This call is now open delivered through the UK Food Safety Research Network (FSRN), using UKRI-BBSRC and FSA investment to accelerate the national response to the recent rise in foodborne disease. It funds collaborative projects and activities that reflect five Strategic Aims, summarised below in the Strategic Aims section.
Total fund: £400,000, supporting a portfolio of collaborative projects and activities that reflect the five Strategic Aims described below.
(This total budget includes £50,000 reserved for projects with a data sharing and intelligence focus; and £100,000 reserved for projects with a focus on Campylobacter.)
Eligible activities: Collaborative projects and activities that address the recent rise in foodborne disease, spanning a diverse range of projects, including strategic focus, type of approach and region of implementation.
Expected Project Budget: £10K to £50K per project. If your project requires a budget outside this range, please contact foodsafetynetwork@quadram.ac.uk to discuss.
Opening date: 15 October 2026
Closing date: 27 November 2026
Decision made: 18 December 2026
Anticipated project start date: 11 January 2027
Award completion date: No later than 11 February 2028
The UK has experienced a concerning rise in foodborne disease. Addressing this requires more than individual research projects: it requires an established national capability that can rapidly identify emerging priorities, convene the right expertise across disciplines and sectors, and accelerate the implementation of evidence into practice.
This call deploys additional UKRI (BBSRC and FSA) investment through the Food Safety Research Network’s established governance, community engagement and Flexible Fund mechanisms. It builds directly on the Network’s existing platform, partnerships and delivery mechanisms, expanding FSRN’s capacity to translate existing priorities into implementation, demonstration and measurable public benefit, with an initial emphasis on Campylobacter and Salmonella, alongside other strategically important foodborne pathogens (Listeria and pathogenic E. coli) and important cross-cutting challenges.
This call will support five Strategic Aims, reflecting the current funders’ priorities and what this funding call is aiming to achieve. These are not exclusive categories to choose between, and applications can relate to more than one, the strategic aims are intended to help you understand what this call is looking to achieve, and to describe in your application how your project contributes to them.
Funding is available for current Food Safety Research Network members. All applications must represent a collaboration between an academic lead applicant eligible to receive BBSRC funding AND at least one non-academic partner (industry, government or third sector). Where a project builds on or continues previously FSRN-funded work, applicants should be able to demonstrate that track record and clearly evidence how the proposed activity accelerates it (see the screening questions in the application form).
Joining the Food Safety Research Network is free
Multiple academic and non-academic partners are encouraged where this benefits the project. The lead awardee must be a UKRI-eligible organisation and will receive the award and be responsible for onward dispersal of any funding to partners, where relevant.
We have a broad view on who can impact the safety of foods, and the Network welcomes project ideas from partnerships formed across the food sector, including:primary producers, distributors and retailers;
• academic researchers with expertise in areas such as microbiology, data science, public health, and social and economic sciences (including trade); and
• government and policy organisations with roles in food regulation and best-practice training.
Please contact the Network management team for further information on eligibility, including for projects building on previous FSRN funding.
The following activities may be funded through this call, this is not an exhaustive list and if you believe your project is relevant to this call and would add value to public health through food safety, please submit an application:
• Capability building — targeted development of techniques, tools or technologies required to enable near-term application of a solution
• Implementation and evidence-generation activities — generating the performance, operational or regulatory evidence that industry and regulators need to support adoption of a solution
• Real-world validation and scale-up trials — testing a solution or intervention in an operational, industry or field setting to confirm its performance and readiness for wider adoption
• Policy and practice translation — generating the evidence or tools needed to directly inform food safety guidance, standards or regulatory decision-making
• Data intelligence and analytical capability activities — developing shared or collaborative analytical approaches to food microbiology data that are ready for application within industry or regulatory workflows
• Proof of Concept studies — investigating the suitability and near-term deployment potential of a product, process or service that is close to practical application
• Targeted characterisation studies — microbial sampling or chemical analysis needed to validate or refine a specific solution ahead of wider application
• Business case development — gathering the evidence needed to de-risk further investment and support commercial or policy adoption of a solution.
This call cannot be used to support:
• Generic translation activities or infrastructure
• Patent filing or similar costs associated directly with registering intellectual property rights
• Equipment of any cost
• Non-specific public engagement activities and science communication (specific activities designed to have a defined impact on a specific public may be acceptable).
Please contact the Network management team for further information on the scope of your proposed activities.
£400,000 is available to fund a portfolio of collaborative projects and activities that reflect the Strategic Aims described above, typically £10K to £50K per project. Awards will be made at 80% full economic cost to the lead research organisation under standard UKRI research grant terms and conditions. All awards will be made and funds distributed by Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB) in its role as coordinator of the Food Safety Research Network.
