Fellowships - ARC-NWC

We are pleased to open our call for ARC NWC Fellowship applications. These fellowships aim to enable researchers from any of our partner organisations, including our universities, to develop substantial, competitive external grant funding applications.

Up to 10 fellowships will be available at each annual call.

Purpose and Scope of Funding

The funding is designed to support the development of an external grant application and the essential groundwork required to secure it.

Because needs vary depending on the discipline, the type of external grant application being targeted, and the work already completed, the programme of activities is flexible. However, all proposed activities must directly contribute to building a strong case for support for the external award.

Examples of eligible activities include: Systematic scoping reviews; community and public engagement; proof of concept/principle studies; consensus meetings; developing the application team.

Key Criteria

Applications must be aligned with ARC NWC research themes. Information about our research themes is available here.

The theme lead must support the application.

Projects must be collaborative, involve the public, patients, or service users in the co-production of the research, and explicitly address health inequalities.

Applicants are expected to evidence a developing track record of delivering and publishing research.

Funding, Duration & Approvals

Funding of up to £14,000 is available per fellowship.

Projects can last for up to 12 months.

Funding is intended to release the lead applicant’s time to work on the project and provide additional research support. This includes: attendance at meetings, networking, and briefing events related to the call; supporting patient, carer, and public engagement; research inclusion activities.

Formal institutional approval is required as part of the application.

Timeline

Call closes (Deadline): 30th September 2026 (and annually thereafter). Applications will be shortlisted for peer review and applicants invited for interview in early December. Successful applicants will commence from January 2027 onwards.