British Council Researcher Challenges Grants

Grants for UK higher education institutions and non-profit research institutions to collaborate with institutions in Egypt, Brazil, Morocco and Palestine.

The British Council’s Going Global Partnerships programme aims to build stronger, more inclusive, internationally connected higher education and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems by supporting partnerships between universities, colleges, education policy makers, civil society organisations and industry partners around the world. The partnerships aim to bring together organisations in the TVET sector from the UK and overseas to share their knowledge and expertise, and to collaborate on projects that focus on enhancing approaches to skills development internationally.

Forming part of Enabling Research strand of the Going Global Partnerships programme, the Researcher Challenges Grants aim to strengthen research collaborations and foster research capacity strengthening to address some of the most pressing global challenges: climate change, sustainable energy transitions, public health vulnerabilities, food security. Addressing these issues require innovative, context-specific, and interdisciplinary research solutions that are both locally grounded and globally informed. Grants will provide structured platforms to early career researchers from the UK and participating countries to engage with experienced researchers, exchange ideas across disciplines, and co-develop problem-oriented research agendas. Countries participating in the current call are Brazil, Morocco, Egypt and Palestine.

Key theme areas for partnerships with Brazil, Morocco and Egypt include:

• Energy conservation, clean technology, food security, natural resources.
• Artificial intelligence for public health /food security/education governance
• Artificial intelligence for development.
• Climate change.
• Health and medicine.
• Gender and inclusion.

Key theme areas for Palestine include:

• Health, medicine and life sciences.
• Environment, climate change and natural resources.
• Energy, water and food security.
• Economic development, innovation and entrepreneurship.

British Council will support the delivery of one virtual workshop of 3-5 days total duration, organised jointly by the UK and overseas partner institution (in each participating country) bringing together up to 46 participants of early career researchers, principal researchers and mentors to work on a key challenge in one of the thematic areas. Researchers from the UK and partner country from a wide range of disciplines will come together in these workshops, to discuss issues of particular importance for the partner country. The transdisciplinary nature of the workshops makes for a unique opportunity to build a richer, fuller picture of the topics.

During the workshops, early career researchers will form teams and submit proposals to secure small enabling grants (Challenge Prizes). These may fund mobility, pilot research, stakeholder or public engagement or other related small activities.