Grant funding data for 2022/23

We update this information every year. The most recent data is for the period from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023. You can find further details on our finances in our annual reports.

Grants awarded in 2022/23

In 2022/23, we awarded grants to researchers based at 460 organisations across 75 countries.

When viewed by the number of grants made:

• 79.7% of grants awarded were to UK-based researchers
• 12.1% of grants awarded were to other high-income countries
• 8.3% of grants awarded were to low and middle-income countries  

When viewed by the value of grant funding:

• 52% of our funding was in the UK
• 48% of our funding supported research overseas; 30.9% was awarded directly to overseas institutions and 17.1% was awarded via a UK grantee working with an international collaborator
• 25.2% of our funding supported research in lower and middle-income countries

All active grants  

Most of our grants last for several years. As of 30 September 2023, we had 3,098 active grants to researchers based at a total of 1,042 organisations across 119 countries.

Researchers based outside the UK received 37.4% of our active funding:

• 27.8% (£1.9bn) directly supported research at organisations outside the UK (see map below), compared to 24% in the previous year
• 9.6% (£700mn) supported research internationally via UK organisations working with international collaborators, compared to 7% in the previous year

In the UK, we have 2,686 active grants held by researchers across 157 organisations.

UK administering organisations with more than £50mn in active funding

Pages 144-149 of our 2023 annual report set out all organisations administering grants totalling more than £10mn awarded in 2022/23. 

All the data below relates to the lead applicant or principal investigator for a grant. Download the data for more detailed breakdowns [XLSX 29KB].

Applications in 2022/23

Of the applications we received where the lead applicant provided the relevant information:

• 45.5% were from women
• 3.8% were from disabled researchers
• 64.6% were from UK-based researchers, 16.0% from other high-income countries and 19.4% from low and middle-income countries 
• globally, 62.7% were from white researchers, 17.4% from Asian or Asian British researchers, 11.6% from Black or Black British researchers and 8.3% from researchers of mixed or other ethnicities
• in the UK, 76.1% were from white researchers, 13.7% were from Asian or Asian British researchers, 3.6% were from Black or Black British researchers and 6.6% from researchers of mixed or other ethnicities

Grants in 2022/23

Of grants we awarded where the lead applicant provided the relevant data:

• 49.7% were to women
• 3.8% were to disabled researchers 
• 71.5% were to white researchers, 13.5% to Asian or Asian British researchers, 7.8% to Black or Black British researchers and 7.3% to researchers of mixed or other ethnicities
• in the UK, 75.7% of awards were to white researchers, 13.5% to Asian or Asian British researchers, 4.9% were to Black or Black British researchers and 6.0% to researchers of mixed or other ethnicities

Success rates in 2022/23 for our competitive grants  

Most of our grants are awarded through open competitive schemes or calls. This data shows how success rates in this process vary.

This is the proportion of total eligible applications for our competitively assessed grants that were successful, where the lead applicant provided the relevant data.

Success rates were 18.8% for men and 19.1% for women. 

Globally, success rates were 22.4% for white applicants compared to 13.5% for applicants from other backgrounds (Black, Asian, mixed and other ethnicities). This is a larger gap than in 2021/22, where success rates were 12.5% for white applicants compared to 9.3% for applicants from other backgrounds.

In the UK, award rates were 25.2% for white applicants and 23.9% for applicants from other backgrounds.

For this data, we follow the UK Census ethnic group categorisation.

Success rates were notably higher for UK-based applicants (25.1%) than for those based in other high-income countries (10.8%) or low and middle-income countries (9.8%). This is a larger gap than in 2021/22, where success rates were somewhat higher for UK-based applicants (12.1%) and those based in other high-income countries (12.3%) than for low and middle-income countries (7.9%)

The increase in the gaps in success rates between UK-based applicants and others, and between white applicants and others, was mostly caused by the end of several funding programmes. These programmes attracted a high volume of UK applicants and had low success rates. Once we closed these programmes, the number of applications we received from UK researchers went down and the proportion that were successful increased. As the majority of UK applicants are white, this also affected the overall success rates for white applicants.

We continue to consider what more we can do to support applications from low and middle-income countries. Last year we ran information and advice webinars for potential applicants with live interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Thai, French and Swahili, attended by researchers from 118 different countries.  

Download the data for more detailed breakdowns [XLSX 29KB].