The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) works with partners across the globe to deliver research funding opportunities with built-in international collaboration.
AHRC’s international research:
AHRC works with partners across the globe to deliver research funding opportunities with built-in international collaboration.
Read more about our international partnerships and programmes and embedding international elements into research proposals.
These opportunities span AHRC’s remit. Our international funding opportunities and programmes are:
AHRC and DFG’s flagship UK-German funding initiative in the humanities runs every two years. It provides the opportunity for UK-based arts and humanities researchers to conduct highly integrated research projects with Germany-based partners.
The two funding agencies have developed this programme to:
Each funding opportunity is open to applications addressing any research topic where there is significant potential to fundamentally advance human knowledge through collaborative research.
In collaboration with the Irish Research Council (IRC) (now Research Ireland) we have funded 12 networking awards and 11 research projects to pursue strong partnerships leading to excellent research and innovation within the inherently interdisciplinary field of digital humanities. This programme has been funded through the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Fund for International Collaboration.
One of the outcomes of this programme was the establishment of the UK-Ireland Digital Humanities Association.
Building on this, AHRC and Research Ireland have launched a new bilateral collaboration on the creative economy. The first phase of this will be the joint awarding of research networking awards went live in January 2026.
AHRC is a founding member of HERA. This multilateral network is made up of funding agencies across 23 countries. The network is committed to developing and leading funding opportunities for humanities researchers in Europe. Each funding opportunity requires proposals to be built by researchers working collaboratively across multiple participating countries.
HERA’s funding has been used to support large-scale joint research programmes and associated activities (PDF, 8.3MB) such as knowledge exchange activities for projects. To date, AHRC has jointly funded 67 of the 85 pan-European research grants awarded through this collaboration. This includes the most recent joint programme ‘Crisis- perspectives from the humanities.’
We are also founding members of the JPI CH, with AHRC representation on both the JPI’s governing board and steering committee.
Through the JPI, AHRC plays a leading role in developing the vision and mission of the Alliance for Research on Cultural Heritage in Europe (ARCHE). ARCHE was a European Commission-funded project that brought together research funders, heritage professionals, researchers and institutional bodies to co-design multidisciplinary research and innovation strategies for cultural heritage research. Work is now underway on the proposal for a Horizon Europe co-funded partnership on Resilient Cultural Heritage.
To date, AHRC has jointly funded 48 of the 77 pan-European research grants awarded through this collaboration.
Through our urban humanities portfolio, AHRC has also engaged in several funding programmes as part of the JPI UE. These include:
The Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) Horizon Europe Partnership aims to create more inclusive, safe, resilient, climate-neutral and sustainable cities across Europe. The partnership currently has over 60 partners from 28 countries. AHRC has contributed funding for the 2022 and 2024 DUT calls (both towards the 15-Minute City pathway for each call) alongside the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Innovate UK.
AHRC’s Infrastructure team look after the UK membership of European Research Infrastructure Consortiums (ERICs). The UK are now members of the Common Language Resources and technology Infrastructure (CLARIN) and also the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI).
In March 2025, the Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) Infrastructure Headquarters (IHQ) was appointed as the UK National Coordinator for the UK National Node of E-RIHS.
The AHRC team are also supporting the future membership of Distributed System of Scientific Collections EU (DiSSCo EU).
AHRC also maintains a strong relationship with the UKRI Brussels and the relevant National Contact Points for Horizon Europe opportunities. For the latest information on the UK’s relationship to Horizon Europe, see Horizon Europe: help for UK applicants.
Examples of arts and humanities resources can include the following case studies:
AHRC has a lead agency agreement with the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and partnerships with multiple International Placement Scheme hosts across the US. Our recent bilateral work with the US has focused on the opportunities and dangers presented by artificial intelligence.
In partnership with the NEH, as well as world-leading cultural institutions including the Library of Congress, AHRC has funded UK-US research partnerships. These will explore the opportunities and challenges of digitisation and digital research across the galleries, libraries, archives, and museums sector.
The Digital Scholarship within Cultural Institutions programme was created to:
In collaboration with ESRC, AHRC participated in the International Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.
This opportunity facilitated international and interdisciplinary research on participatory and culturally appropriate mitigation and adaptation responses to climate change. The initiative is a multilateral research programme led by Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund and involving funders in:
AHRC and ESRC are also partners of the Trans-Atlantic Platform (T-AP), which is a collaboration between humanities and social science research funders from:
The most recent funding opportunity resulting from this collaboration is the Democracy, governance and trust funding opportunity.
AHRC has previously invested significantly in creative industries collaborations with China, most notably through the UK-China Collaboration in the Creative Industries programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK and EPSRC and focused on Shanghai. This programme supported 13 partnership development awards, eight large-scale creative partnerships, and five forward-looking awards exploring the future of UK-China collaboration, which concluded in 2023.
