International Research Funding Circular – 22 August 2025

Please see the latest European and International research funding information, event and opportunity updates.

 

2025 Work programme call topics

2026-27 DRAFT Work programme call topics

News

1. NEW: Upcoming Deadline for Surveys on European University Association’s (EUA) New Strategic Plan https://www.eua.eu/publications/positions/europe-s-universities-shaping-the-future.html

There is still time to contribute to development of the next EUA Strategic Plan. The next plan will build upon the foundation of the 2020 Strategic Plan, Europe’s Universities Shaping the Future, and its core mission and values. The goal is to provide a clear direction for the ongoing work and development of activities that will be most beneficial to the association’s members and the wider European higher education sector. As part of a comprehensive consultation process, the EUA has launched two separate surveys to gather insights on its future evolution and priorities. These surveys are designed to ensure the new plan effectively advances the association’s work. The first survey is for current EUA full and associate members, as well as EUA affiliate networks and organisations. The second survey is open to non-member higher education institutions, civil society organisations, national or EU agencies, and other stakeholders from the media or research sectors who are active in European or global higher education. The deadline for submissions is 1 September 2025.

 

Events

2. NEW: MSCA Fellows invited to attend the 75th Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting, 28 June to 3 July 2026 https://www.ukro.ac.uk/news/msca-fellows-invited-to-attend-the-75th-lindau-nobel-laureate-meeting/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_source_platform=mailpoet&utm_campaign=latest-ukro-articles-4

The European Commission is offering current and past Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) fellows the opportunity to attend the 75th Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting on Interdisciplinary fields. The meeting will be held in Lindau, Germany. About 600 young scientists from all over the world will get the chance to spend an inspiring week with Nobel Laureates to exchange experiences and establish valuable contacts. Please note that neither the MSCA nor the Lindau Nobel Laureate Committee is offering financial support to travel or fees for the event, only the opportunity to attend. To attend, please complete this application form. Deadline: 3rd October 2025.

 

3. NEW: Webinar on European Research Council (ERC) Work Programme 2026 – Part 2, September 11 2025, 14:00-15:30 UK time https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/events/webinar-erc-work-programme-2026-part-2

This session is designed for those who already know the ERC application process and want to dive deeper into the specific changes, rules, and opportunities for 2026.

 

4. RENKEI UK-Japan research funder webinar, 24th September, 0830-0930 UK time/ 1630-1730 Japan time https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=i9hQcmhLKUW-RNWaLYpvlNUGuBmR-o5EkNlZC053e6RUQ1ZDUFNPRTdRNTNGRFZYMTQwSDVPUE1RUi4u&route=shorturl

The webinar will bring together representatives from JSPS London Office, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation to discuss upcoming funding opportunities for UK-Japan research collaborations, and is open to researchers from all RENKEI partners and from all disciplines. Go to Registration: RENKEI – UK-Japan funder webinar  

 

5. Free Webinars on Horizon Europe Project Management on 8–12 September 2025 https://europamediatrainings.com/training-services/upcoming-courses

Europa Media Trainings are offering  free daily webinars to help you master key aspects of reporting, amendments, exploitation, technical reviews and communication in ongoing Horizon Europe projects:

08 September 2025– Technical Reviews in Horizon Europe: Get Ready! 

Join this practical and insightful webinar to gain confidence in navigating Horizon Europe technical reviews—whether it’s your first time or your fifth. Register now and learn how to turn your review into a success story!

09 September 2025,  – Essentials of Exploitation in Horizon Europe: From Proposal to Implementation 

Ready to strengthen your next Horizon Europe proposal—or sharpen your project’s exploitation strategy? This practical webinar and walk away with clear guidance, expert insights, and actionable tips.

10 September 2025 – Continuous Reporting in Horizon Europe: First Step to Stress-Free Periodic Report 

Whether you’re a project manager or coordinator under Horizon Europe, this webinar can ease your journey into managing the portal, obtaining the right data for continuous reporting, as well as doing all this in a timely manner.

11 September 2025 – Amendments in Horizon Europe: When, Why and How? 

Whether you are already an experienced coordinator or just starting to manage your first Horizon Europe project, this webinar is for you as it will provide real-life examples, practical tips and guidance on managing amendments in Horizon Europe.

12 September 2025 – Stay on Track: Managing Communication and Dissemination Beyond the Reporting Period 

Participants will get practical methods and tools to simplify C&D tracking across the consortium, improve reporting quality, and save time and frustration.

