News: research and funding
On this page, we report on the latest news about research and funding in the world of socio-legal studies. This can include information from the major UK funders, launches of research projects or research centres, calls for collaboration, in fact, any aspect of academic research that is of interest to socio-legal scholars.
Items will usually be retained for a period of about three months, or until any significant dates have passed.
If you would like a news item included on this page. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Latest . . .
British Academy Innovation Fellowships: Route A –researcher-led
British Academy Innovation Fellowships – Route B: policy-Led
Funding bodies and other related organisations
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies
Criminal Cases Review Committee
International Research Collaboratives
Legal Education Research Network
National Centre for Research Methods
Science and Technology Select Committee
Sociolegal Model-Making Project
UK Administrative Justice Institute
Women and Leadership International
Academy of Social Sciences
The Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) is the voice of social sciences in the UK.
The Academy is composed of over 800 individual academicians and 44 learned societies. Academicians are distinguished scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors. Most of the learned societies (including the SLSA) in the social sciences in the United Kingdom are represented within the Academy.
Please visit the AcSS website for full details.
AHRC
AHRC current funding opportunities: full list
The AHRC currently has several funding schemes open for applications. See website for the full list.
British Academy
The British Academy's funding page is constantly updated.
British Academy Innovation Fellowships
British Academy Innovation Fellowships: Route A
The British Academy has awarded £1.8 million in funding to 20 research projects focused on innovation and knowledge exchange between academic and non-academic environments. Funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the British Academy’s Innovation Fellowships (Route A: Researcher-led) scheme provides funding and support for established UK-based researchers in the SHAPE disciplines (Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy). The scheme aims to facilitate partnerships between researchers and organisations and businesses in the creative and cultural, public, private and policy sectors to address challenges that require innovative approaches and solutions. See website for details. Closing date: 8 December 2022.
British Academy Innovation Fellowships – Route B: policy-Led
The Innovation Fellowships scheme is a dual-route scheme designed to enable researchers in the humanities and social sciences to partner with organisations and business in the creative and cultural, public, private and policy sectors in order to address challenges that require innovative approaches and solutions. The British Academy is currently inviting applications for funding for a policy-led Innovation Fellowship, working with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). See website for details. Closing date: 6 July 2022.
British Academy: Researchers at Risk Fellowships – monthly rolling deadlines
The British Academy with Cara (the Council for At-Risk Academics) has established a Researchers at Risk Fellowships Programme with the support of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. The Fellowships will cover the natural sciences, medical sciences, engineering, humanities and social sciences with applications made via UK-based institutions. See website for details. Upcoming closing dates: 29 June and 20 July 2022. This programme is a new style of activity for the Academy’s international engagement. These are major three-year programmes of internationally convened researchers that are problem or challenge-focused and highly interdisciplinary. Awards will be for around £500,000 per annum each. See website for details. Closing date for expressions of interest: 6 July 2022.
British Academy: Global Convening Programmes – call for expressions of interest
The scheme aims to provide significant opportunities for researchers in the UK and internationally across the humanities and social sciences globally to network, open new fields of inquiry, harness research to address these challenges aiming to catalyse change in industry, practice, policy and society, and support collaborative exploration across disciplines and borders.
Knowledge Frontiers: International Interdisciplinary Research 2023 ‘Global (Dis)Order’: call for applications
The programme aims to support projects which engage with questions concerning the relationship between expertise, public understanding and policy delivery internationally, and highlight the importance of collaboration between communities of practice, disciplines, capacities and borders. Applications are now open. Closing date: 19 October 2022. See website for details.
University of Birmingham: First BA Early Career Research Network Regional Hub
The BA has named the University of Birmingham as its first arly Career Research Network Regional Hub. See website for details. Researchers in the Midlands are invited to apply to join.
British Academy announces partnership to pilot Early Career Researcher Network
The British Academy is working in partnership with the Wolfson Foundation to coordinate a pilot Network for Early Career Researchers in the humanities and social sciences. See website for further details.
