What is the Police STAR Fund call looking for?

The Police STAR Fund 27/28 call is seeking to fund force and regional innovation and research across science, technology, analysis, and research.

The Police STAR Fund focuses on early-stage development of innovation and research, rather than implementation. Projects looking to understand whether something with an S&T focus works (e.g. fundamental research, feasibility studies, proof of concepts, testing and development etc.), are eligible. Projects looking to evaluate the implementation of a initiative or new technology, procure existing kit, or implement something known to be effective, are not. Further information on project eligibility can be found in the call guidance.

EOIs should be submitted via the online form available on the How to Apply pages of our website

The EOI stage will close at 12 noon 26 of October 2026, and only applications submitted through the online form will be considered for funding.

How to Apply

The Police STAR Fund operates a two stage application process:

Stage 1 - EOI: the Police STAR Fund EOI stage will be open for submissions between 9am 28 September –12 noon 26th October 2026. The EOI questionnaire can be found in the call guidance available on science.police.uk to help support the drafting of your bid.

Stage 2: If you are successful at EOI, we will invite you to submit a full proposal which will be due 8 January 2026.

Please see the call guidance and supporting documents which provides details on submitting your bid and further details about the process. In particular, please read carefully the section on eligibility to determine if your proposal is suitable for the Police STAR Fund.