AHRC BRAID DOT: Responsible AI Collaborations with US Researchers

AHRC BRAID DOT: Responsible AI Collaborations with US Researchers is sponsored by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Funding opportunity for collaborations between UK and US researchers to undertake humanities research on the ethical, legal, and societal implications of AI, including its impact on public media and discourse.

AHRC BRAID DOT: responsible AI collaborations with US researchers – UKRI Funding opportunity: AHRC BRAID DOT: responsible AI collaborations with US researchers Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) 13 January 2025 9:00am UK time 20 March 2025 4:00pm UK time Last updated: 4 March 2025 - see all updates Apply for funding to work with US-based researchers to undertake humanities research on the ethical, legal, and societal implications of AI.

Applications should focus on one or more of the following: AI’s impact on public media and discourse, AI’s impact on resilience and sustainability, and law and regulation in relation to AI innovation. Funding is available for projects lasting up to two years. The UK-US team can apply for up to £150,000 or $75,000 (individuals), or £150,000 or $150,000 (teams).

US researchers will be funded via the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible Standard Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) eligibility guidelines apply for this funding opportunity.

Eligibility rules for US institutions may be found in Section C of the Dangers and Opportunities of Technology (DOT) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) . Applications must include two applicants (project leads), one based in the UK and the other in the US. Equality, diversity and inclusion We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants .

We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers. We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes: support for people with caring responsibilities alternative working patterns UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

The aim of the funding is to further UK-US collaborative humanities-led research on AI by: establishing or strengthening collaborations between US and UK researchers in humanities-driven AI research supporting high quality humanities research undertaken by UK-US teams Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and NEH have partnered to support research that will understand and address the ethical, legal and societal implications of artificial intelligence (AI).

Using humanities approaches, research projects will explore the relationships between AI technologies and society, and the impacts these technologies have. Research must be driven by a humanities approach and cannot include the development of new AI technologies, tools or algorithms.

Projects should focus on one or more of the following areas: public media and discourse, including AI impacts on information access and polarisation , journalistic integrity, veracity and authenticity of content and sources, trust in media, capacity for public deliberation and consensus, and platform accountability resilience and sustainability, particularly AI’s impact on environmental sustainability but including social sustainability, resilience to climate impacts or impacts upon any of the UN’s 17 sustainability goals law and regulation in relation to AI innovation, including the role of law and regulation in incentivising responsible AI innovation, competing models and approaches to AI regulation, and impacts of AI on the regulatory environment and role of law, supporting citizen recourse, and models of accountability This opportunity focuses on funding knowledge-driven research projects.

However, AHRC also supports practice-led research. As such, the UK component of applications to this funding opportunity can include practice-led research, where creative output can be produced or practice undertaken as an integral part of a research process as defined in the AHRC research funding guide .

Possible outputs from projects include: digital resources or publications Applicants who are uncertain whether their application would be eligible should contact AHRC or NEH for clarification. You should demonstrate the added value that cross-national collaboration will make to advancing the research topic by bringing together researchers based in the UK and US. Projects should be integrated but they do not have to be symmetrical.

The sums and items requested do not have to be identical on the UK and US sides. However, we would expect the work packages to be delivered reasonably equally. The duration of this award is up to two years.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £150,000. AHRC will fund 80% of the FEC. NEH will fund US-based researchers up to $75,000 for individuals, $150,000 for teams.

research projects that explore the relationships between AI technologies and society through a humanities lens proposals that have at least 51% of their remit within AHRC.

Please see the full list of AHRC’s remit and proposal disciplines from page 97 of the AHRC research funding guide AHRC and NEH will not fund: research that involves the development of new AI algorithms development of scholarly courses, from primary education to graduate and continuing education or professional development attendance at recurring or established conferences or professional meetings, unless to disseminate project-related findings projects in which more than two-thirds of direct costs (US only) or 20% of costs (UK only) are for equipment, materials, and supplies (such as to outfit a digital humanities lab or makerspace) costs for activities performed by federal entities or personnel (US only) promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view advocacy of a particular program of social or political action support of specific public policies or legislation projects that fall outside of the humanities; the creation or performance of art; creative writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction; policy studies; and social science research that does not address humanistic questions or utilise humanistic methods (US only) Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks. See further guidance and information about TR&I , including where you can find additional support.

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. We will publish full details on how to apply when the funding opportunity opens.

The UK-based project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application. Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI. All applications must also be submitted to NEH by the US-based applicant.

