Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: Early career research fellowships scheme coordination and cohort support (invite only)

Start application

Apply for funding through an invitation only funding opportunity to lead cohort coordination and development for AHRC’s early career fellowships in cultural and heritage institutions.

You must be based at a UK independent research organisation (IRO) eligible for Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funding.

The coordination team will support fellows and IRO hosts through the full proposal stage and lead networking and career development activities for the fellows.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £312,500. AHRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

The award will start on 1 April 2026 and end 31 December 2028.

Who can apply

You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited your organisation to do so.

To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible.

Who is eligible to apply

  • you must be based at an independent research organisation (IRO) in the cultural and heritage sectors
  • you must demonstrate experience in delivering training and development programmes for early career researchers
  • you must have a strong understanding of the sector covered by the IROs eligible for the fellowship opportunity, its research environment and career pathways

Who is not eligible to apply

  • organisations that are not recognised as eligible independent research organisations by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Equality, diversity and inclusion

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:

  • career breaks
  • support for people with caring responsibilities
  • flexible working
  • alternative working patterns

UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

What we're looking for

Aim

The overall purpose of this funding opportunity is to strengthen research capacity and career development for early career researchers in the cultural and heritage sectors through a coordinated programme of support, aligned with our strategic objectives.

Scope

We are looking to fund a coordination team based at an IRO in cultural and heritage sectors to lead cohort development for our early career fellowships. The team will be responsible for designing and delivering a comprehensive cohort development programme for AHRC-funded early career researchers.

This programme will run throughout the fellowship period and will include:

  • structured activities such as induction events, skills training, mentoring, and networking opportunities tailored to the sector
  • support for research outputs and career development, including workshops, masterclasses, and placements to enhance fellows’ expertise and sector engagement
  • training in transferable and sector-specific skills, including grant writing, research integrity, and strategic understanding of the cultural and heritage environment
  • opportunities for fellows to lead and shape activities, fostering entrepreneurial approaches and project management experience
  • monitoring and evaluation, including equality impact assessments and feedback mechanisms to ensure inclusivity, accessibility, and continuous improvement
  • collaboration with IROs and partners, leveraging sector expertise to deliver high-quality relevant activities
  • exploration of wider impact, including potential reuse of materials for broader sector benefit and alignment with other AHRC initiatives
  • alumni engagement

The application should outline how the cohort coordination and development team will identify the needs of AHRC-funded early career fellows and how it will respond to those needs to determine the provision it will make.

The coordination team is expected to adopt a collaborative approach and is not expected to deliver the whole programme themselves. The team would work with the IROs and partner organisations to ensure the most appropriate expertise is engaged in delivering a high quality, tailored programme of activities.

Some funding within the award should be set aside for fellows to apply to, if for example, they identify additional individual training and development opportunities provided from sources outside the co-ordination team which was not included within their fellowship award, or they wish to lead on activities as outlined above, or the cohort team wishes to commission an external provider to provide training and development activity for fellows.

Steering committee

It is expected that the coordination team will set up a steering committee to advise on and oversee the programme. The composition of this committee will be agreed in consultation with AHRC and IROC but is expected to include members of IROC, a representative of AHRC and at least two invited external members with experience or interest in career development and/or experience of working in the wider cultural and heritage sectors.

The committee should provide support to the team in designing and delivering the programme, and in review and reporting, according to our requirements.

Required expertise of the coordination team

We are seeking bids from applicants who have experience and expertise in delivering training and development programmes for early career researchers. In addition, successful applicants will need to demonstrate an understanding of the cultural and heritage sectors, its research environment and career opportunities.

To cover the breadth of the requirement, it may be necessary to bring in additional expertise to supplement the core team. This should be outlined clearly in the application, for example state:

  • what any sub-contractors or consultants might bring to the programme
  • over what period
  • the associated costs

We welcome applications from individual or consortia IROs, and applications which involve collaborations with other partners within or beyond the cultural and heritage sectors.

Evaluation and reporting

Building on the pilot round of fellowships, the coordination team will work with us to define performance measures and assess the effectiveness of the programme in meeting its aims and objectives.

