ISPF Research Collaboration Grants 2025

British Council & PMU-B

Opening date :

  • Expression of Interest (EOI): 19 June 2025
  • For Full Proposal: 4 July 2025

Closing date :

  • For Expression of Interest (EOI) to UK : 30 June 2025 at 12:00pm (UK Time)
  • For Full Proposal : 4 August 2025 at 17:00 (BKK time) (EOI must be approved by the British Council before the Full Proposal can be submitted)

Overview :

ISPF Research Collaboration grants provide small scale seed funding for collaborations between the UK and the participating ISPF countries/territories including Thailand in each call to:

  • Initiate new research and innovation collaborations between academic groups, departments, and institutions in partner countries and the UK
  • Develop existing collaborations at group, departmental, and institutional level
  • Encourage these collaborations to work with non-academic organisations and individuals to support the exchange of research and innovation expertise and the translation of research knowledge into tangible benefits
  • Establish local hubs for joint UK-country/territory activity in a particular area, enabling engagement from the wider research and innovation community

Priority areas for proposals :

Tomorrow’s Talent > Research Capacity, Research Systems, and the Research Pipeline in relation to the Six Technology Groups under the Science and Technology Development Plan (2025–2027), focusing on the following areas, without limitation to these alone.

  1. Digital & Computing Technology
    1. Development of Models and Algorithms for Digital Applications in Key National Industries
  2. Sensor & Electronics Technology
    1. Sensor technologies
    2. Power Electronics applications
  3. Biotechnology
    1. Synthetic Biology
    2. Genome Editing Technologies
    3. Precision Fermentation Technologies
  4. Clean Energy Related Technology and Decarbonization
    1. Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Technology
    2. Biofuel
  5. Advanced Materials Technology
    1. High-performance or novel materials
    2. Technology-transferable advanced materials
    3. Scalable materials for industrial deployment
  6. Frontier Technology
    1. Earth and Space System Technology
    2. High-Energy Physics and Plasma Technology
    3. Quantum Technology

Support from PMU-B :

  1. Total Grant: up to £90,000 (Project size: £100,000 FEC)
    • UK Maximum: £40,000 (Project size: £50,000 FEC)
    • PMU-B Maximum: £50,000/project or less than 2,300,000 Thai Baht/project
  2. Number of projects to be funded: 2 projects

Duration of grants :

Up to 24 months

Eligibility criteria :

Proposals must fulfil the following criteria to be eligible for funding under this Programme:

  • The proposal must have the researchers from Thailand at least 2 institutes or universities to cooperate with.
  • Lead Applicants in Thailand must be;
    • Researchers and/or university professors/instructors (Thai/Non-Thai researchers) who work in public/non-profit organization research institute or university in Thailand and are competent in conducting research with international partners.
    • The project leader must hold a doctoral degree or equivalent, possess a record of high-quality research, and be employed at a higher education institution or government agency in Thailand. Additionally, neither the project leader nor any of the research team members may have been involved in any violation of research ethics.
    • A project leader is an individual with expertise who is affiliated with a government research unit or a higher education institution nationwide and has a research track record that demonstrates their practical knowledge and abilities.
    • The project leader should have publications in international academic journals as a Corresponding or First Author, with at least 5 publications in the past 5 years or as specified by PMU-B.
  • The proposal topic must directly address the topic outlined in the call for proposals (PMU-B).
  • The budget must stay within the specified limits.

Note: Thai Applicants must read the guidelines for the details.  

How to apply : (Applications will follow a two-step process)

