Applications open for the Nuffield Foundation Strategic Fund

01 October 2019

Applications are now open for our £15m Strategic Fund for for ambitious, interdisciplinary research projects that will address some of the most important challenges facing UK society and the public policy agenda in the next decade.

This is a rare opportunity for researchers to develop original and challengin ideas, to work collaboratively across disciplines, and to influence social policy in a period of rapid change and uncertainty for our society.

Through the Strategic Fund, we will make awards in the range of £1-3 million – increasing the scale, scope and influence of the research we fund. Grants from the Strategic Fund will be awarded throughout 2020 and 2022.

We encourage applications from universities, research institutes, think tanks and voluntary organisations. Our priorities are for multidisciplinary projects with the potential for lasting and significant impact. We will work with our grant-holders to make that happen.

The deadline for outlines to be considered in the first grant round will be Monday 9 December 2019. If you intend to apply to our Strategic Fund, you should first read our guide for applicants. To apply, you will need to fill out our online application form.

For applicants who want to do some initial exploration of ideas, we are also providing the opportunity to apply for seed corn funding.

If you are interested in applying for a future round please register your interest to receive updates and reminders about key dates and other information.

Tim Gardam, Chief Executive of the Nuffield Foundation said:

“The Nuffield Foundation champions rigorous research that influences public policy and improves social well-being and individuals’ lives. We want to encourage arresting and ambitious projects that require the perspectives of different academic disciplines to re-frame the social policy agenda in the next decade. As an independent funder, our strength lies in our ability to give talented thinkers the freedom to develop original research ideas. We want to look back in five or ten years’ time and see the influence of our Strategic Fund projects and their impact in addressing the most pressing issues in our society.”