The team will:

  • collect and analyse feedback from fellows and stakeholders throughout the programme
  • capture evidence of outcomes and achievements, including the impact of both the fellowships and the cohort activities
  • develop a strategy to monitor longer-term impacts on fellows, hosting organisations, and the wider sector
  • support AHRC in identifying lessons learned and opportunities for enhancements to inform future rounds and broader cohort-based approaches

Duration

The award will start on 1 April 2026 and end 31 December 2028

Funding available

The FEC of your project can be up to £312,500

AHRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

Funding can cover:

  • staff time for the lead and coordination team
  • programme management and delivery costs
  • subcontracting or outsourcing of training activities
  • travel, accommodation, and venue costs for fellows’ events
  • digital networking tools and online resources
  • individual training and development opportunities for fellows
  • evaluation and reporting activities
  • estates and indirect costs

You may request funds under the ‘Exceptions’ heading for costs payable at 100% FEC, such as subcontracted training or funds to support fellows to undertake training and development activities.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

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.

See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.

How to apply

The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) 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.

This funding opportunity is by invitation only. When received, please click on the invitation link to start your application.

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

  1. Confirm you are the project lead.
  2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org
    Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
  3. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
  4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
  5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
  6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must:

  • provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)
  • insert each new image on a new line
  • use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format

Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include:

  • sentences or paragraphs of text
  • tables
  • excessive quantities of images

A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:

References

References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.

Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:

  • references are easily identifiable by the assessors
  • references are formatted as appropriate to your research
  • persistent identifiers are used where possible

General use of hyperlinks

Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI)

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.

Deadline

We must receive your application by 11 December 2025 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

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.

Personal data

Processing personal data

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.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email skills@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:

  • individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
  • declaration of interest
  • additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
  • conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
  • the application is an invited resubmission

For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.

Institutional Matched Funding

There is no requirement for matched funding from the institutions hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond the standard 20% FEC. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations. Direct and in-kind contributions from third party project partners are encouraged.

Publication of outcomes

AHRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity on What AHRC has funded.

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

Summary

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:

  • opinion-formers
  • policymakers
  • the public
  • the wider research community

Guidance for writing a summary

Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:

  • context
  • the challenge the project addresses
  • aims and objectives
  • potential applications and benefits

Core team

List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:

  • project lead (PL)
  • project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
  • specialist
  • professional enabling staff
  • research and innovation associate
  • technician

Only list one individual as project lead.

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.

Application questions

Vision

Word limit: 550

What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how your proposed work:

  • will deliver high quality opportunities to arts and humanities early career fellows in cultural and heritage sectors, tailored specifically to the cohort needs
  • will enable early career fellows in cultural and heritage sectors to develop skills that deliver impact in world-leading research, society, the economy or the environment
  • is of excellent quality and importance to the fellows and those supporting them
  • has the potential to enable fellows to advance current understanding, generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field/area
  • is timely given current trends, context and needs
  • will embed EDI considerations into the programme, and outline how these will guide your aims, as well as other activities such as stakeholder engagement, events and networking

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.

Within the Vision section we also expect you to:

  • describe your overall strategy for supporting fellows, including how this aligns with the aims of this funding opportunity
  • explain how you will identify and respond to the needs of the fellowship cohort, including mechanisms for feedback, consultation, or co-design
  • outline how your programme will be delivered and adapted over time, showing how it will remain responsive to evolving needs, opportunities, and challenges during the life of the award

Approach

Word limit: 2,200

How are you going to deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how you have designed your approach so that it:

  • is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives, as described under ‘Vision’
  • if applicable, summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed
  • will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
  • describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work
  • will build EDI considerations into the formation, operation and governance of the hub, including how these will be operationalised

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.

