Deadline: 05-Oct-2026
The Main Grants Research, Development and Analysis Fund supports research projects that address key societal challenges and show clear potential to improve people’s lives. The fund provides grants of up to £500,000, with most awards below £300,000, and exceptional grants of up to £750,000 considered by prior agreement. Eligible proposals must align with at least one priority question, demonstrate rigorous methodology, offer value for money, and present a clear pathway to impact.
Overview
The Main Grants Research, Development and Analysis Fund is seeking applications for research that responds to major societal challenges.
The fund supports projects that generate useful evidence, analysis, and insight to improve policy, practice, public understanding, and people’s lives.
Applications must show a strong connection to the fund’s priority questions and explain how the proposed research can create meaningful impact.
Purpose of the Fund
The purpose of the fund is to support high-quality research that addresses important social, economic, democratic, technological, and environmental issues.
The fund aims to help build a fairer, more inclusive, more secure, and more accountable society.
It supports research that can inform better decisions, strengthen institutions, improve public debate, and contribute to practical change.
Key Focus Areas
The fund focuses on building a prosperous and fair society, supporting security and human potential, creating inclusive communities, responding to changing demography and ways of life, ensuring science and technology work for people and society, developing fair and inclusive climate change policies, strengthening accountable institutions, improving democracy, promoting trust, and generating research with clear social impact.
Priority Research Themes
The fund supports research aligned with its priority questions.
Relevant themes include:
- A prosperous and fair society where people are secure and able to fulfil their potential
- An inclusive society where people thrive and feel they belong
- Social change linked to demography and ways of life
- Science and technology developments that benefit people and society
- Climate change policies that support fairness, prosperity, and inclusion
- Effective, accountable, and trustworthy institutions
- Society, democracy, governance, and public trust
Applicants must demonstrate relevance to at least one priority question.
What the Fund Supports
The fund supports research, development, and analysis projects that address key societal issues.
Supported projects may include:
- Policy-relevant research
- Social research and analysis
- Interdisciplinary research
- Applied research with public benefit
- Evidence generation for social change
- Research on institutions and democracy
- Research on climate policy and society
- Research on technology and social impact
- Studies on inclusion, fairness, and belonging
- Research with clear pathways to public, policy, or practice impact
Projects should be designed to produce knowledge that can be used beyond the research team.
Funding Amount
The fund provides grants of up to £500,000.
Most grants are awarded below £300,000.
In special cases, funding of up to £750,000 may be considered by prior agreement.
Applicants should request a budget that is realistic, justified, and proportionate to the proposed research activities.
Value for Money Requirement
Value for money is a key assessment consideration.
Applicants must show that the proposed budget is appropriate for the research design, project scale, team structure, activities, and expected impact.
A strong budget should clearly explain:
- Why each cost is needed
- How costs support the project aims
- How the budget matches the methodology
- How the project will deliver meaningful value
- Why the funding request is proportionate
Who Is Eligible?
Eligible applicants should have a formal institutional affiliation.
Projects should normally be led by organisations based in the UK.
Eligible applicants may include research institutions, universities, policy research organisations, civil society organisations, and other formally constituted bodies with relevant expertise and capacity.
Projects led by organisations outside the UK are generally not eligible unless no UK-based host is feasible and the proposal includes strong UK-focused dissemination and impact plans.
Who Is Not Eligible?
The fund does not support:
- Individuals without formal institutional affiliation
- Standalone individual applicants
- Students applying independently
- Projects led by schools
- Projects led by further education colleges
- Projects led by organisations outside the UK unless exceptional conditions are met
Applicants should ensure that the lead organisation has the required capacity, governance, and institutional standing to manage the grant.
What the Fund Does Not Support
The fund does not support:
- PhD fees
- Establishment of academic posts
- Ongoing operational costs
- Scaling of existing work or services
- General service delivery
- Dissemination-only projects
- Campaigning projects without a direct link to funded research
- Local service provision
- Replacement of statutory funding
- Financial assistance for individuals
- Projects without a clear research component
- Projects without a pathway to impact
Applications should be focused on research, development, and analysis rather than general operations, service delivery, or campaigning.
Impact Pathway Requirement
Applications must include a clear pathway to impact.
This means applicants should explain how the research may improve people’s lives and how the findings will reach the people, organisations, institutions, or decision-makers who can use them.
A strong pathway to impact may include:
- Policy engagement
- Practice recommendations
- Public debate contributions
- Stakeholder workshops
- Knowledge exchange activities
- Accessible research outputs
- Collaboration with affected communities
- Engagement with decision-makers
- Dissemination to relevant institutions
- Practical tools or frameworks
The impact plan should be specific, realistic, and linked directly to the research findings.
Research Quality Requirements
Proposals must demonstrate a strong research design.
Applications should include:
- A clear research question
- A strong conceptual framework
- Appropriate methodology
- Rigorous data collection or analysis
- Relevant expertise within the project team
- Feasible project timeline
- Clear outputs
- Ethical and practical considerations
- Well-justified budget
- Clear impact strategy
The research should be credible, relevant, and capable of producing meaningful insight.
Team Requirements
The project team must have the experience, expertise, and capability needed to deliver the proposed work.
A strong team should show:
- Subject expertise
- Methodological expertise
- Relevant research experience
- Project management capacity
- Knowledge of the policy or practice context
- Ability to engage stakeholders
- Capacity to deliver outputs and impact
Applicants should clearly explain the role of each team member.
Why It Matters
Societies face complex challenges linked to inequality, demographic change, technology, climate change, institutional trust, and democratic accountability.