The UK-China Creative Industries Research and Innovation Hub SEED Fellowship funded by AHRC was a 12-month initiative dedicated to shaping the strategic vision and exploring models of the UK-China creative industries collaboration. Insights from the AHRC SEED Fellowship can be found in the UK-China Creative Industries Collaboration booklet produced by Brunel University London. A recommendation from this programme highlighted the potential value of dedicated infrastructure in Shanghai to scale up engagement across the creative industries. However, AHRC is not currently pursuing the development of a UK-China creative industries research and innovation hub. However, AHRC remains open and flexible to exploring future opportunities for collaboration as the landscape evolves and where mutual benefit can be achieved.
In recent years, AHRC-funded work in India has demonstrated the vital role that collaborative arts and humanities research can play in addressing today’s global challenges. In 2015 and 2017, under the Newton Fund, AHRC in partnership with ICHR created three funding opportunities which jointly funded 12 networking and research projects. These projects explored how India’s urban urbanisation and growth impact heritage preservation, with projects using digital tools and community engagement. Previous scoping and engagement activities mapped the research and innovation landscape in cultural heritage and creative industries. These activities were commissioned by:
Building on this scoping work, AHRC launched a UK-India funding opportunity in 2023 focused on cultural heritage and the creative industries. This initiative has supported seven funded UK-India projects, showcasing the value of these sectors to both nations. In addition, a UK-India Fellowship Team has been established to guide AHRC’s next steps in India and ensure that future engagement is informed by expert insight and mutual benefit.
While AHRC does not currently work directly with any research funding agency in India, we remain flexible and open to exploring new opportunities that support collaborative India-UK research with a focus on cultural heritage and the creative industries.
The International Placement Scheme (IPS) is one of AHRC’s longest-running international training programmes, having been in operation since 2005. The scheme offers an annual opportunity to doctoral and early career researchers to develop their own projects through privileged access to the collections, archives and expertise of internationally renowned cultural institutions.
The host institutions involved and number and duration of placements offered may vary from year to year based on the capacity of individual institutions to host researchers, and this will be specified in the funding opportunity page when published on the funding finder.
AHRC has supported over 350 international research projects through the GCRF, the Newton Fund and ISPF ODA, each addressing different global development challenges. Working collaboratively with partners in the Global South, the research supported through these funds demonstrates the importance of arts and humanities in attaining sustainable global development.
The projects provide interdisciplinary approaches to addressing a wide range of challenge areas including:
AHRC supported 11 flagship NetworkPlus awards through UKRI’s GCRF collective programme. These awards are addressing global development challenges in the following areas:
The collaborative humanitarian protection research programme, a joint initiative between AHRC and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), has supported 13 research projects exploring new ways of protecting people affected by conflict by examining six themes of international humanitarian law.
Through ISPF, AHRC has invested in five Amazon + 10 initiative: research expeditions to the Amazon projects to improve our knowledge of the biodiversity and socio-cultural diversity in the Brazilian Amazon. This was led by the Brazilian National Council of State Funding Agencies of Brazil (CONFAP), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil (CNPq), and in collaboration with the:
AHRC also supported two ISPF-funded projects under the Building Equitable Futures Together programme, which convened rights holders and stakeholders from the Global South to co-design principles and actionable recommendations for more collaborative and equitable research partnerships.
Further programmes of research focusing on global development included:
AHRC remains committed to supporting research focused on global development and in particular on activities that focus on:
AHRC’s ambition is to sustain a rich, diverse and creative research ecosystem, which will engage with other constituents of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and stakeholders across the UK and the world. To achieve this, we are committed to fostering international engagement in everything that we do.
In addition to the international components offered across AHRC opportunities, our longstanding international collaborations ensure that our researchers are operating at the forefront of research, working with the best people and facilities, wherever they are in the world.
In AHRC’s strategic delivery plan we committed to being open to ideas and inclusive perspectives from around the world. We demonstrate this commitment through working equitably with funders and other partners internationally to encourage research and innovation that:
By offering targeted opportunities which build on existing strengths within our research community and those overseas, we are facilitating the creation, development, and sustainability of world-class ideas.
All AHRC funding opportunities will be listed on the funding finder and pre-announced through the AHRC forward look blog series whenever possible.
If one of the partnerships listed on this page cannot be found on the funding finder, it is because we do not currently have any live opportunities through this partnership.
Visit our embedding international elements into research proposals page for more information on:
Whenever workshops, networking events and partner-finding tools are available, the instructions for accessing this support will be included on the funding finder page for the relevant opportunity.
Previously funded AHRC global development ODA programmes and investments include:
Email: international@ahrc.ukri.org
Include ‘International funding opportunities’ in the subject line.
We aim to respond within five working days.
Each of our international activities has its own governance, management or panel structure in order to meet the purpose and objectives of each opportunity, partnership, or other form of engagement.
For specific information on the governance, management or panels related to a specific partnership or opportunity, please contact the international partnerships and engagement team directly.
Last updated: 18 September 2026