6. Horizon Europe Brokerage Visits 2025/2026 https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/opportunities/horizon-europe-brokerage-visits-2025-2026/

These brokerage visits will support UK organisations in building new relationships and strengthen existing ones with European partners. Up to 15 UK registered organisations (including corporate companies, small businesses and universities can apply (including Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) and those from the Innovate UK Catapult Network) will be selected to join Horizon Europe Brokerage visits to Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands and Spain. Innovate UK in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the UK Science and Technology Network (STN) and the UK National Contact Points (NCPs) will be leading these Horizon Europe Brokerage Visits.

 

7. How to Submit Your Horizon Europe Proposal Right’ webinar, free online recording until 31 August 2025 https://europamediatrainings.com/publications/recorded-webinars/316/how-to-submit-your-horizon-europe-proposal-right-february-2025?utm_campaign=EMTNL&utm_source=EMTNL20250804&utm_variant=default&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_contact=662847

Get expert guidance from Ömer Ceylan, Managing Director at Geonardo, on how to properly navigate the Funding & Tenders Submission Service: from registering your proposal to adding partners to completing every form and making sure to match the admissibility and eligibility criteria.

 

8. British Academy ERC Starting Grants Webinar, 24 September 2025, 14:00-15:30: https://tinyurl.com/ypcr39tz

The British Academy will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday 24 September, 2025 14:00-15:30 for UK based researchers in the humanities and social sciences interested in applying for European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant. If you would like to submit a B1 draft proposal to be considered for feedback during the webinar, please register your interest on the registration form and send your B1 draft to Hannah Moscovitz (h.moscovitz@thebritishacademy.ac.uk) no later than Tuesday, 9 September 12:00 (midday).

 

9.Introduction to Horizon Europe Webinars

UKRI – Innovate is hosting an introduction to Horizon Europe Webinar. Horizon Europe offers opportunities in almost every sector, with many, but not all, being for collaborative projects involving organisations across Europe and beyond. This one-hour webinar is purposefully designed to help those with no or low recent knowledge about Horizon Europe gain an understanding of the opportunities it offers, and the basics about how to explore these opportunities further for yourself. The webinar is repeated on several dates (register to attend):

 

10. ERC Grant Webinars

The UK Research Office (UKRO) is organising webinars for researchers who are interested in applying for ERC grants. The webinar will provide information on the submission process, how proposals are evaluated and other elements you’ll need to consider when designing a project for your research excellence idea.

 

 

European related funding

11. Horizon Europe – Work Programmes 2025 published and early 2026-27 drafts pre-published – SUMMARY CALL TOPICS ATTACHED [Updated with Clusters 2 & 3 for 2026-27]

The European Commission have published the Horizon Europe Work Programmes for 2025 (https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/horizon-europe-work-programmes_en), and also pre-published early drafts of the 2026-27 call topics for a number of the clusters and missions (to download work programmes see here: https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/news/insight-into-horizon-europe-work-2026-2027-programmes/). For convenience, we have put together summary tables of all call topic titles in the attached Excel spreadsheets – please use these to browse any topics that are of interest to you and that you may be able to contribute to. Once you have identified a topic(s) of interest, please search their call reference within the relevant full Work Programme PDF available via the above links. Please note that not all 2026-27 work programmes are available (e.g. clusters 2 and 3) but leaked drafts can be found on Science Business website: https://sciencebusiness.net/horizon-papers Keep checking this site regularly for updated versions.

12. NOW OPEN: European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenges 2025: https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/eic-pathfinder/eic-pathfinder-challenges-2025_en

The EIC Pathfinder enables multidisciplinary research teams to develop the scientific basis to underpin breakthrough technologies. This route supports early stage development of future technologies up to proof of concept. Grants of up to €4 million are available per project to enable them to achieve the proof of principle and validate the scientific basis of breakthrough technology (eg TRL 1-4). The EIC Pathfinder Challenges topics for 2025 (deadline 29 October 2025) are:

  • Biotech for Climate Resilient Crops and Plant-Based Biomanufacturing
  • Generative-AI based Agents to Revolutionize Medical Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer
  • Towards autonomous robot collectives delivering collaborative tasks in dynamic unstructured construction environments
  • Waste-to-value devices: Circular production of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials

13 NEW: John Hansen Research Grant Offers €240,000 for Research on Treatments for Haematological Diseases https://professional.dkms.org/research-publications/research-grant  

The annual John Hansen Research Grant is an international programme by the German Bone Marrow Donor Agency DKMS. The programme offers support for scientists in the field of blood cancer whose research relates to hematopoietic cell transplantation and cell therapy for haematological diseases. Funding of up to €240,000 per project is provided for a maximum period of three years. DKSM selects up to four projects each year. Applications for the 2026 grants are now open. Deadline: 20 November 2025.