High-quality research can help decision-makers, communities, and institutions understand these challenges and respond more effectively.
This fund matters because it supports research that is not only academically rigorous but also designed to make a practical difference in people’s lives.
How to Apply
Applicants should prepare a clear research proposal that demonstrates relevance, quality, feasibility, value for money, and impact.
Step 1: Confirm Fit with a Priority Question
Applicants should identify the priority question or theme that best matches their project.
The proposal must clearly explain how the research aligns with at least one of the fund’s priority areas.
Step 2: Define the Research Problem
The application should explain the societal challenge being addressed.
Applicants should describe:
- The issue or problem
- Who is affected
- Why the issue matters
- What gap in knowledge exists
- How the research can contribute to solutions
- How the findings may improve people’s lives
Step 3: Develop the Conceptual Framework
A clear conceptual framework should guide the proposal.
This section should explain the main ideas, theories, concepts, or assumptions that shape the research.
The framework should help reviewers understand how the project connects evidence, analysis, and impact.
Step 4: Design the Methodology
Applicants must describe an appropriate and rigorous methodology.
This may include:
- Quantitative research
- Qualitative research
- Mixed methods
- Policy analysis
- Comparative research
- Case studies
- Participatory research
- Longitudinal analysis
- Evidence synthesis
- Data analysis
The methodology should match the research question and be feasible within the proposed budget and timeline.
Step 5: Build the Project Team
Applicants should assemble a team with relevant experience and capability.
The application should explain each team member’s role, expertise, and contribution to the project.
Step 6: Prepare the Impact Plan
Applicants should explain how the research will reach relevant audiences and contribute to change.
The impact plan should identify target users, engagement methods, outputs, and expected benefits.
Step 7: Prepare the Budget
Applicants may request up to £500,000.
Most grants are below £300,000.
Requests up to £750,000 may only be considered in special cases by prior agreement.
The budget should be clearly justified and demonstrate value for money.
Step 8: Check Exclusions
Applicants should ensure the project does not include ineligible costs or activities, such as PhD fees, operational costs, dissemination-only work, financial assistance to individuals, or replacement of statutory funding.
Step 9: Submit the Application
Applicants should submit a complete proposal with all required sections, supporting information, budget details, and impact plans.
The application should be clear, focused, and strongly aligned with the fund’s purpose.
Selection Considerations
Applications are likely to be assessed based on relevance, quality, feasibility, impact, and value for money.
Key assessment areas may include:
- Alignment with priority questions
- Importance of the societal challenge
- Strength of the conceptual framework
- Quality and rigour of the methodology
- Relevance of the research to people’s lives
- Clarity of the pathway to impact
- Experience and capability of the team
- Feasibility of the workplan
- Appropriateness of the budget
- Value for money
- Potential contribution to policy, practice, or public debate
Tips for a Strong Application
A strong proposal should connect rigorous research with real-world relevance.
Applicants should:
- Clearly identify the relevant priority question
- Explain the societal challenge in plain language
- Show how the research can improve people’s lives
- Use a strong conceptual framework
- Choose a methodology that fits the research question
- Build a team with the right expertise
- Present a realistic budget
- Demonstrate strong value for money
- Include a practical impact plan
- Avoid broad or vague research aims
- Show how findings will be used by policy, practice, or public audiences
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid submitting proposals that are weakly aligned, poorly justified, or outside the fund’s scope.
Common mistakes include:
- Not linking the project to a priority question
- Providing a vague pathway to impact
- Submitting a weak conceptual framework
- Using an unsuitable methodology
- Requesting an unjustified budget
- Applying as an individual without institutional affiliation
- Including PhD fees
- Proposing operational or service delivery costs
- Submitting a dissemination-only project
- Proposing campaigning without funded research
- Replacing statutory funding
- Offering financial assistance to individuals
- Failing to explain how the research may improve people’s lives
FAQ
1. What is the Main Grants Research, Development and Analysis Fund?
It is a funding programme that supports research addressing key societal challenges with clear potential to improve people’s lives.
2. How much funding is available?
The fund provides grants of up to £500,000, with most grants awarded below £300,000. In special cases, up to £750,000 may be considered by prior agreement.
3. What themes does the fund support?
The fund supports research on a fair and prosperous society, inclusive communities, science and technology for society, climate change policy, accountable institutions, democracy, and public trust.
4. What must proposals demonstrate?
Proposals must show relevance to at least one priority question, a clear pathway to impact, a strong conceptual framework, rigorous methodology, relevant team expertise, and value for money.
5. Can individuals apply?
No. Individuals without formal institutional affiliation, standalone individuals, and students are not eligible to apply.
6. What costs are not supported?
The fund does not support PhD fees, academic post establishment, ongoing operational costs, local service provision, replacement statutory funding, financial assistance for individuals, or dissemination-only and campaigning projects without funded research.
7. Are non-UK organisations eligible?
Projects led by organisations outside the UK are generally not eligible unless no UK-based host is feasible and the project has strong UK-focused dissemination and impact plans.
Conclusion
The Main Grants Research, Development and Analysis Fund supports high-quality research that addresses important societal challenges and demonstrates clear impact on people’s lives. With grants of up to £500,000 and exceptional awards up to £750,000 by prior agreement, the fund is suited to rigorous projects with strong conceptual frameworks, relevant expertise, realistic budgets, and practical pathways to impact. Applicants should ensure their proposals align with a priority question, offer value for money, and show how the research can inform policy, practice, public debate, or social improvement.
For more information, visit Nuffield Foundation.