Within the Approach section we also expect you to:

  • clearly outline how the coordination programme will be delivered, including key activities, timelines, and milestones
  • demonstrate how the programme will be tailored to the cohort’s needs and responsive to fellows’ development through the fellowship period
  • show how the programme will evolve over time, including how fellows will be involved in shaping and leading activities
  • describe how the applicant’s institutional environment and sector expertise will support successfully delivery
  • highlight innovative or distinctive features of the proposed approach
  • demonstrate collaboration with IROs and sector partners, and outlines how external expertise will be engaged where needed
  • include plans for monitoring, evaluation and reporting to AHRC

Governance

Word limit: 500

How will you manage the award to successfully deliver its objectives?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how the proposed award will be managed, demonstrating that it:

  • will be effectively governed, including details about advisory structures
  • will be effectively and inclusively managed, demonstrated by a clear management plan
  • has clear leadership team roles and responsibilities
  • will manage and encourage partnerships with non-HEI organisations across government, industry and civil society
  • has plans for monitoring your progress as well as self-evaluation throughout the lifetime of your award
  • will put in place appropriate governance and administration to deliver the range of cohort coordination and development opportunities

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Within the Governance section we also expect you to provide:

  • a description of the governance structure, including the proposed steering committee and its role in programme oversight
  • a clear management plan outlining leadership roles, responsibilities, and inclusive practices
  • details of how partnerships with IROs and other sector organisations will be managed and encouraged
  • plans for monitoring progress and conducting evaluation throughout the award period
  • an outline of how flexible funding for fellow-led activities will be administered, if applicable

Applicant and team capability to deliver

Word limit: 1,650

Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:

  • the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
  • the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
  • the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
  • contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community

The word limit or this section is 1,650 words, 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules 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 to 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 below. 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:

  • contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
  • the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
  • contributions to the wider research and innovation community
  • contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit
Additions

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).

You should complete this section as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.

The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

Word limit: 500

What are the ethical and 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.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:

  • the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
  • how you will manage these considerations

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Resources and cost justification

Word limit: 1,000

What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:

  • project staff
  • all facilities and infrastructure costs
  • all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’

You can request costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project. For further information see Disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders.

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:

  • are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
  • represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
  • maximise potential outcomes and impacts

Your organisation’s support

Word limit: 1,000

Provide details of support from your research organisation.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Provide a statement of support from your research organisation detailing how they will support you, as the applicant, and your proposed activities. This should include details of any matched funding that will be provided to support the activity and any additional support that might add value to the work.

Assessors will be looking for a strong statement of support from your research organisation. This information should have been approved for submission by an appropriate institutional authority.

You must also include the following details:

  • a significant person’s name, their position and office or department, or all
  • office address or web link

Upload details are provided within the Funding Service on the actual application.

Project partners

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 who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct contributions for example cash, donated equipment and resources, or staff seconded to the project, or indirect and in-kind contributions for example use of project partner’s equipment, datasets, or 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:

  • the organisation name and address (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)
  • the project partner contact name and email address
  • the type of contribution (direct or indirect) and its monetary value

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.

Project partners: letters (or emails) of support

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.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

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:

  • confirm the partner’s commitment to the project
  • clearly explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the work to them
  • describe any additional value that they bring to the project
  • have a page limit of 2 sides A4 per partner

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.

How we will assess your application

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process.

Panel

We will invite peers to assess the quality of your application and make a funding recommendation.

AHRC will make the final funding decision.

Timescale

We aim to complete the assessment process within two months of receiving your application.

Feedback

The panel may decide to provide feedback or advice in relation to your application.

Principles of assessment

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.

Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review

Reviewers and 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.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

  • Vision
  • Approach
  • Governance
  • Capability to deliver
  • Ethics and RRI
  • Resources and cost justification

Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Contact details

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page

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, content or remit of a funding opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

Contact details

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 skills@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:

  • Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
  • Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

To help us process queries more efficiently, 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.

Additional info

Background

The Early Career Research Fellowships in Cultural and Heritage Institutions V&A Research Project provides information about the current AHRC-supported early career fellowships in cultural and heritage organisations cohort coordination and development team.

The cohort development programme supports early career researchers hosted by IROs, with the V&A acting as the central coordination and development team. The programme is designed to build research capacity, support career development, and deliver impactful research across the cultural and heritage sectors.

Research and innovation impact

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.

Research disruption due to COVID-19

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:

  • breaks and delays
  • disruptive working patterns and conditions
  • the loss of ongoing work
  • role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic

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.

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