UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship

Summary

Oxford Physics internal EOI sift: ~January 2027

University of Oxford internal sift: ~February 2027
UKRI funder deadline: ~June 2027

• Prestigious UKRI fellowship supporting exceptional early-career researchers and innovators to establish independence through ambitious, long-term programmes.
• Provides up to 4 years’ funding with a possible 3-year extension (4 + 3 model), covering salary, research expenses, and staff costs.
• Open to all disciplines and sectors across the UKRI remit, including applicants transitioning between academia and industry or returning from career breaks.
• Oxford University is expected to be capped on institutional submissions, requiring a two-stage internal selection (departmental → university).
• All queries: fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk

Overview

The Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) programme aims to support and retain the most talented early-career researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs working across the UK’s research and innovation landscape. The scheme provides long-term, flexible funding to enable fellows to develop their own independent careers and to deliver bold, original, and ambitious programmes of research or innovation. Fellows may be based in universities, research organisations, businesses, or other eligible institutions, and the scheme welcomes proposals that span disciplinary or sector boundaries.

Further information is available on the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship webpage. 

UKRI have not yet advertised Round 12 of the FLF scheme; we expect details to be announced in the coming months. As for previous rounds, it is likely that institutional application numbers will be capped.  Internal selection process details will be published on the Coordinated Bids OxIntranet page (Oxford SSO Login required), on this webpage, and via our monthly Fellowships mailing list in due course. Please note that Oxford Physics selection Round 12 is likely to be the same as, or very similar to, our process for Round 11, as described below. 

Eligibility

For the 2026 round, applicants must:

• be early-career researchers or innovators transitioning to or establishing independence, or proposing a major step-change in their work;
• not already hold a fellowship or position that confers full research or innovation independence (e.g. Royal Society URF, EPSRC ERF, etc.);
• propose research or innovation within the UKRI remit (EPSRC, NERC, STFC, MRC, BBSRC, etc.); and
• plan to be based at a UK host organisation for the duration of the award.

There were no restrictions on nationality, and applications are welcomed from candidates currently in academia, industry, or other sectors.

If you have questions about your eligibility, please send a recent CV to fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk for advice.

Departmental EOI process (2026 round)

Interested applicants should submit the following EOI documents to our team (fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk by our internal EOI deadline (~January 2027):

• Oxford Physics FLF EOI form (example download below);
• name of Oxford Physics sub-department (Astrophysics / ALP / AOPP / CMP / PP / Theory);
• name of your Oxford Physics Sponsor ¹.

Your departmental sponsor should also be Cc'd into your EOI submission email. 

EOIs will be reviewed first by sub-departmental panels, then by a full Physics panel. Physics expects to nominate only a small number of candidates (typically 2–3) for the University-wide selection, which will in turn determine Oxford’s final institutional nominations to UKRI.

¹Applicants must secure an Oxford Physics academic sponsor in advance. This individual must be CC’d on your EOI submission email. 

Assessment criteria (for departmental EOI)

Oxford Physics sift panels will consider the UKRI FLF core criteria:

• Vision and Leadership: originality, ambition, and potential for transformative impact.
• Applicant Excellence: skills, experience, and leadership potential relative to career stage.
• Programme of Work: clarity, feasibility, and strategic alignment with Oxford Physics and UKRI priorities.
• Environment and Support: suitability of the Oxford host environment and commitment to career development.

Prospective applicants are advised to discuss plans early with their sponsor to ensure alignment with departmental and divisional priorities. A key condition of this scheme is that hosting departments and faculties commit to providing an open-ended research position for the Fellow, taken up during or on completion of the Fellowship, in line with Oxford’s employment policies.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Oxford Physics supports flexible working and recognises that career paths are not linear. Applicants are encouraged to highlight contextual factors such as career breaks, caring responsibilities, or health-related circumstances when submitting their EOI, confidentially if required, with the Research Facilitation Team at fellowships@physics.ox.ac.uk.

The department particularly welcomes EOIs from individuals from underrepresented groups in physics. If you have difficulty securing a sponsor or require specific support or accommodations during the process, please contact the Fellowships Facilitation Team (in confidence if required). For more information, visit our ED&I webpage.

UKRI requires host institutions to collect diversity data for prospective applicants to provide insights into how the UKRI FLF scheme advances equality of opportunity. If you would like to participate in the UKRI FLF scheme at Oxford, even if you do not ultimately submit an EoI, please complete the UKRI FLF Round 11 diversity data survey, which typically opens in January. Responses are submitted anonymously, and individual responses will not be shared, although aggregate data will be reported to UKRI. Please do not complete the survey more than once.