Large awards

Our FORTH₂O Policy Innovation Partnership’s Large Awards provide funding of £10,001–£100,000 for ambitious projects that drive innovation in water system optimisation. Open to both partner-led and academic-led proposals, these awards support ambitious research and action-oriented initiatives that contribute to evidence-based policy and sustainable solutions.

Large Awards

Please note calls for large awards have now closed.

Read the guidance

Aims and Outcomes

The overall aim of this Commissioning Call is to identify productive and innovative research, policy, practice and project activities that help meet the shared vision we have developed together for the FORTH₂O Partnership, of:

‘A system that works for everybody to secure our water futures and stimulate wellbeing and prosperity for both humans and our natural environment’

Enhanced System Outcomes

Strengthen regional place-making through integrated approaches
Improve health, wellbeing, and environmental sustainability
Share compelling stories of people’s relationships with water
Support businesses in becoming more competitive
Create opportunities for technological specialisation and job growth

Enhanced System Supports

Influence and improve the design of relevant policy
Expand and share evidence from social, economic, and environmental innovations
Enhance data capabilities for better decision-making
Strengthen collaboration and its supporting infrastructure
Build long-term regional capacity for research and innovation

Who can Apply

There are two Pathways for applying for FORTH2O Large Awards:

Pathway A) Partner-led:

Charities, voluntary and community organisations (including subsidiaries)
Community interest companies (CIC), social enterprises and co-operatives
Private Businesses and sole traders
Public sector organisations

Pathway A proposals should include a minimum of two FORTH2O Partners. This should include a minimum of one partner from the ‘Core Team’ associated with the appropriate Optimisation Challenge for your proposal where applicable (OCs 4-8).
Additional stakeholders from outside the Partnership may also be included.
Academics may also be included, but this is capped at 20% of the project budget.

Pathway B) Academic-led:

Research Organisations/Independent Research Organisations (IROs)/Public
Service Research Establishments (PSREs) that have gained UKRI eligibility.
University Researchers /Academics

Pathway B proposals should include a minimum of one project Partner, again from an appropriate Core Team where applicable (OCs 4-8, but the Partners’ combined costs cannot exceed 30% of the proposed total fEC). Additional stakeholders from outside the Partnership may also be included.

What kind of projects FORTH2O will fund

Examples may include (but are not limited to):

Research-led interventions

e.g. scoping studies, policy benchmarking, policy analysis, literature reviews, empirical data collection (quantitative and qualitative, data modelling and analysis)

Action-led interventions

e.g. pilot projects, demonstrator projects, community engagement and knowledge-sharing initiatives, new demonstrator projects; innovative ways of working (such as policy development, harnessing of data and/or new technologies, co-design of solutions, etc); evaluation of current innovations.

The call is seeking all types of explorative approaches to address evidence gaps in the eight ‘Optimisation Challenge’ areas:

OC 1: Developing Policy Influence
OC 2: Enhancing Data and Modelling Capability
OC 3: Increasing Productivity and Value
OC 4: Creating Connections and Opportunities
OC 5: Supporting Business, Industry and Economic Development (inc. Inclusivity & Skills)
OC 6: Harmonising Place and Natural Capital
OC 7: Enhancing Health and Wellbeing
OC 8: Exploring and Enriching our Cultural and Natural Heritage

It is also possible to focus Commissioning Fund proposals within our four ‘Living Lab’ contexts: Urban, Rural, Coastal and Regional (i.e. whole of the FORTH2O region – see www.forth2o.ac.uk/about).

Where appropriate to FORTH₂O’s optimisation challenges/living labs, it is also possible to consider Commissioning Fund proposals that address key business and commercial sectors including: Energy, Biotechnology, Food and Drink, Agriculture, Tourism, Construction, Manufacturing, or others.

Examples of eligible costs are as follows:

Workshops/activities/events
Travel/subsistence for workshops and events
Costs of organising activities
Communication, advertising, printing and publications
Materials/equipment (see UKRI Funding Guide p. 29)
Staff costs required for specific elements of/running the project
Training costs

The following are not eligible:

Costs incurred prior to grant approval
Pre-existing activity (unless FORTH2O Commissioning Fund project activities add in significant new ways to this)
Core funding of ongoing operations
Projects solely focused on the development of a product or service
Individuals
Alcohol

How to Apply

Please see the LARGE Commissioning Fund guidance document for full details. Applicants must fill in the online form below and include / upload a maximum of 8 attachments:

Case for support (Up to a max of 6 pages (docx, pdf)

Understanding Background and nature of the brief and challenge you wish to address
Detailed methodology and approach to deliver the project
Clear roles and activities for each Partner or stakeholder in the proposal
High level project plan and proposed timeline (e.g. Gantt chart) and approach to monitoring and evaluation
Approach to ethical research practices /consent /confidentiality /data protection
Where relevant, references should be included

Budget builder/calculator template (MS Excel file)

Justification of resources (Max 1 page)

Applicant CV(s) (Max 2 page CV/team member collated in one document)

Key Milestone Deliverables Table

Letters of support from partners (Max 1 page/partner, collated in one document)

Lead Applicant Organisation Company Letterhead and Bank Details

APUC Supply Chain Code of Conduct Form, signed by Lead Applicant

Apply now

Further Information

FORTH₂O Website

The FORTH₂O website will be the key source of information for the Commissioning Fund. Any news, including any changes in this Guidance, will be published here. Please make sure you are always using the most up-to-date version of the Guidance. An FAQ Page will also be provided on our website at
https://forth2o.ac.uk/commissioning-fund/.

Expression of Interest Form

We have a small team managing this fund and have organised information webinars to engage with those interested in the fund to answer generic questions. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to answer case by case questions on project proposals and are doing our best to give as much support as we can. Therefore, an online expression of interest form will be made available for use by those who would like to ask questions about particular topics/themes or the application process. We will seek to address as many of these queries as possible in our webinars and FAQs. The form is provided on the FORTH2O website at https://forth2o.ac.uk/commissioning-fund/.

Information Webinars

FORTH2O will also host subject specific webinars to help applicants develop their applications. To join, email us at forth2o@stir.ac.uk.

1. Monday 2nd June 2025 (14.30-15.30pm)
Partnering webinar: Workshop to explore opportunities to partner with other organisations.
2. Thursday 12th June 2025 (10:30 – 11:30am)
Health clinic webinar: Get advice from academic partners on topics including ethics, equality, diversity and inclusion and more.

Any Phase 3 webinars will be advertised on our website https://forth2o.ac.uk/commissioning-fund/.