NEH must receive copies of the application by the 24 March 2025 (four days after the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) deadline). Applications submitted to NEH should include a copy of the application submitted to UKRI alongside the NEH budget sheet. Please note that no application will be confirmed as funded until approved by NEH through their internal processes.

Final confirmation of funded projects is expected in September 2025. Further information on application submission to NEH will be available on the NEH website when the opportunity opens. Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

Confirm you are the project lead. Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this Opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account.

This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers.

If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.

Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

You should: use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words insert each new image onto a new line provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit) ensure files are smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Watch our research office webinars about the Funding Service .

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see: how applicants use the Funding Service how research offices use the Funding Service how reviewers use the Funding Service Applications should be self-contained, and hyperlinks should only be used to provide links directly to reference information. To ensure the information’s integrity is maintained, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers should be used.

Assessors are not required to access links to carry out assessment or recommend a funding decision. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application. References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application and be easily identifiable by the assessors, for example (Smith, Research Paper, 2019).

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied. For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment .

AHRC must receive your application by 20 March 2025 at 4:00pm UK time. You will not be able to apply after this time. Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected. AHRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice . AHRC will not share any application data with NEH.

AHRC will share anonymised reviewer comments and scores with NEH to enable successful applications to move through their grant awarding systems. If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email international@ahrc. ukri.

org Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include: individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave) additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection the application is an invited resubmission For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice .

AHRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at AHRC panel outcomes and attendance . If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research . In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information.

Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example: the wider research community Guidance for writing a summary Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of: the challenge the project addresses potential applications and benefits List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: project co-lead (UK) (PcL) project co-lead (international) (PcL (I)) professional enabling staff research and innovation associate Only list one individual as project lead.

UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application. Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications .

Discipline classification: primary Please provide the primary research area of your proposal. What the assessors are looking for in your response You must select from only one of these research disciplines. This information will be used for the purposes of processing your proposal and in the selection of appropriate assessors.

The research disciplines are: cultural and museum studies drama and theatre studies information and communication technologies library and information studies political science and international studies theology, divinity and religion Discipline classification: secondary Please describe, using keywords, the research area of your proposal and where relevant the approach, time period or geographical area.

What the assessors are looking for in your response This will further help with the selection of appropriate assessors. What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how your proposed work: is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s) has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area is timely given current trends, context, and needs impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service. How are you going to deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how you have designed your approach so that it: is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable) summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed (if applicable) will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service. Applicant and team capability to deliver Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have: the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

Further details are provided in the Funding Service. The word count for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI .

You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings: contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships contributions to the wider research and innovation community contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit Provide any further details relevant to your application.

This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them). Complete this as a narrative.

Do not format it like a CV. References may be included within this section. The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI) What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessors are looking for in your response Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated: the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations how you will manage these considerations You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Resources and cost justification What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular: significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences) any equipment that will cost more than £10,000 any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities all facilities and infrastructure costs all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’ Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources.

Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work: are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes maximise potential outcomes and impacts Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.

A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.

Add the following project partner details: the organisation name and address (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable) the project partner contact name and email address the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made. Project partners: letters (or emails) of support Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the project partners section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.

What the assessors are looking for in your response Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box, or if you do not have any project partners enter ‘N/A’.

Each letter or email you provide should: confirm the partner’s commitment to the project clearly explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the work to them describe any additional value that they bring to the project have a page limit of two sides A4 per partner The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service. Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the project partners section. For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Trusted research and innovation Does the proposed work involve international collaboration in a sensitive research or technology area?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Demonstrate how your proposed international collaboration relates to Trusted research and innovation, including: list the countries your international project co-leads, project partners and visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in if international collaboration is involved, explain whether this project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act if one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act are involved list the areas If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

We may contact you following submission of your application to provide additional information about how your proposed project will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help manage these risks. How we will assess your application We will assess your application using the following process.

We will invite experts to assess the quality of your application and rank it alongside other applications after which the panel will make a funding recommendation. We reserve the right to use the recommendations to create a balanced portfolio of projects, considering the diversity of teams, research themes, and geographies in that process.

You will be required to submit a copy of your application to NEH within four days of the close of the funding opportunity. There will be no further review of applications by NEH, though an eligibility check will be carried out to determine if US-based individuals or teams are eligible for funding from NEH and that costs claimed fall within NEH’s policies.

If applicants or costs are deemed ineligible at this stage NEH reserves the right not to fund applications. Due to internal processes within Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and NEH applicants will be informed of the outcome of this funding opportunity in September 2025. The grants are expected to start at the end of 2025.