British Library
Social welfare portal
Please visit the social welfare portal, test the service, and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. your feedback. You can also read a blog post about the portal.
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies wins grant to support lay users of virtual justice systems during Covid-19
The Centre for Socio-legal Studies has received a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. See press release for full details.
ESRC
Administrative Data Research Partnership launched by the ESRC
Combined data from across government and hundreds of UK public bodies will be used to improve healthcare, education, business growth and the fight against crime by making it available to world-leading research teams. The Administrative Data Research Partnership will maximise the potential of administrative data as a resource for high-quality innovative research in the UK. See website for further details.
ESRC New Investigator Grants: call
Applications are invited for this new scheme. Awards will be from £100,000 to £300,000. Please see website for details. This is an open call with no closing date.
European Research Council
European Research Council: Advance grants funding call
Applications are invited from established, leading principal investigators who want long-term funding to pursue a ground-breaking, high-risk projects. See website for details. Closing date: 28 April 2022. The British Academy is running webinars for those interested in applying.
Higher Education Academy
The Higher Education Academy (HEA) provides services to the higher education sector for individual learning and teaching professionals, senior managers in institutions and for subject and discipline groups. Please visit website for further information.
International Research Collaboratives
‘Law, Reason and Emotion’ – call for expressions of interest
The Law and Society Association (LSA) has awarded the status of International Research Collaborative (IRC) to the network entitled Law, Reason and Emotion. Please see attachment for full details of this IRC and of the call.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is an endowed charity that funds a large, UK-wide research and development programme. It seeks to understand the root causes of social problems, to identify ways of overcoming then and to show how social needs can be met in practice.
Please visit the website for more information.
Capturing the insights of people living in poverty – call fr proposals
The JRF is developing a new project to produce an up-to-date picture of what is happening to people in poverty in the UK: to hear and understand, in a timely way, current and emerging issues for people and families on low incomes. Proposals are invited for a feasibility study exploring methods of capturing and evaluating these insights. See website for details. Closing date: 22 February 2022.
Law and Society Association
The Law and Society Association was set up in the USA in 1964 to support its members in developing theoretical and empirical understandings of law. See the website for full details.
Legal Education Research Network
For information on the Legal Education Research Network (LERN) please see website.
Leverhulme Trust
Leverhulme Trust newsletter
The Trust publishes a newsletter three times per year.
Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships Scheme: expanded to offer opportunities for under-represented groups
Following a review, the Trust Board has decided to increase its commitment to the Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships scheme, leading to the following changes: additional scholarship places are available to support students from underrepresented groups undertake a master’s plus doctoral programme; applications to the scheme will be accepted from consortia of a maximum of two universities; a limited number of doctoral scholarships may be allocated to international students. See website for details. The scheme will reopen for applications in January 2023.
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice: Areas of research interest
The Ministry of Justice has recently published its Areas of Research Interest. This document can be found here. It highlights the Ministry of Justice’s strategic evidence gaps with a focus on long-term and cross-cutting gaps in understanding. The aim is also to engage with the external community to expand and deepen the department’s underpinning evidence base. The Chief Social Researchers at the Ministry of Justice are keen to hear from researchers working on any of the strategic evidence gaps outlined in the Areas of Research Interest. Please do get in touch and describe in a few sentences what you are doing. The email address is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Court statistics
View the latest court statistics: published quarterly.
National Centre for Research Methods
The National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) is a network of research groups, each conducting research and training in social science research methods. It is co-ordinated from a hub in the University of Southampton and nodes across UK universities. NCRM provides a focal point for research, training and capacity-building activities. These activities are aimed at promoting a step change in the quality and range of methodological skills and techniques used by the UK social science community, and providing support for, and dissemination of, methodological innovation and excellence within the UK.
