ESRC Responsive Mode Grants: What Changes in 2026

"ESRC responsive mode" is the name many researchers still use for the Economic and Social Research Council's open, applicant-led funding: grants for any social science topic, with no set theme. In 2026 that funding is changing. The three long-running responsive mode schemes close on 4 November 2026, and ESRC is launching five new schemes in phases. This guide explains what is open now, what replaces it, who can apply and how the application is assessed. Every figure comes from ESRC's own pages on the UKRI website, checked on the date shown on this page.

What ESRC funds

ESRC is one of the nine councils of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It funds research in the economic and social sciences, from economics, education and human geography to psychology, social policy, social work and sociology. Proposals can draw on other sciences, but for its responsive mode research grants ESRC says the social sciences must make up more than 50% of the research focus and effort. If you are not sure your idea fits, ESRC offers a remit query form.

Responsive mode means the researcher sets the question. There are no thematic or methodological priorities: ESRC says it funds the highest quality proposals it receives, whatever the focus or approach. That is different from ESRC's targeted calls, which ask for work on a set theme and have their own deadlines.

The three schemes closing on 4 November 2026

ESRC says its current research grants, new investigator grants and secondary data analysis opportunities will stay open until 4 November 2026, with applications due by 4pm UK time. All three are run through the UKRI Funding Service, and all three pay 80% of the full economic cost (FEC) of the project, with the research organisation covering the rest.

Scheme	Size (FEC)	Length	Who it is for
Research grants	£350,000 to £1 million	Up to 5 years	Any career stage, with a team suited to the project
New investigator grants	£100,000 to £350,000	Up to 5 years	Early career researchers leading their first major grant
Secondary data analysis	Up to £300,000	Up to 2 years	Projects using existing data

You can see the live listings on GrantMatch: ESRC research grants round two, ESRC new investigator grants round two and ESRC secondary data analysis round two.

Research grants

Research grants fund basic, applied and strategic research. ESRC lists three kinds of work it will support: standard research projects, methodological development, and large-scale surveys or other infrastructure, such as linguistic corpora. It will not fund applications that are only for unspecified research, research already done, writing up earlier work, literature surveys, general conference travel, holding conferences or workshops as the main activity, or preparing books and publications. Associated studentships are not funded either.

New investigator grants

New investigator grants are for early career researchers who want experience of leading and managing a research project. The early career researcher must be the project lead and must explain why they count as early career and how the grant would help them become an independent researcher. Every applicant needs a named mentor at the organisation where the grant will be held. ESRC says the mentor should be of high academic standing and should not normally be the applicant's former PhD supervisor.

Secondary data analysis

This scheme funds projects that analyse data that already exists, for up to two years. ESRC supports a range of data infrastructure, including the UK Data Service, and encourages applicants to use secondary and linked datasets where they add value.

The new applicant-led schemes

ESRC says it is refreshing its applicant-led funding to be more outcome-focused, to back novel and higher-risk ideas, and to fund the best ideas faster. It is launching five schemes in phases:

• React (launched spring 2026, six-month pilot awards of £50,000 to £100,000): a fast route for projects that help with time-critical public sector challenges, with rolling decisions.
• Connect (launched spring 2026, six-month pilot awards of £50,000 to £150,000): for testing new or high-risk ideas and building collaborations across disciplines in emerging areas.
• Grow (launching November 2026, 18-month to five-year awards of £100,000 to £500,000): for early career development and for researchers moving into a new area.
• Explore (launching November 2026, awards of up to five years worth £300,000 to £2 million): for individuals or small teams with innovative ideas, using a research project, a data initiative or another approach.
• Challenge (launching early 2027, awards of up to five years worth £2 million to £10 million): for large collaborations tackling complex economic, societal or scientific problems.

ESRC has published pre-announcements for the schemes that have not launched yet. We track them on GrantMatch as they appear, for example the Grow pre-announcement, the Explore pre-announcement and the Challenge pre-announcement. Details can change before launch, so check the UKRI page before you plan around them.

Who can apply

The project lead must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for ESRC funding for the whole grant. In practice that is usually a university or an approved research institute. Project leads at non-UK organisations cannot apply, although project co-leads at overseas research organisations can be included under UKRI's international co-lead policy.

This matters if you run a charity, a CIC or a small business. You cannot lead an ESRC application yourself, but you can be part of one:

• As a project co-lead. ESRC says UK-based business, third sector and government body co-leads can be included on research grant proposals.
• As a project partner. A partner is an organisation with an integral role in the research, giving cash or in-kind support such as staff time, expertise or access to facilities. Partners can be in industry, academia, the third sector or government, in the UK or overseas. Each partner provides a letter or email of support of no more than one A4 page.

ESRC says it is committed to knowledge exchange with the private, public and civil society sectors, and that it should be built in from the start, not added at the end. If your organisation has a question a university team could help answer, that is a good reason to talk to a local research office. Our guide to letters of support for grant applications explains what a good partner letter says, and partnership agreements for grant projects covers the agreement UKRI requires if an award is made.

How the application is assessed

For the three current schemes, the project lead writes the application on the UKRI Funding Service, and the research office checks and submits it. The research grants form asks for a summary of up to 550 words, a vision section of up to 500 words, an approach section of up to 2,500 words, a team capability section of up to 1,500 words in the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format, plus sections on ethics, resources and cost justification, data management and partners.

Assessment has three steps:

1. Expert review. Independent experts review the application against the published criteria. You cannot nominate reviewers.
2. Sift and response. Applications with supportive reviews are invited to respond to the comments, usually within 14 calendar days. Others are normally rejected at this point.
3. Panel. A panel ranks the applications and makes a funding recommendation, and ESRC makes the final decision.

ESRC says applicants should apply when ready rather than wait for a closing date, and that it holds regular decision points. Feedback is the expert reviewers' comments. ESRC does not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects already submitted to UKRI.

Our guide on how funders assess grant applications covers the general principles, and a short theory of change can help you write a clear vision section.

Costs and the 80% rule

UKRI grants are costed on full economic cost. ESRC pays 80% of FEC, and the host organisation covers the remaining 20%. ESRC says there is no requirement for extra matched funding from the host beyond that standard 20%, and reviewers must not take matched funding into account. Contributions from third party project partners are encouraged. Equipment costing more than £25,000 must be justified in the resources section.

What to do now

If you are a researcher with an application nearly ready for one of the three current schemes, the deadline is 4pm on 4 November 2026. If not, plan around Grow and Explore, which ESRC says launch in November 2026, and read the pre-announcements now.

If you are a charity, CIC or business that wants to work with researchers, browse funding listed for universities and research organisations to see what local teams might apply for, or follow all live ESRC opportunities on GrantMatch. For a wider view of what is closing soon across every funder, see grants closing this month.