026 round offered awards from GBP 100k to GBP 500k, with EPSRC covering 80 percent of full economic cost. The call opened on 27 March 2026 and closed on 27 May 2026, with projects due to begin by 1 January 2027 and run for up to two years. Eligibility is narrow: applicants need to be at lecturer-equivalent level or above at an eligible UK research organisation, and the underlying EPSRC-supported research must have started on or after 1 January 2020. The route is best for teams that already have a clear applied use case and can show that the research base is recent, relevant, and worth taking forward. It is not a place for fundamental research or broad curiosity-led work. Applicants that bring a focused network challenge, a plausible adoption path, and a tight two-stage submission are the ones most likely to fit the scheme's intent.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.