Section Three: Research Grants
ESRC New Investigator Grant
| Duration | The funding allows for about 2.5 years of full- time employment. Please consult your RGA for details, as the figures change depending on your career stage and time commitment. |
| Funding | Up to £300,000 funded at 80% full economic costs (fEC). |
| Timetable | no deadlines at ESRC; assessment is three times per year in March, July and November with 10-12 awards at each round. ! The scheme operates under a Cambridge internal selection with three internal deadlines in March, June and November. Calls for expressions of interest will be circulated through departments and faculties! |
| Eligibility | There is no “years from PhD” limit for this call. Applicants are required to provide a statement explaining why they consider themselves to be “early career researchers”. Applicants can apply from anywhere in the world but need the agreement of a UK university to host them. Applicants cannot have been previously PIs on an ESRC or other UK Research Council grant. Please check the eligibility criteria BEFORE applying as these may have changed in the meantime. Applicants need to find a potential mentor at the University (not normally your former PhD supervisor) who commits between 1 and 3 hours per week to supporting the PI in leading the project. The relevant host department needs to approve your application from the outset. For interdisciplinary projects, a Co-Investigator from another discipline is desirable. |
| Number | ESRC aims to make around 30-35 awards per annum. Applications can be for ‘blue sky’, strategic or applied research. Proposals are assessed for their originality, contribution to knowledge; research design and methods; value for money; outputs, dissemination and impact. Consider also the appropriateness of your mentor, career and skills development and, where appropriate, mobility plan. |
| Website | ESRC New Investigator Grant |
ESRC Standard Grant
Funding | Grants range from £350,000 to £1.0m funded at 80% full economic costs (fEC). |
| Duration | Up to five years |
| Timetable | Applications may be submitted at any time – allowing time for processing. The majority of decisions are announced within 26 weeks of submission. |
| Eligibility | Applications can be for ‘blue sky’, strategic or applied research, and the ESRC is keen to encourage fresh ideas from new researchers. At the time of application, applicant PIs must either have a contract of employment with their research organisation in place for the duration of the award, or an assurance from the submitting institution that, if the proposal is successful, a contract of employment will be given that covers the period of the award plus an additional 3-6 months. This scheme lends itself for un-established researchers particularly to apply as co-investigator or postdocs. |
| Website | ESRC Standard Grant |
ESRC Secondary Data Analysis Grants
| Funding | £15k-£300k funded at 80% full economic cost (fEC). |
| Duration | Up to 24 months |
| Timetable | no deadline |
| Eligibility | No present UK university affiliation is required but need agreement of a UK university to host applicant. ESRC welcomes proposals that aim to exploit secondary data from a range of UK and international data resources funded by ESRC and by other agencies. ESRC strongly encourages non-academic collaboration and expects research to aim at non-academic impact. ESRC strongly encourages applications that include a named early career researcher as principal investigator or co-investigator and/or applications that seek to use one or more ESRC-funded data resources. |
| Number | ESRC aims to make around 10-15 awards per year. |
| Website | ESRC Secondary Data Analysis Grant |
AHRC Catalyst Award
| Funding | £100,000 to £300,000 funded at 80% full economic costs (fEC) |
| Duration | The grant will cover about 2 years of full-time work. Please consult your RGA for details, as the figures change depending on your career stage and time commitment |
| Timetable | Applications may be submitted at any time – allowing time for processing. The majority of decisions are announced within eight months of submission. |
| Eligibility | Catalyst awards support researchers without prior experience of leading a significant research project to accelerate their trajectory as independent researchers, unlocking their potential and building leadership and convenor experience through the delivery of ambitious or complex projects. Development is at the core of this scheme; projects must clearly articulate how the funding will contribute to the development of all those involved through the way that the project has been designed and will be managed, with appropriate support structures in place. The principal investigator cannot be a current or former principal investigator on research grants or fellowship grants from any other funder, with the exception of:
