AHRC-DFG Research Grants

OverviewOpportunity status: OpenFunders: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) with co-funders: AHRC (funders together with DFG)Funding type: GrantTotal fund: £5,900,000Maximum award: £420,000Publication date: 16 October 2025Opening date: 16 October 2025 9:00am UK timeClosing date: 11 February 2026 4:00pm UK timeLast updated: 21 October 2025Apply for funding to conduct arts and humanities research projects with German partners. You must be proposing research within the remit of Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) based at a research organisation eligible to apply to AHRC working with a German team led by a researcher eligible to apply to DFG Projects must be composed of two highly integrated national teams based in the UK and Germany. All proposals must demonstrate the added value of international collaboration to research objectives. Funding and duration The full economic cost of the UK-component of your project can be up to £420,000. Your project can last between 24 to 36 months. Who can apply To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Applicants in the UK must meet AHRC eligibility requirements. Applicants in Germany must meet the eligibility requirements of DFG. Funding will be distributed among the research partners according to the researchers’ place of work and, in general, according to the funding rules of each individual agency. Project teams Each joint research project must consist of two national teams, one based in the UK and one based in Germany. Both teams must have a project lead (PL). The inclusion of additional team members is optional. The UK team must be led by a researcher who meets AHRC’s individual eligibility criteria, proposing research which falls within the remit of AHRC. They must be based at a research organisation eligible for AHRC funding. The German team must be led by a researcher eligible to apply to DFG. German researchers from non-university research institutions must comply with applicable rules. This duty to cooperate is not met if a researcher from a non-university research institution only cooperates with a UK partner. PhD students cannot be funded by UK research team budgets for this funding opportunity. International applicants As all applications to this funding opportunity will involve international applicants, visit the AHRC/DFG information page for guidance on effective and equitable international collaboration. If undertaking research outside the UK and Germany, address potential contextual, societal and cultural differences in ethical conduct. Evidence equitable, ethical, responsible and meaningful partnerships. Follow the AHRC and DFG guidance on international project co-leads where relevant. Researchers based in Germany cannot be included within the UK budget; they must be included within the German team under the DFG component. You may include more than one international project co-lead; however, the total costs for all international project co-lead involvement cannot exceed 30% of the overall 100% full economic cost of your application. Please refer to the AHRC’s international project co-lead policy for details on eligible costs within a UK budget. Researchers based in Germany can submit a joint proposal to fund domestic (German) costs and international costs with colleagues from a developing country. Resubmission Immediate resubmission of unsuccessful applications from one funding opportunity to the next is not permitted. Resubmission rules may allow adjustments such as changes to research questions, methodology, or project team, with summaries under the resubmission heading. A resubmission is allowed once within the AHRC-DFG programme. Reworked resubmission from all DFG and AHRC funding opportunities prior to the seventh round may be eligible if revised (e.g., changes to: research questions; methodology; the project team). Changes should be summarised under the resubmission heading. Multiple submissions If your application has been submitted to any other funding opportunity or funding stream, this must be clearly stated. Check rules regarding submission to more than one funder. There is no limit on how many applications can be submitted to this funding opportunity from any one research organisation. Individual researchers may be involved in multiple submissions as long as their overall time commitment is supported by their organisation. Equality, diversity and inclusion Provide information for all funding applicants. Applications are encouraged from a diverse range of researchers. The programme supports flexible working arrangements and responses to caring responsibilities, with particular consideration for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process. Supporting early career researchers and technicians UKRI and DFG aim to enable a dynamic, diverse and inclusive system of research and innovation in the UK and Germany. The inclusion of early career researchers and technicians is encouraged, with assessment criteria considering suitability of support and management mechanisms for these team members. Guidance documents linked in the original page provide further context. Where relevant, integrating early career researchers on the German side is possible for this funding opportunity. Aim and scope Both AHRC and DFG are aware that some of the best research comes from international collaboration. Aims include: to support academic research of the highest quality in the humanities undertaken by UK-German teams, with a primary aim to advance fundamental knowledge to deepen and strengthen cooperation between UK and German researchers and foster a transnational UK-German research culture Applications should focus on fundamental advances in human knowledge within the AHRC remit (field of humanities defined by AHRC). Interdisciplinary approaches are welcome if the UK component falls within AHRC and the German component within DFG. Projects should include substantial cross-national collaboration and a balanced work distribution between UK and German sides. Duration and funding available The maximum duration is 36 months; the minimum is 24 months. UK projects must start by 1 February 2027; German projects should follow a similar schedule. UK component funding: up to £420,000 with AHRC funding 80% of FEC (up to £336,000). About 16 awards are anticipated. Ineligible expenditures include PhD student funding and equipment over £10,000. UK costs require AHRC approval under FEC rules. German components have no specified maximum funding per AHRC-DFG rules. Projects should be integrated but need not be symmetrical in budget; funds should be allocated to reflect contributed effort. All budget items must conform to national rules. If an application is ineligible with one national agency, the whole project may be rejected by both agencies. A detailed budget justification is required; for German costs, use the DFG budget form at the bottom of the page. TRI and data handling Trusted Research and Innovation (TRI) is a UKRI programme focusing on ethical and secure international collaboration. Applicants may be asked to demonstrate compliance with TRI expectations and to identify risks and controls. Data protection: UKRI will collect personal information to manage Funding Service accounts and applications, in line with UK data protection legislation. Personal data may be shared with DFG for assessment purposes. Confidential information should be communicated via secure channels, following the provided guidelines. How to apply AHRC is running this funding opportunity in collaboration with DFG. Applications are submitted through the UKRI Funding Service (not Je-S). The lead UK organisation submits; other team members contribute. The lead UK project lead is responsible for completing the application; project co-leads will be notified to create accounts. German researchers must be listed as project co-lead (international) for administrative purposes. To apply: select Start application; confirm you are the project lead; sign in or create a Funding Service account; allow at least 10 working days for organisation addition; follow the questions and assessment criteria in the How to apply section. Save PDFs and share with the German lead for submission to DFG via elan by 11:59pm German time on 11 February 2026. You will not be able to apply after this time. Follow internal institutional deadlines. Processing personal data and references: See data handling guidance and how references should be formatted and linked. Where applicable, hyperlinks may be used for reference information; ensure persistent identifiers are used where possible. Deadline and submission AHRC must receive the application by 11 February 2026 4:00pm UK time. The UK project lead must provide a PDF copy of the Funding Service submission to the German project lead. The German project lead will upload to DFG’s elan by 11:59pm German time on 11 February 2026. Notes All projects require an integrated work programme and must focus on substantive research. Stand-alone infrastructure or networking projects are not eligible. The programme does not consider impact a criterion. If in doubt about eligibility, contact the respective organisation. #J-18808-Ljbffr