Flexible awards to fund fundamental research that leads to new research agendas, networking activity and idea generation, which enables the development of further research opportunities and new research agendas.
Awards are available for projects up to £100,000 full economic cost (FEC) and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) will fund 80% of this. Funding is available for projects up to five years in duration.
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible.
Before applying for funding, please check:
Applications are welcomed from researchers across all career stages, from early career to established researchers.
The project lead and any project co-leads must be employed and supported by an eligible organisation for at least the duration of the UKRI support. It is not a requirement that a contract be in place at the point of application submission. It is also not a requirement to have a permanent employment contract to apply for funding.
You must have the appropriate skills to lead the project in line with UKRI’s terms and conditions. There are no specific qualification requirements, and you do not necessarily need a qualification such as a PhD. During your project, you must be primarily based and permitted to work in the UK.
You do not need to hold an academic research or teaching post to apply. Applications are welcomed from those working, for example, as archivists, curators, librarians, technicians and practitioners.
We also encourage international researchers to participate as project co-leads. See sections two and three of the AHRC research funding guide for full details on eligibility of researchers, organisations, and costs.
Project co-leads are permitted and encouraged for interdisciplinary applications or where a co-lead would provide specific technical expertise that is essential to the project. This can include international co-leads as per the guidance below.
However, it must be clear that the project lead is responsible for leading the project. Project co-leads are permitted to have previously led or be currently leading a significant research project and are not required to meet the eligibility criteria above.
Other roles that are supported by this funding opportunity are listed in the ‘How to apply’ section below.
We do not support project studentships (funding PhD study) within this funding opportunity.
We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.
We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:
UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.
Curiosity awards support early-stage ambitious and novel fundamental research which has the potential to act as a springboard towards new and exciting research agendas.
The funding opportunity celebrates the full diversity of the arts and humanities. It is flexible, and applications are welcomed from teams, networks, and solo researchers.
Projects can be single discipline, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary. The majority of the disciplinary focus of the project must fall within our subject remit, see section seven of the AHRC research funding guide for our remit coverage. Practice-based and practice-led research is supported by this funding opportunity.
Partnerships and collaboration are supported. Where partnerships are already established, you should outline how this funding supports novelty in your collaboration. Applications should articulate how collaborative activity will be conducted, considering good practice in creating equitable partnerships. Further guidance is available in the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) good research resource hub.
The funding opportunity is intentionally flexible. An indicative list of examples of the activities we will fund are provided as follows. You are encouraged to request and justify costs for activities that best meet the aims of your project. This may include:
To note, this is not a prescriptive or exhaustive list.
The duration of these awards is up to five years.
The earliest permissible start date for applications to round six is 1 May 2025, however the project start date must also be at least six months from the point of the application submission to us.
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £100,000 and we will fund 80% of the FEC.
Costs associated with project co-lead internationals will be funded at 100% FEC but must not exceed 30% of the total FEC of the project. However this funding cap does not apply to any PcL(I) based in a country on the OECD DAC list (excepting India and China). PcL(I)s from a country on the OECD DAC list (excepting India and China) are also eligible to claim overheads support.
Please read sections two and three of our research funding guide for further details on eligibility of these costs.
Where mentoring is included for the researchers, salary costs to cover the mentor’s time can be claimed from the grant. They should be entered in the Directly Incurred or Directly Allocated categories in the Resources and Costs section.
You are encouraged to request and justify costs for activities that best meet the aims of your project.
We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.
If your application includes international co-leads, project partners or collaborators, visit sections two and three of the AHRC research funding guide for details on eligibility of researchers, organisations and costs.
UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.
As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.
Further guidance and information about TR&I, including where you can find additional support.
We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. You should:
Watch our research office webinars about the Funding Service.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
Applications should be self-contained, and hyperlinks should only be used to provide links directly to reference information. To ensure the information’s integrity is maintained, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers should be used. Assessors are not required to access links to carry out assessment or recommend a funding decision. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application and be easily identifiable by the assessors, for example (Smith, Research Paper, 2019).
