Funding for UK-based researchers in the humanities and social sciences to work with international partners on genuinely interdisciplinary projects that range across all SHAPE and STEM disciplines on the theme of transnational and planetary challenges.
The Academy will only accept applications that focus on one or more of the following four transnational and planetary challenge domains:
- Earth system governance, including problems related to climate change, biodiversity loss, oceanic degradation, and other forms of environmental pollution
- Digital and other transformative technologies, including the challenges presented by artificial intelligence (AI), cyber, synthetic biology, nanotech, and other breakthroughs
- Global health, particularly the rising threat posed by pandemic disease and the linkages among human, animal, and environmental health (“One Health”)
- Outer space governance, encompassing the dilemmas posed by accumulating orbital debris, space traffic congestion, property and sovereignty claims, and arms racing.
Applications should engage with both the important technical and/or scientific components of the domain/s, and also with those aspects which make the challenge difficult for single sovereign states to manage individually. To do so, applications must address how non-state actors and transnational organisations might contribute to the selected challenge.
ELIGIBILITY
Applications must meet the programme aims set out above (applications led by the humanities are particularly welcome).
The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a researcher from the humanities and social sciences and be based at an eligible UK university or research institute and hold an established role that will last at least the duration of their prospective award. The PI must be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience) and must plan to spend at least 20% of their time (0.2 FTE equivalent) on their prospective award.
The involvement of Co-Applicants based overseas is required.
See scheme notes below for full eligibility criteria.
VALUE AND DURATION
Up to £300,000 is available over two years.
This call is expected to support 8-10 awards.
KEY DATES
Deadline: 17 September 2025*
Projects must begin in March/April 2026.
*This call is repeated once a year.
More information, including details of past awards, can be found on the opportunity webpage.