14. NEW: New SPRIND Challenge Offers Up to €5 Million for Research on Tech Metal Recovery and Recycling https://www.sprind.org/en/actions/challenges/tech-metal

The German Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation SPRIND has issued a new funding initiative for innovative research and development projects. The Tech Metal Transformation Challenge aims to develop and validate processes for recovering critical metals from complex waste streams, including electronic waste and batteries. The challenge focuses on creating an end-to-end recycling process that is environmentally sustainable and efficient. The 36-month programme is structured into three consecutive 12-month stages—beginning with validation and proof-of-concept (TRL 2/3 to TRL 4) supported by up to €1.5 million, followed by process integration and efficiency enhancement (TRL 4 to TRL 5/6) with a funding cap of €2 million, and culminating in demonstration and scalability (TRL 5/6 to TRL 7) with up to €2.5 million in support Deadline: 7 November 2025

 

15. NEW: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship – Information https://www.ukro.ac.uk/news/msca-postdoctoral-fellowship-information/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_source_platform=mailpoet&utm_campaign=latest-ukro-articles-4

UKRO has noted a substantial increase in applications for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship (PF) 2025 call, which closes on 10 September. In response to the growing volume of queries, UKRO has compiled key information based on frequently asked questions to support the development and submission of MSCA PF proposals at host institutions. UKRO have decided to share with you some of the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2025 call Information we collated from some of their most frequently asked questions.

16. NEW: VELUX Foundation 2025 Deadlines for Ophthalmology and Forestry Grants https://veluxstiftung.ch/applications/

Funding is available for basic or applied research in two key areas: Forestry and Ophthalmology. Forestry projects should focus on solution-oriented research involving collaboration between scientists and practitioners, while Ophthalmology projects aim to reduce visual impairments and blindness in low and middle-income countries. Grants typically range from CHF 50,000 to CHF 100,000 per year for up to four years. Eligible costs include research staff costs (salaries, doctoral students, teaching replacement) and associated research costs (consumables, equipment, conference and travel costs, publication costs etc).Deadline: 29 September 2025 (Opthamology), 22 September 2025 (Forestry)

17. Water4All European Partnership Joint Transnational Call on Water and Health Opening Soon https://www.water4all-partnership.eu/joint-activities/water4all-2025-joint-transnational-call-pre-announcement

The fourth joint transnational call for research and innovation projects focuses on the general theme of ‘Water and Health’. The aim of the call is to address key challenges related to the link between water and human health, including water quality, contaminants, and water treatment technologies. The 2025 call structure includes an additional modality for Early Career Researchers, which focuses on developing capacities for talented early career researchers by giving them an opportunity to act as leaders of the project consortium. The principle criterion for the early career researcher acting as coordinator is to have obtained their PhD less than 10 years before the launch of the call.  A global budget of approximately €23.8 million has been provisionally reserved for the call. The participation of Brazil, Malta, Portugal and the United Kingdom is to be confirmed. The call follows a two-step application procedure, with a closing date for mandatory pre-proposals of 13 November 2025 The call is expected to open on 12 September 2025. An Information Webinar for applicants will be held on 25 September 2025.

18. Eni Award Open for Innovations in Energy and the Environment https://www.eni.com/en-IT/strategic-vision/innovation/eni-awards.html

Launched in 2008, the Eni Award is an international award aiming to promote and reward research and technological innovation in energy. In particular, proposals are welcome that are devoted to promoting the use of breakthrough, experimental and innovative technologies, processes and tools, enabling a holistic perspective, and contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The awards consist of an indivisible sum of €200,000 (for Energy Frontiers, Advanced Environmental Solutions and Energy Transition awards) and an indivisible sum of €25,000 (for Young Researcher of the Year and Young Talents from Africa awards). Winners also receive a customised plaque. Deadline: 14 November 2025.