Eligibility is determined on the basis of funding history, and not on the number of post-PhD years or job title. The PI must have either a contract of employment with their research organisation in place for the duration of the award, or include a letter from the Faculty that agreed to host and support them. The template of the letter can be requested from the School Research Facilitators. |
| Website | AHRC Catalyst Award |
AHRC Curiosity Award
| Funding | Up to £100,000 funded at 80% full economic costs (fEC) |
| Duration | The grant will cover about six months of full-time work. Please consult your RGA for details, as the figures change depending on your career stage and time commitment |
| Timetable | Applications may be submitted at any time – allowing time for processing. The majority of decisions are announced within five months of submission. |
| Eligibility | The scheme is intentionally flexible. An indicative list of examples of the activities we will fund are provided below. You are encouraged to request and justify costs for activities that best meet the aims of your project. This may include:
Eligibility is determined on the basis of funding history, and not on the number of post-PhD years or job title. The PI must have either a contract of employment with their research organisation in place for the duration of the award, or include a letter from the Faculty that agreed to host and support them. The template of the letter can be requested from the School Research Facilitators |
| Website | AHRC Curiosity Award |
AHRC Standard Grant
| Funding | £50,000 to £1million funded at 80% full economic cost (fEC) |
| Duration | Up to five years |
| Timetable | Applications may be submitted at any time – allowing time for processing. The majority of decisions are announced within 30 weeks of submission |
| Eligibility | Application is for any type of ‘blue-sky’ or applied research. At the time of application, applicant PIs must have either a contract of employment with their research organisation in place for the duration of the award, or an assurance from the submitting institution that, if the proposal is successful, a contract of employment will be given that covers the period of the award plus an additional 3-6 months. This scheme in particular lends itself to un-established researchers to apply as co-investigator or postdoctoral research associate. |
| Website | AHRC Standard Grant |
European Research Council Starting Grant
| Funding | Up to €1.5M per grant |
| Duration | Up to 5 years |
| Timetable | The call for proposals deadline in 2025 was October. Please check the website for updates. |
| Eligibility | Candidates can be any age and of any nationality, though must have obtained their PhD more than two years but less than seven years before the 1st January of the Work Programme year. For researchers who are seven-twelve years post-PhD, the ERC runs the Consolidator Grant scheme. |
| Purpose | ERC Starting Grants are designed to support outstanding early-career researchers in all disciplines who are beginning to create their own independent research team or programme. The aim is to fund projects carried out by individual teams which are headed by a single Principal Investigator (PI) and, as necessary, include additional team-members. The constitution of the research team is flexible. A competitive Starting Grant Principal Investigator must have already shown the potential for research independence. For example, it is expected that applicants will have produced at least one important publication without the participation of their PhD supervisor. Applicants should also be able to demonstrate a promising track-record of early achievements appropriate to their research field and career stage, including significant publications (as main author) in major international peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journals, or in the leading international peer-reviewed journals of their respective field. They may also demonstrate a record of invited presentations in well-established international conferences, granted patents, awards, prizes etc. |
| Website | ERC Starting Grant |
Wellcome Trust Early Career Award
| Funding | Up to £400,000 |
| Duration | Up to 5 years |
| Timetable | There are three rounds a year in February, May and October. Please check the website for updates. |
| Eligibility | At the point you submit your application, you must have completed a substantive period of research training relevant to your discipline. You must have completed a PhD or an equivalent higher research degree or at least four years' equivalent research experience (for example, in the humanities and social sciences). You may also have some postdoctoral experience in your proposed field of study, but no more than three years unless you can demonstrate how other factors have impacted on your research career. You should be able to demonstrate a good understanding of research methodology and evidence of project delivery and analysis. |
| Purpose | 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 that could improve human life, health and wellbeing. By the end of the award, they will be ready to lead their own independent research programme. |
| Website | Wellcome Trust Early Career Award |