Back to news

Accelerate-C2D3 Funding call for novel applications of AI for research and innovation 2025

06 May 2025

The Accelerate Programme in collaboration with the Cambridge Centre for Data-Driven Discovery (C2D3) is offering small grants for University of Cambridge researchers pursuing innovative applications of AI, in research or real-world contexts. Funding can support a variety of activities, including research, events, workshops, teaching, software development, or software development, with a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration.

Successfully deploying AI to tackle real-world challenges requires effective interdisciplinary collaboration. Developing these collaborations requires time and resources to bring together potential research partners, investigate the different ways of framing a challenge, and co-design potential solutions. Scaling successful interventions might require new ways of convening, innovations in training, or novel software tools. Often this work falls outside the scope of routine funding calls.

Accelerate Science’s funding programme will help fill this gap, offering small grants that can be deployed flexibly to start or scale interdisciplinary collaborations in the use of AI for research and innovation. This call is open to researchers from across disciplines at the University of Cambridge wanting to use AI to accelerate their research, and who would benefit from a small amount of funding to kick-start their work or catalyse new collaborations. Applications are invited via the form at this link by 17:00 on Friday 12 September 2025. For further details, check out the FAQs below, or email accelerate-science@cst.cam.ac.uk and coordinator@c2d3.cam.ac.uk.

This year applications are open under three categories:

• Early Career Seed Funding: Small grants of up to £5,000 for early career researchers (PhD students or postdocs) to provide a step towards an independent research career.
• Funding for events: Funding to convene networks and events. This funding is capped at £15,000.
• Project grants: Funding of up to £25,000 for larger scale projects.

In this year’s call, we are particularly seeking projects with a focus on inter and multidisciplinary collaboration. We are looking for projects that are ready to get started quickly and will assess project readiness as part of the application review process.

This is the fourth annual call with 13 projects funded in 2024, 11 projects funded in 2023 and 9 projects funded in 2022. Successful projects have included convening a network of researchers working in applying AI in the early detection of cancer, a project using machine learning and natural language processing to predict the outcome of court litigation and research exploring how AI can be used in natural history collections to support viral surveillance.

We will be holding a funding Q and A event on Thursday 22 May from 15:00 – 16:00 (please register here). There we will answer your questions about the funding call and to talk to our Machine Learning Engineers about the technical aspects of your project.

Apply here

Register to attend the Q and A event on Thursday 22 May, 15:00 – 16:00.

FAQs

Why have you launched this call?

The Accelerate Programme’s mission is to drive a step-change in research and innovation at Cambridge through the application of data science in AI. As part of that work, we are keen to support the use of AI to help progress the excellent research happening across the University. Interdisciplinary collaborations are vital to this mission, and the Cambridge Centre for Data-Driven Discovery brings together researchers and expertise from across the University with the aim of enhancing interdisciplinary research. Working together through this call we seek to support projects to start or scale interdisciplinary collaborations to deploy AI to tackle research and real-world challenges.

Who can apply?

Applications are open to any PhD students or members of staff at the University of Cambridge, working in any discipline, including natural, physical, social, medical, and computer sciences, arts, humanities, and engineering. Applicants will need to have a contract or affiliation with the University for the duration of their project. PhD students are eligible to apply to the Accelerate-C2D3 funding call and will need to ensure they have the approval of their PI and home department before submitting their application. Under the University guidelines, a named PI will be required to set up the funds in your home department, please ensure they are named in your application. Any queries about eligibility can be sent to accelerate-science@cst.cam.ac.uk and coordinator@c2d3.cam.ac.uk.

Please ensure that you consult with your Department’s grants team to align with any internal processes in advance of application. PhD students and postdocs are eligible to apply to any of the funding streams, noting that applications should be tailored to the selected scheme.

Collaboration with organisations outside of the University is possible and full details of collaborators can be included in the application form. Where a project involves an external party, applicants should consider what types of agreements may be required (for example collaboration agreements, non-disclosure agreements, material/data transfer agreements and/or other types of contract) when making their application. Further information can be found at: Contracts Handled by ROO Research Operations Office (cam.ac.uk).

Applicants from previous rounds are eligible to reapply to this round, however resubmissions without amendment are unlikely to be successful particularly noting the amended criteria for this year’s call.

What kind of projects will be funded?

Proposals should be able to demonstrate a contribution to advancing the use of data science and AI for research or innovation. We’re interested in projects that have real-world application; this might include, for example, the use of AI to accelerate discovery in a specific research area, or the deployment of AI to tackle real-world challenges. In this year’s call we are looking for multidisciplinary proposals.

Funding is suitable for projects or activities that can start immediately or in a short timescale. Applicants will be asked to outline project readiness and the steps required for the project to start (for example, team appointments, ethical approval, collaboration agreements)and this will be assessed in application review.. We anticipate projects of 6-9 months in duration. The maximum project duration will be 12 months and all projects must be complete by 31 October 2026, and no extensions beyond this date will be possible.

What funding can I apply for?

The intention of this call is to support projects across disciplines. We intend to support a number of successful applications, and the level of funding that can be applied for will be in line with the three funding streams:

• Early Career Seed Funding: Up to £5,000.
• Funding for events: Up to £15,000.
• Project grants: Up to £25,000.

