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Innovation Fellowships 2025-26 – Route B: Policy-led (Sustainable Futures)

The British Academy

The British Academy has been funded by the UK Government, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to continue its support of the Innovation Fellowships scheme. The Innovation Fellowships scheme is a dual-route scheme designed to enable researchers in the humanities and social sciences to partner with organisations and businesses in the creative and cultural, public, private, commercial, or policy sectors that have a base in the UK, to address challenges that require innovative approaches and solutions that are relevant to the UK. Both routes require an established researcher to work with a UK-based partner organisation on a specified policy or societal challenge that contributes to the aims of the scheme for a period of up to one year.

The Innovation Fellowships scheme has two routes:

Route B: Policy-led

The British Academy is inviting applications for funding for policy-led Innovation Fellowships: Route B, through which applicants must apply to work with one of our partners. Our partners for this funding call are the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra); the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ); and the Government Office for Science (GO Science).

Through the Innovation Fellowships, our researchers in the humanities and social sciences are supported to create new and deeper links beyond academia, enabling knowledge mobilisation and translation, as well as individual skills development.

This call will enable researchers to partner with a central government department for 12 months. Successful applicants will work within specific policy areas set out by their chosen partner. These policy areas broadly correlate to the British Academy’s own Sustainable Futures policy programme.

The Academy and the partners invite applications for Fellowships in any of the following areas:

Landscape Recovery (Defra).
Public Participation Strategy (DESNZ).
Climate, Society and International (GO Science).

Applicants should note that the Fellow would finalise the outline of a work programme with the partner after being awarded the Fellowship, and therefore applicants are not required to submit a research proposal as part of the application.

Please see further information in the Scheme and Application Guidance Notes and Frequently Asked Questions.

Scheme opens date: 4 June 2025

Application deadline: 6 August 2025 17:00 UK time

Starting period of award: between 1-31 March 2026

Duration of award: awards are for 12 months in duration

Level of award

Route B: Policy-led awards are on the basis of Full Economic Costing (FEC) at 80%. The British Academy will award up to £120,000. The applicant must commit between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE time to the Fellowship.

Route A Researcher-led

The researcher-led Innovation Fellowships (Route A), through which applicants must apply with a partner which they have identified, are not currently running. To learn more about previous calls, please view the Innovation Fellowships Route A Researcher-led page.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

🎓 1. Exceptional Scholarly Merit & Track Record

Academic excellence is the primary criterion across all schemes—from Fellowships to Small Research Grants.

For Senior Fellowships, reviewers look for a record of "intellectual distinction" coupled with outstanding project quality .

Early-career schemes (e.g., Postdoctoral Fellowships) require evidence of potential through publications or thesis extracts demonstrating originality .

2. Clear, Feasible Projects & Value for Money

Small Research Grants (£10K, 24 months) must outline discrete, pilot, or exploratory projects with defined outcomes, methodologies, timelines, and justifiable costs .

Academy Research Projects (up to £25K/year) should focus on creating primary research resources with long-term sustainability .

Policy-focused grants need to justify methodology and demonstrate clear policy relevance and multidisciplinary engagement .

3. Peer Review & Support Materials

Applications typically require a referee’s statement, especially for Small Grants, and detailed academic references for Fellowships.

The multi-level review process includes subject specialists, selection panels, and final award committees.

4. Fairness & Randomisation for Equal-Quality Applications

A partial-randomisation system is in place for Small Research Grants: applications deemed “fundable” are entered into a lottery. This approach has widened institutional and demographic diversity without lowering standards .

5. Strategic Fit Across Programmes

The Academy offers schemes at various career stages:

Postdoctoral Fellowships (~5% success rate) 

Mid-Career Fellowships (~10% success) 

Senior Fellowships & Research Projects intended for more experienced scholars 

✅ Winning Strategies

Predictor	Strategy
Elite scholarship	Showcase originality and rigor—publications and thesis extracts help
Project clarity & feasibility	Specify objectives, methodology, timeline, and outcomes
Use of referees and reviewers effectively	Secure strong academic endorsements and align methodology to calls
Appropriate scheme selection	Match career stage and grant type (e.g., pilot study vs. resource creation)
Prepare for randomised allocation	Aim to be clearly “fundable”—then the lottery favors you
Policy/impact alignment (where relevant)	For policy grants, show engagement with relevant communities and outcomes

🎯 Final Takeaway

Success with the British Academy demands academic excellence, project precision, and alignment with scheme objectives—whether creating knowledge or resources. Leverage the fairness mechanism in Small Grants, choose the right grant for your career stage, and prepare strong referee support and clear outcomes.

Specialties

Others

Public Health

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the UK with a current long-term appointment that will continue for at least as long as the period of the award at a UK-based institution Higher Education Institution or Independent Research Organisation; and be at early- or mid-career stage. Applicants must also meet the requirements set out in the Scheme Guidance Notes; in particular those noted in the ‘Security Clearance and Nationality Requirements’ section.

Eligible Countries:

United Kingdom

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: The British Academy

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 10–11 Carlton House Terrace London SW1Y 5AH

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