What is Researchfish? 

Researchfish is an external online system that collects details of research outcomes for a range of funders. Principal Investigators (PIs) who receive awards from these funders are required to report on the impacts and outcomes of their research via Researchfish during an annual 6-week submission period. 

Reporting requirements vary per funder. For example, PIs of UKRI awards are currently required to complete an annual submission in Researchfish for the duration of their award and a minimum of 5 years post the award end date. For information on how often you will be required to report on your award, please refer to the relevant funder webpages.

How will I know if I need to report against my award(s)?

As a PI, if you have an award you need to report against for the first time, you will receive an invite from Researchfish via email with instructions on how to register your account. You will then receive communications from both the associated funder and LSE Research and Innovation with further details on how and when to complete your submission(s) and where to seek assistance if required.  

It is the PI’s responsibility to ensure that their annual submission is made during the annual submission window. PI’s who do not submit their annual report by the deadline will be subject to funder sanctions. Non-compliance by individuals will also result in sanctions being applied to the institution (e.g. grant payments withheld). 

Key Dates

The 2026 Researchfish submission period opens on Monday 2 February 2026 and closes on Thursday 12 March 2026, 16:00 GMT.

This is a fixed deadline, and any submissions received after this time will be marked as late and non-compliant.

We strongly advise that you do not wait until the deadline day to complete your submission as it is common for a queue to form, and you risk not meeting the deadline.

Oversight of Researchfish submissions by the Research and Innovation Division

Communications and support for the annual Researchfish submission period are managed by Charlotte Creamore in the Research and Innovation Division. Charlotte monitors and maintains a record of researcher compliance throughout the submission period and sends regular reminder emails to those with outstanding submissions.

If you are a unit/research manager and would like to be copied into these communications, please contact Charlotte. 

Who should I contact for support?

Researchfish system queries

Any technical issues with the Researchfish system should be directed to support@researchfish.com. 

Non-technical/policy queries

For UKRI awardees, please direct any non-technical or policy questions to researchoutcomes@funding.ukri.org.

For NIHR awardees, please direct any non-technical or policy questions to outcomesreporting@nihr.ac.uk. Please note that the NIHR email address has changed since the last submission period.

Other

Please reach out to Charlotte Creamore for all other queries relating to the Researchfish submission period. 

Additional funder guidance

For further details and guidance on reporting against UKRI awards, including a list of common output types, please click here.

For further details and guidance on reporting against NIHR awards, please click here.

FAQs 

I have received an email reminding me to complete my annual Researchfish submission. Do I still need to complete a submission if:

• My award has finished, and I have submitted my final report to the funder?
• My award has not produced any outputs since the last submission period?
• My award started very recently and there are no outputs to report?

Yes, you are still required to complete a submission. In these instances, you are required to submit what is known as a null response. You are required to complete each of the mandatory fields, signalled by a red '! Required' symbol. 

The mandatory fields are made up of free text and multiple-choice questions. If you have nothing to report in the free text sections, please write a short piece of narrative explaining that there have been no new impacts or outcomes from your award. When answering the multiple-choice questions, please select the most appropriate answer. 

The Researchfish reminder email I received from Research and Innovation states that I have X number of awards to report against, but I can only see Y number of awards on my account. What should I do?

You will have received separate invites from each Council from which you have received an award. Please ensure that you have accepted each invite you have received. Unless you link each award to your account, you will not be able to provide your final submission.

How do I know which section of the Researchfish submission form I should submit a specific outcome under? 

Please refer to the drop-downs titled 'What should I report in this section?' that can be found in each section of the submission form.

For further guidance on categorisation of outputs, please refer to the list of common output types. 

This year’s Researchfish submission form has different fields than previous years. Why is that? 

As part of a drive to minimise undue burden when reporting outcomes, funders are prioritising collecting data that is of most use to them. Please refer to the individual funder webpages for news on changes to the information they collect via Researchfish:

NIHR – Changes to the 2026 submission period

UKRI – Improvements to the question sets

I have a very busy workload at the moment. Please can one of my research team complete the submission for me?  

You can delegate access to your award to members of your research team, allowing them to complete certain sections of the form. Please click here for guidance on how to do this. 

However, please note that only you as the PI can:

• Complete the mandatory ‘Additional Funder Questions’.
• Press the final ‘Submit’ button to complete the submission. 

I don’t have time to complete my submission. Please can I be granted an extension?

The submission deadline of Thursday 12 March 2026 4pm GMT is fixed, and extensions cannot be granted.

In what circumstances could I be granted a 1-year exemption?

PI’s may be granted a 1-year exemption because of long-term leave by agreement with the funder (i.e. maternity leave, long-term parental leave, long-term sick leave). Requests for an exemption are assessed by the funder on a case-by-case basis. If you believe you should be granted an exemption, please reach out to Charlotte Creamore as soon as possible. 

I am expecting new outcomes and/or impacts of my award(s) to materialise shortly after the close of the submission period. Should I include these expected outcomes/impacts in my submission? 

The Researchfish system is open year-round for data entry. Researchers must only report on realised impacts and outcomes.

What happens if I miss the deadline?

If you miss the Researchfish submission deadline, you will face the following sanctions:

• Losing your eligibility to be the PI, or a named co-investigator, on any future projects funded by the respective funder.
• Suspension of funding payments for current awards for which you are PI.