Royal Society: Research grants

08/02/2024

27/03/2024

This scheme provides ‘seed corn’ funding to support independent researchers who are at an early stage in their career enabling them to build the foundations of their research activities. The Research Grants scheme is for scientists in the UK who are within the first five years of their permanent academic position (including independent fellowships) or returning from a career break and want to purchase specialised equipment and consumables. The objectives of the scheme are to: Enable newly independent researchers to gather preliminary data, develop their research ideas and strengthen applications for further funding Support researchers returning after a career break to enable them to develop new ideas and research questions • Increase the availability of equipment and consumables for researchers at the beginning of their career and those returning from career breaks. Research must be within the Royal Society’s remit of natural sciences, which includes but is not limited to biological research, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics.

Research must be within the Royal Society’s remit of natural sciences, which includes but is not limited to biological research, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics. The Society does not support clinical or interventional research on humans at the individual or group level, social sciences or humanities, unless otherwise stated.

Eligibility Note Applicants must: Hold a PhD or equivalent qualification. Be based at an eligible UK organisation and a UK resident at the time of application. Be within the first five consecutive years, at the time of application, of their first independent academic research post. This could be either (whichever is the earliest): a permanent or fixed-term independent academic research post; a named limited tenure independent research fellowship obtained in open competition (Note that tenure must cover the duration of the award). Or an independent researcher (i.e., principal investigator), recently returned to academia (within the last 6 months at time of application), following an interruption of their academic research. Be fully independent researchers with access to their own lab space and with the ability to recruit and to be registered as the primary supervisor of PhD students and research assistants (Career Development or Tenure Track Fellowship holders will be considered only if these requirements are met). Awards must be held in a UK University or not-for-profit research organisation (including Research Council Institutes).