We are delighted to announce a second round of funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for the Early Career Research Fellowships in Cultural and Heritage Institutions opportunity.
Following the success of the pilot programme, this new funding will enable a second cohort of early career researchers to gain experience in the cultural and heritage sector. Fellows will develop and deliver an independent research project each hosted by one of the UK’s arts and humanities Independent Research Organisations (IROs). Alongside their research, fellows will take a tailored Training and Development Programme, designed for the cohort to support researchers working across the cultural and heritage and HEI sectors.
Further details of the second round of funding are available here: Early career fellowships in cultural and heritage institutions: 2025 – UKRI
Applications are now open for Expressions of Interest (EoI) for this opportunity.
Twenty-three Independent Research Organisations are participating and welcome approaches from potential applicants interested in developing a project with them.
On the Funding Finder, you will find a spreadsheet outlining each IRO’s priority areas of interest for this opportunity, along with contact details for each organisation. We encourage you to review this information carefully and reach out directly to any IRO you are interested in working with.
The V&A is coordinating the Expression of Interest phase. As part of that, we are convening a series of online townhall meetings, to share information about the opportunity and encourage a wide range of applications. These online events will take place on the following dates:
- Thursday 18 September 2025 (3.30pm – 5pm)
- Tuesday 23 September 2025 (3.30pm – 5pm)
- Tuesday 30 September 2025 (11.30am – 1pm)
- Monday 6 October 2025 (10.30am – 12 midday)
Each of these online events will follow the same format. There will be an introduction to the scheme from AHRC representatives, information about the training and development programme, and a short presentation from one of the current fellows. Each event will also include short presentations from a subset of participating IROs, in which they’ll highlight their priority research interests for potential fellowship applications. There’ll be an opportunity to ask questions and there is no cost to attend.
We’ll be publishing the names of which organisations are speaking at each event in advance, so if you are interested in a specific organisation, do check the Funding Finder for details. All the events will be recorded and the recordings will be uploaded to the Funding Finder, so you can watch them afterwards if you aren’t able to join them live.
Register here for Townhall events.
This is a very welcome announcement — the expansion of the Early Career Fellowships demonstrates a strong commitment to bridging the cultural/heritage and academic research communities. The integration of independent projects with a tailored development programme not only supports individual researchers but also strengthens sector-wide knowledge exchange.
As someone pursuing a research degree that intersects cultural heritage, ethics, and emerging technologies, I see clear value in opportunities that foster dialogue across institutions, disciplines, and public audiences. Initiatives like this enable researchers to situate their work in real-world contexts while contributing to the preservation, accessibility, and innovation of heritage institutions.
It is encouraging to see the V&A and AHRC leading in this space, and I hope these fellowships continue to widen participation and showcase diverse research perspectives. I look forward to learning more from the forthcoming townhall events and exploring how these collaborations might inform and inspire future research pathways.
Hello, I’ve subscribed to this event but haven’t received any login details or links to join. I would love to attend — could you please share the access information or advise how I can log in? Thank you very much!