External research funding

New internal deadline for all research funding applications

LSE has updated its procedure for submitting research funding applications through Research and Innovation's Research Development Team.

The Research Development Team now 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. They must also ensure that any internal deadlines and processes in their academic unit are followed in parallel with this process.

Full information on the new procedure is available here.

Upcoming calls (chronological order)

Funding scheme	Funder	Deadline
Postdoctoral Fellowships	ESRC	23 Mar 2023
This opportunity is open to applicants who have completed their PhD at a research organisation that is part of a Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) and who have less than 12 months of postdoctoral experience from passing their viva voce to the competition closing date. Proposals are welcome from both single disciplines and combinations of disciplines, but the fellowship activities must be based at least 50% within the social sciences. The grants provide funding for up to one year full-time, or up to two years part-time to give fellows time to prepare for a successful career in research either within or beyond academia. Applications are made directly to the LSE DTP. Read more
International Fellowships 2023	British Academy	28 Mar 2023
The overarching aim of the International Fellowships Programme is to attract and retain talented early career researchers in the UK and build a globally connected, mobile research and innovation workforce. The Fellowships offer support for three years (inclusive of salary) and the award is offered at 80% fEC. Applicants may apply for research expenses of up to £12,000 and relocation costs of up to £8,000. Read more
Independent Scholar Fellowships	ISRF	31 Mar 2023
Independent scholars intending to pursue or complete a piece of independent research and desiring an affiliation to an institution of higher education and research within Europe are eligible to apply for these ISRF awards. The awards are intended as providing a stipend to allow applicants support for academic research and relief from non-academic work (including domestic care) for a period of up to one year. (Where applicants wish to be bought out from existing employment, either wholly or in part, they must confirm that their employer is aware of their application.) The funder expects to fund innovative research which breaks with existing explanatory frameworks so as to address afresh empirical problems with no currently adequate theory or investigative methodology. Read more
Policy Fellowships 2023	UKRI	20 Apr 2023
The UKRI policy fellowship scheme offers an exciting opportunity to develop your career and enhance your understanding of applying research in government contexts. You can apply for funding to collaborate with a UK or devolved government host or What Works Network centre on research activity to address pressing national and global challenges. You will co-design research with the host organisation to inform policy on a priority area and help improve the exchange of knowledge between policy and academic institutions. Policy fellowship funding opportunities with a UK or devolved government host are aimed at early to mid-career academics. Fellowships with a What Works Network centre host are open to all career stages. Fellowships last a total of 18 months. Read more

Funding scheme

Funder

Deadline

Postdoctoral Fellowships

ESRC

23 Mar 2023

This opportunity is open to applicants who have completed their PhD at a research organisation that is part of a Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) and who have less than 12 months of postdoctoral experience from passing their viva voce to the competition closing date. Proposals are welcome from both single disciplines and combinations of disciplines, but the fellowship activities must be based at least 50% within the social sciences.

The grants provide funding for up to one year full-time, or up to two years part-time to give fellows time to prepare for a successful career in research either within or beyond academia.

Applications are made directly to the LSE DTP. Read more

International Fellowships 2023

British Academy

28 Mar 2023

The overarching aim of the International Fellowships Programme is to attract and retain talented early career researchers in the UK and build a globally connected, mobile research and innovation workforce. The Fellowships offer support for three years (inclusive of salary) and the award is offered at 80% fEC. Applicants may apply for research expenses of up to £12,000 and relocation costs of up to £8,000. Read more

Independent Scholar Fellowships

ISRF

31 Mar 2023

Independent scholars intending to pursue or complete a piece of independent research and desiring an affiliation to an institution of higher education and research within Europe are eligible to apply for these ISRF awards. The awards are intended as providing a stipend to allow applicants support for academic research and relief from non-academic work (including domestic care) for a period of up to one year. (Where applicants wish to be bought out from existing employment, either wholly or in part, they must confirm that their employer is aware of their application.) The funder expects to fund innovative research which breaks with existing explanatory frameworks so as to address afresh empirical problems with no currently adequate theory or investigative methodology. Read more

Policy Fellowships 2023

UKRI

20 Apr 2023

The UKRI policy fellowship scheme offers an exciting opportunity to develop your career and enhance your understanding of applying research in government contexts. You can apply for funding to collaborate with a UK or devolved government host or What Works Network centre on research activity to address pressing national and global challenges. You will co-design research with the host organisation to inform policy on a priority area and help improve the exchange of knowledge between policy and academic institutions. Policy fellowship funding opportunities with a UK or devolved government host are aimed at early to mid-career academics. Fellowships with a What Works Network centre host are open to all career stages. Fellowships last a total of 18 months. Read more

