ADR UK is committed to enabling greater research use of linked administrative data, especially our flagship datasets, to increase cross-cutting research that enhances our understanding of society, informs policy and improve lives. We provide funding opportunities to enable research using new research-ready datasets through competitive open calls such as our ADR UK Research Fellowships, ADR UK PhD Studentships and through our ADR England Community Catalysts. Historically, ADR UK has also funded the creation of linked administrative data - for example, though our Research Ready Data & Access Grants.
Funding offered by other organisations
ADR UK is not the only funder of administrative data research. We also seek out and signpost to research funding opportunities offered by other organisations that can benefit from linked administrative data. See below for a list of funding opportunities that might be of interest to researchers looking to use administrative data.
Current opportunities
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Funding opportunity from DARE UK: Supporting community interest and working groups
9 October 2024
Data Analytics and Research Environments UK (DARE UK) has launched a funding opportunity aimed at supporting the management and development of both new and existing community interest groups and working groups.
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Funding opportunity: Apply for a 2024 ADR UK Research Fellowship using ADR England flagship datasets
13 February 2024
[NOW CLOSED] ADR UK is inviting funding applications for research fellowships to conduct research and analysis using eligible ADR England flagship datasets. Research fellows will demonstrate the policy impact potential of these datasets by generating insights to address priority research questions.
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Funding opportunity: Evaluating the benefits, costs and utility of synthetic data
18 August 2023
[NOW CLOSED] Applications are open for funding for three complementary projects to explore the use of synthetic data. Successful applicants will evaluate the benefits, costs and utility of low-fidelity synthetic versions of securely held datasets from the perspective of different stakeholder groups.
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UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding opportunities – Always open
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
ESRC has a range of applicant-led opportunities which are always open to applications. Applicants must be based at UK research organisation eligible for ESRC funding. Proposals can draw from the wider sciences, but the social sciences must represent more than 50% of the research focus and effort. ESRC will fund 80% of the full economic costs of your project with the research organisation covering the balance. Check if you’re eligible for funding.
You can explore all the UKRI funding opportunities on the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Finder.
ESRC responsive mode: Secondary data analysis initiative
Scope: This scheme supports research that exploits existing data resources for social and economic research, created by the ESRC and other agencies, for comparative analysis. It also aims to develop research capacity and skills in using large and complex secondary data. Partnerships with non-academic stakeholders is encouraged to ensure generation of high impact, policy- and practitioner-relevant research. Proposals are welcome from early career researchers. Applications seeking to deliver additional linkages or primary data collection are not prioritised.
Scale: Grants can be for up to £300,000 for a period of up to 24 months.
Deadline: Open – no closing date
ESRC responsive mode: New investigators
Scope: This scheme supports new researchers at the start of their careers, based at research organisations eligible for UKRI funding, to become independent researchers through gaining experience of managing and leading research projects and teams. In addition, they will provide applicants with an opportunity not only to support their own skill development, but also the skill development of research staff employed on the grant.
Scale: The full economic cost of your project can range from £100,000 to £350,000 for a period of up to five years.
Deadline: Open – no closing date
ESRC responsive mode: Research grants
Scope: This scheme funds researcher-driven proposals from individuals or research teams from any disciplines and on any topics in ESRC’s remit. This includes standard research projects, methodological development, large-scale surveys or other infrastructure. Proposals with the potential for significant societal and economic impact are encourage as are those addressing new concepts or techniques.
Scale: The full economic cost of your project can range from £350,000 to £1 million for a period of up to five years. Two or more linked projects can be submitted providing the link is properly justified and explained.
Deadline: Open – no closing date
Non-UKRI funding opportunities
These funding opportunities are offered by organisations outside of UKRI. ADR UK is not accountable for the opportunities. ADR UK will remain alert to further opportunities to fund the curation and use of linked administrative datasets for research to improve lives. If you are aware of any opportunities that we could promote, please contact us.
Leverhulme Trust
Scope: The Leverhulme Trust funds fundamental research across all the disciplines (excluding medicine). Key criteria for funding are:
- originality and significance
- the removal of barriers between traditional disciplines
- intellectual curiosity and fresh directions
- risk.
The research should be fundamental and seeking to make a contribution to the academic field. If in doubt, send a paragraph summarizing the proposed research to the Trust to get a view on whether it is in scope.
Scale: They fund stand-alone research projects up to £500k (but they regularly fund ones under £100k). Projects tend to be around 2-3 years, but can be up to 5 years in duration.
Deadline: Ongoing. The application is a two-stage process. Further information on the scheme can be found here.
Wellcome Trust: Discovery Research
Scope: The Wellcome Trust funds studies across a breadth of disciplines (including the social science, art and humanities), that lead to new knowledge and insights into life, health and wellbeing. They prioritise research that has the potential to build and shape fields of enquiry, or open new ones, whether through delivering a significant shift in understanding, or the development of accessible new research tools, technologies and methodologies.
Scale: They fund three schemes:
These awards cater broadly for early career, mid-career, established researchers and teams. Early career awards can request salary costs plus up to £400k in research expenses, and are usually up to five years in duration. Career development and Discovery awards can ask for the resources needed for the research programme, and can be up to 8 years in duration. The average size of a Discovery Award is £3.5m.
Deadline: Each scheme runs three times a year with upcoming deadlines published on the individual scheme pages.
Nuffield Foundation: Research, Development and Analysis fund
Scope: This scheme funds projects to inform the design and operation of social policy and practice within and between the domains of education, welfare and justice. This includes transitions from education to employment, vocational and technical education pathways, people’s journeys through the justice system (especially youth and families), and data linkage as a route to insight. There is also a strategic fund for interdisciplinary approaches to address the most significant themes and developments for UK policy and society. If you are thinking of applying, check out the Nuffield funding videos on YouTube.
Scale: Typically up to £300k (potentially up to £750k), and usually 6-36 months but projects with shorter or longer time frames can be considered. The strategic fund is more than £750k.
Deadline: Two rounds a year. Deadlines for outline applications under £750k in mid-April and mid-October.
ADR UK Research Fellowships
ADR UK has led a series of Research Fellowship funding opportunities, via open competition, to enable some of the first researchers accredited under the 2017 Digital Economy Act to use ADR England flagship data for research in the public interest.
The ADR UK Research Fellowships, developed in collaboration with the respective data owners, aim to ensure the first users of the data will be researchers whose work will be scientifically valuable and policy relevant.
Research Fellows conduct research and analysis to derive insights from linked administrative datasets, showcase their potential for policy impact and public benefit, and develop the data as useful research resources for future users.
ADR UK has allocated all Research Fellowship funding for this investment period, 2021-2026. In total, we will have supported 45 Research Fellowships. Read about the past and present Research Fellow’s work on the project pages.
