The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) hosted a town hall meeting on 1 July 2026.
AHRC’s Executive Chair, Christopher Smith, and other members of the senior leadership team:
- outlined AHRC’s position in the current funding landscape
- detailed new funding opportunities
- explained how AHRC will align with the UK government’s industrial strategy
The team was also joined by Professor Claire Gorrara, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Public Engagement at the University of London and Dean of the School of Advanced Study (SAS).
Professor Gorrara acted as a live interlocutor with the speakers, offering a national perspective and airing questions on behalf of SAS.
Themes
Key themes explored were:
- AHRC’s strategic direction and priorities for the coming period
- how AHRC’s priorities fit within the wider portfolio
- arts and humanities within the wider UK Research and Innovation mission and the Industrial Strategy growth-driving sectors (the ‘IS-8’) context
- impact, commercialisation and routes to wider value
Future events
This is the first in a series of engagements across the coming year.
We will update our LinkedIn page and website about future events.
Town hall recording
Watch the town hall recording:
Video credit: AHRC
Video transcript and on-screen captions are available by watching on YouTube.
Ask a question
If you have any questions, email: strategy.impact.evidence@ahrc.ukri.org