  • Expression of Interest (EOI): Project leader must submit their Expression of Interest (EOI) through the British Council’s grants platform at https://grants.britishcouncil.org/” by June 30, 2025.
  • The Expression of Interest (EOI) that meets the eligibility criteria for project leaders and institutions will be able to proceed to the full application stage.
    • Full application:Applicants accepted following successful EOI, and eligibility review will be invited to submit the full application.
      1. Applicants or project leader will be invited to submit the full application through the British Council’s grants platform at https://grants.britishcouncil.org/ by 4 August 2025 at 12:00pm (UK Time)
      2. Thai project leaders who are on the same team and have qualified in the EOI stage must also submit the “PMU-B Full Proposal” via NRIIS: https://nriis.go.th
        • Thai project leader must fill in the proposal details in the NRIIS system.
        • For the budget section, please fill in the budget details that the Thai applicant will be requesting from PMU-B.
        • Thai project leader must attach documents;
  1. Full proposal : PMU-B Proposal Form
  2. Letter of Support (LOS): Researchers from each participating institution in Thailand must have a letter of support from their home institution, signed by an authorized representative of the institution/organization (P.S. The format and content of LOS forms can vary from one institution to another. Please contact your institution for guidance on completing their LOS form) – Please write the Letter of Support (LOS) in English.
  3. Supporting Documentsg. Thailand Project Leader CV, or Letters of support from Associated Partners (if any)
  4. Any additional documents
  • Thai project leader (and co-researchers) must submit their proposal in the NRIIS system by 4 August 2025 at 5:00 PM Bangkok time.
  • The Thai project leader’s institute must endorse the submission in the NRIIS system by 6 August 2025 at 5:00 PM Bangkok time.

Indicative Timeline : For Thailand side please see PMU-B

Process Activity Date

Responsibility

Step

1

Call Opens for Expression of Interest (EOI) 2 June 2025

British Council

Applicants for all calls must submit a completed online application form at the following link

https://grants.britishcouncil.org/

at 12:00pm (UK Time)

Deadline for Expression of Interest (EOI) 30 June 2025

British Council

Applicants will be notified during that week if they are eligible to complete a full application

Expression of interest approved by the British Council
Expressions of interest will be rejected if they don’t meet the eligibility criteria for project leaders and institutions

Step

2

Notification to submit full application

4 July 2025

 

British Council

PMU-B

Thai researchers who meet the EOI criteria are authorised to submit the PMU-B proposal and relevant documents via the NRIIS system.

Deadline for submission of full application

4 August 2025

 

British Council

At noon (UK time)

 

PMU-B

Proposals must be submitted by 4 August 2025 at 5:00 PM (Bangkok time) and must be endorsed by the project leader’s institute within the following two days by 5:00 PM (Bangkok time)

There will be no opportunity for corrections and clarifications following the deadline of submission of the full application.
Review panels October 2025 British Council PMU-B
Outcome of selection December 2025 British Council PMU-B
Project start dates January 2026 British Council PMU-B
Project end dates December 2027 British Council PMU-B

Evaluation Criteria from Thai side :

The evaluation from Thailand side is based on the following criteria:

  • Quality and Relevance
  • Project Proposal and Methodology
  • Sustainability and Capacity Strengthening
  • UK Partner’s Scientific and Network Excellence

Objective and Key Results/OKR 2523 – 2527 : N49 (S4P23)

Objective Expected Output
O1 P23: Universities, research centres, government agencies, and private sector entities that collaborate with global or regional networks to produce research, technology, and innovation that benefits Thailand

1.      Networks and consortia in the fields of science, research, and innovation established through the implementation of the project—both domestic and international.

2.      Personnel who have received advanced skills development through participation in science, research, and innovation (SRI) network partnerships, with a clear identification of the skills acquired in various areas. This includes high-caliber researchers, postdoctoral researchers, postgraduate researchers at the master’s level, and doctoral students.

3.      International journal publications in T1 or Q1  (at least 1 publication) with the author of the researchers and the foreign institutions with which they collaborated.

4.      A new technology/process prototype or product prototype that has been tested in the laboratory and/or industry level, which can be further developed or add economic value to the industry, community and society.

5.      Or any other outputs related to the project’s activities.

Key Result
KR3 P23: Number of Research institutions in universities, government agencies, and private companies that are members of international cooperation networks in the field of Science, Research and Innovation and have projects with the network

For the guideline on preparing on Expression of Interest (EOI) and Proposal, please find below.

For instructions on preparing the PMU-B full proposal, please refer to the PMU-B guideline;

Document Download :

Contact :

UK

Please contact the International Science Partnership Fund Team if you are having any difficulties submitting your application form via our portal or if you require an alternative format for reasons of accessibility [email protected]

Thailand

Dr. Sonthaya Chaiarwut (Mr.)

Program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research and Innovation (PMU-B)

Tel: 0-2109-5432 (ext.850)

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

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Program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional
Development,Research and Innovation (PMU-B)

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