Researcher Challenges Grants 2026

Publication date: 22/07/2026 Deadline: 17/09/2026

Grants of £40,000 for collaborative international research to address global challenges

Researcher Challenges Grants 2026 are now open

Grants of up to £40,000 for UK higher education institutions and non-profit research institutions to collaborate with institutions in Egypt, Brazil, Morocco and Palestine.

About Researcher Challenges Grants

The call aims to strengthen research collaborations and research capacity to address some of the most pressing global challenges, such as climate change, sustainable energy transitions, public health vulnerabilities and food security.

Objectives

1. Build capacity of early-career researchers through mentorship and structured engagement with senior researchers.
2. Facilitate knowledge exchange and strengthen mentorship relationships across career stages.
3. Promote new research networks and institutional collaborations within and across developing countries.
4. Support co-creation of interdisciplinary research ideas addressing global challenges in climate, energy, health, and AI for development.
5. Encourage innovative, context-relevant solutions to development challenges through collaborative project design.
6. Provide a platform for dialogue and partnership-building to enable sustained research collaboration beyond the programme.

Partnership activities

Partnerships are expected to conduct a range of activities, including:

• Organisation of a virtual workshop between the UK and international partner organisation attended by established researchers (in the role of mentors) and early-career researchers (as participants)
• Design of a Challenge Prize for early-career researchers to develop projects that are related to the workshop theme
• Promotion of partnership activities and outcomes to external stakeholders.

Key details

• Grant amount: up to £40,000
• Grant length: 12 months, starting January 2027
• Countries involved: UK lead institution, partnering with Egypt, Brazil, Morocco and Palestine
• Open to: higher education institutions and not-for-profit research institutions, establishments and organisations (see full eligibility criteria in the Call Guidance document below)
• Submission deadline: Thursday 17 September, 2026 11.00 a.m. BST
• Contact: goingglobalpartnerships-RCG@britishcouncil.org

How to apply

Apply via our online application form Application documentation (including an offline sample of the application form) is available to download below. All applications must be submitted via our online grant platform (registration required): https://goingglobalpartnerships.grantplatform.com/ Use the form 'Going Global Partnerships - Multi-country – Researcher Challenges Grants 2026'. Online applications can only be started and submitted by the lead UK institution. If you have any questions, please contact: goingglobalpartnerships-RCG@britishcouncil.org Submission deadline: 17 September 2026, 11:00 a.m. BST

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