 

19. European Research Council 2026 Work Programme adopted: https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news/erc-work-programme-2026-adopted

The 2026 Work Programme confirms a number of key changes recently set out by the ERC. This includes a change of structure to ERC applications, which will now consist of a concise five-page Part I outlining the scientific idea and objectives, and a more detailed Part II focused on implementation and methodology. Feasibility will now only be assessed at Step 2 of evaluation.

The grants and their scheduled opening and deadline dates are as follows:

  • Starting Grants – For promising early career researchers with 2 to 7 years’ experience after PhD: Opening 9 July 2025, closing 14 October 2025.
  • Consolidator Grants – For excellent researchers with 7 to 12 years’ experience after PhD: Opening 25 September 2025, closing 13 January 2026.
  • Advanced Grants – For established research leaders with a recognised track record of research achievements: Opening 28 May 2026, closing 27 August 2026.
  • Synergy Grants – For groups of two to four PIs to address ambitious research questions requiring coordinated work: Opening 10 June 2025, closing 5 November 2025.
  • Proof of Concept Grants – For PIs engaged in ERC-funded research projects to fund further work to verify the potential of ideas arising from ERC funded projects: Opening 13 November 2025, cut-off dates: 13 March 2026, 17 September 2026.
  • Public Engagement with Research Award – For ERC-funded PIs who have engaged audiences beyond academia in the course of their research and research communication activities: Opening: 14 October 2025, closing 15 January 2026.

A new funding instrument under the Choose Europe for Science initiative (grant of €7M over 7 years for all career stages) is also in development by the ERC Scientific Council, with details following in due course (expected closing date ~September 2026). ERC recently hosted an online webinar including Q&A, visible here.

 

20. MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships Open: https://www.iriscc.eu/open-calls

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral fellowships target researchers holding a PhD who wish to carry out their research activities abroad, acquire new skills and develop their careers. The fellowship helps researchers gain experience in other countries, disciplines and non-academic sectors. In a nutshell, an experienced researcher (Fellow), of any nationality, develops a research project with a new supervisor based in Europe (host). The Fellow comes from any country in the world or moves within Europe. Moving country is compulsory. The application will address the fellow’s training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, planning for publications and participation in conferences. Placements or secondments in non-academic environments is strongly encouraged. The application is prepared by the fellow and supervisor who offers appropriate mentoring and support. Regular exchanges between the supervisor and the fellow are the backbone of a competitive application. The fellowships, generously funded, typically last for two years. Application deadline is 10 September 2025. Please let Sarah.Urquhart@newcastle.ac.uk know asap if you are planning to host (as supervisor) an applicant, in order to provide support for the application.

21. MSCA Doctoral Networks 2025: https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/actions/doctoral-networks

The MSCA Doctoral Networks 2025 are a funding opportunity that aims to train doctoral candidates in research and innovation, with a focus on developing skills relevant for both academic and non-academic sectors. The program supports three implementation modes: Standard Doctoral Networks, Joint Doctorates, and Industrial Doctorates. Applicants apply as a consortium network and with each beneficiary institution/organisation typically hosting a couple of PhD students each. Deadline 25 November 2025.

22.  COST Actions Networking Grants 2025: https://www.cost.eu/funding/open-call-a-simple-one-step-application-process/

COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is an intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in the field of scientific and technical research, including social science and humanities. COST does not fund research itself, but funds the expenses of interdisciplinary research networks called COST Actions (networks that engage a team of proposers from at least 7 COST member countries with at least half from inclusiveness target countries). These support a range of networking tools, such as workshops, conferences, training schools, short-term scientific missions (STSMs), communication activities, and virtual networking tools. COST Actions enable researchers from academia, SMEs, public institutions and other relevant organisations to investigate a topic of their choice for four years. No budget forecast is requested when submitting a proposal. An estimated €125,000 is made available for a COST Action in its first year and an average of €150,000 per year for the other three years. Deadline is 21 October 2025.

23. MSCA Staff Exchanges 2025: https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/actions/staff-exchanges

The Staff Exchanges action funds short-term international and inter-sectoral exchanges of staff members involved in research and innovation activities of participating organisations. The aim is to develop sustainable collaborative projects between different organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors (in particular SMEs), based in Europe and beyond. Exchanged staff benefit from new knowledge, skills and career development perspectives, while participating organisations increase their research and innovation capacities. Staff Exchanges are open to international consortia of universities, research institutions, businesses, SMEs and other non-academic organisations. Deadline 8 October 2025.

