Independent Scholar Fellows

Independent Scholar Fellows is sponsored by Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF). Supports independent-minded researchers pursuing original and interdisciplinary studies for solutions to social problems. This specific fellowship is for independent scholars who do not hold an appointment at an institution of higher education and research.

Independent Social Research Foundation The ISRF funds and supports critical, innovative and rigorous research in the social sciences and humanities through grant competitions, events and publications. Recent Fellows and Associates We fund research projects through competitive grant programmes aimed at UK and European scholars working across the social sciences and humanities.

Professor Anna Stavrianakis Mid-Career Fellow 2027-28 Mid-Career Fellow 2026-27 Independent Scholar Fellow Dr Francy Carranza Franco Independent Scholar Fellow 2026-27 We support independent-minded researchers exploring and presenting original research ideas which take new approaches, and suggest new solutions, to real-world social problems.

ISRF Funding is awarded competitively through a series of Grant Competitions for individual Fellowships and small group projects. Scholars within 10 years of PhD award. Scholars more than 10 years post-PhD.

Independent Scholar Fellows Independent scholars who do not hold an appointment at an institution of higher education and research. Scholars within 3 years of PhD award. Political Economy Fellows Scholars working in Political Economy.

Pairs of scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds. For groups of 2-10 scholars. Other Projects and Partnerships Non-competitively funded projects, institutional partnerships and discretionary awards.

How Ukraine’s strikes on Russian warehouses became a problem in Kyrgyzstan Ukraine's attacks on the Russian e-commerce platform, Wildberries, has far reaching implications for traders across Central Asia. Claudia Eggart explains how small and medium sized business owners in Kyrgyzstan's are grappling with the trade disruptions. What does it mean to work in the UK's higher education system today?

For many academics, it involves confronting increasingly narrow career pathways, from teaching only contracts to conducting 'strategic' research. In this contribution to our Dispatches series, Eva Nanopoulos interrogates how the university's two-tier system divides staff, reinforces precarity and extracts more labour from academics. UK Freeports: From Exception to Rule?

Freeports are at the centre of the UK's post-Brexit industrial policy. While these Special Economic Zones (SEZs) encourage economic development, they also actively rework legal and institutional norms. Alexandra Hall explains how these rule-shifting governance arrangements fragment oversight, redistribute accountability and prioritise investor certainty.

No, AI Won’t Take Your Job—If Universities Do Theirs Much has been said about the difficult job market that university graduates now navigate in the face of the growing use of AI. What is the role of the university in preparing students for this new reality? In the monthly Director's Note, Christopher Newfield examines the debates around AI, labour and the value of a university education.

Kyrgyzstan’s Dordoi Bazaar: a world made from shipping containers and a city within a city When I left Ainura’s container-shop at the Dordoi Bazaar in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, I found the market eerily quiet. I had not noticed the passing of time, while she generously shared her life story with me. Lived Geopolitics.

The Production of Unorthodox Scalar Connections through Trade Shuttle trading emerged as a viable, alternative livelihood, predominately for women, after the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. In this article, Claudia Eggart explores how large-scale geopolitical transformations are felt and negotiated at the local level, through the bodies of women shuttle traders.

How do departments determine which colleagues should be made redundant? Often the criteria used to make such decisions is vague and based on 'merit'. Lorna Finlayson examines how attempts to measure academic performance undermine, discriminate and reduce staff to arbitrary metrics and targets.

How oil turned the motors of capitalism: a history Imraan Valodia and Adam Hanieh In this article, economist Imraan Valodia interviews political economist Adam Hanieh about his latest book "Crude Capitalism: Oil, Corporate Power, and the Making of the World Market". His book explores the expansive history of the many ways in which oil and capitalism have been connected since the 1800s.

We host a variety of events which aim to provide a platform for ISRF Fellows to report on their research projects, and also to contribute to broader conversations and discussions across the social sciences. French Theory in British Culture A one-day programme of readings, discussion and performances focused on the reception of French theory in Britain and its legacies.

Gifts from the Arms Trade An in-person book launch and conversation supporting the publication of Dr Jill Gibbon's 'Gifts from the Arms Trade'. An in-person & online book launch and conversation with Professor Mary Corcoran, Professor Fergus McNeill & Professor Beth Weaver, editors of 'Generative Justice'.

An in-person & online book launch and conversation with Dr Anna Molas, author of 'Taming Egg Donors: The Egg Donation Reproductive Market in Spain'. The Matter of Architecture The Matter of Architecture The Matter of Architecture An in-person book launch and conversation with Dr Paul Dobraszczyk, author of 'The Matter of Architecture'. Find out more about our events if (window.

location. hash) { window. scrollBy(0, -110);