External research funding

Internal deadline for all research funding applications

The Research Development Team requires a near-final draft of the main application text and an itemised budget a minimum of 5 working days in advance of the application deadline. Applicants are expected to have worked with their Academic Manager (or delegate for Research) and Research Development Manager well before this closing date to ensure they have support developing the application drafts and budget.

Full information on the procedure is available here.

Upcoming calls

Opportunity

Funder

Deadline

Metascience AI early-career fellowships

UKRI

10 April 2025

The UK Metascience Unit will fund a cohort of early career fellows to build our understanding of how the growing adoption of AI is changing the research landscape, including what metascientific, ethical, epistemic, and socioeconomic questions this raises; and how governments, industry, and funding organisations should respond. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.

LUCIA-Local Government Association (LGA) ECR fellowship programme

AHRC

10 April 2025

Apply for funding to connect researchers and local, regional and national government representatives, and conduct research into equitable, cross-sector partnership building, as a LUCIA-LGA early career fellow.
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £135,000 for 12 months. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.

P2R: increasing UK policymaker engagement with research

ESRC

6 May 2025

Apply for funding to develop and expand UK-wide policy to research (P2R) infrastructure, facilitating direct connections between public and civil servants and research organisations. The maximum full economic cost (FEC) of your project is £3.8 million over 4 years. Please CLICK for further information on how to apply.

