Funding opportunities
Below we will list funding opportunities from a range of bodies that support heritage-focussed projects.
Festival of Social Science – event support fund
Deadline 30 June 2026
An annual, UK wide festival where researchers connect with non-academic audiences through talks, exhibitions, debates, performances and more.
We’re inviting University staff at all career stages, including PhD students, to submit an Expression of Interest to lead an event for the 2026 ESRC Festival of Social Science (FoSS) (17 Oct – 7 Nov). Funding is available to support staff in realising their event ideas.
Every autumn, universities contribute towards the FoSS UK-wide programme, that shares topics across social science, from health and wellbeing to crime, equality, education, and identity, and encourages Public Engagement with Research.
This year’s theme is ‘Money, Finance and the Cost of Living'.
Awards between £200 – £2,000 are available to support staff in realising their event ideas. Larger amounts may be considered for ambitious events/programmes. Funding can be used to help with planning and pre-events (e.g. coproduction or a community workshop before a showcase) and immediate/short term evaluation related to the event (not follow-on research or additional events).
Full details and how to apply here.
University of Liverpool – University of Alberta Research Seed Fund
Deadline for application is 7 July 2026.
The University of Alberta and the University of Liverpool are committed to developing global research collaborations leading to long term impact. The Research Seed Fund, now in its second year, aims to catalyse new collaborations.
The Research Seed Fund aims to support new initiatives by providing joint bridge-funding between ideas and external grant proposals. It is designed to enable individuals/groups to identify complementary strengths and co-produce ideas for new joint activities that cannot be achieved by either side alone.
If interested or you like more information, please contact us via heritage@liverpool.ac.uk
Activities typically supported include:
- Short-term research visits/workshops for established faculty members and early career (involvement of PhDs and PDRAs is encouraged).
- Targeted experiments/activities to generate relevant data leading to external grant applications.
This year’s Call has an investment of GBP £30,000 from University of Liverpool and CA$50,000 Canadian Dollars from University of Alberta.
All disciplines are eligible; however, for HSS, we particularly encourage applications in the following priority areas:
- Indigeneity
- Climate Change and Energy Research
- Health
- Security science and Technology
Guidance notes and application details are available here: Alberta - Liverpool Research Seed Fund Guidance [PDF 0.2MB]
British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowships
Closing Date 30 November 2026
The British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowships are intended to enable established scholars, needing relief from teaching and administration, to have the time to bring to completion a significant piece of research, through sustained period of leave for one year.