Researcher Challenges Grants 2026: Up to £40,000 for International Research Collaborations Addressing Global Challenges

Overview

The Researcher Challenges Grants 2026 offer up to £40,000 for collaborative international research partnerships between UK higher education institutions or non-profit research institutions and partner organisations in Egypt, Brazil, Morocco and Palestine. The grants aim to strengthen international research collaboration, build research capacity and support early-career researchers through mentorship, knowledge exchange and interdisciplinary work. Projects last 12 months and are expected to start in January 2027.

Research themes

Priority themes include climate change, sustainable energy transitions, public health, food security and artificial intelligence for development. Interdisciplinary approaches are strongly encouraged, and projects should produce context-specific ideas that respond to local development challenges while contributing to wider global solutions. Partnerships are expected to continue beyond the grant period as lasting research networks.

What partnerships must do

Funded partnerships organise a virtual workshop involving UK and international partner institutions, senior researchers acting as mentors and early-career researchers as learners and collaborators. Each partnership also designs and runs a Challenge Prize for early-career researchers, encouraging innovative research projects linked to the workshop theme, and promotes its activities, outcomes and achievements to external stakeholders.

Who can apply

Applications are open to higher education institutions, not-for-profit research institutions and other eligible research organisations, with a lead institution based in the United Kingdom and partners in Egypt, Brazil, Morocco or Palestine. Only the UK lead institution can start and submit the application, while international partners collaborate within the partnership. The official Call Guidance sets out detailed institutional eligibility.

How to apply

The UK lead registers on the online grant platform, opens the application portal and selects the form titled Going Global Partnerships Multi country Researcher Challenges Grants 2026. It completes every section, uploads supporting documents and submits before the deadline. A Call Guidance document, a reference application form for preparation only and a template grant agreement are available to download.

Key dates

The call was published on 22 July 2026, and the submission deadline is 17 September 2026 at 11:00 a.m. BST.