The Leverhulme Trust invites proposals for its research project grants. These support innovative and original research projects on a topic of the applicant’s choice. The trust welcomes applications for research in any academic discipline.

Eligible applicants will already be employed by an institution or be an academic who has maintained close links with that institution following retirement. Institutions eligible to apply are universities, other institutions of higher education in the UK, and registered charities in the UK that have equivalent research capacity.

The scheme is also open to institutions or organisations of similar standing in countries where the provision of research funding is seriously limited. The award is paid directly to the institution at which the applicant is employed. Up to three co-applicants from the same institution or different institutions may apply.

Grants may be held for up to five years for a maximum sum of £500,000. Eligible costs include research staff, postgraduate students and the tuition fees and maintenance costs of one or more PhD studentships, as well as research-associated costs such as travel and subsistence, consumables and technical costs or services.

Exclusions

The trust does not support

•  Research directly relevant to clinicians, medical professionals or the pharmaceutical industry, as well as policy-driven research where the principal objective is to assemble an evidence base for immediate policy initiatives.
•  Research aimed principally at an immediate commercial application.
• Principal investigators may not apply from institutions or organisations located in North America or elsewhere in the EU.

Application procedure

http://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/funding/RPG/RPG.cfm

Research Project Grants are assessed via a two-stage process. There are no deadlines for Outline Applications, and their assessment is normally completed within three months. An invitation to progress to the second stage – preparation of a Detailed Application – will be sent to those whose Outline Application has been approved.