Open calls
Funding scheme	Funder	Deadline
Responsive mode: standard research grants	AHRC	Various
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) standard research grants support well-defined collaborative projects across the arts and humanities in areas covered by our remit. The maximum duration of this award is five years. Projects can be between £300,000 and £1.5 million. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Responsive mode: curiosity awards	AHRC	Various
Flexible awards to fund fundamental research that leads to new research agendas, networking activity and idea generation, which enables the development of further research opportunities and new research agendas. Funding is available for projects up to five years in duration and £100,000 in cost. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Responsive mode: catalyst awards	AHRC	Various
Awards to support researchers without prior experience of leading a significant research project to accelerate their trajectory as independent researchers, to unlock their potential, build leadership and convenor experience. Funding for projects up to five years in duration and £300,000 in cost. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Small Research Grants	British Academy/Leverhulme Trust	Various
The scheme provides up to £10,000 to support primary research in the humanities and social sciences. Funds may be used to facilitate initial project planning and development; to support the direct costs of research; and to enable the advancement of research through workshops or conferences, or visits by or to partner scholars. Applications for collaborative or individual projects are equally welcome under this scheme. Applications from international groups of scholars are welcome, provided there is a UK-based scholar as lead applicant. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Research Networks	COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)	Open
A unique opportunity to exchange knowledge and to embark on new European perspectives. A continuous open call for proposals is used to attract the best proposals for new COST actions. Support will cover the costs of networking activities such as meetings (e.g. travel, subsistence, local organiser support), conferences, workshops, short-term scientific exchange, training schools, publications and dissemination activities. Funding for up to 4 years. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Small Grants	Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation	Various
Small Grants (£3k - £7) promote and support interaction between the UK and Japan. Daiwa Foundation Awards (£7 - £15k) focus on collaborative projects that enable British and Japanese partners to work together. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Daphne Jackson Fellowships	Daphne Jackson Trust	Open
Daphne Jackson Fellowships are now available to arts and humanities researchers and offer academics the opportunity to return to research following a career break of two years or more when taken for family, caring or health reasons. The Fellowships, which will be supported by AHRC, are typically held for two years on a part-time basis, in a UK university. The Fellowships are flexible and include a tailored training programme designed to update the fellow’s skills and knowledge to support them in their return to research. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Responsive mode: open fellowships	EPSRC	Various
Our fellowships are a prestigious individual award aimed at ambitious and talented researchers and technical professionals who wish to develop, expand or establish a programme of research. Open fellowships are designed to be flexible and enable you to design a programme around your individual needs, with freedom to design a package that fits your career ambitions, research needs, and personal and professional development requirements. These fellowships are for a duration of five years with no limit to the value of the grant. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Responsive mode: network grant	EPSRC	Open
Network grants aim to develop new interdisciplinary research communities and topics by supporting interaction between researchers and relevant science, technology and industrial groups. We expect networks to lead to new collaborative multidisciplinary research applications in areas we support. Some may develop into virtual centres of excellence. Network grants are expected to last for no longer than three years and there is no limit on the value of the grant. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Responsive mode: new investigator award	EPSRC	Open
New investigator awards should have a single research vision with clearly defined objectives and outcomes. Complex, multi-faceted research projects with many objectives are not appropriate to the new investigator award. There is no limit on the length of your project. However, new investigator awards are typically one to three years in duration. There is no limit on the value of the grant. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Responsive mode: standard research grants	EPSRC	Various
You can apply for a standard research grant in any field of research relevant to our remit. There is no limit on the length of your project or value of your grant. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Responsive mode: new investigator grants	ESRC	Open
This opportunity supports researchers at the start of their careers to enable their transition to become independent researchers through gaining experience of managing and leading research projects and teams. It also provides an opportunity for them to support their own skill development, and that of any research staff employed on the grant. The duration of this award is up to five years and the cost of the project can range from £100,000 to £300,000. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Responsive mode: research grants	ESRC	Various
This opportunity funds researcher-driven basic, applied, and strategic research from any disciplines and on any topics in ESRC’s remit. This includes standard research projects, methodological development, large-scale surveys or other infrastructures. The duration of this award is up to five years and the cost of the project can range from £350,000 to £1 million. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Responsive mode: secondary data analysis initiative	ESRC	Open
Apply for funding to support research that exploits existing data resources for social and economic research, created by ESRC or other agencies. We encourage partnerships with non-academic stakeholders to ensure generation of high-impact, policy and practitioner-relevant research. The duration of this award is up to two years and the cost of the project can be up to £300,000. Please click HERE for more information on how to apply.
Training bursaries for social scientists	ESRC	Open
To enable staff in the UK social science community engaged in research, teaching research methods or supervising research to update their research skills. 50 bursaries of up to £1k available. Bursaries are to cover National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) course fees. Please click HERE for more information on how to apply.
Research Project Grants	Leverhulme Trust	Various
To provide financial support for innovative and original research projects of high quality and potential, the choice of theme and the design of the research lying entirely with the applicant. Research and Innovation encourages applicants to submit outline bids six months before the full bid deadline, in order to allow for Leverhulme to assess the outline bid, and for the applicant to prepare a high quality full bid, if encouraged to do so. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Work with US-based researchers on environmental science research	NERC/NSF	Open
Apply for funding to work with US-based researchers on an environmental science proposal.Collaborative work is governed by an agreement between NERC and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Collaborative research proposals may be submitted in any disciplinary or interdisciplinary subject where the majority falls within the remit of both NERC and NSF GEO or BIO. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Research, Development, and Analysis Fund	Nuffield Foundation	Various
The Research, Development and Analysis fund is for projects to inform the design and operation of social policy and practice across Nuffield’s three core domains of Education, Welfare and Justice. Awarded grants are usually between £10,000 and £500,000. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Co-funding Research Projects	UKRI/NSF	Open
The UK Research Councils, in collaboration with the Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences Directorate of the US National Science Foundation, invites applications for funding under their lead agency agreement. This supports interdisciplinary research of mutual interest in any area of research that falls within the funders’ remit. Projects between £50,000- £1,000,000 (depending on the applicant’s career level) will be funded according to the relevant UK Research Council’s funding rules. Funding for the US part of the project must comply with NSF’s normal funding rules for unsolicited proposals. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Collaborate with researchers in Norway	UKRI	Open
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Research Council of Norway (RCN) have signed a Money Follows Cooperation agreement to reduce barriers to cross-border collaboration. This enables eligible UK principal investigators to submit collaborative applications with co-investigators employed by Norwegian institutions. General conditions and budget available will differ depending on the funding opportunity to which an application is being submitted. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Collaborate with researchers in Brazil	UKRI	Open
UKRI and FAPESP have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support collaborative applications. UKRI and FAPESP will co-fund applications submitted to participant UKRI councils’ responsive mode funding opportunities via selected funding opportunities. Collaborative research applications led by UK applicants, with São Paulo-based researchers, may be submitted in any single or cross-disciplinary area which fits within the remit of the participating research councils. General conditions for applications, including deadlines and budget available, will differ depending on the funding opportunity to which an application is being submitted. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Renewel scheme for current Future Leaders	UKRI	Open
Successful applicants to the Future Leaders Fellowships (FLF) scheme have the opportunity to extend their four-year fellowship by up to a further three years. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Wellcome Early-Career Awards	Wellcome Trust	Various
This scheme provides funding for early-career researchers from any discipline who are ready to develop their research identity. Through innovative projects, they will deliver shifts in understanding related to human life, health and wellbeing. By the end of the award, they will be ready to lead their own independent research programme. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.
Wellcome Career Development Awards	Wellcome Trust	Various
This scheme provides funding for mid-career researchers from any discipline who have the potential to be international research leaders. They will develop their research capabilities, drive innovative programmes of work and deliver significant shifts in understanding related to human life, health and wellbeing. Please click HERE for further information.
Wellcome Discovery Awards	Wellcome Trust	Various
This scheme provides funding for established researchers and teams from any discipline who want to pursue bold and creative research ideas to deliver significant shifts in understanding related to human life, health and wellbeing. Awards can be up to 8 years with the average size being £3.5 million. Please click HERE for further information on how to apply.