Social Sciences Catalyst Fund

Notify Faculty of intention to apply by: 27 August 2026 (round 1)

Next Deadline: Noon, 24 September 2026 (round 1)

The new £100k Social Sciences Catalyst Fund through Oxford’s ESRC Impact Acceleration Account is designed to support social scientists taking early steps towards innovation, from developing ideas to exploring feasibility, running pilots, or progressing towards further funding.

The fund is open to social sciences researchers at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes offerings awards up to £15,000. Supported activities include ideation workshops, partnership development, product or software exploration, early prototyping, and market research for social ventures, spin-outs or consultancy initiatives.

Applications will be open from week commencing 15 June 2026, and can be submitted on a rolling basis. 

Funding awards will be announced in three batches following three submission deadlines:

1)  Wednesday 24 September 2026, 12:00

2)  Wednesday 17 March 2027, 12:00

3)  Wednesday 23 September 2027, 12:00

All applications should be submitted through IRAMS. Full guidance for the application is available here.

If interested in applying to this scheme, please notify the Faculty at least four weeks in advance of the next deadline.