Sources of funding and financial support for education research in higher education
The following list refers to potential sources of funding towards your educational research project, including organisations who may be able to further direct you to other sources beyond their own grants and awards.
This list is not exhaustive and we welcome feedback and suggestions from those who have been successful (or not) in securing funding for pedagogical research from particular sources. Please contact us if you have suggestions for this list.
Imperial College
MERU - Medical Education Research Unit
Excellence Fund for Learning and Teaching Innovation
If your project is likely to involve staff-student partnerships, you might wish to explore the opportunities available through the StudentShapers scheme.
External
AMEE - Association for Medical Education in Europe
ASME - Association for the Study of Medical Education
ESRC - Economic and Social Research Council
HEFCE - Higher Education Funding Council for England
London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (LISS DTP)
SEDA - Staff and Educational Development Association
SRHE - Society for Research into Higher Education
Where relevant, it may also be worth exploring funding opportunities available within other countries or through international collaborations. In Japan, for instance, the JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) and the Diawa Foundation have provided grants for pedagogical research carried out by Imperial colleagues previously.
If your project relates to higher education access, outreach or widening participation, bodies such as the Education Endowment Foundation (who focus specifically on education projects geared at 3-18 year olds), the Nuffield Foundation or the Gatsby Foundation might be useful ports of call.
Other potential sources include the APEX (Academies Partnership in Supporting Excellence in Cross-disciplinary Research) award hosted by the Royal Society or the various funding streams available through the Wellcome Trust. The new UK Research and Innovation body provides a central point of funding information for all seven of the major UK research councils and fulfils the role previously taken by Research Councils UK.