24. Launch of Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) Call 11 https://www.ihi.europa.eu/apply-funding/ihi-call-11

IHI has launched Call 11, an two-stage call with topics on brain dysfunction, the link between infections and non-communicable diseases, pharmacovigilance, type 1 diabetes, and ambulatory surgical centres. IHI is holding online info sessions on the call topics and IHI’s rules and procedures from 23 to 30 June 2025. Registration is free but obligatory. Note: UK entities are eligible to receive funding under topic 1 (Towards precision medicine: platform for transdiagnostic stratification of brain dysfunction HORIZON-JU-IHI-2025-11-01-two-stage), but not eligible to receive funding under topics 2 to 5. Deadline: First stage proposals to Call 11 must be submitted by 9 October 2025.

 

25. Quantum Technologies (QuantERA II) 2025 call pre-announcement: https://quantera.eu/call-2025/

QuantERA II is a European Research Area network focused on quantum technologies (QT). It has issued a pre-announcement of a new call in Quantum Sciences and Technologies scheduled to launch in September 2025. The Call will comprise of two topics: Quantum Phenomena and Resources (QPR) and Applied Quantum Science (AQS). Projects are expected to address one or more of the following research areas: Quantum communication, Quantum computing, Quantum simulation, Quantum sensing and metrology, General quantum science. Projects are expected to last for 24 to 36 months. The project consortia must have a minimum of three eligible partners requesting funding in at least three of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom. The call will be announced in September 2025 with deadline 5 December 2025.

 

26. European Partnership on One Health Antimicrobial Resistance R&I call 2025 pre-announcement: https://ohamr.eu/2025/06/12/research-call-2025/

The first EUP OHAMR joint transnational call will be within the focus area of providing innovative and cost-effective treatment options. The call will be launched in November 2025. The potential research objectives for this call will be as outlined in the EUP OHAMR Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda:

  • To develop new antimicrobials, novel treatment protocols or alternative treatment strategies against Human Infectious diseases along with their respective diagnostics.
  • To improve, preserve and reinforce the clinical efficacy of the current treatment antimicrobials.
  • Identification of barriers to access, availability, quality and uptake of therapeutic solutions and development of solutions to overcome those barriers.
  • Assessment and prediction of the impact of economic incentives and regulations on drug development, drug production, drug supply and treatment availability.

 

27. MSCA and Citizens call 2025: https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/news/msca-opens-163-million-for-msca-and-citizens

This call will dedicate €16.25 million to fund over 40 projects organising two successive editions of the European Researchers’ Night in 2026 and 2027 the implementation of Researchers at Schools activities over the course of two consecutive years MSCA and Citizens brings research and researchers closer to the public at large, with a focus on families, pupils and students, and social groups that do not have easy access to and thus are less inclined to engage in STEAM fields (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) or research activities. Deadline 22 October 2025.

 

Official development assistance (ODA) related funding

 

28. British Council Launches Applications for International Skills Partnerships with Uganda, Tanzania and Morocco https://opportunities-insight.britishcouncil.org/opportunities

The partnerships aim to bring together organisations in the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector from the UK and overseas to share their knowledge and expertise, and to collaborate on projects that focus on enhancing approaches to skills development internationally. The British Council are currently looking to set up Skills Partnerships with three countries: Uganda, Tanzania and Morocco. Successful applicants will be eligible for £30,00 (£25,000 for partnerships with Morocco) of grant funding to support partnership activities (reciprocal visits to the UK and the partner country, staff time (limited to 30 per cent of the grant), development of tools and resources, etc). Deadline: 22 September 2025.

 

29. British Council Research Environments Collaboration Grants: https://opportunities-insight.britishcouncil.org/short-articles/opportunities/research-environments-2025-26-collaboration-grants

These grants aims to strengthen partnerships between eligible higher education and research institutions in the UK and partner countries of Brazil, Peru, Morocco and Pakistan. Collaborations are expected to build/establish new research environment links, or significantly develop existing links, between research groups, departments or institutions with the potential for longer-term sustainability. The key aim of each collaboration will be to support capacity strengthening in the partner institution as well as to stimulate longer-term interactions between the UK and the partner country. The Grants must be ODA compliant. The Research Environments programme expects to support projects of between £25,000 and £40,000 in value, for a 12-month period, starting from 1 January 2026. Deadline 09 September 2025.

