Call for Focused Research Organizations
(FROs) in the UK

Concept papers accepted through Feb 7, 2025

(highly recommended but not required for full proposal submission)

Do you have an idea to tackle a critical bottleneck in science and technology that cannot be addressed through current institutional structures?

Convergent Research has partnered with the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) to seek proposals for Focused Research Organizations (FROs) that could unlock transformative progress in ARIA’s opportunity spaces.

If we find your FRO idea promising, your founding team will be invited to our 2025 FRO Founder Residency, a 6 month bootcamp run by experienced FRO builders and operators to help you develop your idea into a fully fledged multi-year action plan, train you in the skills you need to turn your idea into reality, and give you the opportunity to pitch your FRO project to be fully funded in the UK.

The residency is designed to support visionary scientists, engineers, and innovators who are driven to break bottlenecks and build platforms to catalyze advancements across entire scientific fields. That’s because we believe focused, fast-moving, coordinated team efforts are essential for solving some of the most significant scientific and technological challenges of today.

To learn more, register below for our webinar on Jan 31 from 4-5 pm GMT (11am-12pm ET)

About FROs

Focused Research Organizations (FROs) are specialized entities designed to tackle clearly defined science and technology challenges that require significant coordinated teamwork over a fixed period (typically ~3 - 5 years). FROs are team-based organizations with a dedicated CEO, structured similarly to series ~A deep tech startups. They are milestone-driven, focusing on high-risk, high-reward projects to create transformative public goods, often ones that themselves advance research and development. As FROs near completion, they actively disseminate these public goods through various channels (e.g., open-sourcing, spin-outs, partnerships).

Since pioneering the FRO model in 2021, Convergent Research has launched 8 public FROs. These include FROs that are making brain connectivity mapping radically faster, cheaper, and more accessible, scaling up single-cell proteomics to unprecedented levels, and creating open source tools to expand access to novel microbes. Our FROs are also enabling DeepMind’s AlphaProof and co-developing ultra-sound based neurotechnology with leading health tech companies.

Request for FROs

We are looking for transformative FRO ideas relevant to ARIA’s opportunity spaces–those with potential to create new capabilities, accelerate progress, and unlock opportunities–and that would be overlooked or underfunded in traditional research environments.

Here are some examples of areas that we think FROs could have an outsized impact in. If an idea on this list is something you’ve thought about before or would be excited to work on, we hope that this will give you extra encouragement to apply.

In developing your FRO concept, consider a budget of £10 - £14M across 3 - 5 years. Proposals with larger budgets are welcome, but you should have a feasible and well-considered plan for how you would raise the remaining funds.

See About FROs for more information on what makes a good FRO concept and a strong application.

What We Provide

Funding: Participants are eligible to receive £20,000 for the 6 month period, plus travel expenses for up to 2 individuals per founding team.

Programming: Workshops, training, and mentoring to help founders to flesh out the technical, operational, and strategic details of an FRO proposal and develop leadership skills. 

Network: Founders will organize a roadmapping workshop to foster dialogue and community-wide brainstorming to survey their field as they refine their FRO concept and conduct user interviews. We’ll facilitate network-building through community events and train founders in how to proactively build relationships.

Community: You’ll take this journey alongside fellow founding teams, sharing what you know and celebrating each other’s victories.

About the FRO Founder Residency

The FRO Founder Residency is designed to help you develop a technical and operational plan for creating a purpose-built organization dedicated to delivering high-impact public goods. The residency offers a dedicated period of time to build your idea into a proposal and develop the skills and network to make it a reality through a combination of training workshops, mentorship sessions, and community events. You will be mentored by experienced founders and have access to training with operational, legal, and financial experts who have enabled 8 FROs to date.

The goal of the residency is to produce a high-quality proposal for an impactful, counterfactual focused research program with a detailed technical and operational roadmap, then present it in front of a panel of funders. At the end of this process, we anticipate funding 1 - 2 FROs to launch in the UK in early 2026.

Eligibility and Expectations

Proposed FRO concepts must be relevant to one or more of ARIA’s opportunity spaces.

Founding teams must be able to commit to participating in 20 hours a week of work:

  • 4 - 5 hours per week of virtual Residency programming

  • 10-15 hours per week of work developing the technical and operational plan for their detailed FRO proposal.

  • Teams must also commit to traveling for several in-person activities during the Residency, including the Pitch Day in early 2026 to London or other locations in the UK.

The founding team must be committed to leading the FRO full time and launching it in the UK starting in Q2 2026, if the FRO is funded.

