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BidSonar is an independent index of public-sector opportunities. We aggregate data from official sources and are not affiliated with any procurement body. Data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 and the EU TED reuse notice.

    GrantsESRC Explore Awards for Innovative Social Science Research
    Open grant call

    ESRC Explore Awards for Innovative Social Science Research

    ESRC Explore Awards fund ambitious, innovative social science research projects up to £2 million for UK-based individuals and small research teams over five years.

    🇬🇧United KingdomPublished 5 Nov 2026· -17 days agoviaUKRI

    Decision brief

    4 fields
    • Funding
      Not disclosed
      Source did not declare a figure
    • Applications
      Rolling
      No closing date published
    • Sector
      Research & Innovation
      Browse related listings
    • Location
      🇬🇧United Kingdom

    Lifecycle

    Open

    Open call — no fixed deadline published. Opened -17 days ago.

    5 November 2026
    Open call · no closing date published

    Brief

    The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) offers curiosity-driven social science grants ranging from £300,000 to £2 million (funded at 80% of Full Economic Cost) for ambitious, innovative research proposals that advance knowledge by pushing disciplinary, methodological, or conceptual boundaries. These awards support individual researchers or small research teams (maximum four core members) based at eligible UK research organisations. Projects can run for up to five years and are ideal for researchers looking to explore new research directions or test innovative approaches without preliminary data requirements. This is an applicant-led scheme, meaning researchers define their own research questions and scope. Eligible institutions include universities and other research-performing organisations in the UK. Applications are assessed on research quality, innovation, feasibility, and potential impact on social science knowledge.

    Open in Research & Innovation

    4 open listingsView all →
    Research & Innovation🇬🇧United Kingdom

    Building Collaborative Communities for Data Service Professionals

    Funding up to £280,000 to establish collaborative networks of data professionals sharing knowledge and improving services for social science researchers.

    est.£2,000,000
    Published 11 Jan 2027
    OpenResearch & Innovation🇬🇧United Kingdom

    ESRC Grow Awards for Career Development in Social Science Research

    ESRC Grow Awards provide £100,000-£500,000 in funding to help social science researchers advance their careers through skills development, methodological training, and independence-building over 18-60 months.

    Published 5 Nov 2026
    Research & Innovation🇬🇧United Kingdom

    BBSRC Mid-Range Equipment Grants for Biosciences Research 2026

    BBSRC funding scheme offering £200,000-£1,500,000 grants for UK research organisations to purchase mid-range biosciences equipment that supports collaboration and aligns with BBSRC research priorities.

    est.£13,000,000
    Published 22 Oct 2026
    Research & Innovation🇬🇧United Kingdom

    AI Solutions for Operational Systems Deployment

    UK AI SMEs can secure funding to deploy machine learning solutions for operational systems in partnership with larger organizations.

    est.£5,000,000
    Published 21 Oct 2026
    Take action
    Apply on sourceUKRI

    Application form lives on the publisher's site

    Publisher
    UK Research and Innovation
    Licence
    OGL v3.0
    Source
    ukri.org
    Record ID
    esrc-applicant-led-explore-awards
    Sector
    Research & Innovation