Northern Ireland Election Study

Application Components: Project summary, vision, approach, team capability, stakeholder engagement, collaboration, data management, and cost justification

Application Platform: UKRI Funding Service

Assessment Criteria: Vision, approach, team capability, ethics, value for money, stakeholder engagement, collaboration, data management

Data Requirements: Must collect post-election surveys for Northern Ireland Assembly and UK general elections; ensure timely publication and open access via UK Data Service

Decision Process: Expert panel review followed by ESRC funding decision

Eligible Research Costs: Staff costs, data collection, processing, dissemination, engagement activities, travel and subsistence

Funding Structure: ESRC funds 80% of FEC (some subcontracted survey costs funded at 100%)

Important Notes: Strong emphasis on stakeholder engagement, data accessibility, and long-term continuity; funding may extend beyond 2031 subject to performance

Ineligible Applicants: Organisations not eligible for ESRC funding as lead applicants

Ineligible Costs: Standard research projects, publications, literature reviews, unrelated conference attendance, studentships

International Participation: Allowed; international collaborators can be included as project co-leads or partners

Key Organisational Requirements: Must deliver a long-term election study (2026–2036 vision); ensure high-quality, representative data; collaborate with UK election studies; engage stakeholders and promote data use

Maximum Funding: Up to £1,500,000 (full economic cost)

Objectives: Deliver high-quality election data, support research and policy, enable public access to data, and facilitate UK-wide and international election comparisons

Project Duration: Up to 60 months (initial funding period to 2031)

Project Start Date: 2026-08-01 00:00:00