The amount of funding awarded will depend on the quality of the application and the number of applications received. We would encourage applications that cost less than the maximum set out above. If your idea costs more to deliver, it is likely better to get in touch before applying, so we can informally advise on feasibility: we have a limited budget and large funding requests will limit our ability to support other projects.

Applicants should work with their Department’s grants/finance team to prepare the budget details for their application to ensure projects are fully costed and are in line with University and Departmental policies. Successful projects may be asked to submit a draft Worktribe costing before funding can be confirmed.

What can funds be used for?

The focus of this programme is inter and multi-disciplinary collaboration that advances the application in research and real-world contexts. Within that remit, funding could be used for a variety of different activities, including research, staff time, events, workshops, conferences, teaching, software development, or research spin-up. Budgets should be prepared for direct costs only.

Spending plans should be designed in line with the University’s financial policies, for example policies on travel, accommodation, and sustainability. For further information, please see the Finance Division guidance. If you have any questions about formulating your budget, please contact accelerate-science@cst.cam.ac.uk and coordinator@c2d3.cam.ac.uk.

What support can the Accelerate Programme and C2D3 offer?

As part of developing your proposal, the Accelerate team can offer assistance in sense-checking the technical feasibility of your project. Our AI Clinic will offer informal guidance on technical aspects of the work. If you’d like to access help from the Clinic please email the team on accelerate-mle@cst.cam.ac.uk outlining the nature of your query. If you would like support from the clinic, please get in touch as early as possible to enable sufficient time for discussion before the funding deadline.

The Clinic can also help resolve software engineering issues you encounter in your machine learning projects. You can get in touch using the contact information above.

As part of this funding scheme, C2D3 can offer administrative and organisational support for conferences, workshops, or other events. This could include venue arrangements, catering, hosting a webpage, delegate registration, or other operational aspects of event delivery. Depending on the nature of the project, C2D3 may also be able to offer support in the design and delivery of teaching activities.

How will my proposal be evaluated?

Applications will be reviewed by a panel and evaluated using the following criteria:

• Strength of proposal in helping enhance inter and multi-disciplinary collaboration in the use of AI.
• Contribution of the proposed activity to generating new insights in research or new applications of AI.
• Potential to generate longer-term impact.
• Project readiness – feasibility of project delivery in proposed timeframe.

What terms and conditions are associated with this funding?

Standard University finance terms apply. All funded projects are asked to acknowledge the source of funding in project outputs. Funded projects will be asked to provide a short blogpost that describes the question they are interested in, why this matters, and what action is needed to make progress. The Accelerate team can provide a science writer to help produce this, if required. We’ll also ask for a short evaluation explaining how the funding has benefitted your work, to help us assess the impact of this funding. Community-building is central to our work, and we hope that researchers who benefit from this funding will become involved in supporting and growing the Accelerate community!

Over what timescale should research be carried out?

This funding is particularly suited to activities that can be initiated in the near-term, with the aim of scoping, setting-up, or scaling-up interdisciplinary activities. We expect projects of 6 – 9 months up to a maximum of 12 months in duration and project dates will be confirmed as part of award agreements. All projects funded under this call must be complete by 31 October 2026. Any unspent funds should be returned to the Accelerate Programme.

Key dates:

• Call opens: Monday 6 May 2025
• Funding Call Q and A session: Thursday 22 May 2025, 15:00 – 16:00 (via Zoom register here)
• Call closes: Friday 12 September 2025, 17:00 BST
• Outcome communicated early October 2025
• Earliest project start date: November 2025
• All projects to be complete by: 31 October 2026

How can I apply?

To apply, please submit an application form by 17:00 on Friday 12 September.

What information is required for the application form?

The application form requests the following details:

Questions 1-3: Primary organiser for the application (please provide the name, role, department, and email address of the primary organiser who will act as point of contact for this application).

Questions 4-5: Partners involved in the proposed project (please provide the following details for collaborators involved in the application: name, role, department or institution, and indicate the current status of the partnership).

Question 6: Short project title

Question 7: Type of funding

• Early Career Seed Funding
• Event support
• Project grant

Question 8: Proposed project dates (in format dd/mm/yyyy – dd/mm/yyyy), noting that all projects must be complete by 31/10/2026.

Question 9: Project summary (briefly summarise the context for your project, the issue you will address, and your proposed intervention).

Question 10: Problem statement (please describe the problem or issue your activity is intended to address and the impact of that problem).

Question 11: Proposed solution (please describe how your proposed intervention will solve the problem set out above).

Question 12: Proposed approach (please describe what your intervention/activity is, how it works, and how you’ll get started).

Question 13: Desired outcomes (please describe what you hope to achieve with this work).

Question 14: Project readiness: Please briefly detail the project timeline, outlining the steps required for the project to start.

Question 15: Funding request (value in GBP).

Question 16: Funding requirements (tell us how much funding you are requesting and provide a brief breakdown on headline areas of spend, for example: staffing, event organisation, bought-in services, equipment).

Question 17: Additional support from Accelerate or C2D3 (in this section, please advise whether you anticipate requiring any additional administrative or technical support from Accelerate or C2D3 to deliver your project, and what type of input would be helpful).

Answers to questions 9-17 should have a maximum word count of 300 words. Please note the word limits, in assessing applications we will consider the first 300 words of each response only.

For further questions, please contact accelerate-science@cst.cam.ac.uk and coordinator@c2d3.cam.ac.uk.