ESRC Connect Awards (Pilot)

ESRC Connect Awards Pilot

Supports United Kingdom social science pilots with early funding bridges from ideas to applied innovation.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

ESRC Connect Awards are a 2026 pilot programme funding exploratory, high-risk social science activities that build the foundations for future research. Awards range from £50,000 to £150,000 at 80% of full economic cost, drawn from a total pilot fund of £3,000,000. The programme opened on 7 April 2026 and closes for applications on 10 June 2026 at 4:00pm UK time via the UKRI Funding Service. All projects must end by 31 March 2027, limiting effective project durations to approximately nine months or less from the date of application. Eligible lead organisations include UK research organisations, UKRI institutes, NHS bodies, independent research organisations, public sector research establishments, and Catapult centres; the project lead must come from a social science discipline within ESRC's remit.

Fundable activities include networking, seminars, workshops, knowledge exchange, initial data collection, and other exploratory work aimed at testing ideas and building collaborative relationships. Primary data collection at scale, literature reviews, and conference attendance as standalone activities are not within scope. The primary focus must be social sciences, and interdisciplinary partnerships involving non-social-science collaborators are explicitly encouraged. International researchers may join as project co-lead (international) only — they cannot be the project lead. ESRC funds 80% of FEC; the host institution covers the remaining 20%.

Assessment uses a distributed peer review model in which applicants also review other submitted applications, introducing a reciprocal quality-assurance process. This assessment approach and the exploratory character of eligible activities make Connect Awards distinct from ESRC's standard responsive-mode grants, which fund projects with well-developed research designs and larger budgets. Connect Awards are designed for researchers who have an idea they want to test, a network they want to convene, or a collaboration they want to pilot — but who are not yet ready for a full research grant. As a pilot, continuation beyond the current window has not been confirmed by ESRC.