Early Career Researchers

Early Career Researchers

AHRC Research Grants (ECR Route) - open to those who have not acted as a Principal Investigator (PI) on an AHRC grant (excluding their small grants scheme) normally within 8 years of completing PhD or 6 years of first academic post; Value: £50,000-£250,000; Duration: up to 60 months.

BBSRC New Investigator Scheme - open to those who have not acted as a PI who have been in an academic (or equivalent) post for no more than 3 years but whose current contract is longer than the duration of the grant applied for.

ESRC New Investigator Grants - open to high-quality candidates from anywhere in the world who have a maximum of four years’ postdoctoral experience and the support of an eligible UK research organisation. Grants range from £100,000 to £300,000 full Economic Cost (fEC).

NERC New Investigator Grants - open to those who have not acted as a PI and are within 3 years of becoming eligible to do so; Value: up to £1.2M; Duration: flexible.

Many of the small grants schemes offered by the RCs and by charities are also suitable for ECRs and it is often suggested that ECRs consider applying for small grants before applying for the larger schemes.