Open calls
Funding scheme	Funder	Deadline
Research Networking Scheme	AHRC	Open
To encourage and enable the discussion and development of ideas by researchers either through establishing new research networks or by running a series of workshops, seminars or similar events. Read more
Fellowship Scheme	AHRC	Open
AHRC is committed to fund the research time needed to undertake world-leading research with impact and to support the career development of outstanding researchers in the arts and humanities. View details for Early Career Scheme and Standard Scheme.
Research Grants	AHRC	Open
The scheme is divided into two routes: Standard Scheme and Early Career Scheme. The standard awards are designed to enable researchers to collaborate with, and bring benefits to, individuals and organisations through high-quality research. The early-career stream is intended to assist new researchers at the start of their careers in gaining experience of managing and leading research projects. Read more about Standard Scheme and Early Career Scheme
Daphne Jackson Fellowships	AHRC/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. Read more
Collaborative Research Grants	UKRI/Sao Paolo Research Foundation	Open
The UK Research Councils, in partnership with the São Paulo Research Foundation, invites applications for its collaborative research grants. These enable transnational British and Brazilian teams to apply for funding for collaborative research projects. UK-based researchers must hold a doctoral degree or equivalent, be actively engaged in postdoctoral research and be employed by, or be scheduled to join, the research organisation before submitting the proposal. Brazil-based researchers must be formally associated with institutions within the São Paulo state. Projects may last for up to 60 months. Standard route grants are worth between £50,000 and £1 million and early-career grants are worth between £50,000 and £250,000 at 80% full economic cost. The São Paulo Research Foundation will provide equivalent to £1m for Brazilian researchers. The overall proposed budget should not exceed £2m. Read more
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. Read more
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. Read more
Small Grants	Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation	31 March and 30 September
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. Read more about Small Grants and Daiwa Foundation Awards
Fellowships Scheme	EPSRC	Open
A Fellowship is a personal award, designed to provide the recipient with the necessary support to establish or further develop themselves as a leader of the future. This type of award enables you to devote most of your time to a program of activities to deliver your proposed research vision. An EPSRC Fellowship is aimed to position yourself and your research topic within the wider academic field, to develop your leadership by establishing or extending your research group, and to act as an advocate for the STEM disciplines in general and EPSRC specifically. Read more
Discipline Hopping in Information and Communication Technologies	EPSRC	Open
These fund ICT or non-ICT researchers to spend time in new and different research disciplines or user environments in order to foster new interactions, encourage a multidisciplinary and user-driven focus to research, and develop new skills and collaborations. Projects should last between three and 12 months, although part-time awards may be awarded for up to 24 months. Read more
Research Grants Scheme	ESRC	Open
A flexible research grants scheme offering awards ranging from £350k to £1m. The choice of topic is yours provided it falls within ESRC's remit. Read more
Secondary Data Analysis Initiative	ESRC	Open
The Secondary Data Analysis Initiative aims to deliver high-quality high-impact research through the deeper exploitation of major data resources created by ESRC and other agencies. Proposals are welcome at any time. Funding is provided for up to 18 months with an overall limit of £200,000 (100 per cent fEC) per grant. Read more
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. New applications for bursaries are currently being accepted. Read more
Horizon 2020 Marie Curie Actions	European Commission	Various
The European Commission has launched a number of calls under the Marie Curie Actions as follows: Reintegration Grants (RG); Intra-European Fellowships for Career Development (IEF); International Incoming Fellowships (IIF); International Outgoing Fellowships for Career Development (IOF); Industry-Academia Partnerships (IAPP). Further information also available from Research and Innovation. Contact rescon@lse.ac.uk.
Research Networks	European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)	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. Read more
ERC Advanced Investigators Grants	European Research Council	August
Up to €2.5m available for pioneering frontier research in any field of science, engineering and scholarship. Candidates must be scientifically independent and have a recent research track record and profile which identifies them as leaders in their respective field(s) of research. Read more
Proof of Concept	European Research Council	October
Existing ERC grant holders can apply for this additional funding to establish the innovation potential of ideas arising from their ERC-funded frontier research projects. Funding of up to €150,000 for a 12-month project is available. Read more
Innovation Projects	Global Innovation Fund	Open
Supported by the Department for International Development, the US Agency for International Development, the Omidyar Network, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia; the GIF invites proposals for its innovation projects. Funding supports innovative, cost-effective solutions that address any major development challenge in any country or countries in the developing world. Teams from social enterprises, for-profit and non-profit organisations, government agencies, international organisations and individual researchers based in any country may apply. Teams may form consortia, however, they must appoint a lead organisation. Read more
COVID-19 Off-cycle Funding	Innovations for Poverty Action	Open
IPA's Peace & Recovery Program is pleased to announce that it is now accepting off-cycle proposals, capped at $50,000, for time-sensitive research projects and additions to research projects that study or support the COVID-19 response. Spending must be conducted in LMICs only. Their priorities are a) to produce information that can directly inform the humanitarian response to COVID-19; and b) to produce generalizable knowledge that contributes academic literature on resilience, response and recovery. Read more
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. Read more
Research Interests and Contact Details for the London Sustainability Exchange (LSx)	London Sustainability Exchange (LSx)	TBA
The LSx runs innovative action research projects with communities and businesses across London. Read more
Collaborative Projects in Environmental Science	NERC and 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. Read more
Research, Development and Analysis Fund	Nuffield Foundation	March & September
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. Read more
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. The majority of funding opportunities from each of the participating UKRI research councils (AHRC, ESRC, MRC, EPSRC and NERC) are eligible for the inclusion of Norway co-investigators. This agreement enables Norway co-investigators to be included in UK-led applications and to receive funding from the participating UKRI research councils. General conditions and budget available will differ depending on the funding opportunity to which an application is being submitted. Read more
Grants and Fellowships	United States Institute of Peace	Various
Funding for research into conflict prevention, conflict management, and post-conflict peace-building in Columbia, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sudan; and funding opportunities for projects relating to Iran. Read more
Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship	Wenner Gren	May
To support the writing-up of already completed research in anthropology. $40,000 is provided. Read more