Pre-announcement: Funding opportunity coming soon for ADR UK Research Fellowships
Categories: Funding opportunities, ADR UK Research Fellows, ADR England, Office for National Statistics
1 October 2025
ADR UK will soon be inviting applications for research fellowships using ADR England flagship datasets. Register for an applicant webinar to find out more about the opportunity.
We will be inviting applicants who are eligible for Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding to propose research projects that demonstrate the policy impact potential of ADR England flagship datasets. Awards will be 18 months in duration, and projects must start in September 2026.
The full economic cost of individual projects can be up to £200,000. The ESRC will fund up to 80% of the full economic cost whilst the remainder should be funded by your research organisation.
Register for an applicant webinar
To inspire and support applicants, there will be a series of webinars covering key elements of the funding programme and ADR England Flagship datasets:
- Opportunity briefing: Thursday 23 October, 13:00 – 14:15. Register for this webinar.
This is a webinar for all potential applicants. You’ll have a chance to hear more about the opportunity and the application process, and to ask any questions. - Writing a good funding application: Wednesday 5 November, 12:00 - 13:00. Register for this webinar.
This webinar will offer practical guidance for researchers preparing applications for this funding opportunity. It will cover key elements of a strong proposal, common pitfalls to avoid, and tips for clearly communicating research aims and data use. - Dataset-specific webinars: These sessions will offer an opportunity to hear more from the data owners about the dataset(s) you are interested in using for your project, and to ask any questions:
- Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data (ECHILD) - England: Monday 13 October, 12:00 - 13:00. Register for this webinar.
- Ministry of Justice & Department for Education linked dataset - England: Wednesday 15 October, 12:00 - 13:00. Register for this webinar.
- Grading and Admissions Data for England (GRADE): Tuesday 28 October, 13:00 - 14:00. Register for this webinar.
- Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) linked to PAYE and Self-Assessment data - England, Scotland and Wales: Thursday 30 October, 12:00 - 13:00. Register for this webinar.
- Nursing and Midwifery Council Register linked to Census 2021 - England and Wales: Tuesday 4 November, 12:00 - 13:00. Register for this webinar.
- Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) - England: Tuesday 4 November, 13:00 - 14:00. Register for this webinar.
- Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) linked to Migrant Workers Scan - England, Scotland and Wales: Thursday 6 November, 12:00 - 13:00. Register for this webinar.
- Data First: Family Court linked to Cafcass and Census 2021 - England and Wales: Friday 7 November, 12:00 - 13:00. Register for this webinar.
- Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection - England and Wales: Monday 10 November, 13:00 - 14:00. Register for this webinar.
- Data First: Cross-Justice System - England and Wales: Wednesday 12 November, 10:00 - 11:00. Register for this webinar.
- RAPID: Population interactions with employment, benefits and pensions - UK: Tuesday 18 November, 12:30 - 13:30. Register for this webinar. You can also submit questions about RAPID to the data owners in advance of this webinar.
- Community catalyst research agendas: Thursday 13 November, 12:00 - 13:00. Register for this webinar.
Presenters from the ADR England Research Community Catalysts projects on Children at risk of poor outcomes and Youth transitions will share the evidence gaps and research agendas they have identified. The session will explore how applicants could address these in their fellowship projects, in order to inform better policy and practice.
Applications should make use of eligible ADR England flagship datasets. The following datasets are in scope for this funding opportunity:
Eligible datasets and research priorities
- Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection - England and Wales
- Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) linked to 2011 Census – England and Wales
- Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings linked to Migrant Workers Scan – England, Scotland and Wales
- ASHE linked to PAYE and Self-Assessment data – England, Scotland and Wales
- Data First: Cross-Justice System – England and Wales
- Data First: Family Court linked to Cafcass and Census 2021 – England and Wales
- Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data – England
- Grading and Admissions Data for England
- Longitudinal Education Outcomes – England
- Ministry of Justice & Department for Education linked dataset – England
- Nursing and Midwifery Council Register linked to Census 2021 – England and Wales
- RAPID: Population interactions with employment, benefits and pensions – UK
What we’re looking for
We are looking for applications that meet the following four ADR UK Research Fellowships objectives.
- Useful Research: Demonstrate the potential of administrative data research for public policy impact within the timeframes.
- Useful Data: Develop our flagship datasets as useful research resources for future users.
- Useful Engagement: Foster opportunities to engage with government and the public to shape the project to deliver impact and to maintain public acceptance for the use of data for research purposes; and
- Community Building: Actively participate in and personally contribute to new or existing communities of practice in support of your development as a research leader using administrative data.
For more information, see our general research fellowship specification. You can also see our communications and engagement expectations for fellows.
Peer-to-peer support
To help prospective ADR UK Research Fellows develop their applications, we are offering opportunities for peer-to-peer support. This will help applicants to gain insights into our fellowship programme from our current ADR UK Research Fellows. Our supported consultations can be used:
- when an applicant is seeking guidance on a specific flagship dataset, or regarding the development of a specific research question,
- to gain insights into the benefits of stakeholder engagement,
- to gain insights into the development of research objectives based on completed fellowships, or
- to seek advice or guidance to support completion of an ADR UK Research Fellowship application.
If you are a prospective applicant and are interested in this form of support, please email ADRFellowships@esrc.ukri.org, and we will get back to you.
Key dates
- 1 October 2025: A pre-announcement will be published by UK Research and Innovation with some further detail
- 9 October, 11:00 - 12:00: Dataset briefing - ASHE linked to 2011 Census
- 13 October, 12:00 - 13:00: Dataset briefing - ECHILD (optional)
- 15 October, 12:00 - 13:00: Dataset briefing - MoJ & DfE linked dataset (optional)
- 23 October, 13:00 – 14:15: Webinar for all applicants - Opportunity briefing
- 28 October, 13:00 - 14:00: Dataset briefing - GRADE (optional)
- 30 October, 12:00 - 13:00: Dataset briefing - ASHE linked to PAYE & Self-Assessment data (optional)
- 4 November, 12:00 - 13:00: Dataset briefing: Nursing and Midwifery Council Register linked to Census 2021 (optional)
- 4 November, 13:00 - 14:00: Dataset briefing - LEO (optional)
- 5 November, 12:00 - 13:00: Webinar for all applicants - Writing a good funding application
- 6 November, 12:00 - 13:00: Dataset briefing - ASHE linked to Migrant Workers Scan (optional)
- 7 November, 12:00 - 13:00: Dataset briefing - Data First: Family Court linked to Cafcass and Census 2021 (optional)
- 10 November, 13:00 - 14:00: Dataset briefing - AD|ARC (optional)
- 12 November, 10:00 - 11:00: Dataset briefing - Data First: Cross Justice System (optional)
- 13 November 2025: Applications open
- 13 November, 12:00 - 13:00: Webinar: Community catalysts research agendas (optional)
- 18 November, 12:30 - 13:30: Dataset briefing - RAPID (optional)
- 26 February 2026: Application deadline
- April 2026: Funding decisions
- September 2026: Expected grant start date.
Explore previous fellowships and stories of impact
ADR UK has supported 45 research fellowships between 2021 and 2026, enabling researchers to use linked administrative data for projects in the public interest. You can browse past and current projects.
You can also read impact case studies to see how ADR UK and partners have influenced policy and practice.
More information about this opportunity is available on the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Finder. You can also Sign up for the ADR UK mailing list and UKRI alerts to be notified when the opportunity opens for applications.
