BBSRC Bioinformatics and Biological Resources Fund 2026 (26BBR)
BBSRC funds UK bioscience databases, software tools and biological collections with up to £1.6 million per project. Applications close November 19, 2026.
The Bioinformatics and Biological Resources Fund (26BBR) from BBSRC supports community resources for UK bioscience. These include databases, well maintained bioinformatics software tools and collections of biological materials. The total budget is up to £7 million.
A project can cost up to £2 million at full economic cost. BBSRC pays 80%, so up to £1.6 million, and the research organisation covers the rest. Projects can last up to five years and can start on July 1, 2027 at the earliest.
The fund supports new resources, the move from a project resource to a community resource, further development or essential maintenance of an existing resource, and the joining of separate resources. BBSRC wants resources with real demand or an established user base in the biosciences. It will not fund generic software platforms for any research area, or resources aimed mainly at biomedical or clinical research.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for BBSRC funding. BBSRC particularly encourages research technical professionals and research software engineers to apply as project leads or co leads. International researchers can take part only as project partners.
Applications go through the UKRI Funding Service. The project lead starts the application, and the research office submits it. The fund opened on September 23, 2026 and closes on November 19, 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.
All applications must show how the resource could be sustained after BBSRC support ends. Questions about scope go to bbr.fund@bbsrc.ukri.org.