SSI Research Software Maintenance Fund: Call for Expressions of Interest now open

The Research Software Maintenance Fund (RSMF), supported by a £4.8 million UKRI grant to the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI), supports projects that improve sustainability, reduce technical debt, and enhance community engagement. We are pleased to announce that the call for Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for Round 2 of the RSMF is now open until 25 February 2026, 16:00 GMT. 

This round will accept applications for up to £150k and a duration of up to 12 months. We expect to fund approximately 10 projects, subject to budget requests.  

We particularly welcome Expressions of Interest from the Humanities and Social Sciences domains. If you support research software that supports Humanities and Social Sciences research (tools, libraries, workflows) we strongly encourage you to apply. 

Application process 

We have updated our assessment criteria around four main themes: eligibility, vision and impact, feasibility and approach, and capability to deliver. 

To improve the scalability and fairness of the reviewing process, EoIs will also undergo a distributed peer review process, overseen by the RSMF team. By submitting an EoI, the lead applicant will agree to review a small number (up to five) of other EoIs in March 2026. This round will only accept one EoI per lead applicant. Guidance and training will be provided to support this process. We believe this approach will not only better distribute the workload but also give applicants valuable perspective on evaluation standards. 

A rebuttal stage will be introduced at both the EoI and Full Application stages, allowing applicants to clarify misunderstandings or report concerns about assessments and comments before decisions are final. 

Timeline 

We expect Round 2 to close on 25 February 2026, with successful EoIs invited to submit full proposals in mid-April and funding decisions expected by early July 2026.  

• General Information webinar: 11 February 2026 | 13:00-14:00 GMT 

• Humanities and social sciences webinar: 17 February 2026 | 13:00-14:00 GMT 

• Closing Date (Expressions of Interest): 25 February 2026 | 16:00 GMT 

• Expressions of Interest Rebuttals: 25-26 March 2026 

• Invitation to Full Proposals: Mid-April 2026 

• Closing Date (Full Proposals): Mid- May 2026 

• Decisions Communicated: July 2026 

• Earliest start date for projects:1 October 2026 

• Latest end date for projects: 29 February 2028 

Precise dates for full applications will be included in the invitation to submit a full application for successful EoIs in mid-April.  

RSMF webinars 

We are hosting two free online webinars to share information and answer questions about the RSMF Round 2: 

General information online webinar
Wednesday 11 February, 13:00–14:00 GMT
Contents: eligibility, assessment criteria, and questions from the audience. 
Register for the General information webinar. 

Area-specific webinar (Humanities and Social Sciences)
Tuesday 17 February, 13:00–14:00 GMT
Content: eligibility, assessment criteria, and questions from prospective Humanities and Social Sciences applicants. 
Register for the Area-specific webinar. 

Further information 

Research Software Maintenance Fund - Round 2 webpage

Research Software Maintenance Fund (RSMF) page on the Software Sustainability Institute website.

EPCC is a founding member of the Software Sustainability Institute.