Deadline: September 8, 2026
Applications are open for the British Academy APEX Awards 2027. In partnership with the British Academy, the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering (“the Academies”) and supported generously by the Leverhulme Trust, the APEX Awards (Academies Partnership in Supporting Excellence in Cross-disciplinary research) offer established independent researchers, with a strong track record in their respective area and proven ability to lead collaborative work, an exciting opportunity to pursue genuine interdisciplinary and blue skies, curiosity-driven research to benefit wider society. Successful applicants will be expected to work in collaboration with relevant researchers from other disciplines.
The objectives of this scheme are to:
- promote collaboration across disciplines, with a particular emphasis on the boundary between science, engineering, and the social sciences and humanities
- support outstanding interdisciplinary research which is unlikely to be supported through conventional funding programmes
- support researchers with an outstanding track record in developing their research in a new direction through collaboration with partners from other disciplines
- enable outstanding researchers to focus on advancing their innovative research through seed funding
Benefits
- Applicants can apply for up to £200,000. This represents the maximum award value which can be used to cover staff costs for the Lead applicant and the Co-applicant(s), research costs and public engagement costs.
Eligibility
The Lead applicant must
- be an exceptional, independent researcher with a strong track record and proven ability to lead collaborative work
- hold a permanent or fixed-term position covering the duration of the award
- have both teaching and admin duties from which they can be relieved from. Applicants that do not have teaching and administrative duties are not eligible to apply
- be based in a UK University or a UK not-for-profit research organisation
Lead applicants may include up to two Co-applicants. When choosing the Co-applicant(s), the Lead applicant must ensure that the proposed collaboration demonstrates genuine integration across disciplines, such as science, engineering and the social sciences and humanities — combining methods, concepts, or perspectives from different Academy remits.
The Co-applicant must
- be an exceptional, independent researcher with complementary expertise to the Lead applicant and covering a different Academy remit. For projects with two Co-applicants, the subject area of at least one Co-applicant must fall under a different Academy remit from that of the Lead applicant. This requirement ensures that the proposed research maintains its interdisciplinary and cross Academy nature
- hold a permanent or fixed-term position covering the duration of the award
- be based in a UK University or a UK not-for-profit research organisation
Lead and Co-applicants can only submit one application per round. Previous award holders may re-apply but any additional application should be a new project and not a follow on from the previous award.
Application
Applications should be submitted through the Royal Society’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant, by 15:00 (BST) on Tuesday 8 September 2026.
For more information, visit APEX Awards.
