Artificial Intelligence Humanit

Application Platform: UKRI Funding Service

Application Sections: Summary, Vision, Approach, Applicant and team capability (R4RI), Ethics and RRI, Resources and cost justification, Project partners, Data management, Trusted Research and Innovation, International collaboration.

Assessment Process: Panel assessment by sandpit director and mentors, chaired by an independent academic.

Co-Funders: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

Collaboration Rules: Projects must involve meaningful collaboration between humanities or arts researchers and technical AI researchers.

Competitiveness: Up to five grants funded

Consortium Requirements: Teams should primarily consist of sandpit participants, with additional members included only where justified.

Decision Risks: Applications may be rejected if they do not follow guidance, fail eligibility criteria, or lack strong interdisciplinary integration.

Decision Timeline: Assessment completed within approximately two months of submission.

Eligible Expenses: Staff costs, project delivery costs, collaboration costs, travel, and justified project resources in line with UKRI and SSHRC rules.

Eligible Scope: Projects must develop prototypes, tools, frameworks or methodologies that enhance interpretive capabilities of AI systems and integrate humanities approaches into technical design.

Funding Intensity: UKRI funds 80% of Full Economic Cost for UK-based applicants.

Important Notes: This is an invite-only opportunity. US participants are funded through UK or Canada budgets. Projects must contribute to an open ecosystem of tools and demonstrate real-world relevance and impact.

Ineligible Projects: Projects that do not involve interdisciplinary collaboration between humanities and AI researchers or do not align with sandpit objectives.

International Collaboration Requirement: Required collaboration across UK, Canada and/or US research teams.

Interview Stage: Not specified

Key Requirements: Applicants must have attended the sandpit, demonstrate interdisciplinary collaboration, and deliver outputs aligned with interpretive AI challenges.

Lead Organisation Requirement: The project lead must be UK-based and submit the application through the UKRI Funding Service.

Match Funding Requirement: No matched funding required beyond standard 20% FEC.

Project Duration: 18 months

Project End Date: By March 2028

Project Start Date: On or before 1 October 2026

Publication Date: 2026-03-16 00:00:00

Renewal Rules: Not specified

Research Category: Interdisciplinary research combining humanities, arts and AI technologies.

Research Organisation Funding: Host organisations must provide necessary infrastructure and support for project delivery.

Subcontractors: Not specified

Total Fund Available: £1,160,000 total; £780,000 allocated for UK-based teams