This opportunity is one of two pilots ESRC is launching in spring 2026 designed to fill gaps in our applicant-led funding offer.
Aim
React awards enable time-critical research to support policymakers and practitioners delivering frontline public services in the UK. Researchers must work with public sector partners to respond to emerging and urgent evidence needs and deliver impactful outputs within six months.
To facilitate this, the pilot will be open to applications on a responsive basis and use a streamlined decision process, allowing proposals to be assessed, funded and start delivering within weeks. Successful projects will be expected to start within a month of funding confirmation.
Scope
This is an applicant-led funding opportunity, and applications can cover any aspect of the ESRC’s remit, providing at least 51% of the application is based in the social sciences.
A central objective of this opportunity is to allow researchers to support urgent policymaker or practitioner evidence needs in the UK. Therefore, applications will be required to include at least one collaborating partner from the UK public sector who needs and is able to action the planned project outputs within six months of them being produced. Partnerships must be confirmed at the time of application, fully aligned in terms of activity objectives, and able to begin the collaboration immediately from the start of an award.
Duration
The duration of this award is a maximum of six months.
Projects must start within one month of funding confirmation.
Funding available
The FEC of your project can be between £50,000 and £100,000.
ESRC will fund 80% of the FEC.
What we will fund
Applicants will have a wide scope to propose activities that address the identified evidence need, which may include but not be limited to:
- research
- analysis
- evidence synthesis
- rapid evidence reviews
- urgent data collection
What we will not fund
The following cannot be funded through this opportunity:
- activity that should have been anticipated or funded through standard ESRC funding routes, for example, research grants, research centres or research institutes
- activity that could be funded through other more appropriate UKRI routes, for example, ESRC Impact Accelerator Accounts
- non-urgent activity or activity that cannot be delivered within the award period or utilised within six months
- activity that does not explicitly address the stated and emergent evidence need of the project partner
This is a pre-announcement, and the information may change. The funding opportunity will open in April 2026. More information will be available on this page at that time.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)
UK Research and Innovation (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.
