AHRC Curiosity Award: Applicant-led Mode (UK)

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) offers the AHRC Curiosity Award: applicant-led mode to support early-stage, ambitious, and novel fundamental research in the arts and humanities. The opportunity is open to UK research organisations eligible for AHRC funding and supports activities such as idea generation, networking, and scoping/piloting. The maximum project funding is £100,000 (full economic cost up to £100,000; AHRC funds 80% of FEC), with a maximum duration of up to five years; there is no closing date. Opportunity at a Glance

- Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

- Opportunity name: AHRC Curiosity Award: applicant-led mode

- Funding type: Grant

- Maximum award / project cost: FEC up to £100,000

- AHRC contribution: 80% of the full economic cost (FEC)

- Duration: Up to five years

- Eligible applicants: UK research organisations eligible for AHRC funding (project lead must be based at an eligible UK research organisation)

- Eligible locations: UK-based research organisations for the project lead; international co-leads may be included under the project co-lead (international) model

- Mentors: Encouraged (advisory role; not part of the core team)

- Deadline: Open — no closing date

- Publication / opening date: 23 September 2026 (opening at 9:00am UK time)

- Start date requirement: Project start date must be at least six months from the point of application submission to AHRC

About the Opportunity

The AHRC Curiosity Award: applicant-led mode supports early-stage ambitious and novel fundamental research that can act as a springboard towards new research agendas. It is designed to be flexible and welcomes applications from teams, networks, and solo researchers. The award supports work across the full diversity of the arts and humanities, including practice-based and practice-led research. Projects may be single discipline, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, or transdisciplinary, provided the majority of the disciplinary focus falls within AHRC’s subject remit (see AHRC research funding guide remit coverage referenced in the opportunity). Funding and Benefits

- Eligible project costs: The full economic cost (FEC) of the project can be up to £100,000.

- AHRC funding share: AHRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

- Project duration limit: Projects can be up to five years.

- International project co-leads (PcL(I)s): - Costs associated with project co-lead internationals (PcL(I)s) are funded at 100% FEC. - PcL(I) costs must not exceed 30% of the total FEC of the project.

- Exception: This cap does not apply to any PcL(I) based in a country on the OECD DAC list (excepting India and China).

- PcL(I)s from an OECD DAC country (excepting India and China) are also eligible to claim overheads support. - Further details are provided in the UKRI project co-lead (international) policy (link not included in the source text). - Mentor costs: Where mentoring is included for researchers, salary costs to cover the mentor’s time can be claimed from the grant. These should be entered in the “Directly Incurred Other” or “Directly Allocated Other” categories in the “Resources and costs” section.

- Not funded: The opportunity does not support project studentships (funding PhD study).

Who Is Eligible? Eligible applicants This funding opportunity is open to applicants who meet the individual eligibility criteria. In practice, the opportunity requires: - Project lead must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding. - Applicants should ensure the proposed research is within AHRC’s subject remit. The opportunity also states that you do not need to hold an academic, research, or teaching post to apply. Applications are welcomed from people working in roles such as archivists, curators, librarians, technicians, and practitioners. Project co-leads and international co-leads - Project co-leads are permitted and encouraged for interdisciplinary applications or where a co-lead provides essential technical expertise. - It must be clear that the project lead is responsible for leading the project. - International researchers can apply as project co-lead (international). - Project co-leads are permitted to have previously led or be currently leading a significant research project and are not required to meet the same eligibility criteria as the project lead. Mentors - You are encouraged to include mentor support. - The mentor role is supervisory/advisory: they supervise and support the project lead, answer queries, and help with problems that arise. - Mentors must not be included in the application’s “Core team” section; instead, their role should be described in the “Applicant and team capability to deliver” section. Not eligible - Project studentships (funding PhD study) are not supported under this opportunity. Equality, diversity and inclusion The opportunity encourages applications from a diverse range of researchers and notes support for working in ways that suit personal circumstances (including career breaks and caring responsibilities). UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support during the application and assessment process. Eligible Activities or Priority Areas The award supports early-stage ambitious and novel fundamental research and is intentionally flexible. The opportunity provides an indicative (non-exhaustive) list of activities it may fund, including: - Idea generation - Seed corn funding - High risk and high potential concepts - Novel research - Networking activity - Partnership building - Knowledge exchange - Public engagement - International collaboration - Scoping and piloting, such as early-stage proof of concept or change of direction - Pivots in research focus at any career stage - Mentoring for members of the research team The opportunity also supports practice-based and practice-led research and allows projects to be single discipline or cross-disciplinary, as long as the majority of disciplinary focus is withi