Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Grants

ESRC funds economic and social research through UKRI. Grants are held by universities and independent research institutes, and applications come from academic investigators rather than from organisations wanting to fund their own work. Charities and public bodies usually take part as partners on a project.

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has 20 open funds listed here, none of them with a fixed deadline.

Checked daily. Last updated 27 September 2026.

No published award history for Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Some funders do not publish their grants data.

What Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funds

Counted across the 20 open funds on this page.

Professional & Scientific Services (17)Education (14)Public Administration & Defence (4)Information & Communication (3)

No deadline listed

Check the funder's current application window before you apply.

No deadline listed

UK National Coordinator and survey data collection for the European Social Survey, Round 13 and 14

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £2,310,000Education, Professional & Scientific Services

This grant funds the UK National Coordinator role for the European Social Survey. You will deliver data collection for Round 13 and 14. The funding is up to £2,310,000. You must be based at a UK resea

No deadline listed

Northern Ireland Election Study 2026 to 2031

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £1,500,000Education

This grant funds the Northern Ireland Election Study from 2026 to 2031. It covers research on the 2027 devolved election and 2029 UK general election in Northern Ireland. You must be based at a UK res

No deadline listed

Pre-announcement: ESRC Connect Awards: pilot

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £1,500,000Education

The Economic and Social Research Council offers Connect Awards to help researchers connect with others to develop new research areas. You must be based at a UK organisation that can receive ESRC fundi

No deadline listed

ADR UK Academic Lead(s) 2026 to 2031: Data First (MoJ)

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £500,000Education, Public Administration & Defence, Professional & Scientific Services

This grant funds Academic Lead positions for the Ministry of Justice Data First programme from 2026 to 2031. You can get up to £500,000 to lead innovative research across the justice system. You must

No deadline listed

Pre-announcement: ESRC React Awards (pilot)

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £1,500,000Education, Public Administration & Defence, Professional & Scientific Services

The ESRC React Awards provide up to £1.5 million for urgent research that helps UK policymakers and frontline services. You must work at a UK organisation that can receive ESRC funding. You need a con

See all 2 rounds of ESRC React Awards

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No deadline listed

Expression of interest: sandpit: AI supported research using UKRI social science data

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £875,000Education, Information & Communication, Professional & Scientific Services

This is an expression of interest for a two-day workshop on 23-24 June. The workshop will develop ideas for using AI in social science research with UKRI data. You must attend the full workshop to app

No deadline listed

Centre for Longitudinal Studies: 2027 to 2031 (invite only)

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Education

This funding supports the Centre for Longitudinal Studies to manage ESRC's life-course cohort portfolio from 2027 to 2031. The grant ensures continued provision of longitudinal data for UK social scie

No deadline listed

British Election Study 2027 to 2032

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £4,900,000Education, Public Administration & Defence, Professional & Scientific Services

This grant funds the British Election Study from 2027 to 2032. It covers research on the 2029 UK general election and local election surveys. The maximum funding is £4.9 million over the period. You m

No deadline listed

ESRC Connect Awards (pilot)

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £3,000,000Education, Professional & Scientific Services

ESRC Connect Awards provide funding to help researchers work together on new research areas. You can get money to explore emerging research fields and develop new ideas with other researchers. The fun

No deadline listed

ESRC postdoctoral fellowships

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Education, Professional & Scientific Services

ESRC postdoctoral fellowships help early career researchers develop their careers after completing a PhD. You can use the funding to develop publications, build networks, and improve your research and

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No deadline listed

Economic research on the returns to R&D investment

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £2,460,000Professional & Scientific Services

This grant funds economic research into how to measure the returns on research and development (R&D) investment. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is offering up to £2,460,000 in total f

No deadline listed

ADR UK Academic Lead 2026 to 2031: Better Economic Data (HMRC/DWP)

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £2,000,000Education, Professional & Scientific Services

This grant offers up to £2 million for an Academic Lead role from 2026 to 2031. You will work with the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC to improve economic data. The role runs for 5 years in

No deadline listed

Pre-announcement: Doctoral focal award plus: innovating in data-driven research

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £5,750,000Education, Information & Communication, Professional & Scientific Services

The Economic and Social Research Council will fund one doctoral award to train social scientists in data-driven research methods. The funding is up to £5.75 million. You must be based at a UK research

No deadline listed

Future data services sandpit: transforming discovery and access

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £21,600,000Education, Information & Communication, Professional & Scientific Services

This is a sandpit event to develop projects that improve how people find and use social science data. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) runs this programme. You will work with others to

No deadline listed

Pre-announcement: ESRC applicant-led: challenge awards

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Professional & Scientific Services

ESRC Challenge Awards fund large-scale research programmes. They bring together people, expertise and ideas to tackle major research, economic and social challenges. You must be based at a UK research

No deadline listed

Pre-announcement: ESRC applicant-led: grow awards

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Professional & Scientific Services

ESRC Grow Awards support individual researchers at key points in their career. The funding helps you develop new skills or change your research direction. You must be based at a UK research organisati

No deadline listed

Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence 2027-2030 – invite only

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £8,007,500Professional & Scientific Services

This invite-only grant funds the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE). It supports high-quality research into economic measurement and statistics production. The maximum award is £8,007,50

No deadline listed

Pre-announcement: ESRC applicant-led: explore awards

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Professional & Scientific Services

This grant funds curiosity-driven social science research. It supports individuals or small teams with bold, novel ideas. You must be based at a UK research organisation that is eligible for ESRC fund

No deadline listed

AI supported research using UKRI social science data (invite only)

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Up to £875,000Professional & Scientific Services

This ESRC grant funds innovative AI research using UKRI social science data. You can apply for up to £875,000. It is invite only. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI fund

Programmes Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) runs in rounds

Miss one round of these and there is another.

ESRC React Awards

2 rounds, 2 open

Where this funding goes

England (20)

Frequently asked questions about Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding

How many Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) grants are open right now?+

20 grants from Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) are open on GrantMatch today, none of them with a fixed deadline. The list is checked daily.

How do I apply for Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding?+

Each grant on this page links to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) application page for that fund. Read the funder's own eligibility criteria before you start, since terms differ between funds.

Other funders

Foundation Scotland (143)Innovate UK (81)National Lottery Community Fund (52)Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland (32)Innovate UK Business Connect (30)Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (24)Medical Research Council (MRC) (24)Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) (13)Suffolk Community Foundation (13)Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (12)Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (12)Community Foundation Northern Ireland (11)Salford City Council (11)Football Foundation (10)Scottish Enterprise (10)UKRI (10)Energy Saving Trust (9)Liverpool City Council (9)Quartet Community Foundation (9)Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) (9)UK Research and Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council (9)Sheffield City Council (8)CITB (7)Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) (7)

See all funders