Guidance

Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund round 2: clarification point (added 4 July 2025)

Updated 4 July 2025

Applying for both the Engineering Biology Sandbox and Regulators’ Pioneer Fund Round 4 (RPF 4) (added 4 July 2025)

We are aware that some Engineering Biology projects may meet the eligibility criteria for both the Engineering Biology Sandbox and the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund Round 4 (RPF 4) grant competitions.

In line with the guidance contained in Managing Public Money (specifically Annex 5.1) on how government departments should arrange and control grants, this notice clarifies that a single project cannot receive duplicate funding from both competitions. If the same project is submitted to both, it will only be eligible to receive funding from one competition.

To ensure compliance, we will cross-reference applications to identify any duplicate projects. If identical or substantially similar projects are identified, we will ask a clarification question, under the RPF 4 competition, to confirm that the applications are not for the same project.

If we determine that a project is identical across both competitions, we will:

• notify you that duplicate funding is not permitted
• ask you to confirm which competition you would prefer to proceed with, should your project be successful in both.

If no response is received, we will default to awarding funding through the competition that launched first – the Engineering Biology Sandbox.