 

30. British Academy International Writing Workshops 2025: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/writing-workshops/

The intention of the Writing Workshops is to cultivate professional networks and mentorship and provide access for early career researchers in developing countries to the academic requirements of journals, including international journals, and to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to publish in these journals. The British Academy is inviting proposals for Writing Workshops in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries. These workshops should aim to develop the skills of early career researchers, including supporting and promoting the uptake of their research in journals and publications. Deadline 17 September 2025.

 

General international

 

31. NEW: International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) https://dreamscience.org/grant-opportunity/

The International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) is accepting submissions for the 2025 edition of its call for proposals, operated in collaboration with DreamScience Foundation (DSF). Possible research areas for the call include, but are not limited to, the biology and neuroscience of dreaming, phenomenological and psychological approaches to dream analysis, as well as anthropological, cultural, and related interdisciplinary studies of dreaming. The value of the grants is limited by the donations received by IASD/DSF and may or may not cover the full cost of the project. Historically, grants have been in the range of $3,000 to $5,000. Deadline: 15 October 2025.

32. Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) Funding Opportunities https://www.acu.ac.uk/funding-opportunities/funding-opportunities-calendar/

The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is currently offering a range of grants, fellowships, and scholarships for university staff and students. These opportunities provide valuable support for research, professional development, and academic collaboration across the Commonwealth. View the ACU Funding Calendar (opportunities also listed below) to see upcoming deadlines throughout the year and plan your applications in advance. Please note that the ACU grants offer is under review and may be subject to change.

  • Early Career Conference Grants Enable emerging researchers to attend/take part in conferences at other Commonwealth universities. Opens 2nd September 2025. Deadline 4th November 2025.
  • HR in HE Community Grants Supporting projects for HR professionals at ACU member universities. Opens 2nd September 2025. Deadline 4th November 2025.
  • Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Scholarships for 2026/27 (application cycle 1) Fully-funded scholarships to study in low and middle-income Commonwealth countries. Opens 19 November 2025. Deadline 14 January 2026.
  • Supporting Research Community Training Grants Funding staff at ACU member universities to organise and deliver training for their early career researchers. Opens 4 February 2026. Deadline 8 April 2026.
  • Gender Grants Funding projects that promote gender equity and equality on university campuses. Opens 5 March 2026. Deadline 6 May 2026.
  • Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Scholarships for 2026/27 (application cycle 2) Fully-funded scholarships to study in low and middle-income Commonwealth countries. Opens 9 April 2026. Deadline 3 June 2026.
  • ACU Fellowships Funding collaborative research and the exchange of knowledge, skills and ideas between ACU members. Opens 28 April 2026. Deadline 25 June 2026.

33. Single Ventricle Research Fund: 2026 Call Open for Submissions https://www.additionalventures.org/funding/single-ventricle-research-fund/

The Single Ventricle Research Fund (SVRF) is an annual research award programme that supports foundational research to improve outcomes for single ventricle heart disease patients.  In its sixth (2026) cycle, the SVRF welcomes foundational research that is directly relevant to improving outcomes for individuals with single ventricle heart disease. Priority outcomes include preventing or reversing key organ level complications such as lymphatic dysfunction, liver disease, impaired kidney and gut perfusion, heart failure, valve dysfunction, arrhythmia and neurodevelopmental challenges. However, projects beyond these priority areas are also welcome, particularly if they introduce novel concepts or unexpected avenues for improving outcomes. For the 2026 call, there are two programme tracks – Independent Investigator (Grants of up to $600,000)  and Career Development ($300,000). Deadline: 8 October 2025.

34. New $8 Million SU2C/CRUK Challenge Fund to Prevent and Detect Cancer Recurrence https://standuptocancer.org/science/grant-opportunities/#open-applications

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) have launched a new $8 million research programme – Prevention, Early Stage Detection, and Interception of Recurrence Challenge – to support collaborative UK/US multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research teams conducting translational research to generate and evaluate new approaches to prevent and intercept cancer recurrence. Grants of between $1 million and $4 million over one to four years are available for proposals aiming to design, validate, and test innovative interventions to prevent cancer recurrence or to detect and intercept early-stage recurrent cancers at the earliest actionable timepoints. Interventions should be in patient populations previously treated for a first primary tumour with curative intent, and with no detectable residual disease. The Letter of Intent should be submitted to SU2C by 1 October 2025.

