Event Details

ARMA Study Tour Update: ESRC Applicant-Led Funding Reform

Stian Westlake, Executive Chair of ESRC, will join the ARMA Study Tour to provide an update on significant changes to ESRC’s applicant-led funding portfolio. Stian will present on the changes and with colleagues will answer your questions.

The refreshed approach is designed to create a more agile and responsive funding system that better supports innovation and world-leading social science research. The new model will place greater emphasis on outcomes and excellence while providing stronger support for novel, ambitious and potentially disruptive ideas.

Key changes

• More outcome-focused funding opportunities, with greater clarity on the impact and contribution research is expected to deliver.
• More strategic management and curation of the applicant-led portfolio, ensuring investments align with ESRC’s ambitions for a healthy and dynamic social science ecosystem.
• Greater support for novelty, disruption and responsible risk-taking, encouraging researchers to pursue bold and innovative ideas.
• Faster funding decisions for the strongest proposals, reducing barriers and enabling researchers to seize opportunities more quickly.

What happens next?

ESRC will launch five new funding opportunities through a phased implementation approach.

• Two pilot opportunities have already launched.
• Detailed pre-announcements for the remaining opportunities are now live.
• Existing Research Grants, New Investigator Grants and Secondary Data Analysis opportunities will remain open, with no application deadlines, until the new Grow and Explore opportunities are launched.