Fellowships

This funding initiative brings together a network of leading expertise and centres of excellence from across the UK and overseas to address gaps and needs in research during a period of major societal, geopolitical, and environmental transformation spanning Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central, East & Pacific Asia. The funding was awarded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part of their Building a Secure and Resilient World strategic theme.

The initiative aims to advance innovative new partnerships within academic and policy circles linked to a range of urgent thematic areas including social upheaval, geopolitics and security, environmental crisis, human rights, Russia-China relations, and post-conflict reconstruction. The network’s activities aim to assist understanding and identification of global risks and help inform better decision-making.

Partners include the Universities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Oxford, together with the Institute of Development Studies and the Royal United Services Institute in the UK. Overseas, partners include Colgate University in the USA; the Ukrainian Catholic University; National Taiwan University; Helsinki University in Finland; and Hokkaido University in Japan.

UK Research and Innovation creates knowledge with impact by investing over £8 billion a year in research and innovation through the UK’s nine leading funding councils.

Aim of the Fellowships

The Fellowship scheme is distinct from the Research Projects scheme and aims to support a programme of focused research activities and associated output(s). These might include the production of publication(s) or policy outputs supported by specific research or related activities (e.g. institutional visits etc.). In addition, it aims to facilitate the development of the fellow through training and networking activities. Fellows will therefore (i) expand the Network’s capacity through original work, (ii) build links with a range of institutions within and beyond the Network, (iii) benefit from mentoring by Network members, (iv) play an active role in Network events/ contributing research, policy and related findings.

The fellowships are designed to further the reach of the Network and will engage with one (or more) of the Network’s main organising themes (see below) and help to further the priority theme for that round. The priority theme for the Network this year (2025-26) is Infrastructures for a (dis)connected world.

Each fellow will be allocated a mentor(s) from the Network (see below for main contact details and website). Applicants should contact Network members prior to submission of an application to discuss their activities and focus. There is scope for an applicant to have more than one mentor and from different Network institutions.

Fellowship activities should support the development of the early career fellow in achieving the aims of the fellowship and align with the fellow’s long-term career aspirations. Fellows are encouraged to engage with non-academic organisations as part of their fellowship if there is scope.

Eligibility

We invite early career academics as well as professionals (e.g. policy, media, curatorial etc.). For academics, applicants should have received their PhD* no more than 8 years prior to the application deadline. For non-academics, applicants should have up to 10 years professional experience. The above timeframes should exclude career breaks and periods of maternity, paternal and adoption leave.

*Date of formal awarding of the degree. We will also consider applications from those who have passed their viva but awaiting their formal degree ceremony.

Costs

You should provide a clear breakdown and justification of how the requested funds will be spent. Eligible activities include: research costs (travel/subsistence), workshop/seminar attendance, institutional visits, small consumables necessary for fellowship activities (e.g. batteries, memory cards) and research support (e.g. translation costs) up to a maximum of £18,000.

Payment will be made on receipt of acceptable reports of expenditure.

Bids for the cost of child or parent care can be considered if the carer is conducting research away from home and it is not possible to make alternative arrangements. The costs of normal regular childcare whilst at home are not eligible for support.

Ethics of research activity

Applicants will be responsible for ensuring they receive relevant ethical approval for any research activity from their home institution. This should be confirmed with the Network at least 4 weeks prior to any research activity being carried out.

Independent researchers and/or those without access to formal ethical scrutiny and approval should describe any special ethical issues and explain how they will be addressed on the application form. Successful applicants will be required to seek ethical approval via the University of Birmingham’s ethics process.

Applicants must also submit their institutional ethics application and approval to the Network’s Ethics Committee (ethics-polarities@contacts.bham.ac.uk), which is designed to support and enable cross-institutional research. You are responsible for following the data management procedures at your host institution. If your research involves processing personal data, it is important to consider any additional actions you may need to take to comply with privacy legislation, such as the GDPR or the 2018 Data Protection Act. We may seek additional information/clarification following a review of your institutional ethics application.

The Network requires the research it funds to be conducted in an ethical manner. The following considerations apply to all proposals: accurate reporting of findings; fair dealing in respect of other researchers and their intellectual property; proper employment conditions for research staff having respect for the provisions of the 'Concordat for Contract Research Staff' and subsequent amendments; honesty to research staff and students about the purpose, methods and intended and possible use of the research and any risks involved; confidentiality of the information supplied by research subjects and anonymity of respondents (unless otherwise agreed with research subjects and respondents); and independence and impartiality of researchers to the subject of the research.

Additionally, proposals may raise one or more of the following considerations:

• The involvement of human participants.
• The involvement of human remains (e.g. traceable to living descendants).
• The use of non-human animals.
• Destructive analysis of historic artefacts.
• Research that may result in damage to the natural or historic environment.
• The use of sensitive social, economic or political data.

Wherever necessary, applicants should secure appropriate consent from or on behalf of participants or others affected by the research. Applicants should indicate whether their proposed research raises any special ethical issues.

Assessment of applications

Each application will be assessed using the following criteria:

• Fit to the overall Network regional focus, priority theme for that year, and main organising themes
• Programme of activities and outputs, including overall relevance and coherence of the work proposed, as well as feasibility for a fellowship
• Personal development opportunities Ethical considerations
• Value for money

Incomplete applications or applications outside the scope of the scheme will not be considered. The decision of the assessment committee is final.

Timeline

• Call announced – early October 2025
• Closing dates for applications – 5pm UK time on 21 November 2025
• Decisions confirmed to applicants – January 2026
• Fellowships commence – between 1 April 2026 and 1 May 2026