Smart Data Research UK Fellowships (Grant)

Smart Data Research UK Fellowships (Grant) is sponsored by Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Fellowships to undertake innovative, impact-focused research using smart data, addressing significant real-world challenges relevant to the UK.

Smart Data Research UK Fellowships – UKRI Funding opportunity: Smart Data Research UK Fellowships Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) , UK Research and Innovation 15 July 2025 9:00am UK time 23 September 2025 4:00pm UK time Apply for a fellowship to undertake innovative, impact-focused research using smart data. Projects should address a significant real-world challenge which is relevant to the UK.

Projects must be clearly aligned to at least one of Smart Data Research UK’s four thematic pillars : Productivity and prosperity for all The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £200,000. Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) will fund 80% of the FEC. Projects may run for up to 18 months and must start on 01 February 2026.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for ESRC funding. To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible .

This funding opportunity is open to researchers at all career stages. We particularly encourage applications from early career researchers. Researchers new to using smart data are encouraged to apply.

They should include mentoring and capacity building plans as part of their fellowship to support their research goals. We encourage a minimum time commitment of 0. 6 full-time equivalent for the fellowship, although we will accept fellowship proposals below this suggested time commitment.

Applicants employed on part-time contracts should commit an FTE at a proportionate level. We encourage you to make full use of the opportunity presented by the data and funding available. Who is not eligible to apply researchers who are named leads and co-leads with more than 0.

2 FTE on SDR UK’s Data Service grants are not eligible to apply SDR UK Accelerator award holders with more than six months left on their award on 31 January 2026 are not eligible to apply applicants from non-UK organisations are not eligible to apply for funding for this funding opportunity project leads (international), project co-leads (international), and international fellows are not eligible to apply for funding for this funding opportunity.

You must be based within an eligible UK institution for the duration of the fellowship. We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI. Find out more about ESRC’s resubmissions policy .

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 UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process. If you are unsure whether your proposed research falls within the remit of this opportunity, please contact the Smart Data Research team for advice: smartdataresearch@ukri. org .

Smart Data Research UK (SDR UK) invites applications for fellowships to conduct research using smart data to address a real-world challenge. You may use smart datasets exclusively, or in combination with other data (for example, administration and traditional survey data). While we encourage you to use smart datasets held by our data services, this is not a pre-requisite for application.

A note on terminology: It is important to note that the term ‘smart data’ is sometimes used to describe the secure sharing of customer data, upon the customer’s request, with Authorised Third-party Providers (ATPs), as with ‘open banking’. Research focused on this conception of smart data is not relevant to this funding opportunity. We are looking for fellowship proposals that meet the following objectives.

Objective one: advance impactful and innovative research Conduct original, high-impact research that demonstrates how smart data can address a significant real-world challenge. Objective two: develop research leadership Use the Fellowship to grow as a leader in smart data research – developing new skills, networks and areas of expertise.

Objective three: strengthen the smart data research community Play an active role in building a connected, collaborative community. Fellows will take part in activities that support collaboration, knowledge sharing, and long-term impact.

Research projects from any discipline are in scope for this fellowship funding opportunity but must be aligned to at least one of SDR UK’s four thematic pillars (for more information see SDR UK’s Research themes ).

The pillars are wide-ranging, interconnected, and focus on contemporary real-world challenges: Productivity and prosperity for all: interrogating the drivers of economic growth and prosperity in the UK, at local, regional and national scales This could include, for example, analysing financial transactions data to understand the responsiveness of household spending patterns during the cost-of-living crisis, or using GPS data to understand the distribution and concentration of economic activity in UK towns and cities to harness growth dynamics.

Health and wellbeing: supporting improvements in population and public health to enable healthier, longer, and fulfilling lives This could include, for example, using wearables data to track and monitor in-home care provision, or analysing supermarket loyalty card data to understand purchasing behaviours and to support healthier food choices.

Digital society: understanding the challenges and opportunities presented by rapid advances in technology and our increasing engagement with digital systems Sustainability: enabling environmental sustainability and supporting decarbonisation and the green transition This could include, for example, using GPS data to optimise location of EV charging infrastructure, or assessing geospatial imagery to improve biomass measurement.

You must articulate a clear problem statement in your application which relates to a real-world challenge in one or more of the above-noted pillars and which is relevant to the UK. You must demonstrate how the challenge could be addressed through smart data research. The dataset(s) to be used for the project must be identified in the application.

Access to all required datasets must be established or agreed in principle at the time of application, with confirmation via letters of support from relevant data controllers or SDR UK’s Data Services. Costs associated with data acquisitions may be included under exceptions. Data management plans should include an assessment of existing data.

