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International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF)

Updated 3 November 2023

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Putting science & technology at the heart of our international relationships

The UK government has committed £337 million through the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) up to 2025. The funding will allow UK researchers and innovators to collaborate with international partners on multidisciplinary projects tackling the major themes of our time: Planet, Health, Tech, and Talent.

The fund launched in December 2022 with an initial  £119 million. A further £218 million was announced in November 2023 for research and innovation partnerships with low and middle-income countries to support sustainable development.

The funding is part of the UK’s commitments to prioritise strategic international science partnerships. ISPF will help the UK and its partners to deliver bigger, better science than one country can do alone.

ISPF is managed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and delivered by a consortium of the UK’s leading research bodies, including:

ISPF partner organisations will work with international partners to launch calls and promote their impact.

Funding opportunities are published on individual ISPF partner websites. Follow the links above to find out about open calls.

The fund will have 4 themes under which partner organisations will establish their own programmes and calls:

  • Resilient Planet - Leading the green industrial revolution to protect the planet
  • Transformative Technologies - Developing responsible technologies to secure our place in tomorrow’s world
  • Healthy People, Animals and Plants – Researching and Innovating for secure and healthy populations
  • Tomorrow’s Talent – Nurturing talent to drive inclusion, research and innovation.

The fund will help to:

  • deliver important research and innovation that can only be fully realised by working internationally
  • tackle global challenges and develop future technologies, positioning UK researchers and innovators at the heart of global solutions
  • make meaningful contributions towards the Sustainable Development Goals through the use of equitable international research and innovation partnerships
  • enable groups of countries to collaborate in an agile way on issues that matter
  • equip developing countries with robust research and innovation ecosystems
  • strengthen the influence and connections of the UK and UK STRI community domestically and around the world

Examples of programmes launched to date

Global collaboration to accelerate clean energy innovation

An ambitious, novel clean energy and climate change programme led by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and delivered by UKRI in the UK. The UK investment of £18 million is across 4 projects in track one of the Global Centers programme. Funding is provided through UKRI’s Building a Green Future fund and International Science Partnerships Fund. 

British Academy ODA International Interdisciplinary Research Projects​

Supports international collaborations between early career researchers in the UK and early career researchers in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries on internationally focused ODA-eligible research projects of an interdisciplinary nature involving the humanities and social sciences.

Royal Academy of Engineering Higher Education Partnerships sub-Saharan Africa (HEP SSA)

HEP SSA offers grants to universities in sub-Saharan Africa to address the engineering skills shortage in the continent through academia-industry collaborations. It aims to ensure that the higher education system in sub-Saharan Africa produces engineers with the skills and knowledge required to meet the needs of industry and tackle local and global challenges.​

Contact details

Sign up to the ISPF e-newsletter to receive regular news, updates, and opportunities by emailing ISPFenquiries@odamanagement.org with the subject ‘newsletter’.

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