Funding opportunities for engagement and impact

LSE internal funding schemes support the full research and innovation lifecycle, including seed funding of impact. In 2025/26, applications will be open twice a year, with deadlines in the autumn and spring terms. Upcoming deadlines will be announced in August, along with updated guidance documents.

Please get in touch at least 2 weeks before the final deadline to discuss your application. Email research.kei@lse.ac.uk.

Engagement and partnerships fund - projects up to £15k for up to 1 year

This scheme aims to fund new non-academic partner scoping, development of emerging connections for engagement and collaboration, or growth of existing relationships into more strategic and sustainable partnerships. Successful proposals will establish new partnerships in external funding and strategic ventures in-line with LSE strategy, opening novel impact pathways, and developing networking skills.

Impact fund (formerly KEI large bid fund) - projects up to £15k for up to 1 year

This scheme aims to fund world-class knowledge exchange undertaken with beneficiaries and partners to develop, evaluate and evidence impact locally, nationally and internationally, which may be new or as a follow-on from existing research. Successful proposals will see the development of impact and engagement pathways and evidence, or impact generation skills.

For this scheme, there is the potential to apply for larger and longer projects in order to contribute to a REF impact case study in development. Please contact research.kei@lse.ac.uk to discuss projects that may require additional resource.

Innovation fund

This scheme aims to fund novel and ambitious innovation activity based on LSE research and early-stage impact, that seeks to translate research into new products, processes, and services for a target audience or customer. Successful proposals will have ideas for innovative products, processes, and services, or the development of innovation pathways and evidence, and business and commercial skills.

Departmental research engagement and impact allocations are renewed annually (subject to the continuation of HEIF funding). Funding for 2025/26 must be spent by 31 July 2026 and will be awarded on the following conditions:

1. Departments will be offered up to £5,000 of funding towards strategic research engagement and impact activities, which advance either their own engagement and impact goals (in line with their REF environment statements) or with the wider Research for the World strategy. Funding should therefore focus on activities that would benefit the department as a whole, rather than individual academics. (See suggested areas below).
2. Funding will be made available subject to approval of plans by the Research Engagement and Impact team (via Louise Jones, research.kei@lse.ac.uk). The team will work with departments to develop and support plans.
3. At the end of this period a short report on spending will be required. Funding will not be made available for future years unless the report has been submitted.

Suggested areas

• Use of funding to update departmental websites or content used to engage external audiences with LSE research including research films, animations, infographics.
• Activities to build partnerships or connections with relevant external groups, e.g. businesses, policy makers, heritage sector, local communities, schools.
• Activities to support the development of impact case studies for REF 2028.
• Activities and initiatives that involve students with research engagement and impact, connecting research impact, teaching and the student experience.
• Training in skills required for effective engagement and impact in your discipline, if not covered by the central training programme.
• Funding to support monitoring and evaluation of research engagement and impact across the department.