AHRC Responsive Mode: UKRI–NSF-SBE Lead Agency Opportunity
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) · United Kingdom and United States
Funding opportunity enabling collaborative research projects between UK researchers and researchers funded by the US National Science Foundation’s Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (NSF-SBE). The scheme supports researchers under a lead agency agreement that allows joint proposals to be submitted through a single review process.
Summary
Deadline
Rolling
Updated
16 Oct 2026
Funding opportunity enabling collaborative research projects between UK researchers and researchers funded by the US National Science Foundation’s Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (NSF-SBE). The scheme supports researchers under a lead agency agreement that allows joint proposals to be submitted through a single review process.
Eligibility
Applicant types
See eligibility requirements
Industries
Arts, humanities and social science research areas that fall within the remit of AHRC and relevant NSF-SBE programmes.
Match funding
No institutional matched funding required beyond the standard 20% FEC contribution.
Eligible applicants
UK researchers actively engaged in postdoctoral research with a doctorate or equivalent research experience/training, based at or supported by an eligible UK research organisation. US partners must meet NSF-SBE eligibility requirements.
Funding and scope
Benefit amount
£300,000 to £1,500,000 full economic cost (FEC) for the UK-hosted component
Total fund available
Not specified
Funding intensity
AHRC funds 80% of the full economic cost for the UK component. International project co-leads are funded at 100% FEC, subject to applicable limits.
Payment type
Not specified
Eligible scope
Collaborative projects addressing research questions that fall within the remit of both AHRC and the NSF-SBE Directorate and demonstrate strong integration between UK and US research teams.
Eligible expenses
- Standard AHRC eligible project costs for the UK component, including staff, travel, research activities, dissemination and associated project costs.
Ineligible costs
Not specified
Application and risks
Application platform
Proposals are submitted through the Funding Service when AHRC is the lead agency. NSF-SBE uses its applicable submission systems when it is the lead agency.
Competitiveness
Not specified
Decision timeline
Determined by the review process of the lead agency programme.
Assessment process
Proposals are assessed through a single peer review process managed by the lead agency, with funding decisions made jointly by AHRC and NSF.
Application sections
- Application components follow the NSF proposal structure with additional information required for the UK component, including summary, vision, approach, applicant and team capability, project partners, ethics and RRI, resources and cost justification, and NSF-SBE budget information.
Application components
Not specified
Decision risks
Applications may be rejected if they do not meet eligibility rules, fall outside the remit of the participating agencies, or fail to follow submission guidance.
Timeline and partners
Opening date
11 Dec 2024
Project duration
Up to 5 years
Project start
Not specified
Project end
Not specified
Co-funders
- US National Science Foundation - Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (NSF-SBE)
Collaboration rules
- Projects must involve collaboration between UK and US researchers. Applications are submitted through a lead agency model, with the proposal reviewed by either AHRC or NSF depending on the selected route.
Consortium requirements
- Not specified
Additional guidance
Document research last revised 2026-08-11.
International Collaboration Requirement
Collaboration with researchers based in the United States is required. International project co-leads from other eligible countries may also participate under AHRC's international project co-lead policy.
Research Category
International collaborative research in arts, humanities and social sciences.
Research Organisation Funding
UK funding is provided to the UK host organisation under the full economic cost model.
Subcontractors
Not specified
Interview Stage
Not specified
Key Requirements
Proposals must demonstrate strong integration between UK and US research teams and address research questions within the remit of both AHRC and NSF-SBE. An Expression of Interest must be approved before a full application can be submitted.
Important Notes
The opportunity is currently paused and will not consider expressions of interest or applications until further notice. The UK-hosted project must have FEC between £300,000 and £1.5 million, with AHRC funding 80% of the UK component. The maximum award duration is five years. (ukri.org)
Application deadline in source document
Open with no fixed closing date
Official source
Quick facts
- Status
- Paused
- Deadline
- Rolling
- Funding amount
- £300,000 to £1,500,000 full economic cost (FEC) for the UK-hosted component
- Funding band
- Not specified
- Funding type
- Grant
- Payment type
- Not specified
- Audience
- See eligibility requirements
- Industry
- Arts, humanities and social science research areas that fall within the remit of AHRC and relevant NSF-SBE programmes.
- Last updated
- 16 Oct 2026
- Published
- 11 Dec 2024