The nature of research funding shapes knowledge outcomes, especially for urban research that is conducted in multiple sites and over multiple years. Recent unplanned cuts in the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) grants, alongside the rupture caused by Covid-19, created ethical and procedural issues for completing the PEAK Urban programme. Building on durable partnerships, setting principles for the reduced fund distribution and adjusting modes of working enabled PEAK Urban to navigate the fiscal disruption—but the difficult episode highlights lessons for the ethical organization of global urban research under conditions of uncertainty.