Skip to main content
Guidance

Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund

This fund supports innovative engineering biology sandboxes which aim to accelerate pro-innovation regulatory reform and encourage business innovation and investment.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Published:
1 February 2024
Last updated:
18 November 2025
Show all updates

  1. Round 2 successful project announced.

  2. Clarification questions published.

  3. Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund clarification point published.

  4. Round 2 of the Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund is open for applications.

  5. Round 2 of the Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund will open in April 2025.

  6. Round 1 successful project announced.

  7. Draft statement of main terms published.

  8. Reference to the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement has been corrected to the Subsidy Control Act 2022 in the subsidy control section of the competition brief.

  9. Clarification questions published.

  10. First published.

Documents

Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund round 2: clarification questions (updated 9 July 2025)

HTML

Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund: statement of main terms (draft)

HTML

Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund application form (odt)

ODT, 158 KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alt.formats@dsit.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Table template: project costs

CSV, 1.32 KB

View online

Details

Update: 18 November 2025

Application rounds

  • Round 1 closed on 19 April 2024
  • Round 2 closed on 18 July 2025

Sandboxes explainer

The concept of a ‘sandbox’ is defined by regulators in different ways, but all sandboxes facilitate extensive dialogue between industry and a regulator to inform regulatory actions that strike the right balance between facilitating innovation and mitigating risk.

A sandbox does not necessarily require legislative change or ‘relaxing’ regulations. Additionally, the outcome of a sandbox project should be uncertain as it is a research and development project.

If you require further information, please email engineeringbiology@dsit.gov.uk.

Sign up for emails or print this page