We will adopt a portfolio approach to select a diverse range of projects, balancing innovation, potential for impact, thematic and geographic focus and feasibility. ‘Research impact’ is understood as the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy (broadly defined as delivering public benefit), see Defining impact .

Research communication and dissemination Activities which may help demonstrate a high-quality approach to impact include: tailoring communication to policymakers, practitioners, or a segment of the public.

This could include the production of short documents or engaging media products like video, animations and illustrations, supported by an effective dissemination plan organising an event which involves a wide range of stakeholders including policymakers and practitioners, and which supports public trust coordinating activities to establish networks and relationships with research users developing activities to influence policy at national or local levels Research synthesis, cohort leadership and engagement Activities which may help demonstrate a high-quality approach to impact include: time to collaborate with other fellows on co-authored journal articles and other research outputs (this funding cannot be used for article processing charges) liaising with other fellows and SDR UK data services, where appropriate, to organise a research event focused on an area of shared interest aimed at building a community and enhancing bodies of knowledge activities which pass on your expertise and help build a wider cohort of researchers who use smart data Training and development opportunities Activities which may help demonstrate a high-quality approach to impact include: training offered by you to the wider research community in support of enhancing the capability of other researchers to conduct smart data research training for yourself to allow you to capitalise on opportunities or enhance your capability as a smart data research leader.

We expect training in this phase of the project to focus on skills related to impact and knowledge exchange or skills relevant to leading and delivering future research projects We expect you to allocate a minimum of 20% of their award time on these impact focused activities. It is expected that impact activities be pursued through the lifetime of the grant, rather than at its latter stages.

Fellows will work with SDR UK to deliver impact activities, and support opportunities for engagement with relevant stakeholders. SDR UK is committed to ensuring public engagement is embedded throughout the research process.

Public engagement activities may take the form of: public consultation or dialogue with the general public, for example, focus groups, workshops, or online surveys activities with community representatives, in which members of organisations which represent sub-sectors of society are consulted Where appropriate, fellows will be expected to build public engagement into their research activities.

The duration of this award is up to 18 months. Projects must start on 1 February 2026. The FEC of your project can be up to £200,000.

ESRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

To be considered for funding, applications must: meet the objectives of the funding opportunity set out above clearly link to one or more of SDR UK’s four thematic pillars identify the potential impact(s) of the research and the real-world challenge it seeks to address demonstrate sufficient progress in gaining access to required dataset(s) (a letter of support from a data controller will suffice) involve significant impact-oriented engagement with stakeholders be able to start on 1 February 2026 Full details of how to demonstrate these requirements can be found in the ‘How to apply’ section.

We recognise the importance of data quality and provenance. Data generated, collected or acquired by ESRC-funded research must be well-managed by the grant holder to enable their data to be exploited to the maximum potential for further research. See our research data policy for details and further information on data requirements .

The requirements of the research data policy are a condition of ESRC research funding. Where relevant, details on data management and sharing should be provided in the Data Management section. See the importance of managing and sharing data and content for inclusion in a data management plan on the UK Data Service (UKDS) website for further guidance.

We expect applicants to provide a summary of the points provided. The UKDS will be pleased to advise you on the availability of data within the academic community and provide advice on data deposit requirements. Impact, innovation and interdisciplinarity We expect you to consider the potential scientific, societal and economic impacts of their research .

Outputs, dissemination and impact are a key part of the criteria for most expert review and assessment processes. We also encourage applications that demonstrate innovation and interdisciplinarity (research combining approaches from more than one discipline). Knowledge exchange and collaboration We are committed to knowledge exchange and encouraging collaboration between researchers and the private, public and civil society sectors.

Collaborative working benefits both the researchers and the individuals/ organisations involved. Through collaboration, partners learn about each other’s expertise, share knowledge and gain an appreciation of different professional cultures. Collaborative activity can therefore lead to a better understanding of the ways that academic research can add value and offer insights to key issues of concern for policy and practice.

Knowledge exchange should not be treated as an ‘add-on’ at the end of a project but considered before the start and built into a project. We require that the research we support is designed and conducted in such a way that it meets ethical principles and is subject to proper professional and institutional oversight in terms of research governance.

We have agreed a Framework for research ethics that all submitted proposals must comply with. Read further details about the Framework for research ethics and guidance on compliance. 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. The 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.

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 funding 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.

When including images, you must: provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit) insert each new image on a new line use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words.

The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include: sentences or paragraphs of text excessive quantities of images A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

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 reference 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. General use of hyperlinks Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information.

