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Policy and Participatory Research Funding

The Knowledge Exchange team is responsible for the allocation and monitoring of the Policy Support Fund and Participatory Research Fund, the funds for which are allocated annually from Research England. 

This Pre-Award SharePoint Site (Staff access only) has been created to support you in the development of your applications.  The site contains FAQs, general guidance notes, video resources and contact details if you have any further questions.  The site is also where you can access the application forms.

We welcome applications from University of Leeds individuals, research groups, institutes, schools, or faculties, and are keen to support a range of projects from people with various levels of policy and participatory research experience.  Unfortunately, PhD Students are not eligible to apply for this funding.

Policy Support Fund (Open Call): 

2023/24 Funding Call Dates:

  • Policy Support Fund (Open Call) opens Friday, 16 June and closes 5pm on Wednesday, 13 September.
  • Successful awards will commence on 1 October 2023 and must be fully spent by 31 July 2024.

The key aim of the Research England fund is to support universities to link effectively with policy research priorities and opportunities. The funding supports universities in undertaking research with local, regional, national and international structures (including parliament, central government, devolved administrations, local government, health and education bodies, the justice system and other regulatory organisations).

Relevant research activity which might be funded includes:

  • new and extended research activity working in partnership with policymakers
  • activity aimed at improving the dialogue and facilitating the use of existing research and the exchange of knowledge between universities and policymakers
  • activity and training to better equip academics to communicate effectively with policymakers
  • partnerships and collaborations aimed at supporting evidence-based policy making
  • the exchange of people, for example:
    • staff secondments
    • joint PhDs

A maximum total budget of £400,000 is available for the 2023-24 Research England Policy Support Fund: Open Call. 

Policy Support Fund (Leeds City Council Areas of Interest): 

2023/24 Funding Call Dates:

    • Policy Support Fund (LCC Areas of Interest) opened Thursday, 6 July and closes 5pm on Wednesday, 13 September.
    • Successful awards will commence on 1 October 2023 and must be fully spent by 31 July 2024.

The University of Leeds has been working together with Leeds City Council to increase strategic collaborations between the organisations, building on the collaborative review led by LSSI in 2020. 

Following the success of the 2022/23 Funding call, we are reviewing the Areas of Research Interest (ARI) for Leeds City Council and will provide information in relation to their priority topics shortly.

A maximum total budget of £200,000 is available for projects addressing the Leeds City Council ARI as part of the 2023-24 Research England Policy Support fund call. 

Participatory Research Fund:

2023/24 Funding Call Dates:

  • Participatory Research Fund (Open Call) opened Thursday, 6 July and closes 5pm on Friday, 22 September.
  • Successful awards will commence on 23 October 2023 and must be fully spent by 31 July 2024.

Research England’s vision is for HEPs to deliver world-class research with transformational real-world application, developing the skills and talents of the workforce, and Participatory Research is a key element in realising that vision.

Participatory Research Funding (PRF) supports participatory or co-produced research. This strengthens research outcomes by involving the communities and users of research, better recognising their experience, needs and preferences, and giving greater agency to communities to implement findings.

Relevant activities which might be funded includes:

  • Pilot projects using innovative models and methodologies for participatory research
  • The development of materials to support researchers interested in developing their skills in participatory research that are related to participatory and co-produced research
  • Case studies and evidence of the impact of co-produced research, and evaluations of the effectiveness of co-production from different institutions/disciplines.

A maximum total budget of £110,000 is available for the 2023-24 Research England Participatory Research Fund: Open Call