Future data services: transforming discovery and access (invite only)
- Funder
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
- Award amount
- Up to £21,600,000
- Deadline
- December 3, 2026
- Eligible countries
- United Kingdom
Real odds
About 1 in 5 funded · 22% · Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), all funding decisions, 2024-25
Source: UKRI investment and outputs data, table 2.1
What this number means
This is the funder’s published average for the whole program in a past year, not a prediction for any one application. Targeted calls, resubmissions and how well a proposal fits all change the picture.
UKRI divides applications awarded by applications assessed in the financial year, across all of the council’s schemes (research grants, fellowships and directed calls).
2024-25: 369 funded out of 1,689.
The year before (2023-24): 34%.
Summary
Open UKRI funding opportunity · Grant. Closes 2026-12-03. Total fund £21.6 million. Opportunity page: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/future-data-services-transforming-discovery-and-access-invite-only/
Apply for funding to transform discovery and access to data provided by ESRC’s social science data service infrastructures. Projects will make a step change in how researchers can discover, access and use social science data and advance the transition to technology-enabled data pipelines that support this.
You must be invited to apply for this funding opportunity.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for ESRC funding.
We expect to fund five to eight projects, sharing up to £21.6 million of total funding at 100% full economic cost (FEC). ESRC will fund 80% FEC.
What we're looking for Aim
The overall aim of this funding opportunity is to fund projects that:
- will make a step change in how researchers can discover, access and use social science data
- advance the transition to technology-enabled data pipelines that support data management, curation, discovery and access
- in turn, will develop and upskill the data service infrastructure workforce to support the research community in the future
This funding opportunity arises out of the Future Data Services (FDS) Review which investigated the challenges for accessing and using data and the opportunities for future data infrastructure provision. This funding opportunity will therefore support the delivery of the FDS recommendations and its vision for the future of data services:
“A seamless, connected, user-centred and federated data service landscape, driven by curiosity, collaboration and coordination, and making use of the new technologies that present boundless possibilities for researchers to use data for public good.”
In line with the FDS review this funding opportunity is agnostic of data types. Applications should have considered delivery of discovery and access to all…
Summary as listed by the funder. Always read the full announcement for eligibility, limits and how to apply.
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