British Academy APEX Awards

In partnership with the British Academy, the Royal Society, and the Royal Academy of Engineering, and generously supported by the Leverhulme Trust, the APEX Awards (Academies Partnership in Supporting Excellence in Cross-disciplinary Research) offer established independent researchers an exciting opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary and curiosity-driven research to benefit wider society. Successful applicants will collaborate with researchers from other disciplines.

📖 About British Academy APEX Awards

Opportunity Details

• Date Published: August 18, 2025
• Application Deadline: September 09, 2025
• Category: Grants

Objectives of the Scheme

The scheme aims to:

• Promote collaboration across disciplines, emphasizing the boundary between science, engineering, social sciences, and humanities.
• Support outstanding interdisciplinary research unlikely to be funded through conventional programs.
• Encourage researchers with an excellent track record to explore new directions through collaboration with partners from other disciplines.
• Provide seed funding to enable researchers to advance innovative research.

Subjects Covered

Applications must span the remit of more than one Academy. Examples include:

• The British Academy Remit: Social sciences and humanities, including creative and professional practices, with a clear scholarly rationale for research methods and outputs.
• The Royal Academy of Engineering Remit: Any engineering discipline, broadly defined, including computer science and materials.
• The Royal Society Remit: Natural sciences, including agriculture, mathematics, technology, computer science, materials, medical, environmental, and engineering sciences (excluding clinical medicine).

💰 Benefits of British Academy APEX Awards

• Funding: Up to £200,000 to cover staff costs for the lead applicant and co-applicant, as well as associated research costs (no more than 25% of the total award value).
• Eligible Costs: Consumables, equipment, and collaborative travel.

✅ Eligibility Criteria

• Open to applicants of all nationalities.
• Applicants must be exceptional researchers with excellent track records as established independent researchers (including engineering researchers, humanities and social sciences scholars, and scientists).
• Collaboration with a research partner (co-applicant) from a different discipline is required. This partner can be based at the same institution or a different university in the UK.
• Applications must be supported by the applicant's Head of Department, who must confirm access to institutional facilities and provide assurance of release/partial release from teaching duties (if required).
• Applications must span the remit of more than one Academy (e.g., British Academy and Royal Academy of Engineering). Applications within the remit of only one Academy will not be permitted.
• Applicants may submit only one application per round.

📅 Application Date and Process

• Deadline: Applications must be submitted by 15:00 (BST) on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.
• Submission Portal: Applications should be submitted through the Royal Society's grant management system, Flexi-Grant®.
• Reasonable Adjustments: If you require adjustments during the application process, contact the team via APEX@royalsociety.org or phone +44 20 7451 2666.

🔗 Application Links

• View details of the British Academy APEX Awards.
• Apply for the British Academy APEX Awards.

For further inquiries, contact APEX@royalsociety.org or call +44 20 7451 2666.

• Support is up to £200,000 to fund staff costs for the lead applicant and the co-applicant, and associated research costs representing no more than 25 per cent of the total award value.
• These can include consumables, equipment, and collaborative travel.