The NCRM provides regular email bulletins. To register, please visit the subscriptions page. The centre also runs regular training events.
Nuffield Foundation
The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established in 1943 by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors. Lord Nuffield wanted to contribute to improvements in society, including the expansion of education and the alleviation of disadvantage. He called this the ‘advancement of social well-being’, and emphasised the importance of education, training and research in achieving that goal. Today, the foundation works to improve social well-being by funding research and innovation in education and social policy. the foundation is also increasing the proliferation and quality of research and professional skills – both in science and social sciences – through its capacity-building programmes.
Nuffield Foundation Research, Development and Analysis Fund: next closing date for applications – 14 March 2022
Outline applications are now invited for this biannual funding scheme. See website for details.
Nuffield Foundation: Strategic Fund to be core aspect of research funding
See the blog by Nuffield CEO, Tim Gardam, for details of this important development.
Nuffield Foundation Research, Developmet and Analysis Fund: open for applications in justice domain
Applications are invited for this for projects to inform the design and operation of social policy and practice across the Foundation's three core domains of Education, Welfare and Justice. See website for details. Closing date: 14 March 2022.
Research Cluster in Law, Justice and Society, Oxford
A new Research Cluster in Law, Justice and Society has been launched at Wolfson College, in collaboration with the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society (FLJS). The research cluster will join several other research clusters created under the guidance of college President, Professor Hermione Lee, which draw on the outstanding scholarly strengths and interests within the college to foster innovative approaches to interdisciplinary research.
Please see flyer for further details or visit the cluster website.
Research Councils UK
Each year the Research Councils invest around £3 billion in research covering the full spectrum of academic disciplines from the medical and biological sciences to astronomy, physics, chemistry and engineering, social sciences, economics, environmental sciences and the arts and humanities.
RCUK statement on international collaboration post-EU referendum
The outcome of the EU referendum raises questions for UK researchers and international partners about the Research Councils’ international activities and collaborations. RCUK's statment can be found on the website.
Restorative Justice Council
Access to and experiences of restorative justice for BAME young people
The Restorative Justice Council is embarking on a research project to gain a better understanding of the access to and experiences of restorative justice for BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) young people who have offended. In addition to a lack of research in relation to BAME young people and criminal justice, there is also a perception among some practitioners that there are problems in effectively engaging and delivering restorative interventions with this group. The aim of the research is to develop practical solutions for the restorative field and recommendations for change to future policy development.
For more information please contact the RJC’s senior research officer This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Sentencing Council
Sentencing Council: Research opportunity – review of methodology of resource assessments
The Sentencing Council is inviting bids to conduct research to support a review of the methodology of itsresource assessments, to support our statutory duty in this area. See website for details. Closing date: 17 February 2022.
Sentencing Council research opportunity: literature review on effectiveness of sentencing
The Sentencing Council is inviting bids to conduct a literature review bringing together the evidence on effectiveness of sentencing to support our statutory duty in this area. See website for details. Closing date: 7 February 2022.
Sociolegal Model-Making Project
The Sociolegal Model Making Project explores the risks and rewards of using design-based strategies, and model-making in particular, to enhance socio-legal research – that is, research that interprets law as a social phenomenon.
Please see website for details.
UK Research and Innovation
Operating across the whole of the UK with a combined budget of more than £6 billion, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) brings together the seven Research Councils, Innovate UK and Research England. Research England will work closely with its partner organisations in the devolved administrations.
Other
Maghreb Action on Displacement and Rights: funding call
The Maghreb Action on Displacement and Rights (MADAR مدار Arabic for ‘path’) welcomes applications for research grants. MADAR will fund research projects that meet the aims of the MADAR Network Plus. Grants range from £20,000–£100,000 GBP for periods of 6 to 12 months. Projects have to be led by organisations in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, or the UK, and can include co-applicants from anywhere in the world. See website for details. The application deadline is 14 September 2022, 17:00 (UK).