Deadline: September 11, 2026
Applications are open for the AKO UAL Storytelling Research Fellowship 2026/2027. The Storytelling Research Fellowship is a programme from the UAL AKO Storytelling Institute, in partnership with the Power of Pop Fund at Comic Relief. It supports original research into how popular culture creates social and environmental change—
across creative media including television, film, games, music, social media, podcasts, comics, publishing and digital content.
The programme aims to build a stronger evidence base for understanding how, when and why popular culture creates meaningful social change. Research should be rigorous and practically useful — primarily to creatives, and secondarily to funders, broadcasters, civil society organisations and campaigners.
The objectives of the Fellowship are to:
- Deepen understanding of how popular culture influences beliefs, behaviours, attitudes and public discourse
- Support original research into the mechanisms and conditions through which stories contribute to social and environmental change
- Produce insights useful to those producing cultural content, and to those in social justice organisations, commissioning, funding and research
- Encourage research that combines intellectual rigour with accessible, public-facing dissemination
- Bring fellows together through workshops, research guidance and a closing symposium to share learning across cause areas
Benefits
- They offer a nine-month employment contract for two days per week (0.4 FTE), starting in November 2026, at an annual salary of £48,563 (pro rata). The salary payable for the nine-month contract is £19,425, subject to PAYE and National Insurance contributions.
Eligibility
All applicants must:
- Have the right to work in the UK for the duration of the Fellowship.
- Be in London for the kick off meeting and mid-point workshop in-person.
- Be able to commit to the whole programme.
- Propose an original research project and have an interest specifically in the impact of popular culture and in making a difference with their work. All research outputs should not have been previously published.
- Be fluent in English.
Application
Application should include:
- CV
- Record of research outputs (provide links where available)
- Research proposal maximum 1000 – 1200 words
- Supporting statement including at least one example of a research project you’ve designed and delivered.
For more information, visit Storytelling Research Fellowship.