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision. 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 . ESRC must receive your application by 4. 00pm UK time on 23 September 2025.

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. ESRC, 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 . If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email: smartdataresearch@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 .

ESRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at What ESRC has funded . 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 may 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: professional enabling staff research and innovation associate Only list one individual as the fellow.

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 .

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 of its focus is timely, given current trends, context, and needs impacts world-leading research, society, the economy or the environment The following must be included to support your response.

Provide a clear problem statement in which you: identify a specific real-world challenge explain why this challenge is significant and relevant to the UK discuss the value of this research for better understanding or addressing the challenge explain the contribution it will make to the SDR pillar(s) it relates to such as the impacts your anticipate from your research You should also explain how the proposed work uses smart data (exclusively or in combination with other data) in an innovative way to address the challenge identified.

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 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 work so that it: is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how you will manage them uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable) summarises the previous work and describes how you will build on and progress this work (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 identify the specific dataset(s) you will access and utilise for the project ensure access to all required datasets is established at the time of application, confirmation via letters of support from relevant data controllers or Data Services must be included with the application demonstrate you have a good understanding of the datasets you will use provide a project plan (for example, Gantt chart) with key project milestones, and a description of key risks and how they will be mitigated provide a brief impact plan which identifies the types of activities, schedule, key stakeholders including the public (where relevant), and anticipated outcomes All applicants planning to generate data as part of their research must complete the separate data management questions.

References may be included in this section. You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Applicant capability to deliver Why are you the right individual to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Evidence of how you have: the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to make best use of the benefits presented by this funding opportunity to develop your career the right balance of skills and aptitude to deliver the proposed work contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community the appropriate team working or leadership skills (appropriate to career stage) You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

Further details are provided in the Funding Service. The word limit 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 have and how this will help to deliver the proposed work.

You can include specific achievements and choose past contributions that best evidence your ability to deliver this work. Complete this section using the following R4RI module headings. You should use each heading once, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI .

You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills you bring: 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 Additions: 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). You should complete this section as a narrative.

Do not format it like a CV. Why is this fellowship the right way to develop your career and how will you use it to benefit others?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Ensure that you have identified: career development goals appropriate to the fellowship funding opportunity how the fellowship will provide a feasible and appropriate trajectory for your personal development and to achieve your stated career development goals (as appropriate to your career stage and field) how you will instigate positive change in the wider research and innovation community, for example through Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), advocacy or advisory roles, stakeholder engagement, participation in expert review, influencing policy, public engagement, or outreach what mentoring arrangements are proposed and how they are appropriate to you Host organisation support How will the host organisation support your fellowship?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Provide a support statement including: evidence detailing how the host will support you, as appropriate for your career development and the vision and approach of the fellowship who you have engaged with in your host organisation (name and role) how your research environment will contribute to the success of the work, in terms of suitability of the host organisation and strategic relevance to the project how the host organisation will ensure your time commitment to the fellowship is protected what development and training opportunities will be provided and how they form a cohesive career development package tailored to your aims and aspirations what financial or practical support, such as access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment, is being provided and how this strengthens your application 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 consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities all facilities and infrastructure costs all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’ You can request costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project.

For further information see Disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders . 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 For detailed guidance on eligible costs please see the ESRC research funding guide .

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 service.

If you are collecting or using data you should identify: any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing or storing the data (including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical considerations and, in particular, strategies to not preclude further reuse of data) formal information standards that your proposed work will comply with 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 Partner 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.

Do not provide letters of support from host research organisations. Data management and sharing How will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed work? What the assessors are looking for in your response Provide a data management plan that clearly details how you will comply with UKRI’s published data sharing policy , which includes detailed guidance notes.

Demonstrate that you have designed your proposed work so that you can appropriately manage and share data in accordance with ESRC’s Research data policy and ESRC Framework for research ethics (if applicable).

Within the ‘Data Management’ section we also expect you to: plan for the research through the life cycle of the award until data is accepted for archiving by the UK Data Service (UKDS) or a responsible data repository demonstrate compliance with ESRC’s Research data policy and ESRC Framework for research ethics .

This should include confirmation that existing datasets have been reviewed and why currently available datasets are inadequate for the proposed research cover any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing or storing the data, including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical issues For this funding opportunity, grant holders must deposit all data from the project in a SDR UK data service or the UK Data Service.

If deposited in a repository which is not the UK Data Service, grant holders must create a metadata record in UK Data Service ReShare and submit metadata relating to the grant and data collection through this service. If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service. Does your proposed research require the support and use of a facility?

What the assessors are looking for in your response If you will need to use a facility,