AHRC Research, Development and Engagement Fellowships - Standard Route

Updated 1st December 2020

The AHRC Research, Development and Engagement Fellowship scheme standard route (previously the Leadership Fellows scheme) offers £50,000 to £300,000 (fEC) for projects between 6 and 18 months.  It is intended to support mid-career and established researchers, and therefore it is only suitable for those who hold a permanent post.

A key element of this scheme is enhancing the Fellow's skillset, this may include:

• fostering wider impact from your research
• developing emerging research areas, methods or approaches
• fostering interdisciplinary research involving your field
• encouraging new research collaborations and partnerships
• inspiring creativity in other researchers
• providing intellectual leadership.

The scheme provides time for research leaders, or potential future research leaders, to undertake focused individual research alongside development activities which have the potential to generate a transformative impact on their subject area and beyond.

ELIGIBILITY:

This scheme provides opportunities for mid and senior career researchers. This scheme is intended for those in permanent posts, generally to allow them to have time out from teaching to focus on research activities. Therefore, research staff on fixed term contracts are not eligible to apply for these schemes. For further information, please visit the section on "I need my salary covered".

Detailed eligibility criteria are set out within the AHRC research funding guide.

OVERVIEW OF SCHEME:

Proposals must include collaborative activities to support the development of the Fellow’s capacity for research leadership in the arts and humanities.

The Fellows awards are supported as a partnership with Research Organisations. Applicants should discuss any potential application with their Research Organisation at an early stage, as strong evidence of institutional support for the proposed Fellow’s career and leadership development is required as part of the application process.

You can submit proposals to this call at any time - there are no fixed closing dates. 

Applications should be made via the Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S). Please allow sufficient time to read the system guidance notes especially with regards to the on-line approval process.

For further information (including guidance and advice on writing an application) please refer to the AHRC research funding guide.

DEADLINES:

Please allow sufficient time for your application to be reviewed and amended at each stage. This will allow us to support you more effectively and ensure that your proposal is ready for formal submission.

You may submit a proposal at any point during the year. Please note that the assessment process for applications submitted to the Fellowship scheme takes approximately 30 weeks and the earliest start date for a project should be no earlier than 9 months after submission to the AHRC.