You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.
Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.
For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment.
This funding opportunity is always open, with no closing date, so there is no specific deadline for applications.
AHRC will begin the assessment process as soon as an application is received, ensuring that you receive a timely decision. We are committed to holding regular decision points throughout the year.
Due to system limitations, a closing date will appear on the Funding Service. Please disregard this date while preparing your application and submit it when you are ready.
Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
If your application is rejected and invited for resubmission, we aim to complete the assessment process within nine months of receiving your resubmission, rather than from the date of your original application.
AHRC as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.
If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email enquiries@ahrc.ukri.org
Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].
Typical examples of confidential information include:
For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Word limit: 550
In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.
We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
Only list one individual as project lead.
Mentor details should not be entered in this section, instead please outline their name and contribution in the Applicant and team capability to deliver section.
UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Word limit: 5
Please provide the primary research area of your proposal.
You must select only one of these research disciplines:
This information will be used for the purposes of processing your proposal and in the selection of appropriate assessors.
Word limit: 50
Please describe, using keywords, the research area of your application and where relevant the approach, time period or geographical area.
This will further help with the selection of appropriate assessors.
Word limit: 550
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
Explain how your proposed work:
Within the Vision section we also expect you to:
Word limit: 1,650
How are you going to deliver your proposed work?
Explain how you have designed your approach so that it:
References may be included within this section.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Word limit: 1,650
Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?
Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
The word limit for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.
Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.
Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:
As a minimum, all named members of the leadership team should be discussed within this section of the form.
If references or citations are deemed appropriate, these will be included within the section’s word count. We would advise you not to include hyperlinks, as assessors are not obliged to access the information they lead to or consider it in their assessment of your application. If you are linking to web resources, to maintain the information’s integrity, include persistent identifiers (such as digital object identifiers) where possible. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.
Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).
Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.
References may be included within this section.
The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.
Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.
A project partner is a collaborating organisation or individual who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.
Add the following project partner details:
If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the ‘Project partners’ section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.
Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box, or if you do not have any project partners enter N/A. Each letter or email you provide should:
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the ‘Project partners’ section.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Do not provide letters of support from host, project co-leads’ research organisations and other UK research organisations.
Word limit: 500
What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.
Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:
If you are collecting or using data, identify:
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Word limit: 1,000
What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?
Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:
Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work:
Additionally, where relevant you should explain:
We do not provide funding for individual items of equipment over £25,000. Please see section 3 of the AHRC research funding guide for further information.
Note that all elements of your application form will be shared with the assessors.
We will assess your application using the following process.
There is no written peer review stage for the curiosity awards funding opportunity.
Proposals will be assessed by an expert panel against the criteria, and each will be graded and ranked alongside other applications after which the panel will make a funding recommendation.
Find out more about AHRC’s assessment process.
We aim to issue outcomes within six months of receiving your application.
Written feedback will not be provided on individual applications. We may publish separate collated panel feedback, ensuring that you or your application cannot be identified.
We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.
Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.
Panellists are not permitted to use generative AI tools to develop their assessment. Using these tools can potentially compromise the confidentiality of the ideas that applicants have entrusted to UKRI to safeguard.
For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI.
We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.
The assessment areas we will use are:
Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.
If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the Helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding Finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility or content/remit of an opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.
For help and advice on costings and writing your application please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.
For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact enquiries@ahrc.ukri.org
Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.
Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org
Phone: 01793 547490
Our phone lines are open:
To help us process queries quicker, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.
For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.
Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.
The launch of the curiosity and catalyst awards schemes were supported by a webinar for prospective applicants and professional research support staff that presented an overview of the schemes, followed by an opportunity to ask questions. The webinars were recorded, and a copy can be found below.
Watch webinar recording from 8 September 2023 (YouTube)
Note that this webinar is British Sign Language interpreted.
We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:
Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.
Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.