35. Submissions Open for 2026 Lupus Insight Prize https://www.lupusresearch.org/for-researchers/funding-opportunities/insight-prize/

The Lupus Insight Prize provides research funds to an outstanding investigator with a documented record of creativity, innovation and productivity and who has made a novel insight and/or discovery in an area of research that is applicable to the pathogenesis or treatment of lupus. Awardees will have a high likelihood of generating further significant advances by applying the insight to lupus. The prize will be given for a specific, significant and recent (within the past five years) discovery that is relevant to lupus. The research may be basic, clinical or translational in nature. Grant recipients are required to attend the Lupus Research Alliance Annual Scientific Conference, Forum for Discovery, each year. Travel funds, provided by the grant award, should be used to attend this meeting. Deadline 1 December 2025.

36. AHRC/EPSRC to Host International Artificial Intelligence Humanities Sandpit https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/artificial-intelligence-humanities-sandpits-canada-uk-and-us/

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) will shortly be inviting applicants to attend a humanities-led, interdisciplinary research sandpit focused on putting humanities insights and methodologies at the heart of artificial intelligence (AI) tech design. here are two elements to the sandpit process: (1) An expressions of interest stage where sandpit attendees will be decided, (2)The sandpit itself where attendees will form teams, develop project ideas and submit an application for research funding. Up to four grants will be provided to support proposals developed through the sandpit. All research must involve meaningful collaboration between humanities or arts scholars and technical AI researchers. Deadline: 31 October 2025

 

37. CELTIC-NEXT Autumn Call https://www.celticnext.eu/celtic-next-autumn-call-2025/

Applications are invited for the CELTIC-NEXT Autumn 2025 Call, which supports universities, research institutes, SMEs and large enterprises conducting collaborative R&D projects to develop next-generation telecommunications within the ICT domain. CELTIC-NEXT is a Eureka Cluster programme focusing on industry-driven innovation in ICT to support the development and take up of high-performance communication networks underpinning data-rich applications and advanced services across sectors such as content, e-health, smart cities, agriculture, mobility, energy, automotive, e-commerce and industry 4.0, manufacturing and logistics. Deadline: 24 October 2025.

 

38. BBSRC Brazil pump-priming award (FAPPA): https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/bbsrc-brazil-pump-priming-award/

FAPPA pump-priming awards supported by BBSRC and FAPESP are for BBSRC-supported researchers and consortia of academics. Applications must be made by a project lead who is currently in receipt of relevant BBSRC research funding. Funding of up to £35,000 over two years is available. Full economic costing (FEC) at 80% is applied to any direct research component of these awards, and travel, subsistence and other collaborative activities are funded at 100% FEC. Brazilian counterparts should apply for equivalent funding directly from FAPESP. No closing date.

 

39. Gain Time to Think – Residential Fellowships (at Institute for Advanced Study Berlin) for Early Career Researchers in the Life Sciences: https://www.wiko-berlin.de/fellow-werden/fellowships/college-for-life-sciences

As part of its College for Life Sciences junior research programme, the Gain Time To Think Fellowship offers excellent early career researchers in the life sciences and medicine the opportunity to take a break from their lab or clinical work. Fellows may use the fellowship to develop their own projects and immerse themselves in the intellectually and culturally diverse environment of Wissenschaftskolleg. Examples of projects include the development of grants applications, writing of articles, reviews or a habilitation thesis, the development of books, or the development of new research collaborations. Fellowships last between three and five months and are based at Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin, Germany. The programme is open to scientists from the life sciences and medicine who are at the beginning of their career. This includes postdoctoral researchers, junior group leaders, lecturers, and assistant, associate, and junior professors. The fellowship offers studio accommodation as well as a full stipend based on the applicant’s salary. Deadline 1 November 2025.

 

40. 2025 Call for International Quaternary Research Projects: https://inqua.org/projects-fellowships/498-2

INQUA has launched the 2025 call for its financial support programme to stimulate the development of research networks. This support is divided into two categories: International Research Network (IRN) and International Skill Activity (ISA). Applications are welcome from around the world. Participation of early career researchers and researchers in developing countries is obligatory. For IRN projects, INQUA typically provides €5,000/year. In exceptional cases, funding may be extended to a maximum of €8,000/year. For ISA projects, INQUA typically provides €4,000-€8,000. Deadline 30 September 2025.

