The British Academy Talent Development Awards

The Talent Development Awards provide UK‐based researchers in the humanities and social sciences with funding to acquire new skills, adopt innovative methods or build collaborations. They aim to expand researchers’ capacities and enrich the quality of future research.

What’s Offered

• A grant of up to £10,000 to support a project lasting between six and twelve months.

• Funds can be used for training, method development, collaboration, data science, digital humanities, language learning and interdisciplinary work.

• Projects may start no earlier than 1 March 2026 and no later than 31 March 2026.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the UK and hold a long-term appointment at a UK higher education institution or independent research organisation.

• The applicant’s research must be in the humanities or social sciences. There are no specific subject-area quotas or thematic priorities.

• Proposals should focus on building new skills, methods or collaborations rather than purely funding the applicant’s time.

Process & Structure

• Applicants submit a development plan that explains how they will build new skills or capacities and how they will share those skills within their discipline or community.

• Applications are reviewed against criteria of innovation, capacity-building potential, and broader impact.

• Awards are for a fixed duration of between six and twelve months and are not granted on full economic costing basis. Grant funds must be used solely for the specified activities.

Deadline

• The application deadline for the 2025-26 round is 08 October 2025 at 17:00 BST. The British Academy

• Projects must begin between 1 March 2026 and 31 March 2026.