Funding requirements specific to this call are:
• Awards will be paid in arrears to the lead awardee. The lead awardee will be responsible for disseminating funds to other partners on their award
• Equipment (of any cost) is not an eligible cost
• A maximum of 20% of costs may be subcontracted; facility access charges can be included outside this limit
• In-kind contributions are encouraged but not mandated from project partners and should be described in the application form, with in-kind contributions expected for access to facilities, some staff time, and use of existing infrastructure.
In all other regards, eligible costs align with usual BBSRC requirements. Please contact the Network management team to clarify the status of any costs should you be uncertain.
All applications will be assessed by a review panel established for this call, comprising a mix of academic, industry and government representatives. The panel will consider each proposal’s strengths against three scoring criteria:
We will be using a single, streamlined application form. The form will include a small number of screening questions about your project, please answer these as accurately as possible, as they help ensure your application is assessed against the right priorities.
The application form is not live yet but we are hoping it will be ready soon. We have shared the guidance information in advance to allow potential applications to have more time to consider potential applications that align with our strategic aims.
The closing date for all applications is 17:00 27 November 2026.
Applications received after this time will not be considered.
The provisional date for the assessment meeting is 18 December. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application soon after this meeting to enable awards to begin as soon as possible.
Projects supported through this opportunity must complete (invoices received) by 11 February 2028.
All applicants will be required to complete a brief report detailing the outcomes and impact of their activities on conclusion. The FSRN team will also be available to sub-awardees if they require support e.g. with approaching partners or any project barriers. After the close of each project we will follow up with awardees to identify project highlights and possible impact narratives, for inclusion on the Research page of the FSRN website.
The five Strategic Aims describe the priorities this call is looking to achieve; applications can relate to more than one. When completing your application, briefly describe how your project supports the Aims most relevant to it, this will be considered as part of the Strategic Fit assessment criterion. The separate screening questions in the application form (covering your project’s pathogen focus and FSRN funding history) are used to help direct your application for review, and are independent of which Strategic Aims you identify. If you are unsure how your proposal aligns, please contact the Network management team before applying.
A primary role of the FSRN is to broker new partnerships and engage members who typically have not been involved in food safety research in the past. If you have a need or interest to recruit a new partner into your project proposal, please consider existing network members and/or contact the Network Management team to discuss.
We understand that a barrier to innovation can be a complex and lengthy application process. We have streamlined the amount of information needed to review projects and broker partnerships, and for successful applications we will provide ongoing and tailored support to project teams.
Our Business Development team can provide model agreements to help universities and businesses (especially small and medium-sized enterprises) collaborate more effectively. The agreements set out a range of approaches to ownership and exploitation of IP and are easy to modify so that wording can be customised to reflect the deal negotiated.
If these agreements are important to facilitate the project, the partners will agree a start date and are expected to have a signed agreement in place prior to the project commencing. We reserve the right to request copies of these documents from all award holders.
As a minimum, an agreement should cover:
• arrangements for the management and coordination of the project
• responsibilities (including funding) and liabilities of the partners
• IP arrangements
• reporting and publication arrangements, access to results and confidentiality provisions
• consequences of termination or default and ways of handling disputes.
After a rapid review process following the application deadline (27 November) we plan to announce successful projects on the week commencing the 21 December.
Will there be subsequent funding opportunities to build on our activities?
At this stage we cannot commit to further funding, so applications should be prepared with this in mind. However, if you identify opportunities for onward funding to build on your proposed activities from other sources, we would welcome applications with this longer-term ambition.
Projects can start from 11 January 2027 and need to complete (full cost invoices received) by 11 February 2027
To inform the development and implementation of future activities and ensure effective and efficient use of resources, we require award holders to complete a light-touch project report on conclusion of their award. We also expect that all award holders will participate in activities throughout the remaining lifetime of the FSRN, including but not limited to FSRN Community Events and relevant thematic workshops, such as the Campylobacter in poultry Forum series, where relevant to their project. These events will be funded centrally by the FSRN and costs for attending should not be included in your application.
All data collected during the course of application will be protected in line with the BBSRC Data Protection Policy. In addition to these data being processed to enable the assessment, award and ongoing award management of any application to this opportunity, BBSRC, FSA and QIB may use information for research-related activities, including but not limited to transfer of funds, evaluation of the FSRN, and policy and strategy studies.
To meet UKRI obligations for public accountability and dissemination of information, details of grants (including successful awards) may also be made available on the UKRI website and other publicly available databases, and in reports, documents and mailing lists.
Please contact us at foodsafetynetwork@quadram.ac.uk