 

41. DSIT / British Academy – Global Innovation Fellowships: The German Council for Foreign Relations (DGAP): https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/global-innovation-fellowships-the-german-council-on-foreign-relations-dgap/

The objective of the Global Innovation Fellowships is to provide opportunities to UK-based early- and mid-career researchers from across the humanities and social sciences to develop their skills, networks and careers in the creative and cultural, public, private and policy sectors to address challenges that require innovative approaches and solutions. Applications are invited in any of the following areas: Security, Defence, and Resilience; Europe as an International Actor; Strategy-Making in a Geopolitical World. The Academy is offering up to two one-year fellowships hosted in DGAP’s offices in Berlin. These are offered as awards for up to £150,000 for 12 months in duration (with Full Economic Costing at 80%). Deadline 24 September 2025.

42. FAPESP SPRINT Programme: https://fapesp.br/en/sprint

The São Paulo Researchers in International Collaboration (SPRINT) programme aims to support the internationalisation of São Paulo researchers. The programme offers the opportunity for initial international mobility funding with the potential for obtaining seed funding for building research networks. Every SPRINT proposal should be developed within the perspective of an internationalisation trajectory. The programme initially comprises a single phase, focused on the mobility of São Paulo State researchers to foreign researchers abroad. A research project must be proposed by the FAPESP Principal Investigator (PI) and the PI of the foreign partner institution. Researchers from any foreign institution can demonstrate funding for their missions through their institution or a funding agency with an approved project. Researchers from São Paulo State may request $12,500/year from FAPESP. Funding for foreign researchers will be provided by their institutions. The deadline for the second edition of 2025 is 27 October 2025.

 

43. Global Innovation Fellowships: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/global-innovation-fellowships-carnegie-endowment-for-international-peace/

The objective of the Global Innovation Fellowships is to provide opportunities to UK-based early and mid-career researchers from across the humanities and social sciences to develop their skills, networks and careers in the creative and cultural, public, private and policy sectors to address challenges that require innovative approaches and solutions. Through the Global Innovation Fellowships, researchers in the SHAPE community will be supported to create new and deeper links beyond academia, enabling knowledge mobilisation and translation, as well as individual skills development. This is the third call for this programme, offering opportunities for Global Innovation Fellowship award-holders to be based in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (specifically in the USA, with possibilities to engage in other regions as appropriate). Applications are invited in any of the following five areas: Sustainability, Climate and Geopolitics; Global Order and Institutions; South and East Asia; Middle East and North Africa; Security and Defence. The Academy is offering up to two one-year fellowships hosted in Carnegie’s offices in Washington DC, Singapore or Beirut. These are offered as awards for up to £150,000 for 12 months in duration. Deadline 24 September 2025.

 

44. British Academy International Interdisciplinary Research Projects 2026: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/knowledge-frontiers-international-interdisciplinary-research/

The British Academy is inviting proposals for the next round of its International Interdisciplinary Research programme. Projects will be led by UK-based researchers in the humanities and social sciences working with international partners and wishing to develop genuinely interdisciplinary projects that range across all SHAPE and STEM disciplines on the theme of Transnational and Planetary challenges. The total funding available per award in this call is up to £300,000 over 2 years. Deadline: 17 September 2025.

 

45. Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation (GBSF) grant funding: http://www.gbsf.org.uk/grants/overview/

The Foundation’s aim is to develop good relations between the United Kingdom and Japan by advancing the education of the people of both nations in each other’s culture, society and achievements. It seeks to promote mutual understanding and cooperation through financial support for activities in the following fields: • Arts and Culture • Humanities and Social Issues • Japanese Language • Medicine and Health • Science, Technology and Environment • Sport • Youth and Education. The Foundation’s awards are intended to provide “pump-priming” and not core funding of projects. Standard travel grants between the UK and Japan are £2,000, and up to £2,500 for visits of more than two weeks. This also includes travel for PhD students from UK universities wishing to visit Japan for dissertation research or to complete fieldwork. Applications for longer-term fieldwork of six months or more in Japan can be considered, with grants of up to £5,000. The UK office holds three annual awards meetings, with remaining application deadlines on 15th September and 15th December.

 

Project Initiation Form (PIF): https://www.cognitoforms.com/NewcastleUniversity1/NewcastleUniversityNuTHProjectInitiationFormV2

If you’re in the process of developing a research proposal please ensure you submit a PIF as soon as possible. The PIF is not just a mechanism to initiate a costing, it enables the research support team to identify and engage on your behalf the varying types of research and business support beneficial to your bid. Please note you don’t need to define all resources required before engaging with the team. To maximise the support available to you, PIF submission is advised at your earliest convenience.

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