The residency is designed to accommodate individuals with ongoing employment. Please be advised that it is a significant amount of work. There are no restrictions on where the virtual components are completed, but founding teams are highly encouraged to be co-located for ease of collaboration and programming will be oriented around GMT times. Founders must be able to travel to the UK for the in-person components of the residency.

Proposals affiliated with existing organizations are eligible, as long as the FRO can have a full-time, dedicated team and the ability to operate nimbly with independent decision-making abilities.

Application Process

Throughout the 2025 application process, you will have the opportunity to engage Convergent Research for feedback on how to refine your proposal and maximize its potential for success. Before submitting an application, please read through the “Essential Resources” documents below.

Essential resources for this opportunity

  • This is a very brief form requesting concise answers about your project vision. Submitting a concept paper is highly recommended, as it allows you to receive feedback on your concept before completing the full application.

    Submit your concept HERE.

  • A 5-page full proposal elaborating on the technical approach, high-impact outcomes, and actionable plan. You should have a clear thesis for why a FRO is needed. See the full proposal guidelines here.

  • In April, selected applicants will participate in a ~1 hour virtual pitch and interview session with a panel of experts, focusing on both technical merit and leadership potential.

  • The final stage involves an in-person finalist day on May 15 in the UK, including a pitch presentation, collaborative workshops, and interviews.

  • In June, accepted founding teams will be invited to participate in the residency program, which will begin mid July 2025 and run through Dec 2025. Here is the guide to the FRO Founder Residency.

About Us

Convergent Research

Convergent Research is a non-profit science studio best known for pioneering the Focused Research Organization (FRO). We build pivotal infrastructure that removes bottlenecks to breakthrough scientific research. FROs are a new operating model for science that enables a high level of team science and systems engineering for public goods creation. We have eight public projects running with two more being built.

Note: There will be differences between UK FROs launched through this program and Convergent’s portfolio of US FROs with respect to legal and operational structures.

ARIA

The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is an R&D funding agency created to unlock technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. Created by an Act of Parliament, and sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, ARIA funds teams of scientists and engineers to pursue research at the edge of what is scientifically and technologically possible.

 FAQs

We will update this section with additional information as we receive questions from the community.

  • Please email FROST@convergentresearch.org. We will try our best to answer all inquiries, but we may not be able to respond to everything.

  • The proposal should be highly impactful for one or more of ARIA’s opportunity spaces. The intent is to fund projects that are outside of what will be made possible by ARIA’s program funding. This could mean projects that are out of scope for existing programs OR projects that are within scope but that require a new organization (outside of academia/ venture-funded endeavors) to be successful.

  • We are looking for individuals with a passion for tackling ambitious, high-impact scientific and technological challenges. You possess a unique blend of technical expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and a deep commitment to science and to the public good. You thrive in collaborative environments. You are looking for an opportunity to translate your ambitious ideas into reality.

    Ideally, you:

    1. Have identified a critical challenge or bottleneck in science or technology that, if solved, would unlock transformative progress.

    2. Have the conception of a plan to build a coordinated system that will solve that bottleneck.

    3. Are motivated to build and lead a mission-driven organization to tackle that challenge.

    4. Bring unique expertise, creativity, and drive, even if they lack formal entrepreneurial experience.

    Individual founders are accepted, but we highly encourage you to look for a co-founder that complements your abilities. We find that founding teams with both technical and operational expertise are the most successful. Team members are expected to be equally committed.

  • The residency is intended to accommodate individuals with ongoing full time employment. Depending on your employer, you may need their approval to participate in the program.

    If your FRO is selected for funding, you should plan on being able to work for the FRO full time after the residency. You will need to consult with your current employer on whether or not you will be able to maintain your affiliation and the terms or conditions (e.g., IP considerations).

  • Due to their focus on developing high-impact public goods, most FROs are nonprofits structured as either a subsidiary of a nonprofit or an independent nonprofit. This allows them tax efficiencies that maximize their funding toward research. It can also be faster and more cost-effective to establish collaborations with other organizations as a nonprofit.

    However, other legal structures can be considered, including private limited companies or a nonprofit with a for-profit subsidiary, based on the activities of the FRO. Founding teams can determine their desired legal structure during the residency.

  • Your founding team must be available to participate in each of the components of the application process and attend the in-person finalist day. If selected for the residency program, you must be able to attend a week-long kick-off in mid-July in the UK and participate in virtual and in person meetings, workshops, and events throughout the 6-month period.

  • Yes, if your FRO is selected for funding, your founding team must be committed to launching it in the UK by Q2 2026.