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity. Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making . Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in peer review Reviewers and panellists are not permitted to use generative AI tools to develop their assessment.

Using these tools can potentially compromise the confidentiality of the ideas that applicants have entrusted to UKRI to safeguard. For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI . Sharing data with co-funders AHRC will not share any application data with NEH.

AHRC will share anonymized reviewer comments and scores with NEH to enable successful applications to move through their (NEH) grant awarding systems. The bridging responsible AI divides (BRAID) programme directors will have visibility of the applications in order to complete their responsibilities in line with the criteria set out in the funding opportunity details and the aims of the programme.

They will not be involved in assessing the quality of proposals. We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed. Successful projects will be required to work with the programme directors for BRAID.

The programme directors for AHRC: BRAID Responsible AI Demonstrators will: connect the funded projects with each other enable access to the programme’s network and activities provide funded applicants with opportunities for cohort networking events The following details of the successful projects will be shared for the above purposes: project lead name and contact email project co-lead name and contact email project partner name and contact email How we will use your personal data The personal data you give us will be used to facilitate the BRAID programme through sharing applicant’s contact details with the programme directors and the principal investigators of the other successful projects for collaboration and communication purposes as described above.

Your personal data will be handled in line with UK data protection legislation and managed securely. If you would like to know more, including how to exercise your rights, please see our privacy notice .

The assessment areas we will use are: applicant and team capability to deliver ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI) resources and cost justification trusted research and innovation Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Get help with your application If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page Important note: The helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue.

Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding Finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility or content/remit of an opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

For help and advice on costings and writing your proposal please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process. For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact international@ahrc. ukri.

org Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk. Email: support@funding-service. ukri.

org Our phone lines are open: Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm To help us process queries quicker, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time. See further information on submitting an application .

Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) Advances in AI are poised to shape UK society and the economy in profound ways. The AI sector study (GOV.UK) reported that between 2019 and 2021 there was a five-fold increase in investment in the UK AI sector, totalling £10. 6 billion in revenue.

AI technologies are not just an economic force but a cultural one as well. They are rapidly transforming the creative arts, education, healthcare, media, government and transportation, promising new benefits and opportunities in each of these areas. Yet AI also presents immense challenges for democratic health, information integrity, cybersecurity, accountability, transparency, sustainability, equity and human safety.

For this reason, the UK government have prioritised investment in safe and responsible AI development, launching a new UK AI Safety Institute (GOV.UK) in the wake of 2023’s AI Safety Summit, and committing over £100 million in UKRI funding to enable and support a responsible AI ecosystem, as part of a larger £1 billion portfolio of investments in AI research and innovation.

As part of this commitment, the BRAID programme was launched by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in 2022, with a total of £15. 9 million in planned funding through 2028. In partnership with Ada Lovelace Institute and the BBC, BRAID’s multidisciplinary team is led by co-directors Professor Ewa Luger and Professor Shannon Vallor at the University of Edinburgh.

BRAID seeks to enrich, expand, and connect a mature, sustainable and responsible AI ecosystem by leveraging the power of the arts and humanities to enable more humane, inspired, equitable and resilient forms of AI innovation. In practice, this means inviting more voices and insights from the arts and humanities to help forge new partnerships and communities in the UK’s AI ecosystem.

It means enabling more effective co-construction and translation of responsible AI expertise across the many different disciplines, communities and sectors within the UK’s AI ecosystem. It means more effectively supporting the embedding and adoption of arts and humanities-informed responsible AI research and practice in concrete settings of AI application and governance.

And it means working to ensure that the AI ecosystem becomes more equitable, answerable and accountable to the most heavily impacted communities. As observed in this June 2023 blog post from BRAID’s directors, the arts and humanities are essential to defining what it means for AI to be ‘responsible’, a goal that is widely affirmed but still often inconsistently or superficially described.

The arts and humanities, broadly construed to include both academic and non-academic voices, also provide many of the critical perspectives currently missing from, or neglected in, prominent technical and regulatory debates about how to achieve safe and beneficial AI innovation.

As an essential complement to other UKRI investments such as Responsible AI (RAI) UK and the UKRI AI centres for doctoral training, BRAID is designed to ensure that the distinctive contributions and expertise of the arts and humanities inform and shape the future of a responsible AI ecosystem in the UK.

Dangers and Opportunities of Technology (DOT) programme For more information on the DOT programme, please see the dedicated NEH web page. Research and innovation impact Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.

Webinar for potential applicants We held a webinar on 27 January 2025. This provided