Call for Proposals: British Academy International Interdisciplinary Research Projects 2026

The British Academy has opened purposes for the 2026 spherical of its International Interdisciplinary Research Projects programme. This initiative goals to assist collaborative analysis tackling transnational and planetary challenges, with a give attention to fostering interdisciplinary work between the humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields. The name emphasizes the necessity for partnerships that transcend disciplines, geographies, and capacities to confront among the most urgent international problems with our time.

Programme Overview

The programme is designed to fund tasks that discover the connection between experience, public understanding, and coverage supply. By bringing collectively students from numerous backgrounds and geographies, the initiative encourages the event of recent concepts and views on shared international challenges.

Led by UK-based researchers from the humanities and social sciences, the tasks should interact meaningfully with worldwide companions. The Academy notably welcomes purposes that emphasize the contribution of humanities in addressing up to date international issues.

Key Focus Areas

Applicants are required to handle no less than one of many following 4 transnational and planetary problem domains:

1. Earth System Governance
   This consists of matters like local weather change, biodiversity loss, environmental air pollution, and oceanic degradation. Projects ought to discover each technical points and governance challenges that transcend nationwide borders.

2. Transformative Technologies
   This space covers challenges associated to rising applied sciences comparable to synthetic intelligence, artificial biology, cyber applied sciences, and nanotech. Research ought to discover each innovation and governance points.

3. Global Health and One Health
   With an emphasis on pandemic threats and the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental well being, this area seeks to advertise holistic options that function at a world degree.

4. Outer Space Governance
   Applicants might discover dilemmas associated to area particles, congestion in orbit, claims of property and sovereignty, and the militarization of area.

Each venture should think about not solely the technical or scientific elements of the problem but in addition how transnational governance, non-state actors, and worldwide establishments can tackle these challenges.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, the Principal Investigator (PI) should:

• Be primarily based at a UK college or analysis institute.

• Hold a postdoctoral place or increased.

• Be from the humanities or social sciences.

• Commit no less than 20% of their time (0.2 FTE) to the venture.

Additionally, proposals should contain no less than one Co-Applicant primarily based outdoors the UK, and the venture should exhibit genuinely productive interdisciplinarity—collaborations between SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy) and STEM disciplines.

Funding Details

• Up to £300,000 per award is accessible for tasks lasting 24 months.

• Awards are offered on an 80% Full Economic Costing (FEC) foundation.

• Funding might cowl PI and Co-Applicant time, analysis help, journey and fieldwork bills, and networking prices.

• Projects are anticipated to begin in March or April 2026.

How to Apply

Applications have to be submitted on-line through the British Academy’s Flexi-Grant® system. Full steerage and scheme notes can be found on the official website.

• Deadline for submissions: 17 September 2025 at 17:00 BST

• Scheme opened: 10 June 2025

• Earliest begin date: 1 March 2026

Contact

For inquiries, candidates might attain out to:
internationalchallenges@thebritishacademy.ac.uk