BACKGROUND

The Research Institute in Verified Trustworthy Software Systems (VeTSS), hosted at Imperial College London and the University of Surrey, is a UK Academic Research Institute in Cyber Security funded by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

One of the aims of VeTSS is to support the UK verification community, and over the years we have funded research projects on analysis, testing and verification. Following the VeTSS Research Awards 2025, we are currently seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) for research projects to be undertaken between 1/10/2026 and 31/3/2027.

ABOUT THE CALL

This call aims to support projects aligned with VeTSS research on topics including, but not limited to, those outlined in the VeTSS Problem Book. Problems not listed in the Problem Book are also eligible for funding, provided that the proposal clearly links the project with VeTSS objectives.

This call is open to projects led by researchers at postdoctoral level or above. Proposals led by early career researchers (ECRs), as well as underrepresented groups and marginalised communities are particularly welcome.

PROPOSAL DETAILS

VeTSS would like to support excellent proposals that are perhaps more difficult to fund through traditional routes, examples include proposals transferring technology from academia to industry; proposals on ambitious blue-sky research as a step towards more standard funding; and work focussing on the development of well-engineered tools rather than cutting-edge research. Finally, VeTSS would also support proposals for bringing talented international PhD students/RAs/academics to spend time with UK research groups, as well as proposals for international workshops to sustain and further improve the UK-based VeTSS community.

The previous calls were highly competitive. Expressions of Interest should ideally provide evidence of engagement with the international academic or industrial verification community, or the UK industrial community interested in applying such techniques to industrial practice.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

The application process for this call is deliberately lightweight. The EOI should contain:

  • A 3-page EOI that clearly identifies deliverable outcomes, with an additional page for references, following EPSRC formatting guidelines: the font should be 11 point Arial or Helvetica, with 2 cm margins. Within this proposal the investigators must describe alignment between their project and VeTSS (1-2 paragraphs).
  • 2-page CVs for each of the investigators and named researchers including: a list of current and past grants and a web link to their publications.
  • 1-page list of relevant publications, up to 5 per investigator (optional)
  • A 1-page detailed breakdown of costs, by year, with justification including, for example, equipment, travel and expenses. Please see the guidelines below for full details on costings requirements.

ELIGIBILITY AND CONDITIONS

The PI must be at a postdoctoral level or higher and employed at a UK university. Only one EOI will be accepted per PI. The investigators of projects funded in this call are expected to become core VeTSS members and to play an active role in VeTSS (including presenting their work at the next VeTSS Annual conference). They are required to complete both an initial and a final report. We are committed to full and open publication of the research outputs of funded projects in line with normal academic practice.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION

EOIs should be sent as a single document to contact@vetss.org.uk by 16:00hrs on Thursday, 6th August 2026. Proposals will be assessed by a panel of verification experts from academia, industry and government, who will judge the proposals on quality, viability and significance. We aim to notify every one of their decision by 26th of August with contracts to funded projects to be sent out for review in September, and projects to start in October 2026.

Enquiries regarding the application process should be addressed to the VeTSS Program Managers: Teresa Carbajo Garcia or Ling Zhang at contact@vetss.org.uk.

📅 Deadline for applications: Thursday, 6th August 2026, 16:00 GMT
📅 Decisions announced: : 26th of August

COSTINGS GUIDELINES

The costs should be up to maximum of £50K per proposal.

Proposal will be funded at 100% Full Economic. Note that PI salary costs cannot be included. Eligible costs include directly incurred cost (consumables, travel, equipment, PhD studentships and staff costs, with the exception of the PI salary costs), directly allocated costs and indirect costs, if applicable.

As research, we anticipate proposals will be exempt from VAT. Should your proposal not fit on that category, please give full details on your costing section. We are sorry but we are not able to give VAT advice.

We are happy to supply copies of our standard Award Letters and Terms and Conditions for reference.