ESRC is replacing its applicant-led funding offer in stages with five routes: React, Connect, Grow, Explore and Challenge. The redesign is intended to widen the kinds of work its portfolio can support, encourage novelty and responsible risk-taking, and make decisions faster. It is an announced direction, not evidence that project or applicant diversity has already increased: the official pages reviewed provide no outcome data showing that it has.
What is changing in ESRC funding?
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is reshaping its applicant-led funding offer. UKRI describes the new model as more outcome-focused, with more strategic management and curation of the portfolio, greater support for novelty and responsible risk-taking, and faster decisions for the strongest ideas. See the ESRC funding opportunities overview.
Here, “project diversity” is best understood as an aim to support a wider range of questions, methods, collaborations and career paths—not a claim about results already achieved. The new routes explicitly invite novelty, work that crosses disciplinary or methodological boundaries, and moves into new research areas. ESRC also encourages diverse applicants. However, the official pages do not report measured changes in who has been funded, the variety of funded projects, success rates or research impact.
Which new ESRC scheme fits your project?
The five routes have different purposes and scales; they are not interchangeable grant labels. The award ranges below are programme terms stated by ESRC, not success-rate or impact statistics.
| Route | Purpose | Award and timing |
|---|---|---|
| React | Time-critical research to help UK policymakers or public-service practitioners address urgent evidence needs. | £50,000–£100,000 at full economic cost; six-month pilot. Project duration is no more than six months. React opportunity |
| Connect | Test new or higher-risk ideas and build early collaborations in emerging areas. | £50,000–£150,000; six-month pilot. ESRC funding opportunities overview |
| Grow | Support early-career development or a move into a new research area. | £100,000–£500,000 for 18 months to five years; planned for November 2026. ESRC funding opportunities overview |
| Explore | Support ambitious, curiosity-driven social science that may push disciplinary, methodological or conceptual boundaries. | £300,000–£2 million, for up to five years; planned to open 5 November 2026. These details are provisional. Explore pre-announcement |
| Challenge | Support collaborations tackling complex problems at scale. | £2 million–£10 million; planned for early 2027. ESRC funding opportunities overview |
As a practical distinction, React is for an urgent evidence need with a user ready to act; Connect is for early-stage ideas and partnerships; Grow is for researcher development or a change in direction; Explore is for ambitious intellectual work; and Challenge is for large collaborative efforts. Check each live opportunity’s criteria before developing an application.
When do the new ESRC grants open?
The routes are being introduced in phases, rather than opening together. React and Connect are six-month pilots; Grow is planned for November 2026, Explore for 5 November 2026, and Challenge for early 2027. ESRC’s overview provides the current schedule, which may be updated.
Explore details are provisional
ESRC’s Explore page is a pre-announcement published on 8 September 2026, not a full live call. It gives no closing date and warns that details may change. It currently limits the core team to four members, requires social sciences to account for more than 50% of research focus and effort, and says UK organisations must be eligible for ESRC funding. The page describes the intended work as ambitious and boundary-pushing, noting: “Outcomes may be uncertain, timelines to impact may be long-term, and the risk of failure is inherent in pushing the boundaries of social science.” Those conditions should be checked again when the full opportunity opens.
Can you still apply for an ESRC research grant?
Yes. ESRC’s existing responsive-mode research-grants opportunity remains open until 4 November 2026 at 4:00pm UK time. It supports researcher-driven work within ESRC’s remit, with awards of £350,000–£1 million, at 80% of full economic cost, for projects of up to five years. See the responsive-mode research grants opportunity.
Rank #3
This is a transition period, not an immediate closure of every current grant type. Compare the relevant new route with the current responsive-mode criteria and deadline before choosing where to apply; the new routes have distinct purposes and eligibility terms.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does ESRC mean by responsible risk-taking?
ESRC’s existing guidance recognizes that ambitious research may carry a higher-than-normal risk of not delivering every expected output. Examples include untested methods, new theory, unusual combinations of disciplines, difficult access to data or participants, and sensitive or controversial subjects. Its guidance on impact and innovation is consistent with the new emphasis on risk, but it does not suggest that weakly designed proposals will be favoured.
Rank #4
A risky proposal still needs a clearly specified plan and careful consideration of potential impacts. In practice, explain what is novel, where uncertainty lies, how the work will be conducted responsibly, and what would count as useful learning even if some expected outputs are not achieved. ESRC’s overview characterizes the shift as “greater support for novelty, disruption and responsible risk taking.”
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